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Tag: 2015

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed within HM Revenue and Customs’ (a) National Minimum Wage Risk Unit, (b) National Minimum Wage compliance teams and (c) Criminal Investigations Directorate in each of the last six years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them. However, some complaints may not lead to the commencement of an investigation. This might be due to incomplete information being provided, or the worker subsequently wishing to withdraw their complaint. Similarly, multiple complaints about the same employer would only be recorded under one investigation.

    In 2014/15, 2489 worker complaints and 691 pieces of third party information were referred to HMRC. However, I reiterate that not all complaints will lead to an investigation. In previous years, HMRC did not record statistics by complaints received, but by investigations completed. In 2014/15, HMRC completed 2204 investigations. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided to her on 6 May 2014 at Hansard Column 110W for information on prior years.

    Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation amongst others, but HMRC does not record the specific numbers of those staff involved beyond this. The budget allocated to HMRC by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is provided as an overall amount. I therefore refer the honourable member to the answers provided to her at UIN 16853 for budget details & UIN 16938 for information on staffing.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of foreign national offenders deported between July 2014 and August 2015 who returned to a country other than their country of nationality.

    James Brokenshire

    Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11080, that there had been 13 successful appeals, the additional data requested is not available. Such data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean these questions could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the European Regulation on a European Single Market for Electronic Communications on blocking access to child sexual abuse material online.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    My Department supports the blocking of access to child sexual abuse material by industry and we are actively seeking to ensure that all European regulation, including the electronic communications framework – which is currently under review – does not impede this. The Government’s primary concern during negotiations on the Connected Continent (or Telecoms Single Market) Regulations was that the Internet Watch Foundation’s (IWF) ability to block access to illegal images of child abuse was protected, and we are confident we have ensured this. Going forward, we will continue with our aim to ensure any future European regulation allows the blocking of such content.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of suicides by men aged 18 to 45.

    Alistair Burt

    We know that men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. The highest United Kingdom suicide rate in 2013 by broad age group was among men aged 45 to 59. We also know that suicide is the leading cause of death in England and Wales for men aged between 20 and 34 years of age.

    In September 2012, the Department launched ‘Preventing Suicide in England: a cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives’. This strategy aims to reduce the suicide rate and improve support for those affected by suicide and was informed by an earlier consultation on preventing suicide in England. The strategy outlines six areas for action including, reducing the risk of suicide in key high-risk groups, including men aged under 50, reducing access to the means of suicide and supporting research, data collection and monitoring.

    We provide financial support for the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and work with a range of experts and partner organisations to deliver suicide prevention activities across all age groups. I will be meeting experts again shortly to advance the strategy.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the projected in-service date for the first of the Successor class submarines has been delayed by two years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Designing and building submarines is one of the largest programmes and one of the most complex activities that the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry has ever undertaken. It is the purpose of a design phase to improve our understanding of costs and timescales, which we have now done. The current estimates reflect what we have learned since the design phase began.

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015 (Cm9161), our latest estimate of the total cost to manufacture the four Successor submarines reflects greater maturity of the design and understanding of the supply chain, amounts to £31 billion; we will also set a contingency of £10 billion. This level of contingency represents about 35% of the costs to completion and is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects.

  • Craig Mackinlay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Mackinlay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Mackinlay on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings in the report of the Office for National Statistics, Decennial Child Dental Health Survey that (a) 46 per cent of 15 year olds and 34 per cent of 12 year olds had obvious decay experience in their permanent teeth and (b) children eligible for free school meals are significantly less likely to be in good overall oral health than those not eligible.

    Jane Ellison

    The decennial Child Dental Health Survey is part of the Public Health England (PHE) dental public health intelligence programme which provides population oral health surveillance. Local authorities have responsibility for oral health improvement. In 2014 PHE published an evidence informed toolkit for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement among children and young people. PHE also published an evidence based toolkit for dental teams to support preventive advice and treatment for their patients, including the prevention of tooth decay in children.

    Eligibility for free school meals was used as a proxy indicator of relative deprivation in the study, as it is well established that poor oral health is associated with deprivation. The findings of this study continue to support that understanding.

    The results of the most recent decennial child dental health survey were published this year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) and can be found at:

    http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB17137

    “

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional costs of maintenance and other in-service costs that will be incurred by retaining the Vanguard submarines in service for approximately five years longer than envisaged in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we have assessed that we can safely manage and maintain the Vanguard boats until the Successor submarines are introduced into service in the early 2030s. The marginal costs associated with maintaining the submarines can be contained within the existing running cost of the deterrent, which is around 6% of the defence budget per year.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Mark Lancaster

    Where external recruitment to Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts is required, recruitment agencies and head-hunters may be engaged to assist with campaigns. The costs of agency services include search, advertisement, response handling, assessment and support to selection panels.

    Details of spend on SCS recruitment with external agencies and head-hunters, by calendar year, are as follows:

    Calendar Year

    Spend

    2010

    £121,000

    2011

    £144,000

    2012

    £284,000

    2013

    £373,000

    2014

    £583,000

    2015 (to 31 March)

    £33,000

    Note: information held by the Ministry of Defence extends to 31 March 2015 only; from 1 April 2015 recruitment for SCS posts has been managed centrally by Civil Service Resourcing.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A Special Adviser has accompanied the Secretary of State only once on an overseas trip since May 2015. The practice of Special Advisers accompanying the Secretary of State on overseas visits where there is a business need is long-established and has operated as such under various administrations including the previous Labour administration.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that more women progress to senior levels in the financial services industry.

    Harriett Baldwin

    As part of the Productivity Plan, the Government has asked Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, to lead a review into representation of women in senior managerial roles in the financial services industry. Her review will report next year.