Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26319, what the total amount of arrears recovered by HM Revenue and Customs for non-compliance with the national minimum wage was in 2015-16; how many (a) workers and (b) employers those arrears were related to; and how many of those employers (i) received a financial penalty and (ii) have been named and shamed for that non-compliance.

Nick Boles

In 2015-16 the Government recovered almost £10.3m of arrears for over 58,000 workers, from 958 employers. 813 of these employers were issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) and had to pay a penalty.

In 2015/16, the Government named 280 employers. However, not all cases are put forward for naming, in particular:

– Where an investigation commenced before the advent of the naming scheme.

– Where an employer self-corrected the arrears and paid back to workers.

– Where the arrears owed were £100 or less.

– Where a case is being considered for criminal prosecution.

Furthermore, employers are not named at the point when a NoU is issued. Under the National Minimum Wage regulations, employers have 28 days to appeal against an NoU. They then have a further 14 days to make representations to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills against being named. Some of the cases identified in 2015-16 will therefore be considered for naming in future rounds.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide for (a) mothers’ names to be added on marriage certificates and (b) a marriage registration system that takes account of different family circumstances where there may not be a mother and a father; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

The Marriage Registration Reform Bill, introduced by my Right Honourable Friend the Member for Meriden (Caroline Spelman) in the previous Parliamentary session, would have enabled the details of both parents of the couple to be included on the marriage certificate.

The Home Office is continuing to develop proposals that will allow mothers’ names to be recorded on marriage certificates.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has allocated for Network Rail to produce a feasibility study on the Brighton Mainline Upgrade; and whether he plans for that funding to continue up to 2020.

Claire Perry

Network Rail has authorised £8m from its current financial settlement to develop proposals for the upgrade of the Brighton Main Line. The Government will subsequently consider what, if any, additional funding is required, based on its emerging priorities for improvements to the national network.

This feasibility study is additional to the improvements that will already be delivered in the years up to 2020 by the massive Thameslink programme which will provide substantial additional capacity and improved frequencies together with 1,140 new carriages serving destinations including Brighton.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the review on supported housing.

Gavin Barwell

DCLG and DWP have jointly commissioned an evidence review of the supported housing sector, which is currently being finalised. The Government is committed to making an announcement in the autumn, setting out its plans for future funding arrangements for the supported housing sector.

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, if he will make it his policy to introduce a paternal allowance for people who do not qualify for statutory paternity pay; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve provision for working parents . The eligibility rules for statutory paternity entitlements balance the needs of parents and the cost both to employers and to the taxpayer.

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 fifth carbon budget of a 57 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, how many Home Office requests for information to the National Pupil Database for individual personal confidential data that have been granted were for the purposes of immigration control; 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 will make a decision to proceed with the order for a Chinese-designed reactor at Bradwell.

Andrea Leadsom

EDF and its partner CGN have announced they intend to develop a new nuclear power station at Bradwell 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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how he takes account of the wellbeing of children in agreeing the activities which lone parents are required to undertake as part of their action plan or claimant commitment.

Priti Patel

The claimant commitment, which Work Coaches put together with claimants, sets requirements that are tailored for a broad range of circumstances, including for matters relating to the wellbeing of children. These reasonable requirements are recorded within the jobseeker’s agreement or action plan.

Where appropriate, the claimant commitment may limit the hours lone parents claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance are available for work to a minimum of 16 hours a week based on their caring responsibilities.

In addition, lone parents with children aged 12 or under have the right to restrict their availability for work and work-related activities to their children’s normal school or early education hours.

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, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Environment Agency’s 2014 Long Term Investment Scenarios recommended optimum overall investment in flood defences of £750m to £800m each year to 2019-20; and whether she expects that level of overall investment to be achieved.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency’s Long Term Investment Scenarios report represents the best currently available projections of potential long term costs to manage flood and coastal risk under a range of scenarios reflecting future uncertainties. It will be kept under review as any further evidence emerges.

The report confirms that current Government investment plans to 2020, together with forecast local contributions, are in line with the level the Environment Agency’s assessment indicates is necessary to reduce overall flood risk by 5%.

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