Tag: 2016

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposal not to publish the Financial Conduct Authority’s report on banking culture outlined in its Business Plan 2015–16; to whom they have communicated that assessment; and what response they have received.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    No Treasury Minister or official had any discussions with the FCA before the FCA took its decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in its 2015-16 Business Plan.

    The FCA has published (in response to the Noble Lord’s Freedom of Information request) the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24171, what funding the Illegal Money Lending Team received in each of the last five years; and how much it will receive in each year until it becomes funded through a levy.

    Nick Boles

    Annual funding for the Illegal Money Lending Teams as reported to the Department by National Trading Standards was:

    Year

    England

    Wales

    2015/16 *

    £3,097,822

    £546,674

    2014/15

    £3,605,286

    £634,016

    2013/14

    £3,716,789

    £673,625

    2012/13

    £3,716,789

    £595,670

    2011/12**

    £3,716,789

    £653,625

    * * Additionally, for 2015/16 the FCA agreed to outsource work to a maximum of £880,000, split £748,000 to the England Team and £132,000 to the Wales Team. The FCA will outsource work to a maximum of £500,000 for 2016/17.

    ** Until the creation of NTS in April 2012, the teams were funded directly by BIS.

    BIS has committed to maintaining its funding of the teams at 2015/16 year levels for 2016/17. It is anticipated that levy funding will be in place from 2017/18.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that people who have been convicted of a child sex offence cannot serve as a local authority or parish councillor.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    During the passage of the then Cities and Devolution Bill we undertook to review the legislation on the disqualification of local authority members and to consult on proposals for change to bring the legislative rules into line with modern sentencing guidelines. Our intention is to launch the consultation as soon as practicable this year.

  • Lord Moynihan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Moynihan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moynihan on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government between which dates the current President of the World Anti-Doping Agency was a consultant to UK Anti-Doping; how much he was paid; and what his responsibilities were.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Sir Craig Reedie was appointed a Special Advisor to UK Anti-Doping in 2009. The role was created to provide expert advice to UK Anti-Doping, primarily during its formative phase, as and when required. Under this appointment, Sir Craig Reedie was not commissioned to provide any expert advice and therefore received no payment from UK Anti-Doping. He formally stood down from this role on his appointment to President of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2014.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what metrics he plans to use to measure the contribution which the apprenticeship levy will make to economic productivity.

    Nick Boles

    We will evaluate the apprenticeship levy contribution to productivity as part of our wider programme of apprenticeships evaluation. This includes assessing what impact on apprenticeship starts and quality the levy has had, as well as evaluating wage returns of those who have completed apprenticeships. The research paper cited below outlines current evidence on, and the associated methodology used to measure, the economic value of apprenticeships.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-measuring-the-net-present-value-in-england

    “

  • Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the delays that occur between the announcement of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant being made and permission to start being given to the recipient organisations.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Heritage Lottery Fund work closely to support grant recipients in meeting the essential requirements prior to works starting. The HLF are not aware of a general problem with delays around the existing permission to start process, though timings can vary.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to restrict the amount spent by local authorities on legal support and advice in special educational needs and disability tribunals.

    Edward Timpson

    It is up to local authorities to decide how best to spend their Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) budgets, based on an analysis of local need. The reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014 were designed to make the SEND system less adversarial for parents and young people, as well as for local authorities. The process of Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and plan development is designed to be collaborative, meaning that most disagreements should be resolved early on. Where disagreements persist, we have introduced a requirement to consider mediation, which has often proved effective in reducing the need to make an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. For example, in 2015, 75% of disagreements over EHC plans for which mediation sessions were held did not result in a Tribunal appeal in that year.

    The SEND Tribunal aims to be facilitative and accessible, so that it should not be necessary for either parents or local authorities to employ legal support when making or defending an appeal. No additional weight is given to evidence because it is presented by a lawyer and many parents and local authorities successfully pursue their case without legal representation.

    The Department is currently conducting a Review of Disagreement Resolution Arrangements, as required by the 2014 Act, which will report to Parliament by 31st March 2017. The Review is looking at how the system of disagreement resolution is working for children, young people and their families, which includes enquiring about the costs incurred by both families and local authorities.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal British Legion on the Count Them In campaign.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to support the aspiration of the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) ‘Count Them In’ campaign to include a veteran’s marker in the 2021 census to provide information to better support the commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. In June this year I wrote to John Pullinger, the National Statistician, to request that the position set out in the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) response to the census consultation was revisited. Following discussions this has been agreed and further work is being taken forward. The ONS and the MOD have established a working group to review the decision not to record veterans in the 2021 census. To date it has met six times. The working group is developing a number of themes which have allowed us to develop a good understanding of each other’s needs, including those of other Government Departments, Local Authorities and the charitable sector. The latest ONS statement on this issue can be found at the following address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/consultations/the2021censusinitialviewoncontentforenglandandwales/updateonmeetinginformationneedsonthearmedforcescommunityveterans The ONS will be inviting key stakeholders from across Government, Local Authorities and the charitable sector to a meeting this autumn to seek their further input on this issue. In addition, the MOD and the ONS met with the RBL in July this year to explain the work that both Departments are taking forward.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 December 2015 (HL4049), whether HMS Astute was laid down on 31 January 2001, launched on 8 June 2007 and commissioned on 27 August 2010; and whether HMS Artful was laid down on 11 March 2005 and launched on 17 May 2014 and is planned to be commissioned in March 2016.

    Earl Howe

    The dates that the noble Lord refers to, including the planned commissioning date for Artful, are correct. The build time for the Astute class submarines has reduced with every boat built to date; for HMS Astute, the time taken from start of manufacture to operational handover was 170 months, which included first of class trials, and for Artful was 137 months.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned increase in stamp duty on the ability of people to purchase a retirement property in advance of selling their primary home.

    Mr David Gauke

    From 1 April 2016 higher rates of SDLT will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties. The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. This is part of the Government’s commitment to supporting home ownership and first-time buyers.

    The Government has carefully considered the case where a purchaser buys a new main home in advance of selling an old one. Where there is a temporary overlap between replacing and selling a main residence, the Government intends that higher rates will apply but the purchaser will be entitled to a refund of the higher amounts when they dispose of their previous main residence within 18 months.

    The Government has consulted on the changes to ensure they are introduced in a fair way. The final policy design will be confirmed at Budget on 16 March 2016.