Tag: 2016

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what work his Department is undertaking on establishing the amount of income tax and national insurance that is paid by people who were non-UK nationals at the time of issue of their national insurance number; if his Department will undertake that analysis by nationality; and what plans his Department has to publish the outcome of such work.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to providing data on active National Insurance numbers used by people from other EU countries.

    HMRC is currently compiling this information and is working closely with the ONS, which is currently reconciling the four main sources of international migration data.

    The data on active National Insurance numbers will be published as part of or alongside the ONS’ publication. It’s up to that independent statistics authority as to when they are ready to make the information public.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will take steps to ensure that (a) the UK is energy secure and independent and (b) reliance on foreign gas supplies and cross border electrical connections coupled with decommissioning of UK energy resources does not result in an energy shortage in the UK in the next 10 years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Energy security is my top priority. The Department will take the steps needed to ensure hard working families and business have the energy they need, including from overseas where this adds to the diversity and cost effectiveness of our energy supplies.

    Interconnection provides greater security of supply as we import from a diverse generation mix, allowing us to access, for example, Norway’s large amounts of hydropower.

    The UK has an open and competitive gas market in which gas is traded freely. Gas enters the UK system from a range of sources including the UK Continental Shelf, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the LNG imports. This diverse and flexible range of domestic and foreign supplies ensures security of supply, encourages competition and helps to lower energy costs for British consumers and industry.

  • Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the relationship between the inability to pay high rents and the risk of homelessness, what they are doing to ensure access to social housing.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The statutory requirement to consider ‘reasonable preference’ prioritises social housing for those who need it the most. The provisions in the Housing and Planning Act that ensure new tenancies are regularly reviewed will enable councils to get the best use out of their social housing.

    To enable local authorities to help claimants affected by changes to Housing Benefit who need extra support, we have also increased the level of funding for Discretionary Housing Payment to £870 million in total across this Parliament – a notional 55 per cent increase compared to the previous Parliament.

    Whilst households who face homelessness need suitable, settled accommodation it does not always need to be social housing. That is why we changed the law to allow authorities to make offers of good quality private rented sector accommodation. Since 2010 our homelessness prevention funding has helped local authorities and homelessness charities prevent almost a million households from becoming homeless. We want this work to continue and that is why we have maintained and protected homelessness prevention funding though the local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20.

    The government is also committed to delivering affordable housing. Twice as much council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years. The Spending Review in 2016 allocated £8 billion to deliver 400,000 affordable homes this parliament.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to update the Government’s long-term economic plan in response to the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Simon Kirby

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Chancellor earlier today to the Hon Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44687, on trapping, which animal welfare experts were consulted on trap designs and the decision to delay implementation; and for what reason the DOC trap does not meet the Agreement on International Humane Trapping standards.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government uses the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Wildlife Management Centre for advice on trap humaneness.

    Of the species currently covered by the Agreement on International Humane Trapping standards (AIHTS), the stoat is the only species regularly and widely trapped in the UK using spring-traps.

    When we implement the AIHTS for stoat, the most widely used spring-trap (Fenn type) will no longer be approved for use against stoats. To address this issue, Defra aims to implement the AIHTS as soon as is practically possible, but to use a permitted transition provision to allow delayed implementation of the agreement for stoats whilst a suitable compliant design is identified.

    The Fenn type trap is a run-through trap designed to trap animals as they travel through their usual pathways across the landscape.

    The DOC trap meets the required standards but it is only permitted for use as a blind end baited trap. A significant disadvantage of baited traps, such as the DOC, is that stoats will avoid entering baited traps when there is an abundance of preferred food available. These conditions coincide with peak trapping effort to protect game birds and other ground nesting species.

    This has led the Government to conclude that the DOC is not a suitable alternative to the Fenn type trap.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving universal credit and aged under 25 are subject to a 48 hour working week claimant commitment agreement under the terms of the universal credit in-work conditionality pilot.

    Priti Patel

    The main objective of the In-Work Progression Randomised Control Trial is to support people to increase their earnings where possible. This is not necessarily about increasing hours, and there is no expectation that participants should work 48 hours per week. Requirements set as part of the In-Work Progression Randomised Control Trial are recorded in an individually-tailored claimant commitment, and will only include reasonable actions that the participant themselves agree to take.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 10 February (HL5883), why the incorrect reference to the 20 November 2014 answer has been repeated, and whether they will now state what is the annual cost of paying in-work benefits to non-UK citizens from other EU countries in each of the last five years.

    Lord Freud

    The November 2014 answer (HL 5012) incorrectly referred to question number 211618 as having been responded to by Priti Patel, when in fact the answer was provided by Esther McVey.

    I would like to apologise again for this, but would like to be clear that the mistake was to incorrectly state the name of the Minister providing the original response (211618)) and did not relate to the question number. Both responses HL 5012 and 5883 correctly referred the Honourable Lord to question number 211618.

    The original reference to question 211618 was provided because the information has not changed; information on benefit receipt by nationality is not available.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 29325, how much of the 0.6GW diesel generating capacity is (a) privately owned and (b) owned by the Government; and which companies are involved in providing that capacity.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I am not aware of any HM Government Departments or agencies which provide Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) services to National Grid. Short Term Operating Reserve is procured by National Grid, and is subject to commercial confidentiality. DECC does not hold figures on contracts entered into by other Government departments or agencies.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will support the draft UN resolution on protection of medical facilities in conflict and investigations into incidents when such facilities are attacked.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Medical personnel and facilities are entitled to respect and protection under specific provisions in international humanitarian law. We are concerned at the growing number of attacks on medical personnel and facilities in conflict situations. The UK is working with other members of the Security Council on a draft resolution on this issue, and it hopes that a text emerges that all Council members can support. The UK would like the text to reinforce the need for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the provision of humanitarian assistance to be respected.

  • Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for failure by employers to pay the National Minimum Wage have been undertaken since the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 came into force; what plans they have to improve the legal enforcement of the National Minimum Wage; and when those improvements will come into effect.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Act there have been 9 prosecutions for NMW offences.

    However, prosecutions are not necessarily the best approach in most cases. Criminal sanctions against companies mean that employees – the ultimate beneficiaries of enforcing the NMW – end up waiting longer for their lost earnings to be paid back.

    From April this year we increased the civil penalties incurred by non-compliant workers to 200% of the arrears owed to the worker, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker – having recently increased the penalty cap from £5,000 per employer. We have also increased the enforcement budget for the National Minimum and Living Wage to £20 million for this year, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16. The additional funds will be used to bolster HMRC’s resources through an increase in the number of compliance officers available to investigate NMW abuses, as well as to conduct risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is a higher risk of workers not being paid the legal minimum wage.

    We will also continue to publically name and shame eligible employers in Government press notices. We expect this tobe a deterrent to employers who would otherwise be tempted not to pay the NMW, but also an incentive for all employers to make sure that they are consistent with the law.