Tag: 2015

Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many men in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency who are aged (i) 60, (ii) 61, (iii) 62, (iv) 63, (v) 64, (vi) 65, (vii) 66, and (viii) 67 are in receipt of carers’ allowance in the 2015-16 financial year.

Justin Tomlinson

The information as requested for 2015/16 is not available.

However information on the number of people in receipt of both the State Pension and Carer’s Allowance is published by the Department on a quarterly basis. The latest data available is February 2015 which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

“

January 1, 2023
Lord Rana – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of extremists from Commonwealth countries fighting in Syria and Iraq.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK does not hold numbers of extremists from Commonwealth countries fighting in Syria and Iraq. The latest UN report on foreign fighters (April 2015) estimates there are over 1,350 foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq from Commonwealth nations. Over 800 Britons of national security concern have travelled to the region since the start of the conflict, around half of whom have returned.

January 1, 2023
Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of Innovate UK’s effectiveness in securing (a) jobs and (b) growth for UK businesses.

Joseph Johnson

Innovate UK has supported more than 5000 individual companies since it was established in 2007. It publishes an Annual Report which details its activities during the year and any reviews undertaken of individual programmes. A copy of Innovate UK’s latest Annual Report is in the library of the House and can also be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/446302/FINAL_-_Innovate_UK_Accounts_2014-15_.pdf.

“

January 1, 2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Brandon Lewis, what assessment they have made of what matters people should take into account when making the judgment call of whether to live in London.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Where people decide to live is a matter for individuals, based on their own circumstances.

January 1, 2023
Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 6 November (HL2947), why they have decided not to raise the issue of the three British citizens who were killed during the Gujarat Massacre in 2002 with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

This case is ongoing in the Indian courts. The United Kingdom cannot interfere in another country’s legal system, as we would not expect them to interfere in ours. The British Government has registered its interest in this case, and our officials will continue to press the relevant Indian authorities for the family’s appeal to be heard swiftly and fairly.

January 1, 2023
Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether access for disabled students will be included in measures to determine whether higher education institutions deliver effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.

Joseph Johnson

Higher Education Institutions have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities.

The Independent Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 with plans for Universities to spend more than £745 million on measures to improve access and student success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, up from £404m in 2009/10. HEIs choose their own access agreement measures and targets, in line with their own particular mission and challenges and these can include targets on disability where appropriate.

January 1, 2023
Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many faces have been uploaded onto the police facial recognition database since the ruling against the Metropolitan Police Service in 2012; which police forces made those uploads; and how many faces each force has uploaded.

Lord Bates

There is no facial recognition database as such. The Police National Database (PND) includes photographs of persons taken on their arrest. These images can be uploaded onto the PND by police forces.

Full face images of a suitable size and quality are then enrolled in the facial image recognition gallery within PND, which can be searched using automated facial recognition software. Information on the number of facial images loaded by forces since June 2012 is not readily available

January 1, 2023
Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.123 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate he has made of the effect of uprating the individual threshold in the minimum income floor for self-employed people on the household income of a tax credit claimant family with two children and one self-employed earner under the age of 25 earning the national minimum wage.

Priti Patel

The government is committed to moving the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.

UC is fundamentally different from the current legacy benefit system and supports people into work and encourages them to earn more.

Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with UC. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.

January 1, 2023
Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish any background advice and research provided to Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

January 1, 2023
Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.144 of the Summer Budget 2015, what progress has been made on designing the Horserace Betting Right; and when he plans to publish his proposals on that matter.

Tracey Crouch

Work is continuing on the detailed policy design of the replacement for the existing levy.

As part of the design work we commissioned an independent economic analysis of the costs and funding of racing. This will draw on information provided by betting and racing, and will be key to assessing what level of funding from betting to racing would be reasonable.

We will make a further announcement in due course

January 1, 2023