Tag: 2016

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the level of accuracy of the credit records held by credit reporting agencies; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    When consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014, the Government decided that, given their central role in helping to inform responsible lending decisions, CRAs should be directly regulated by the FCA. As such, every credit reference agency’s fitness to trade is being assessed as part of the FCA’s robust authorisation process

    Information on a credit report should be purely factual; for example, if arrears were incurred, those lenders who share data through the credit reference agencies will have recorded them.

    A credit reference agency is able to correct factually inaccurate information. However, it is the original lender or organisation that supplies credit to a consumer that provides the agencies with the information held on a credit report. Where inaccurate information has been reported to a credit reference agency, a consumer must contact the lender in the first instance.

    If a problem with inaccurate data is not resolved satisfactorily with a lender, consumers are able to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is able to investigate and take action where necessary. The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights, and it enforces the Data Protection Act.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) connectivity and (b) affordability of rail travel between Stoke-on-Trent and London.

    Paul Maynard

    For the next InterCity West Coast franchise we ran a public consultation from 10 May to 2 August this year seeking both the public’s and stakeholders’ views and priorities to help inform potential bidders to ensure they meet the needs of the passengers. This included questions about connectivity and minimum levels of service. We are now reviewing and analysing the information and a summary will be published in due course.

    We have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (Retail Price Index) for four years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this parliament. This means those fares we regulate will rise by no more than 1.9% in 2017.

    Passengers on long-distance routes such as Stoke on Trent to London can also benefit from unregulated Advance fares, which have helped to make some leisure travel services significantly cheaper for passengers who are able to book ahead and commit themselves to travelling on a specific departure, and has also helped to fill emptier trains.

  • David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) which food banks he has visited since taking office.

    Damian Hinds

    Details of Ministerial UK official visits and official meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly and made available on the gov.uk website.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish an impact assessment in respect of the Universal Credit (Work Allowance) Amendment Regulations 2015.

    Priti Patel

    The impact of the work allowance change cannot be considered in isolation – it is part of a broader package of measures announced at the Summer Budget, such as the increase to the personal tax allowance and introduction of the national living wage.

  • Mark Prisk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Prisk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Prisk on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to increase the £250,000 threshold for properties outside London under the Help to Buy ISA scheme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government does not plan to revise the eligibility criteria for the Help to Buy: ISA scheme.

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27251, what estimate she has made of the cost of testing badgers in cull areas; and when she expects to make a decision on testing to assess the impact of the Government’s policy.

    George Eustice

    Costed options for cost effective surveillance for TB in badgers are being prepared

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to publish an updated timetable for commencing the building of the first T26 Global Combat Ship.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We are working with industry to develop an optimised schedule for the T26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme. As part of this, on 22 March 2016, we announced that agreement had been reached with BAE Systems on the award of a contract to extend the T26 GCS Demonstration Phase to June 2017.

    In addition to maturing further the detailed ship design, investing in Shore Testing Facilities, and extending our investment in the wider supply chain, this extension to the Demonstration Phase will allow us to continue the work to develop a revised baseline for the programme.

    The timing of the award of the contract to build the Type 26 Global Combat Ships will be central to this re-baselining work and, in due course, a revised programme will be produced and considered through the normal investment approvals process. An announcement on the timing of the award of a T26 GCS build contract will be made at the appropriate time.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under the age of (a) 18 and (b) 16 reported to hospital having taken more than the recommended daily allowance of non-prescription painkillers in (i) the last 12 months and (ii) each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not collected centrally.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the goal is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The UK currently fields the Trident Mk4 warhead as part of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. In order to ensure continuity of the Mk4-based capability, the Mk4A Arming, Fuzing and Firing system is a non-nuclear component being introduced into the UK Trident warhead to replace a similar component. The Mk4A programme will not increase the destructive power of the warhead.

    Approval to procure the new Arming, Firing and Fuzing mechanisms, to manage obsolescence in Mk4 and to adopt a Mk4A component was given in January 2006. I am withholding further details of the date of the Mk4A component’s entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the extension in operational life expected for the purposes of safeguarding national security.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the closure of the independent living fund on people who received payments from that fund prior to its closure.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government has fully funded local authorities to meet their additional obligations to service users previously in receipt of the Independent Living Fund for the remainder of this Parliament.

    When the Department closed the Independent Living Fund, a commitment was made to conduct research into the impact of the closure. This will be based on interviews with former users and with Local Authorities. The research is on-going and will be published in due course.