The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average cost to the public purse was of processing a mandatory reconsideration of a (a) universal credit and (b) jobseeker’s allowance sanction in the latest period for which figures are available.
Priti Patel
The information is not available at the level of detail requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2016 to Question 42766, whether he has accepted the recommendation of the independent Mental Health Taskforce in its report published in February 2016 to bring together an expert group to examine the needs of children who are particularly vulnerable to developing mental health problems, including those with long-term conditions.
Nicola Blackwood
The Government has accepted the recommendations set out in the Mental Health Taskforce report including the recommendation that: “The Departments of Education and Health should establish an expert group to examine the needs of children who are particularly vulnerable to developing mental health problems and how their needs should best be met, including through the provision of personalised budgets.” The focus of the group that has been set up, which met for the first time in July, is on looked after and adopted children and care leavers, all of whom are considered particularly vulnerable to mental health problems.
There are currently no plans to set up any other group to look into the needs of children who are vulnerable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of child maintenance arrears.
Caroline Nokes
We have at our disposal a range of strong enforcement powers, intended to ensure all parents fulfil their financial responsibilities towards their children. We use all of the powers available to us where it is appropriate to do so, and we are seeking to extend these where appropriate, for instance by deducting money from bank accounts held jointly by the paying parent.
We take into consideration a number of factors when deciding if and what type of enforcement action to take, including the welfare of any relevant children involved and the likelihood of collecting monies owed. Taking enforcement action can be a costly process, particularly in cases where the paying parent is determined not to pay – we must therefore ensure we maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our enforcement system, deciding what is appropriate on a case by case basis and using powers that have the greatest chance of ensuring people meet their obligations and securing money for children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax avoidance schemes are registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under (a) the disclosure regime for VAT and (b) the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes; how many individuals are registered with each of those schemes; how many (i) individuals and (ii) schemes HMRC has estimated will be issued with accelerated payment notices (APNs) in (A) 2014-15, (B) 2015-16 and (C) 2016-17; and how many (1) individuals and (2) schemes HMRC has issued with APNs.
Mr David Gauke
Statistics in connection with the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS) and VAT Avoidance Regime are published on the GOV.UK website. The most recent figures, which are due to be updated shortly, are available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/379821/HMRC_-_Tax_avoidance_disclosure_statistics_1_Aug_2004_to_30_Sept_2014.pdf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Meacher on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many breaches of the School Admissions Code there have been as a consequence of groups and organisations being able to object to schools’ admission arrangements.
Lord Nash
The Schools Adjudicator reports annually to the Secretary of State on fair access, and this report includes information on the objections referred to the Schools Adjudicator and the outcomes of those objections. The Department is carefully considering the findings contained in the report and will take these into account, along with other relevant information, as part of the current review of the School Admissions Code.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to increase the number of public appointments of women in the last three months.
Matthew Hancock
The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments and has an aspiration that 50% of new public appointees should be women. We are making good progress, with 44% of new appointments made to women in 2014-2015 and a higher proportion of all public appointments (new appointments and reappointments) went to women last year than at any other point previously recorded.
The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office supports departments on all issues relating to the diversity of public appointments. Steps we are taking to increase diversity include streamlining the application process, placing an emphasis on ability over previous experience, and increasing awareness of opportunities by using a central website, social media.
I hosted an event in February for a variety of diversity networks to encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply for Public Appointments and to advertise them in their own networks. The Cabinet Office is also represented at events run by diversity networks to raise awareness of the opportunities available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for the role of the local education authority in the provision of state education after the conversion of state-maintained schools to academies.
Edward Timpson
As set out in the Department’s recently published White Paper, ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, in a fully academised system, local authorities (LAs) will have more clearly defined responsibilities in representing the interests of pupils and parents. LA’s education responsibilities will focus on:
Ensuring every child has a school place
Ensuring the needs of vulnerable pupils are met
Acting as champions for all parents and families
Further information on the fully academised system and the role of local authorities can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of emission tests undertaken by car manufacturers in the UK.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As part of the exhaust emissions approval process vehicle manufacturers are obliged to undertake in-use emissions testing. They are required to submit a report of their results at regular intervals or when requested to do so by the approval authority. In accordance with EU regulation 715/2007, the authority will review the information and accept or reject the report. The UK type approval authority is the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) and they ensure manufacturers follow this process where they are the issuing approval authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support and spread awareness of cyber security insurance amongst businesses.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government is committed to making the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online and we recognise the role cyber insurance can play as part of a broader risk management strategy.
In March 2015 the Government published a report on the joint initiatives between Government and the insurance sector to tackle cyber risk. The report is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cyber-security-insurance-new-steps-to-make-uk-world-centre
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has paid Cerner in the last 10 years.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Department has not, over the last 10 years, made payments to Cerner for National Health Service systems. The Department does not hold information centrally about contracts that are held by NHS Trusts locally.