Tag: 2016

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the tax claims stopped directly by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the last 12 months had previously been referred to Concentrix by HMRC as high risk renewals.

    Jane Ellison

    Between 1 August 2016 and 31 August 2016 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) automatically stopped 365,483 tax credit claims as a direct result of customers failing to comply with the requirements of the annual renewal process.

    Alongside the annual renewal process, HMRC records the number of awards that have been amended, which could be stopped, reduced or increased. Therefore, data showing the total number of claims stopped following a compliance intervention is unavailable.

    During the course of the contract, HMRC delegated a total caseload of 2,209,500 cases for high risk renewal checks by Concentrix. Of these 1,635,676 cases were not the subject of further investigation for fraud or error by Concentrix. This amounts to 74% of the total caseload.

    The volume of high risk renewals referred to Concentrix are broken down into the three risk categories as follows:

    • Undeclared Partner: 1,398,908

    • Work & Hours: 564,983

    • Child Care: 245,609

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to publish written guidlines for British drone strikes.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Unmanned drones are no different from any other weapon system and subject to the same legal and other frameworks. We have no plans to publish any guidelines. I refer the hon. Member to the evidence provided by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 16 December 2015 to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how often his Department publishes details of special advisers and their pay grades during a Parliament.

    Matthew Hancock

    Annually.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral Answer by the Prime Minister, 2 March 2016, Official Report, column 946, if he will take steps to publish data on the number of active National Insurance numbers attributable to non-UK EU nationals.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the honourable members to the recent HMRC release.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-credit-statistics-on-eea-nationals

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  • Lord Cashman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Cashman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Cashman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ensure that the Government is represented by a Minister at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference that will take place in Uruguay from 13 to 15 July.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As I set out to the House of Lords on the 21 March, the composition of the UK’s delegation at the Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Intersex (LGBTI) Human Rights Conference in July is not yet finalised. It is expected to include selected officials with experience of working on LGBTI human rights issues, including from the Department for International Development and the UK’s mission to the UN in Geneva. The Chargé d’Affaires at our Embassy in Montevideo will also attend. We will continue to keep the level of proposed attendance at the conference under review, but at the moment it seems unlikely that a Minister will be able to attend. With the exception of the co-hosts, the Governments of the Netherlands and Uruguay, we judge that it remains likely that countries will be represented at official level.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department has set to ensure that people who carry out personal independence payment assessments for Capita are fully qualified medically.

    Justin Tomlinson

    All Health Professionals (HPs) undertaking assessments on behalf of DWP must be registered practitioners who have also met requirements around training, experience and competence.

    Approval to work as an HP must be conferred by the DWP Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

    For the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, they must be an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience.

    In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. This means that all HPs receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying out an assessment the HP routinely refreshes their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts will be involved in the problem-solving courts pilot programme; and how much funding has been allocated to those pilots.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.

    Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to undertake a consultation with farmers and farmers’ organisations on any proposal to release lynx into Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    In accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Natural England, as the licensing authority, considers any application for the reintroduction of former native species in England.

    No application has been received to reintroduce lynx into England. If a licence application is received Natural England would consider it carefully in accordance with appropriate international guidelines, taking account of socio-economic impacts and the impact on the welfare of the animals themselves.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the recent fall in the value of sterling on the cost of constructing the Successor submarines.

    Harriett Baldwin

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2016 to Question 48369 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman).

  • Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to include generic medicines which are required to have a brand name by the MHRA and are already subject to market competition alongside originator medicines in the Statutory Scheme of Control the Prices of Branded Health Service Medicines.

    George Freeman

    The Department consulted on options to amend the Statutory Scheme regulations which control the prices of branded health service medicines. Both the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and the statutory scheme include all health service medicines with a brand name, including those required by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to have a brand name. The Department did not propose any changes to the scope of the statutory scheme in this respect and has not made an estimate of the cost of removing those branded medicines from the statutory scheme.

    The Department received responses from a range of organisations including National Health Service, independent bodies and pharmaceutical industry. The Department is currently analysing the responses from a range of organisations including NHS, independent bodies and pharmaceutical industry.

    The consultation and impact assessment can be accessed using the following link.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pricing-of-branded-health-service-medicines

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