Tag: Caroline Lucas

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures are in place to ensure that when a receiving parent has been advised by the Child Maintenance Service to contact HM Revenue and Customs to report possible tax evasion by a paying parent that possible evasion is investigated to ensure levels of child maintenance reflects full income.

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, pursuant to the Answer of 31 May 2016 to Question 37855, on the London to Brighton railway line, if he will commit in principle to upgrade the Brighton main line, prior to the High Level Operating Statement in 2017.

Claire Perry

Network Rail is currently developing proposals for the upgrade of the Brighton Main Line, following the conclusions of the Sussex Route Study. Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvements to the national network (including possible upgrades to the Brighton Main Line) during 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the public purse of additional staff to be recruited from outside the civil service to work on preparations for negotiation of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Mr David Davis

A new Department for Exiting the European Union has been established by the Prime Minister. The staffing requirements for the new department, and their costs, are now being identified.

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, when he plans to respond to the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the UK’s sixth periodic report in relation to working conditions, discrimination against migrant workers, the national minimum wage and trade union rights; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James

In paragraph 73 of the UN recommendations, the UN requested that the UK submits its next period report under the Covenant (inclusive of a response to all the recommendations from this year’s examination) by 30 June 2021; it would therefore not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this report by anticipating what we, or indeed a future UK Government in 2021, might say.

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, when he plans to publish the next Carbon Plan.

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 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any of the contractors undertaking construction or management of the building works on High Speed 2 will be subject to public Freedom of Information requests.

Andrew Jones

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (2000) if a contractor or another party holds information on behalf of the public authority then it is considered to be held by the public authority and therefore subject to the FOIA.

HS2 Ltd have a clause in all of their contracts which states that information that contractors hold as part of the HS2 contract is subject to the FOIA.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost per megawatt hour of electricity is from the (a) Hunterston B, (b) Heysham 1&2, (c) Torness, (d) Hatlepool, (e) Sizewell, (f) Dungeness B and (g) Hinkley Point C power stations.

Andrea Leadsom

As EDF own Hunterston B, Heysham 1 and 2, Torness, Hartlepool, Sizewell and Dungeness, the cost per megawatt hour is a matter for them. Under the proposed Contract for Difference for Hinkley Point C, the Strike Price (in 2012 figures) is £92.50/MWh fully indexed to the Consumer Price Index.If Sizewell C receives a CFD (or equivalent), or advances to first nuclear island concrete pour for the project, prior to the commissioning of the first reactor at Hinkley point C, the Strike Price for Hinkley Point C will be reduced to £89.50/MWh. This reduction is provided for on the assumption that EDF will be able to share ‘first of a kind’ costs of EPR reactors across Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C sites.

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 mechanisms are in place to ensure transparency of the ownership of limited partnerships; what plans he has to (a) improve such transparency and (b) ensure that such partnerships are not set up for money laundering purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

To improve transparency, the Department has established a publicly accessible central register of people with significant control (PSC register) through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

The PSC register will be an easily accessible single source of information about the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Societas Europeae. From June 2016, these corporate entities will be required to make their beneficial ownership information publically available through the UK register of companies.

It is already a legal requirement that the name of each of the partners of limited partnerships be submitted to Companies House on registration. This information is available to the public free of charge through the new Companies House beta service. Companies House also works collaboratively with other government departments and agencies to tackle crime and fraud, including money laundering.

We are currently considering the scope of the UK register to ensure we comply with the European Union’s Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which requires corporate and other legal entities to obtain and hold beneficial ownership information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic report on Behaviour management and restraint of children in custody, published in November 2015.

Andrew Selous

Restraint is only be used as a last resort, when young people are putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk.

The recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons welcomed our new arrangements, which are designed to limit the use of physical restraint on young people in custody as far as possible.

The report does raise some concerns over how the new system is operating and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2015 to Question 702, how much has been paid to political candidates (a) in each region, (b) of each political party, (c) of each gender and (d) of each ethnic group from the Access to Elected Office Fund to date.

Caroline Dinenage

The number of people who have applied to the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund is in the table below:

Financial Year	Number of applicants (some applicants made more than one application)
2012/13	27
2013/14	34
2014/15	48

The total amount claimed by successful applicants was £271,260 (out of awards totalling £418,733)

An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published in due course. An announcement regarding the future of the fund is anticipated early in 2016.

The information on regional breakdown of expenditure and the diversity of candidates can be found in the tables below:

Region (location of election seat)	Amount claimed and paid (£)
East Midlands	1,099
East of England	480
Greater London	89,399
North East England	4,382
North West England	20,567
South East England	69,474
South West England	21,260
West Midlands	20,281
Yorkshire and Humberside	17,882
Total (rounded)	271,260

Political Party	Amount claimed and paid (£)
Conservative	32,361
Democracy 2015	350
Green	5,791
Labour	120,846
Liberal Democrat	32,601
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	276
UKIP	53,236
Independent	25,798
Total (rounded)	271,260

Gender	Amount claimed and paid (£)
Male	139,524
Female	131,736
Total	271,260

Ethnic Group	Amount claimed and paid (£)
White; all backgrounds	218,117
Mixed ethnic origin	1,348
Asian; all backgrounds	26,680
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British	22,977
Other ethnic group	350
Prefer not to say	1,788
Total	271,260