Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date each of the 25 firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage by his Department on 8 June 2014 was issued with the relevant Notice of Underpayment of the minimum wage by HM Revenue and Customs.

Jenny Willott

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The dates that the Notice of Underpayments (NoU) were issued for the 25 firms named and shamed for breach of the national minimum wage (NMW) are as follows.

Month	NoUs
December 2013	1
January 2014	9
February 2014	10
March 2014	4
April 2014	1

They were issued under the revised Naming Scheme which was introduced on 1 October 2013. It takes time for cases to work their way through the system as there is a process to follow before an employer can be named. If HMRC investigates an employer that is breaking NMW law they will be issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NOU) by HMRC. An employer has 28 days to appeal against the NOU and 14 days from when the case closes to make representations to BIS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the letter of 28 May 2014 from Sir John Chilcott to the Cabinet Secretary, which Government Minister agreed, and on what date, that there was no prospect of reaching agreement that Notes or records of discussions between the UK Prime Minister and the President of the United States should be disclosed in their entirety or with redactions.

Mr David Cameron

The Inquiry is completely independent of government and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

At the outset of the Inquiry, Government and the Inquiry agreed a documents protocol on the handling of information provided to the Inquiry. The protocol names the Cabinet Secretary as final arbiter in discussions about disclosure. He is the right person to perform this role. He is the most senior civil servant and can see papers of a previous government Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May describes the background against which the Inquiry made its requests for gists and quotes. Sir John also makes clear that the gists and quotes are sufficient for the Inquiry’s purposes.

Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May is available on the Iraq Inquiry website and I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.

The Government will not comment further on the extent or detail of the Inquiry’s declassification requests. I have made clear my hope that the Inquiry will be able to complete its work by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether precursors of genocide exist in Burma for the Rohingya; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

It is the policy of the British Government that any judgement on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes. We consistently lobby the Burmese government for further action to address the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, to improve security, to deliver accountability and to find a sustainable solution on citizenship. I raised our concerns with the Burmese government during my visit in January, summoned the Burmese Ambassador to press for humanitarian access in April, and discussed the situation with Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw again on 13 June.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Prime Minister, on what date and which Minister signed off the decision to give permission to the Chilcot Inquiry to disclose quotations or gists of the content of notes from Tony Blair or records of discussions between the UK Prime Minister and the President of the United States; when detailed consideration of the gists and quotations requested by the Inquiry bagan; how many (a) gists and (b) quotations of Tony Blair are under consideration; whether the publication of any gists or quotations has yet been agreed; and which Minister will approve the decisions on which gists or quotations can be published.

Mr David Cameron

The Inquiry is completely independent of government and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

At the outset of the Inquiry, Government and the Inquiry agreed a documents protocol on the handling of information provided to the Inquiry. The protocol names the Cabinet Secretary as final arbiter in discussions about disclosure. He is the right person to perform this role. He is the most senior civil servant and can see papers of a previous government Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May describes the background against which the Inquiry made its requests for gists and quotes. Sir John also makes clear that the gists and quotes are sufficient for the Inquiry’s purposes.

Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May is available on the Iraq Inquiry website and I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.

The Government will not comment further on the extent or detail of the Inquiry’s declassification requests. I have made clear my hope that the Inquiry will be able to complete its work by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Attorney General, whether officials of the Crown Prosecution Service have (a) met the Attorney General of Nigeria since January 2012, (b) had any conversations about the sale of the OPL 245 oil concession in Nigeria involving Shell and ENI with (i) the Attorney General of Nigeria and (ii) any other senior official of the Nigerian government and (c) received any requests for mutual legal assistance regarding the OPL 245 case.

Oliver Heald

The CPS Criminal Justice Advisor in Abuja has met with the Attorney-General of Nigeria a number of times since January 2012 to discuss criminal justice reform. The CPS are not aware of any other contact between CPS officials and the Attorney General of Nigeria.

The CPS is not aware of any of its officials having conversations with the Attorney General of Nigeria or with any other senior official of the Nigerian government about the sale of the OPL 245 oil concession in Nigeria involving Shell and ENI.

Requests for mutual legal assistance attract a duty of confidentiality to the requesting country and, therefore, the CPS can neither confirm nor deny the receipt of any such requests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Freedom of Information request made by Frank Zola to his Department on 28 April 2014, on community work placements, when his Department plans to publish the names of the 70 placement providers under the Help to Work scheme; how many current placement providers there are; if he will publish the names of all such organisations providing such placements under the Help to Work scheme in (a) Brighton and Hove local authority area and (b) in the UK; and if he will publish job descriptions for those placements (i) provided to date and (ii) planned to be provided.

Esther McVey

The department can confirm that it holds the names of the 70 sub-contractors under the Help to Work scheme as referenced in the Freedom of Information request made by Frank Zola. However, the department cannot disclose their names as the information is intended for publication at a future date.

In terms of names of organisations that are work placement hosts, the department wishes not to disclose the information as we believe that the public balance weighs in favour of witholding the information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether Ministers or officials of his Department have (a) met the Attorney General of Nigeria since January 2012 and (b) had any conversations about the sale of the OPL 245 oil concession in Nigeria involving Shell and ENI with (i) the Attorney General of Nigeria and (ii) any other senior official of the Nigerian government.

Michael Fallon

Details of meetings held by Ministers and Permanent Secretaries with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at Gov.uk.

Information on meetings by other officials is not held centrally.