Tag: Catherine McKinnell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to run a pilot of tax-free childcare before that scheme is launched.

Damian Hinds

The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-04-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.77 of Budget 2016, whether eligible parents will be able to open tax-free childcare accounts prior to the launch of that scheme in early 2017.

Damian Hinds

The Government will publicise the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme in good time ahead of its introduction through a range of digital and print channels. HMRC will also work with the childcare industry and representative groups who interact regularly with parents to raise awareness of the scheme.

HM Revenue and Customs is developing an online childcare calculator to help parents understand their eligibility for government childcare support. From early 2017, parents of the youngest children will be able to enter the scheme first, with all eligible parents brought in by the end of 2017. Parents will not be able to open childcare accounts prior to the launch of the scheme.

TFC will be straightforward and quick to apply online for the vast majority of parents. We estimate that up to 9% of the families eligible for the scheme of that population may have issues with either accessing or using the internet. HM Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided, usually by telephone, so these families do not miss out on the support available.

Tax-Free Childcare is part of the wider government childcare offer which will be worth over £6Bn per annum and together provide generous support to families on all levels of income.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse of a vacated trial in (a) Magistrates’ courts and (b) the Crown Court.

Mr Shailesh Vara

HMCTS is unable to provide the information requested, as this information is not held.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the target of 20,000 resettled Syrian refugees is met by the end of this Parliament.

Greg Hands

At the Spending Review we announced that over £460 million of the overseas aid budget will be used by 2019-20 to resettle 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, covering the full first year costs to ease the burden on local communities. The Spending Review also provided around a further £130 million by 2019-20 to local authorities to contribute to the costs of supporting refugees beyond their first year in the UK.

The Home Office will administer this scheme in partnership with other departments, international agencies, local authorities and the voluntary sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans for eligible parents to be able to open accounts as soon as tax-free childcare is launched.

Damian Hinds

The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 29364, what the grounds are for the Public Health England Office for Data Release denying requests made to it for information collected via the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy dataset; what the timescale is for that office to respond to any requests made; and whether there will be a public announcement setting out the date when requests for data may be made to that office.

George Freeman

Public Health England (PHE) is making data collected as part of the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy dataset available through its Office for Data Release (ODR) function. The data have been available since April 2016 and the ODR is currently processing requests. The priority of PHE, and the ODR, is to maintain patient confidentiality and therefore data will only be released to external parties in a format that does not compromise patient confidentiality either directly or by inference.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of trials cracked as a result of the prosecution due to (a) insufficient evidence, (b) witness absent or withdrawn, (c) public interest grounds and (d) adjournment refused in (i) Magistrates’ courts and (ii) the Crown Court in each year since 2007.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Overall numbers and reasons for cracked and ineffective trials are included in our Criminal Courts Statistics Quarterly publication, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015

In the published data the reasons specified in the question are aggregated together into one reason in our table: “prosecution end case” for cracked trials and “prosecution availability” for ineffective trials.

The information requested can be found in the table attached.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s press release of 1 July 2015, on tax-free childcare, how he plans to roll-out the delivery of tax-free childcare.

Damian Hinds

As the Government press release of 1 July confirmed, Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017, with the scheme rolled out gradually to all eligible parents within a year.

We will provide further details of our rollout plans in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.61 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of families that will be eligible for tax-free childcare in 2016-17.

Damian Hinds

The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to make a commitment at the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants on 19 and 20 September 2016 to provide more safe and legal routes for refugees to find protection in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government has no plans to introduce additional pathways for refugees to come to the UK. The UK is already a leading resettlement state, offering a number of safe and legal pathways for refugees. In the year ending June 2016, a total of 3,439 people were resettled in the UK.

In addition to the 20,000 Syrian refugees and up to 3,000 vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North Africa region that the Government has committed to resettle by 2020, the UK has also committed to relocate unaccompanied refugee children from France, Greece and Italy. Under the family reunion policy we have reunited around 22,000 refugees with their immediate family over the past five years and will continue to do so. The Government supports the principle that those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. This allows vulnerable persons to receive help quickly rather than risking their lives on hazardous journeys into and across Europe or falling victim to criminal gangs who are exploiting the situation. Providing humanitarian aid in the region is the best way to provide much needed support to the majority of those fleeing persecution while working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle the most vulnerable who cannot reasonably remain.

HM Government will be represented at the UN General Assembly high level meeting on 19 September and the Leaders’ Summit on refugees to be hosted by President Obama on 20 September.