Tag: 2016

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will enter negotiations with her US counterpart to have the ban on British haggis imports to that country lifted once the UK has left the EU.

    George Eustice

    We are working with the US authorities to ensure the restrictions on British lamb are lifted as soon as possible. The US has a longstanding ban on the use of animal lungs as food, but the Scottish haggis industry is working on a US-specific recipe to allow the industry access to the US market at the earliest opportunity.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people no longer receive the disability premium following their transfer from receipt of disability living allowance to personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Disability premium is an extra amount automatically added to Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for those who qualify.

    Information on the payment of this premium for those who were also receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and have now transferred to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with the government of France about refugees and migrants near Calais and Dunkirk; whether those discussions include the provision of better information for camp dwellers and better coordination of volunteers and relief supplies; and when they will report to Parliament about those discussions.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is in regular discussion with French counterparts at ministerial and official level on all aspects of the migrant situation in Northern France.

    In line with the UK-France Joint Declaration signed in August 2015, both countries carry out joint communications visits to the camps in Calais and Dunkirk to inform migrants about their rights and responsibilities.

    The coordination of volunteers, charities and NGOs in France is the responsibility of the French authorities. However, the UK has issued advice for UK residents who want to help or donate to support migrants in Calais. The advice, offered directly on the FCO travel advice website (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france) is to give to registered and experienced humanitarian charities who are best placed to distribute donations in an organised manner.

    Ministers regularly update Parliament on all aspects of the situation in Northern France.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the demolition of the Calais camp known as the jungle on the number of migrants entering into the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK and French Governments have been working closely for many months to address the situation in Northern France, and are committed to resolving it together.

    The Joint Declaration, signed by the Home Secretary and the French Interior Ministry in August 2015, committed both countries to a package of work to improve physical security at the ports, to coordinate the law enforcement response, to tackle the criminal gangs involved in people smug-gling and to reduce the number of migrants in Calais.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Indonesia.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our Embassy in Jakarta engages with a wide range of Indonesian civil society organisations and regularly seeks their assessments of the human rights situation. Indonesia has a strong tradition of religious diversity and tolerance but there has been a rise in recent years of localised instances of inter- and intra-religious conflict and examples where the rights of religious and other minority groups have not been protected.

    We will continue to raise our concerns on these important issues with the Indonesian authorities.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to legislate to make restaurants and food outlets display their hygiene ratings.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has responsibility for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The FSA has been monitoring the impact of mandatory display of ratings at food outlets in Wales and will look closely at the evidence from this. It is anticipated that proposals will be presented to the Government by the end of the year.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has discussed with the devolved administrations inserting the new anti-lobbying clause into their government grants.

    Matthew Hancock

    Officials in the Cabinet Office Grants Efficiency Programme team held preliminary discussions with the devolved administrations as part of the implementation of the grants clause. However, as announced on 27 April, the implementation of the clause has been paused pending a review of the representations made and we will take a decision on the form of the clause following this review. Revised guidance will be published in due course.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on offences under section 4A of the Protection from Harassment 1998 Act being referred to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue leniency.

    Robert Buckland

    Neither of these offences are covered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and therefore the Law Officers have no power to refer sentences for these offences to the Court of Appeal.

    The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has for the revised UK-Malawi tax treaty to be signed.

    Jane Ellison

    As is usual in any negotiation, the text of a tax treaty remains confidential between the two governments during the negotiations. It is not therefore possible to comment on the contents of a treaty before it is signed.

    The majority of the UK’s double taxation treaties are based on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention. However, some developing countries prefer to follow the United Nations Model, whose provisions differ in some respects from the OECD Model, including in the “permanent establishment” article. Many of the UK’s treaties with developing countries contain at least some of these provisions. A treaty will be signed only when both governments are satisfied with its contents.

    It has long been the UK’s policy to include robust anti-abuse provisions in its tax treaties to ensure that they operate as intended and in particular that residents of third countries cannot indirectly benefit from their provisions.

    The text of the new treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016 Malawi raised some further points for consideration, which we will work together on. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published. Parliament will scrutinise the revised agreement, as part of the affirmative Statutory Instruments procedures, before the treaty can enter into force.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK economy of late payments to SMEs in each of the last five years.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department does not hold the information required. However, BACS data shows that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.[1]

    The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors.

    The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.

    The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a requirement for all public-sector buyers to publish annually, from 2017, their liability to debt interest payments. In central government we have gone further and faster. We will be publishing against these requirements quarterly from April this year. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

    Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

    Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

    [1] BACS Data June 2015.