Tag: 2016

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of tax credit investigations carried out by Concentrix under its contract with his Department have resulted in findings of (a) fraud and (b) error in the claim.

    Mr David Gauke

    As at 21 February 2016 Concentrix had closed around 440,000 cases. Around 390,000 of these resulted in no amendment to the award. Around 50,000 awards have been amended, though HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold information on how many of these were cancelled and how many adjusted.

    HMRC does not separate out the number of awards that were amended for error and from the number amended for fraud.

    On appeals, I refer the member to the answer I provided on 15 February 2016 to question 26041.

  • 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 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he took to take into account the rules on conflicts of interest set out in (a) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, (b) Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Rules of Conduct and (c) Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct in the recruitment process for the recently-appointed Pubs Code Adjudicator; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    • Paul Newby was appointed in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ (OCPA) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.
    • His prior experience of the pubs sector as a surveyor and arbitrator and his ability to forge trusted relationships with both tenants and PubCos is an asset, not a conflict of interest.
    • The appointment panel discussed conflicts of interest with him at interview. The Panel was satisfied there were no conflicts of interest, and put this advice to ministers.
    • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators membership were not requirements for this post, so the documents referred to are not directly relevant to the appointment process.
  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to establish a new whistleblowing reporting line for NHS professionals who wish to report abuse, neglect or safeguarding concerns.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a ‘Freedom to Speak up Guardian’ who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture.

    There are a number of routes for NHS staff to report a suspected or known wrongdoing, either to their employer or to a prescribed person including their professional body, or the Care Quality Commission (CQC). All whistleblowing concerns raised with the CQC are forwarded to the local inspector for consideration. This allows the CQC to identify problems or concerns in local services that it may need to act upon.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which GP practice lists in West Sussex have been closed in the last 12 months; and for what reasons each such list was closed.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England has advised that two surgeries in West Sussex have closed their practice lists. This information does not account for any practice list closure that may have occurred in April 2016 and May 2016.

    Ship Street Surgery in East Grinstead applied to formally close their patient list to new patient registrations, which was approved for a six month period from 1 April 2016, with a review after three months. Additionally, Bridge Medical Centre in Crawley also recently applied to NHS England to formally close its list to new patients, which was approved for a period of 12 months from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, subject to a review at three months.

    NHS England advises there has been increased demand on general practitioner services in the area due to new housing developments. NHS England is working with the practices and Horsham and Mid Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group to put in place action plans to address the situation in East Grinstead.

  • Desmond Swayne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Desmond Swayne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Desmond Swayne on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the habitats regulation assessment for the Latchmore Wetland Restoration Project in the New Forest.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    A habitat regulations assessment has not been undertaken. Where a project is carried out with the written consent of Natural England and is necessary to the management of the site, as in the case of the Latchmore Wetland Restoration Scheme, there is no requirement for an assessment under The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010.

    A voluntary Environmental Impact Assessment has been undertaken by the Forestry Commission as part of the planning application for the Latchmore Wetland Restoration and this is available on the planning authority web site, the New Forest National Park Authority.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school leavers in (a) Warley constituency and (b) Sandwell who went to university in the last five years for which figures are available were (i) entitled and (ii) not entitled to free school meals.

    Joseph Johnson

    Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing key stage 5 study (A level and other level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, before progressing to study at a UK higher education institution for at least two terms the following year, in each of the last five years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in Year 11.

    The table below show figures for the Warley constituency for the years 2010/11 to 2014/15. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten, in line with how published information was shown in these years. Percentages are calculated using unrounded figures.

    In each of the last five years, 20 to 60 students in the Warley constituency (rounded to the nearest ten), who had been eligible for free school meals in Year 11 and completed key stage 5 study, progressed to higher education. This compares to between 140 and 190 students who had not been eligible for free school meals. Due to the small numbers of students involved, these proportions have varied year on year.

    Comparable information on pupil destinations for Sandwell is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

    Number of students completing KS5

    Number at UK Higher Education Institution

    % at UK Higher Education Institution (calculated on unrounded figures)

    (rounded to nearest 10)

    (rounded to nearest 10)

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    2014/15 (2013/14 KS5 cohort)

    90

    300

    60

    190

    65%

    65%

    2013/14 (2012/13 KS5 cohort)

    70

    340

    40

    190

    57%

    56%

    2012/13 (2011/12 KS5 cohort)

    60

    250

    30

    140

    56%

    56%

    2011/12 (2010/11 KS5 cohort)

    90

    280

    60

    180

    65%

    63%

    2010/11 (2009/10 KS5 cohort)

    40

    210

    20

    150

    47%

    70%

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were barred from working with (a) children and (b) vulnerable adults in each of the last five years; and how many of those decisions were (i) automatic bars due to a criminal conviction which did not allow for representations, (ii) automatic bars due to a criminal conviction which did allow for representations and (iii) discretionary bars.

    Karen Bradley

    Tables 1 and 2 show the number of people who were added to the Children’s and Adults’ Barred Lists in each of the last five calendar years.

    It is not possible to separate Autobar with or without representations before 2012. Some individuals are included in both the Children’s and Adults’ Barred list.

    In 2012, a ‘Test for Regulated Activity’ was introduced meaning that barring now applies only to those who are, have been, or will be working closely with vulnerable groups.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the merits of making public the rules for country-by-country reporting of tax and profits by multinational companies.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. The UK initiated the international work on country-by-country reporting during its G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for country-by-country (CbC) reporting as part of the BEPS project.

    The UK was the first out of 44 to commit to implement the OECD model for CbC reporting with legislation in Finance Act 2015.

    We understand that the Commission is also undertaking an analysis of the various tax transparency requirements for multinationals as part of its public consultation, and we look forward to the outcomes of this work.

    The Government recognises the case for publishing country-by-country reports on a multilateral basis.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of full-time members of staff in his Department work on the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

    James Wharton

    The Northern Powerhouse is a key ambition of this Government and requires input from officials across my Department and other Government Departments across a wide range of policy areas. This enables bottom-up ownership of the Northern Powerhouse agenda by Northern areas to drive evidence and strategic policymaking to ensure the North can influence, direct and benefit from the Northern Powerhouse, including through Devolution Deals.

  • Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the staff who manage the gardens within the Downing Street estate are employed as civil servants; whether such staff are enrolled under the civil service pension scheme; and under what terms and conditions such staff are employed with what pension entitlement.

    Matthew Hancock

    The staff who manage the gardens within the Downing Street estate are not civil servants. The Royal Parks agency are contracted to manage and maintain the gardens in Downing Street.