Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students received disabled students’ allowance in Brighton and Hove local authority area in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Mr David Willetts

Information on students awarded and paid Disabled Students’ Allowance is published annually by Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education England‘. The latest statistics are available at the following link:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/694170/slcsfr052013.pdf

A further breakdown for Brighton and Hove local authority has been provided in the table. Equivalent figures for the academic year 2013/14 will be available from November 2014.

Students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance from Brighton and Hove Local Authority

Academic Year 2012/13

Effective date: 13/11/2013

	Academic Year
	2012/13
Application Type	Number Paid DSA
Full-Time Application	450
Part-Time Application	10
Post Graduate DSA	80
Total	530
Notes:
[1] Disabled Student Allowance may be paid to the Student or to a Supplier on the student’s behalf.
[2] Figures are derived from the Post Code of the applicant’s home address.
[3] The effective date is that of the November 2013 Awards Statistical First Release. The figures are therefore provisional and do not include students who were awarded DSA after November 2013.
[4] DSA Payments may be made at any point during the Academic Year or after the end of the Academic Year.
[5] Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not add to the sum of the components due to rounding.

“

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many of the employers issued with a notice of underpayment of the minimum wage by HM Revenue and Customs since 1 October 2013 have been considered for naming and shaming by his Department; how many of those employers have successfully appealed against being named and shamed; how many employers have been named and shamed; and how many cases remain under consideration.

Jenny Willott

Under the revised Naming Scheme the Government will name all employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) unless employers meet one of the exceptional criteria or have arrears of £100 or less.

Employers have 28 days to appeal against the NoU. If the employer does not appeal or unsuccessfully appeals against this NoU, BIS will consider them for naming. The employer then has 14 days to make representations to BIS outlining whether they meet any of the very exceptional criteria: naming by BIS carries a risk of personal harm to an individual or their family, or there are national security risks associated with naming, or there are other factors which suggests that it would not be in the public interest to name the employer or company. Of these, the public interest criteria will only apply in very exceptional circumstances. If BIS do not receive any representations or the representations received do not meet the criteria, the employer will be named via a BIS press release.

One employer has made a representation that was successful and four employers have had arrears of under £100. We are unable to release information on how many cases are under consideration.

The Government has already named 30 employers under the revised scheme. Between them they owed workers over £50,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £24,000.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of changing the national urban default speed limit to 20 mph on (a) air pollution and (b) other environmental conditions; what similar studies in other developed nations his Department has assessed; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department does not have any current plans to introduce a default 20mph speed limit. Local authorities are best placed to determine the speed limits for their areas, based on local knowledge and the views of the community, and have the powers to do so. We are aware of studies carried out for local authorities, including for the City of London, which showed no overall negative effects on air quality in 20mph speed restrictions.

However, the Department is about to commission comprehensive research into the effects of 20mph limits. This will cover many aspects including effects on speed, collisions, casualties and modal shift. The research will also consider air quality, best practice, road users’ perceptions and effects on the quality of the environment, as well as relevant research from other countries.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the financial penalties for non-compliance with the minimum wage issued by HM Revenue and Customs in 2013-14 were for the then maximum sum of £5,000.

Mr David Gauke

The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (0800 917 2368). In addition, HMRC conduct targeted compliance activity based on data received from various sources and robust risk assessment processes, to identify the sectors and employers across the United Kingdom, who are considered more likely to be failing to pay NMW.

The Government has increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent and the maximum penalty has increased from £5,000 to £20,000. The revised penalty is calculated as 100 per cent of the total underpayment for all of the workers specified in a Notice of Underpayment relating to pay reference periods that commence on or after 7 March 2014.

HMRC issued the maximum penalty of £5,000 to 52 employers identified as owing workers arrears of pay under national minimum wage legislation in 2013/14.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer given in the House of Lords of 28 October 2013, Official Report, column 208W, on Agriculture: Pesticides, if he will place in the Library a list of the (a) published research being considered by the current review of the EU approval of glyphosate and (b) ongoing or completed research relating to potential links between glyphosate and chronic diseases and conditions in humans.

Dan Rogerson

Lists of the studies found by a search of published literature and of those determined to be relevant by the German regulatory authorities, who are assessing the data on behalf of the EU, can be found in Volume 3 of the Renewal Assessment Report. This was published on 12 March 2014 on the European Food Safety Authority’s website at http://dar.efsa.europa.eu/dar-web/provision. The Government does not plan to publish a separate list of ongoing or completed research.

“

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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.

Mr Francis Maude

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.