The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Public Sector Transparency Board last met.
Matthew Hancock
The Public Sector Transparency Board has been replaced with the Data Steering Group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) Ofcom has made of the number of (a) business parks which do not have superfast broadband and (b) businesses based in business parks which do not have superfast broadband.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In its 2015 publication Connected Nations, Ofcom estimated that 68% of SMEs had access to superfast broadband in May 2015, and almost half (around 130,000) in certain business areas were unable to receive speeds above 10Mbit/s.
The Government is supporting investment to provide superfast broadband coverage to 90% of UK premises by early 2016 and 95% by December 2017. In addition, BDUK’s Connection Voucher Scheme issued around 55,000 vouchers to businesses to enable to access Superfast broadband. However, this does not include the provision of leased lines which offer an alternative connectivity option for businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on reducing the number of robocalls received by consumers.
Mr Edward Vaizey
It is unacceptable for consumers to be harassed by nuisance calls, and this Government continues to make progress tackling this issue. The latest figures from the ICO show that reported automated calls accounted for approximately 42% of total calls reported to them – a drop of 3% since the start of the year. This is thanks to tougher enforcement against organisations making automated calls. The ICO recently imposed its largest fine ever of £350,000 on Prodial Ltd for making over 46 million automated nuisance calls. This is 70 times the amount of the maximum possible penalty issued before 2010 – when fines were capped at £5,000, and average fines were considerably less.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34469, where the four portraits referred to in that Answer are located; and what proportion of all paintings and portraits in the Palace of Westminster those portraits represent.
Tom Brake
The four portraits are located in the following locations:
There are approximately 310 painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection.
The majority of the painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection are historical ones depicting members of the Royal Family and Parliamentarians pre-1900, of whom few were of black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) origin.
The Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art is committed to reflecting the diversity of the House today, and to recognising those who have influenced Parliament and contributed to its development in a notable way through the Parliamentary Art Collection. The Committee has agreed to give further consideration to the matter in the current Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7713, what progress has been made on developing device independent applications for the distribution of select committee papers; and how many hon. Members have now been issued with (a) android and (b) iPad devices.
Tom Brake
Options for the distribution of committee papers are being explored. One option involves using a SharePoint based system to distribute committee papers and this is due to be tested with a select committee soon.
Documents for select committees are circulated to committee members electronically, predominantly in PDF format. The PDF format can be read on a number of different devices.
594 Apple iPads and 25 tablets of other makes have been purchased by or issued to Members’ offices in this Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which existing agreements on taxation jurisdictions of individuals will be affected by the UK leaving the EU.
Mr David Gauke
The UK has more than 120 Double Taxation Agreements, including Agreements with EU Member States. These Agreements include provisions allocating between jurisdictions taxing rights over the income of individuals who are resident in one jurisdiction and have income from sources in the other. Because each of these Agreements is a bilateral treaty between the UK Government and the partner jurisdiction, which exists outside the framework of the EU and its governing treaties, they will not be affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will encourage technology companies to sign up to the Women in Finance Charter.
Simon Kirby
The government launched the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter to take forward Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s recommendations following her review into the representation of senior women in financial services.
Firms that have signed the Charter are committed to implementing four key industry actions to improve gender diversity in financial services. On 11 July the government announced that 72 firms have signed the Charter, including a number of financial technology (fintech) firms. Together these firms employ over 530,000 people in the UK, with headquarters across the UK, USA, Europe and Asia.
Harnessing the talents of women in financial services is one of the government’s key priorities and we are committed to ensuring that as many financial services firms as possible, including fintechs, sign the Women in Finance Charter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) support the development of an effective market in cyber insurance products for small businesses and (b) encourage the establishment of standards within that insurance industry.
Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to making the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online and we recognise the role cyber insurance can play in helping to raise security levels in all businesses, including SMEs.
In March 2015 we published a report on joint initiatives between Government and the insurance sector to tackle cyber risk. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cyber-security-insurance-new-steps-to-make-uk-world-centre
The Government also chairs an insurance industry working-group to look at key issues around supporting the development of the cyber insurance industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on its work on an open address register.
Chris Skidmore
The 2016 Budget announced that government would develop options for an authoritative address register that is open and freely available. It is critical that we make wider use of more precise address data and ensure it is frequently updated to unlock opportunities for innovation.
Since the Budget, officials from across government have been exploring a range of potential options for the creation of an Open Address Register and I will look to update the House once this work has been concluded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 13246 on digital technology, what support universal credit provides for people without digital skills to gain them.
Justin Tomlinson
Those people without digital skills will be offered support through Universal Credit (UC) to make and manage their claims on-line, and also to acquire and improve their digital skills.
DWP is also working with Local Authorities to build claimants’ digital capability.