Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 84 of the Equality Analysis on the new contract for doctors and dentists in training in the NHS, published in March 2016, whether his Department plans to accept the recommendation for amendment of the draft new junior doctor contract to address the position of part-time doctors and advance equality of opportunity between women and men doctors; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

Yes. This is explicit in paragraph 60 of Schedule 2 of the Terms and Conditions of Service published by NHS Employers on 31 March 2016.

In addition amendments have also been made to the provision for on-call availability with respect to doctors working less than full-time, transitional arrangements have been amended so that doctors who take approved time out of training are not disadvantaged on return to training and so that those doctors who have not completed their training by the end of the transition period (2019/20), because they are working less than full time, or need to take an approved break from training can have the transitional protection period extended by up to three years until August 2022.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish an investigation unit within HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to deal with cases in which the receiving parent has been advised by the Child Maintenance Service to contact HMRC to report possible tax evasion by the paying parent.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) works closely with the Child Maintenance Service as well as other Government Departments to ensure that all allegations of tax evasion from members of the public are assessed, dealt with appropriately and a decision made on the most appropriate course of action.

HMRC values the information they receive from the public and business community. Clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes and over claiming benefits is a key priority for the Government and we are committed to ensuring the tax system operates fairly and efficiently.

Any information received is passed on to HMRC’s Enforcement and Compliance teams. This can result in recovery of funds, education to help support compliance civil or criminal action depending on the severity of the evasion.

More serious cases can result in prosecution action by HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) assess and (b) address the effect on rail services of the infrastructure bottleneck at Croydon.

Claire Perry

Network Rail’s Sussex Route Study has assessed capacity constraints on the Brighton Main Line. It is increasingly apparent the junctions around Croydon create a complex operating environment for train operators, which translates into constrained capacity and potential delays for passengers. As we develop our emerging priorities for improvements to the national network in 2017, we will give due consideration to improving these junctions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the requirements for the Great Northern and Thameslink services to be Driver Only Operation contained in the Invitation to Tender for the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) Franchise apply to all other services across that franchise; what agreement is in place between GTR and his Department on Driver Only Operation; and if he will place that agreement in the public domain.

Paul Maynard

The requirements the Department specified for Driver Only Operation in the Invitation To Tender can be seen in that document on page 74. Govia proposed changes beyond what was specified in the Invitation to Tender in their bid. These were then contractualised in the Franchise Agreement as an obligation for the operator to fulfil. A copy of the Invitation To Tender and redacted Franchise Agreement is available on the DfT website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total amount of arrears recovered by HM Revenue and Customs for non-compliance with the national minimum wage is in 2016-17 to date; how many (a) workers and (b) employers those arrears relate to; and how many of those employers (i) were issued a financial penalty, (ii) self-corrected and paid those arrears back to the workers concerned without being issued a financial penalty and (iii) have been named and shamed for that non-compliance.

Margot James

HM Revenue and Customs do not provide ad-hoc data for National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage enforcement, although mid-year figures will be available later in the year.

Employers found to have broken minimum wage law will be issued with a Notice of Underpayment by HMRC and will have 28 days to appeal against it. If the employer does not appeal or an appeal has been unsuccessful, HMRC will issue a case closure letter to the employer and refer them to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to be considered for naming and shaming. The employer will then have 14 days from the date of the case closure letter to make written representations to BEIS outlining whether they fall under any of the exceptional circumstances for not being named under the scheme. Employers issued with a case closure letter after 1 April 2016 will be named by BEIS in future naming rounds.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Carbon Plan will outline policies that ensure that the UK meets the emissions limit in the fourth carbon budget of a 50 per cent reduction in annual emissions on 1990 levels.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and other government departments in order to meet the shared challenge of moving to a low carbon economy. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how we will meet our carbon budgets through the 2020s (the period covering the fourth and fifth carbon budgets).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2016 to Question 42842 and with reference to freedom of information requests ref: 2016-0032573 and ref: 2016-0042333, on pupil data sharing with the police and Home Office, on how many people has data been (a) requested and (b) provided in response to requests for information to the National Pupil Database made by the (i) Home Office and (ii) police; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The National Pupil Database (NPD) is information the Department for Education (DfE) holds on pupils attending schools in England, which includes information collected in the School Census and attainment data from awarding organisations.

The Home Office and police can request data from the NPD where they have clear evidence that a child may be at risk or if there is evidence of criminal activity. The data that can be requested does not include information on nationality, country of birth or English language proficiency.

Between April 2012 and October 2016, the Police have made 31 access requests of the NPD data and the School Census. 21 of these have resulted in information being passed to the police. All were requests for individual level data about individual pupils. Therefore, information about 21 pupils has been shared.

“Between July 2015 and September 2016, the Home Office has made requests of DfE data on 25 occasions. Two of these requests were subsequently withdrawn. During this 15 month period, requests relating to a total of 2,462 individuals have been made by the Home Office to DfE and 520 records have been identified within DfE data and returned to the Home Office.”

To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects to make a decision to proceed with an order for a European pressurised reactor at Sizewell C.

Andrea Leadsom

EDF have announced they intend to deploy two EPR reactors at Sizewell C but have not yet confirmed a timescale for the project. It is therefore too soon to indicate a timescale for the planning and regulatory consents which such a project would need, although the EPR has already successfully completed the Generic Design Assessment process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on the European Commission’s request of 18 June 2015 to five EU member states to terminate intra-EU bilateral investment treaties.

Anna Soubry

The UK is participating in discussions with the Commission and other Member States on possible options and approaches towards handling the Commission’s request, regarding the termination of these treaties. These discussions are at an early stage and no consensus has been reached among Member States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time equivalent Environment Agency staff were employed on maintenance of flood defences on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

Elizabeth Truss

The Government has committed to protect flood maintenance funding in real terms over the course of this Parliament.

The Environment Agency does not record the number of personnel working solely on maintaining flood defences, as the relevant staff undertake a number of activities, including both operating and maintaining defences. Maintenance may also be performed by third parties.