Tag: Baroness Lister of Burtersett

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of tax credit recipients in paid work have incomes above the income tax threshold.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The government is committed to achieving a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy. That means more emphasis on support to working families on low incomes through reducing tax and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.

The Chancellor is listening to concerns raised by colleagues and will announce in his Autumn Statement how he plans to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits and saving the money we need to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

HM Revenue & Customs publish statistics about individuals and households claiming tax credits and child benefits, which are available on the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether revenue generated from the immigration health surcharge for foreign nationals will be re-directed back into funding for the NHS; and if so, what measures have been put in place to achieve that.

Lord Keen of Elie

All funding derived from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will be spent on the National Health Service, with the exception around £7 million per annum which will be used to fund some costs that fall to the Home Office associated with collecting and handling the surcharge.

The Home Office transfers funds to the Department for Health and, consistent with the Barnett Formula, the devolved administrations through the Estimates process. In the event that IHS in-come exceeds the amount transferred, the balance will be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund for Extra Receipts and made available for spending on the NHS in the following financial year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation has taken place, or is planned, with the governments of British Overseas Territories, specifically Montserrat, to make provision for those born before 1 July 2006 to fathers not married to their mothers to register as full British Citizens, as provided under section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

A forthcoming review of British nationality law will look at what does and does not work in the current system, and how citizenship should be obtained in the future. As part of that review, we will consult with the overseas territories.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the effect on the number of children in poverty of the proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to (1) freeze certain benefits and tax credit amounts for four years; (2) reduce the level of the benefit cap; and (3) change child tax credits and the child element of universal credit.

Lord Freud

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what form they will report on the revenue collected from the immigration health surcharge for foreign nationals; and whether that information will be placed in the public domain.

Lord Keen of Elie

The Home Office committed to provide information about its administration of the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) within 12 months of the surcharge going live. The Immigration Minister wrote to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee to provide an update on 23 March, including details of the number of migrants who have paid the Surcharge and the total amount of Surcharge funding directed to the National Health Service (NHS).

A copy of the letter has been placed in the House library to ensure the commitment to Parliament is met. The Home Office will also report on total IHS income received in its Annual Report and Accounts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 April (HL7517), what is the timescale for the forthcoming review of British nationality law; and whether that review, and subsequent changes to citizenship legislation, will include the position of those of British Overseas Territories descent born before 1 July 2006 whose unmarried fathers automatically gained full British citizenship under the British Overseas Territories Act 2002.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The review of citizenship will look at how citizenship should be obtained in the future, both within the UK and the overseas territories. The overseas territories will be consulted as part of that review, and will have the opportunity to provide their views on a number of citizenship matters. The date for this consultation has not been finalised and details will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the additional anticipated receipts for HM Treasury as a result of the implementation of the National Living Wage in each year from 2016 to 2020.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

As set out in Table B.3 of their July 2015 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budgetary Responsibility estimate that, in 2016-17, the National Living Wage will leave receipts broadly unchanged. In 2017-18 and 2018-19, income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) receipts are projected to stay constant but the overall impact of the policy on the public finances is forecast to reduce public sector net borrowing by £0.1bn. In 2019-0 and 2020-21, the policy is expected to increase income tax and NICs receipts by £0.1bn and reduce public sector net borrowing by £0.2bn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received an explanation from the government of the United States as to why the approved biometric permit enrolment centres are delayed in that country; what is the revised targeted roll-out date; and what steps they are currently taking to assist those applying under the UKF form citizenship route to achieve their UK citizenship in a timely manner, whilst those centres are facing delays in implementation.

Lord Keen of Elie

The use of US Application Support Centers (ASCs) to capture biometrics for nationality (‘citizenship’) applications has required new IT provisions, as well as a refreshed Memorandum of Understanding. These changes have required the approval of both the US Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. Agreement has drawn on our strong existing relationships, but due to competing priorities has taken longer than expected.

There were some initial challenges in delivering the intricate IT arrangements, resulting in delays in implementation; these have now been resolved and the IT is in place.

We have advised applicants of the reasons for the delay and have put in place provisions for customers in urgent cases to attend the UK Visa office at the UK Consulate in New York to exceptionally enrol their biometrics there.

Within the last week, the necessary authority has been received to proceed and we will now move to urgently finalise arrangements. We hope to be able to complete the necessary contractual work as a priority and then to begin the roll out as soon as possible thereafter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in response to the British Red Cross campaign Torn Apart, they will extend the scope of refugee family reunion rules to include young people over 18 years of age who are living with their parents when they were forced to flee.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There are no plans to extend the family reunion criteria. The current policy meets our international obligations and strikes the right balance. Where family members cannot meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of an 18 year old applying to join their refugee parents in the UK, we consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting entry clearance outside the Rules.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the viability of (1) the care home sector, and (2) the private home care provider sector, in the light of local government expenditure restraint and the implementation of the National Living Wage.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.

As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.

Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.