Tag: Caroline Lucas

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 19 February 2015 to Question 223992, how many applications were made to the Access to Elected Office Fund in each year following its establishment; how many of those applications were (a) granted and (b) refused; and what the total amount paid to successful applicants was.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Brimstone missiles have been used in Syria since 2 December 2015.

Penny Mordaunt

Between 2 December 2015 and 12 January 2016 there have been four Brimstone missiles used against Daesh targets by the RAF in Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to her oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1152, on subsidies for low carbon power, what recent estimate she has made of the year by which new nuclear generation at (a) Hinkley point C, (b) Sizewell C, (c) Wylfa Newydd, (d) Oldbury and (e) Moorside is likely to operate on a subsidy-free basis; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Our electricity market reforms have set the right conditions for necessary investment in our energy market, and support low-carbon generation in nuclear as well as in other generating sectors.My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to be in a position to take her final decision on the Contract for Difference and associated agreements for Hinkley Point C once the documentation relating to equity investment into the project is finalised. The Contract for Difference would provide revenue support during the operational phase of Hinkley Point C for a period of 35 years. No applications for development consent to build new nuclear power stations at the other sites have been made and it is too soon to say what the funding arrangements might be for these projects proposed by developers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 10523, whether hon. Members of both Houses have the same levels of access to consolidated texts related to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as members of the (a) European Parliament, (b) German Parliament, (c) Scottish Parliament, (d) Welsh Assembly and (e) Northern Ireland Assembly; and what the Government’s policy is on the provision of a reading room for hon. Members of both Houses to scrutinise the consolidated texts of documents.

Anna Soubry

The European Commission shares classified documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with Members of the European Parliament via a reading room. Following pressure from Member States, the Commission and the US have agreed that national parliamentarians should have similar access to classified TTIP documents, including consolidated texts, via reading rooms in national ministries. Restrictions placed on these rooms include that they are only accessible to officials of Member State central governments and Members of Member State national Parliaments.

The UK intends to establish such a reading room in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This will give equivalent access to documents for hon. Members of both Houses to that afforded to Members of the European Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of non-resident parents within the live caseload of the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service are self-employed.

Priti Patel

For cases administered by the Child Support Agency, as at December 2015, the number of cases within the live caseload where the non-resident parent is self employed was 97,700. This was 7.7% of the live caseload.

For the CMS 2012 Scheme, information on employment could currently only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Child Maintenance Service is in the process of assuring employment data and this will be available at a future date.

Note

1. Figured rounded to nearest 100.
2. Figures include 1993 and 2003 Schemes.
3. As at December 2015, the live caseload stood at 1,268,900.
4. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27368, on what basis the Child Support Agency allows non-resident parents to self-categorise as self-employed for child maintenance purposes; whether the new Child Maintenance Service plans to adopt the HM Revenue and Customs definition of self-employed when considering the employment status of non-resident parents under the 2012 child maintenance scheme or to allow non-resident parents to self-categorise their own employment status; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

For the older schemes of maintenance, income information is initially gathered from the parents themselves. As part of this initial conversation, they are asked whether they classify themselves as self-employed or not.

Calculation of their net income figure will always be based on the relevant taxation legislation for the nature of the employment, subject to any additional conditions imposed by Child Support legislation.

For the 2012 scheme, unlike the older schemes, the income used to calculate maintenance is a gross taxable earnings figure. Our primary mechanism for getting this information is direct from HM Revenue & Customs. As a gross figure is used, it does not matter whether they are employed or self-employed.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 34460, how many concerns have been captured centrally under the HM Revenue and Customs Whistleblowing and Raising a Concern Policy in the last five years; and how those concerns have been categorised for management of other purposes by his Department.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a Whistleblowing and Raising a concern policy. Since April 2014 concerns raised under this policy have been captured centrally. Prior to this date, details were only held locally.

According to records held centrally by HMRC, for the period 1^st April 2014 to 31^st March 2015, 78 cases were logged under the Whistleblowing and Raising a Concern Policy, of which:

• 52 were defined as whistleblowers;

• 20 were defined as wrongdoing (but not whistleblowing);

• 2 were defined as grievance; and

• 4 could not be categorised.

  From 1st April 2015 to date, HMRC has received a further 91 cases, of which 18 have been defined as whistleblowers. The 18 cases were categorised as per wrongdoing type, namely:

  Payroll and Expenses 3

  Conditions of service 11

  Revenue & Benefits 3

  Assets, IT & Comms 1

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.