Tag: Bill Esterson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17450, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Mike Penning

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has improved its performance in recent years from closing 947 cases in 2010/11 to closing 1,632 cases in 2014/15. The CCRC has also recently undertaken a review of working practices that is expected to lead to further improvements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30688, if he will publish the interests submitted by Mr Paul Newby when he applied for the role of Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry

The appointment panel satisfied itself there were no conflicts of interest when they made recommendations to ministers in relation to the appointment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

The Department does not intend to publish any information provided by candidates during this appointment process.

In due course and as is usual practice, the Adjudicator’s office will publish a register of interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will hold discussions with manufacturers about developing antifreeze products without ethylene glycol.

Anna Soubry

There have been no recent discussions between the Department and manufacturers of anti-freeze on developing products without ethylene glycol and there is no immediate plan to do so.

We consider the existing legislation to be effective. Consumers should be aware of the dangers presented by antifreeze products because these products are legally required to carry appropriate safety warnings under the Classification and Labelling (CLP) Regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who will act on behalf of the Pubs Code Adjudicator in situations where one of the parties to that adjudication objects to the Adjudicator’s involvement.

Anna Soubry

The Pubs Code Adjudicator has been appointed by the Secretary of State to arbitrate alleged breaches of the statutory obligations set out in the Pubs Code. The Adjudicator will therefore be operating within the statutory framework provided in the SBEE Act and Pubs Code regulations. The parties to an alleged breach of the Pubs Code are not afforded an automatic right to object to the Adjudicator discharging what is a statutory duty. This is in contrast to the position of arbitrators appointed to deal with a private arbitration of contractual disputes.

The Adjudicator will make and publish arrangements for dealing with any conflict of interest as he is required to do by the SBEE Act [Schedule 1 para 10]. These will be the relevant arrangements for any parties wishing to raise any questions about conflicts of interest. Where the parties raise any objection to the Adjudicator arbitrating a dispute, it is for the Adjudicator to decide whether it is appropriate for him to appoint another arbitrator (as the Act allows).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) cats and (b) dogs killed by accidental ingestion of poisonous antifreeze in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

We have no estimates of the numbers of cats or dogs killed by antifreeze.

However there are periodically reported cases where antifreeze may have contributed to the death of pet animals. This issue was most recently debated in Parliament on the 2 December 2014.

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm141202/halltext/141202h0002.htm#14120263000003

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the role of the Enterprise Directorate of his Department was in the (a) appointment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator and (b) development of the Pubs Code.

Anna Soubry

The development of the Pubs Code and the appointment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator were overseen by the Pubs Code and Adjudicator Team.

Due to departmental restructuring this team has sat within two different directorates in BIS: the Consumer and Competition Directorate (prior to July 2015 and currently) and Enterprise Directorate (from July 2015 to March 2016).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of late payment of claims by insurance companies on SMEs.

Harriett Baldwin

In the Enterprise Bill, Government has proposed to introduce a new requirement for insurers to pay claims within a reasonable time, which will also entitle policyholders to claim damages where a claims is paid late. An assessment of the impact of late payment of insurance claims, including on small and medium sized enterprises, has been published by the government:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461200/BIS-15-517-IA-late-payment-of-insurance-claims.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department plans to provide to the Pubs Code Adjudicator; and which directorate of his Department will oversee that support.

Anna Soubry

The Department is providing support to Mr. Newby to set up the Pubs Code Adjudicator office and prepare for the service it will deliver. The support includes finalising the office location and helping with logistical matters such as staff recruitment, IT provision, communication and stakeholder planning, financial modelling and service design. As the Pubs Code Adjudicator office becomes staffed, the Department will reduce its support.

Following commencement of the Pubs Code, the Department will perform a sponsorship role to ensure that the Pubs Code Adjudicator is accountable and delivering value for money services whilst maintaining its independence.

The Consumer and Competition Directorate in Economics and Markets Group will provide the ongoing support and the sponsorship function.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make representations to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on reviewing the case of James Thompson.

Mike Penning

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is independent, and it would not be appropriate for Ministers or officials to intervene in individual cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of Government departments which failed to pay outstanding debts to SMEs within the 60 day maximum period set out in the Prompt Payment Code.

Matthew Hancock

Government does not hold this information centrally. When undisputed public sector invoices are not paid within 30 days, interest becomes liable under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

In March 2015 central government restated its longstanding commitment to pay 80% of undisputed and valid invoices in 5 days with the remainder paid in 30 days. To increase transparency through publication, departments are required to publish performance against these targets on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK.

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