Tag: 2016

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department provides to partner organisations on using the HM Revenue and Customs logo in such a way as to make it clear to consumers the difference between legitimate partner organisations and scam websites.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has strict brand guidelines around the use of its logo. Only in very occasional circumstances will it allow a third-party supplier to use the HMRC logo alongside its own, when it is providing direct services to customers on behalf of HMRC.

    HMRC is among the most phished brands in the world and is constantly vigilant against the fraudulent use of its logo and brand. Where such misuse is identified, HMRC will take a range of actions to protect customers from fraud, including:

    • demanding the removal of the logo by the third party
    • legal action
    • working with internet service providers to remove websites
    • proactively publicising to customers when new phishing websites are found
      • providing publicity advice to keep safe online.

      Since July 2014, HMRC has closed 22,210 fake websites.

      The Government also provides guidance on gov.uk on the types of genuine communication that customers can expect from the department.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have applied to the National Enterprise Allowance scheme in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    Claimants who are interested in participating in the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) are referred by their work coach to a provider so that they can explore the self-employment options. Participation is voluntary.

    The take up of the NEA is closely linked to the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which begun to drop in 2013 – 2014. It is also worth noting that during 2013 the Department ran a high profile marketing campaign to promote the NEA, using posters & leaflets in jobcentres, YouTube videos, Webinars etc. which may also have influenced take up of the scheme in that year.

    The table below shows how many starts there were with a business mentor in each financial year.

    NEA mentor starts by financial year (1)

    Number (2,3)

    April 2011 – March 2012

    15,170

    April 2012 – March 2013

    31,880

    April 2013 – March 2014

    47,800

    April 2014 – March 2015

    39,830

    April 2015 – September 2015 (six months)

    18,200

    (1) Data Source – DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database October 2015 for all quarters, DWP PRaP database October 2015 for Jan-Sept 2015.

    (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

    (3) It is possible that an individual may start to work with a mentor more than once and therefore appear more than once in these figures.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for universal credit have been made by people whose temporary employment contract has expired since the introduction of that credit.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit is paid on the basis of earnings. Information on types of contracts that claimants are on is not routinely collected.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value of munitions and sonobuoys he expects his Department to purchase for use on the P-8A aircraft (a) in each year of the life of that aircraft, (b) from each country of manufacture and (c) of each product name; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33059 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health and (b) International Development on implementation of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

    Matthew Hancock

    In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 38024, how many visits to the Pensions Wise website were by consumers seeking pensions advice for personal use.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Pension Wise is a free and impartial guidance service which helps people aged 50 and over understand what they can do with their defined contribution pension pot(s). The service does not offer regulated financial advice.

    The Pension Wise service is aimed at members of the public. To the end of May 2016, Pension Wise has had over 2.6 million visits to the website since launch. It does not hold information that distinguishes between visitors to its website.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32920, what processes his Department uses to collect information on allegations of fraudulent benefit claims; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of those processes.

    Caroline Nokes

    There are a variety of ways that allegations of Benefit Fraud are collected and received by the DWP including telephone calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline, online and Letter and Data matching. Once an allegation has been received and, if it meets the required criteria containing enough information, a Fraud Referral Form is completed which is then entered into the internal Fraud Referral and Information Management System.

    The effectiveness of these processes is measured by statistics produced and published in May each year and made available in the public domain. These statistics are used to evaluate, develop and support fraud and error policy, strategy and operational decisions.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Asian Restaurant Skills Board.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Asian Restaurant Skills Board is an independent industry-led initiative set up to promote the opportunities that the Asian cuisine industry offers for exciting and rewarding careers, increasing social mobility and celebrating the importance of Asian cuisine in modern Britain. DCLG has worked closely with the Board, helping it to promote the industry through a publicity campaign and raise funding for four degree-level scholarships in Asian Cuisine at the University of West London.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the performance against its aims of the Government’s productivity plan, entitled Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, published in July 2015.

    Joseph Johnson

    Productivity growth is a key economic challenge for this Parliament. Productivity, measured as output per hour worked, grew by 1.3% in the third quarter of 2015 compared to a year earlier.

    We are now in the process of implementing the Productivity Plan, with Ministers and officials overseeing delivery through cross-Whitehall boards and Cabinet Committees. We are making good progress, specifically:

    • The rate and scope of the Apprenticeships Levy has been confirmed, bringing us closer to a sustainable funding system to boost skills and put employers in the driving seat.
    • The Cutting Red Tape Programme aims to cut at least £10 billion of unnecessary regulation.
    • The Housing and Planning Bill, now awaiting its Committee stage in the House of Lords, was introduced to boost house building and accelerate planning decisions.
    • New devolution deals have been signed with Sheffield, the North East, Tees Valley, Liverpool and West Midlands.
    • Proposals have been made to increase the quality of teaching and student choice in higher education.
    • The Productivity Leadership Group, chaired by Sir Charlie Mayfield, is progressing well and will report in the summer.
    • We have continued to protect the science budget in real terms to the end of the Parliament, and are protecting in cash terms the funding through Innovate UK.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Freedom of Information requests his Department has received from hon. Members since the coming into force of the Act.

    Matthew Hancock

    Due to the nature of the way FOI requests are recorded it is unfortunately not possible to identify the number of requests from all former and existing Cabinet Office Ministers or honourable members except at disproportionate cost.