Tag: 2016

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to assist people who are locked into inappropriate and poorly-paying annuity contracts.

    Simon Kirby

    The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) thematic review of non-advised annuity sales practices looked at past sales practices, and found failings in a small number of firms, particularly in respect of the information they provide to customers about enhanced annuities (where customers may be entitled to an enhanced rate because of a health condition or lifestyle factor).

    The FCA have announced their next steps, including investigation by the FCA’s Enforcement Division to determine whether further action is necessary. These firms are now being asked by the FCA to review all non-advised sales from July 2008 and, where appropriate, provide redress.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what forecast he has made of the change in population in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber up to 2030.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Triesman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Triesman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Triesman on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of occupational pension schemes registered in the UK as at 1 January 2011 and at 1 January 2016, indicating whether any of those schemes registered as at 1 January 2011 have been absorbed by or taken over by any of the schemes registered as at 1 January 2016.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Lists of registered occupational pension schemes are not readily available and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Information on which registered pension schemes have been absorbed or taken over by other registered pension schemes is not available.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average sentence length was of offenders sentenced after having been returned to the UK under a European Arrest Warrant in each of the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant and these can be found here: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics/wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics/608-wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics-2009-april-2015-1

    “

  • Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the UK’s domestic and international human rights obligations.

    Jeremy Wright

    I meet regularly with Ministerial colleagues to discuss important issues of common interest, including on domestic and international human rights law. I am not able to talk about any legal content of those discussions because, by convention, whether the Law Officers have given advice or not is not disclosed outside Government.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will use the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016 to agree a timetable to force UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to publish central, public registers of beneficial ownership.

    Matthew Hancock

    Our priority for the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies has been for them to establish a central register of beneficial ownership information (or a similarly effective system) where they do not already have one, and for UK law enforcement and tax authorities to have full and automatic access to that information. As has previously been set out the registers will not be public, these measures will place our Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories well ahead of many other similar jurisdictions and represent a significant step forward in our ability to counter criminal activity.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current value of contracts is between his Department and Boeing and Boeing UK; and what proportion of work under those contracts is carried out in the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The current value of contracts between the Ministry of Defence and Boeing and Boeing Defence UK Ltd is approximately £665.75 million and £2.49 billion respectively. Contracts are also held with the Boeing subsidiaries Aviation Training International Ltd and Jeppesen UK Ltd amounting to £415.91 million and £6.59 million respectively.

    The proportion of work by value carried out in the UK is around 53 per cent. This figure is based on direct contracts where the location of work code indicates that work is undertaken in the UK.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to increase the participation of people living with disabilities in (a) sports and (c) the arts.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government recognises the importance of sport and physical activity to disabled people who take part at both grassroots and the elite level. Our new sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, emphasises the importance of getting people active, particularly those groups currently under-represented, including disabled people.

    Between 2011 and 2017 Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport. It published its own strategy for England,Towards an Active Nation on 19 May, which sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. This includes a specific focus on disabled people who are less likely to regularly take part in physical activity.

    We believe that everyone should have access to arts and culture – having a disability should not be a barrier to enjoying Britain’s awe-inspiring cultural treasures. That is why we are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access. Arts Council England has also made a significant change in its approach to diversity by launching The Creative Case for Diversity, which asks the organisations it funds to make themselves and their work more reflective of the communities they serve. As part of Arts Council’s investment in diversity and The Creative Case, four new strategic funds for diversity were announced in December 2015, totaling £8.6 million. This included a new £2.6 million Change Makers fund to build long-term relationships between National Portfolio Organisations and aspiring arts leaders from the BME and deaf and disabled communities, and Unlimited, which will support the development of a range of new work by deaf and disabled artists.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the recent National Evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme report.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The National Institute of Economic and Social Research Impact Study was just one of 6 reports comprising the independent evaluation of the first Troubled Families Programme. The evaluation found that the programme had many positive achievements. These include:

    • Families feeling more confident and optimistic about being able to cope in the future
    • Joining up local services for families by encouraging a single keyworker approach to work with the whole family on all of its problems
    • Raising the quality and capacity of local data systems
    • Better joint working with partners such as Jobcentre Plus

    The data shows that nearly 120,000 of the families on this programme saw their lives improve – more children attending school, youth crime and anti-social behaviour significantly cut and, in more than 18,000 families, an adult holding down a job. The evaluation does not dispute this fact.

    Unsurprisingly, the ambitious and innovative impact study which used national administrative datasets to track changes in families circumstances over comparatively short time periods, was unable to specifically attribute positive outcomes achieved in employment, youth crime or school attendance to the Troubled Families Programme.

    This was because at that time the level of change achieved was not significantly different from that seen in a group of families not on the programme with whom comparisons were made. This is not the same, however, as saying that the evaluation shows family outcomes did not improve, as some have wrongly inferred.

    Of course, we will continue to review all evidence of how the programme is working, to learn from it and see if there’s more we can do to help families facing such multiple problems. In fact, we have already adapted the new programme in a number of ways, including extending the length of time over which family outcomes will be tracked – from 12 months to 5 years.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the future funding of illegal money lending teams.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is exploring a number of options to ensure that the England and Wales Illegal Money Lending Teams have the funding they need to ensure that consumers continue to be protected from illegal loan sharks and is confident of transitional arrangements being agreed.