Tag: 2016

Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce when construction of the Isham bypass in Wellingborough constituency will (a) commence and (b) be finished.

Andrew Jones

Funding for the proposed Isham Bypass (also known as the A509 Wellingborough Development Link) was provisionally approved by the Government in 2014 as part of the Northamptonshire Growth Deal. This approval is subject to the scheme promoters, Northamptonshire County Council, obtaining any necessary statutory permissions and submitting to the Department a Final Business Case for approval.

The Council expects to submit a Final Business Case in March 2017. Ministers will then make a final funding decision, as quickly as possible thereafter, on whether to support the scheme. The Council’s current programme is to start construction in September 2017 and to open the completed road in April 2019.

01/01/2023
Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many high-frequency traders have been investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority for predatory practices.

Harriett Baldwin

It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on any ongoing investigations. This is an operational matter for the FCA which is an independent regulator. I have transferred this question across to them and they will respond fully in due course.

The Government is clear that any attempted manipulation of any financial market is completely unacceptable. The integrity of the City matters to the economy of Britain, and that is why the Government is taking action at home, in Europe, and globally, to ensure that this behaviour is punished and that similar scandals cannot occur again.

The Government has taken a number of steps to strengthen financial regulation in the UK. These include introducing the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to provide for effective regulation of individual conduct and accountability in the banking sector. The Bank of England and Financial Services Bill, now before the House of Commons, will extend this regime to cover all authorised financial services firms, including dealers in securities and other non-banks which may engage in high-frequency trading (HFT).

The Government has supported the European Union (EU) Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2 (MiFID 2), which from 2017 will alter the regulatory landscape in relation to automated trading including HFT. As part of this, HFT firms will be required to disclose information concerning their trading activities to their regulator in order to increase the regulatory supervision of these markets.

01/01/2023
Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems in reducing the number of road traffic accidents.

Andrew Jones

The Department has not made any detailed assessment of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems, but we are aware that a number of studies have highlighted the potential for a reduction in collisions. Most trucks exceeding 8 tonnes and coaches registered after 1 November 2015 are fitted with it, and we support measures by EuroNCAP to encourage its fitment in new cars.

01/01/2023
Rebecca Pow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of tree disease on (a) existing woodland and (b) the restoration of planted ancient woodland.

Rory Stewart

Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and our health. Defra is committed to protecting our borders from pests and building the resilience of our trees and plants.

We assess the impacts of pests and disease threats on trees and plants and take a risk-based approach to ensure that our response is directed towards priority pests and diseases and their respective pathways. We have produced a prioritised plant health risk register which is used to identify risks and agree priorities for action.

The Forestry Commission has a comprehensive monitoring and surveillance programme in place for tree pests and diseases in woodlands. Maps of the latest confirmed findings are available on its website:

www.forestry.gov.uk/pestsanddiseases

Defra has funded research to ‘Assess and address the impacts of ash dieback on UK woodlands and trees of conservation importance’. The published report includes a series of case studies on sites of ancient woodland and is available at:

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5273931279761408

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01/01/2023
Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether during his meeting with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh on 28 March 2016 he (a) discussed human rights in that country (b) made representations about Ali a Nimr, Dawood al Mahroon and Abdullah al Zaher.

Michael Fallon

During my visit I had discussions with senior Saudi leadership on a range of defence and security issues, including the importance of International Humanitarian Law. The government of Saudi Arabia is well aware of our views on human rights and our opposition to the death penalty. Our expectation remains that these three individuals will not be executed.

01/01/2023
Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Inglewood on 2016-05-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of leaving the EU on businesses that trade with Europe, and how those businesses may communicate that impact.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with my noble Friend.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has investigated, in his Department’s work assessing the reasons for delays and cancellations on the Brighton Mainline, whether or not GTR are preventing staff who took part in recent strike action from working overtime; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

GTR are providing the Department with information on the current disruption in line with their franchise agreement. Management of staff is a matter between GTR and its employees, however I have been assured by GTR that it is not the case that they are preventing staff who participated in industrial action from working overtime.

01/01/2023
Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many citizens of other EU countries work in (a) his Department and (b) agencies and other bodies for which his Department is responsible.

Guto Bebb

No citizens of EU countries other than the UK work in the Wales Office, and the department is not responsible for any other agencies or bodies.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on proposals made by his German counterpart that an EU-wide petrol tax be levied to fund aid for Syrian refugees; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The financing system for the EU budget for 2014-2020 was agreed in 2013, when the Prime Minister secured the UK objectives of no new own resources or EU-wide taxes to finance EU spending, and no change to the UK rebate. This House ratified that deal last summer.

The Government’s position remains unchanged. The UK retains its veto over any proposed change to the financing system for the EU budget, and over any EU tax legislation. The Government will not sign up to anything that undermines the UK’s tax sovereignty.

01/01/2023

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, what his Department’s policy is on using debt collection agencies for collection of outstanding payments.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

01/01/2023