Tag: Chi Onwurah

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that it provides its staff with sufficient guidance to ensure that sanctions are not placed on universal credit claimants who do not have an applicable box to tick on NHS charges claim forms when claiming help with NHS health costs.

Alistair Burt

Various sources of information for the public and relevant staff, such as NHS Choices, are provided on the arrangements for Help with Health Costs, including how Universal Credit claimants should claim. However, the Department for Work and Pensions has also issued general guidance to staff signposting key information.

Any claims for exemption from National Health Service charges or remission or repayment of relevant health costs made by a person because they meet the qualifying criteria may be the subject of a validation check. This is to protect NHS resources from fraud and error.

Where a patient meets the criteria in place for Universal Credit and is therefore entitled to claim entitlement to Help with Health Costs, but there is no Universal Credit box available to tick on relevant forms, they can claim by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” box. Those whose claim is selected for a validation check will be able to explain their position to the relevant authority, and use their Universal Credit award notice to support their claim.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the BBC Trust on making BBC regional production requirements relate to the number of (a) residents and (b) licence payers in that region.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The question of the BBC’s role in the nations and regions is being considered through the BBC Charter Review consultation. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons DTT platforms were excluded from the scope of his Department’s balance of payments consultation.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government consulted on issues related to the must offer provision in the Communications Act in its consultation – ‘The balance of payments between television platforms and public service broadcasters’. Analysis of responses is ongoing and the Government will publish a response in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what Action Fraud’s budget has been in each year of its existence; how many cases it has pursued in each such year; and what proportion of such cases involved cybercrime.

Mike Penning

Action Fraud is the national reporting point for fraud and also cyber crime. Crime reports received by Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), both of which are operated by the City of London Police. Neither Action Fraud nor the NFIB are investigatory agencies. Crime reports are evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation, and to identify links between seemingly unconnected incidents. Where there is enough evidence available and a viable lead, actionable intelligence packages are created by the NFIB and are sent to the appropriate police force to consider whether enforcement activity should take place. All crime reports are assessed against a number of variables, which may alter according to demand. It would be improper to comment on the procedure on which these decisions are made in the public domain.

Action Fraud was rolled out to all police forces in April 2013; the data below includes crime reports and disseminations in England and Wales only. For the 12 months to 31 March 2015, Action Fraud received 230,399 reports of crime. Of these, 14,509 were cyber dependent crimes, namely, crimes which can only be committed using computers, computer networks or other forms of information communication technology – for example, hacking or malware offences. These crimes fall under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. For this period, the NFIB disseminated a total of 61,682 crimes to Forces and partner agencies to consider investigation. For the period April 2013 – March 2014 Action Fraud received 211,221 crime reports and of these, 21,686 were cyber dependent. For this period, the NFIB disseminated a total of 39,138 crimes to Forces and partner agencies to consider investigation.

Historically the Action Fraud capability came into life in 2009 and was funded by the National Fraud Authority (NFA), which has since been closed, a proportion of the NFA’s total budget was used to fund the Action Fraud Capability and is as follows:

• 2009/10 £5.7 million including a £1.4 million uplift to set up the service

• 2010/11 £4.9 million

• 2011/12 £6.68 million

• 2012/13 £9.4 million

Since the closure of the NFA in March 2014 Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau have been funded by Home Office funding, Cabinet Office funding for Cyber Security and funding from the City of London Police core grant, and is as follows:

• 2013/14 £11.11 million

• 2014/15 £10.62 million

• 2015/16 £11.03 million

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department provides to partner organisations on using the HM Revenue and Customs logo in such a way as to make it clear to consumers the difference between legitimate partner organisations and scam websites.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has strict brand guidelines around the use of its logo. Only in very occasional circumstances will it allow a third-party supplier to use the HMRC logo alongside its own, when it is providing direct services to customers on behalf of HMRC.

HMRC is among the most phished brands in the world and is constantly vigilant against the fraudulent use of its logo and brand. Where such misuse is identified, HMRC will take a range of actions to protect customers from fraud, including:

• demanding the removal of the logo by the third party
• legal action
• working with internet service providers to remove websites
• proactively publicising to customers when new phishing websites are found
  • providing publicity advice to keep safe online.

  Since July 2014, HMRC has closed 22,210 fake websites.

  The Government also provides guidance on gov.uk on the types of genuine communication that customers can expect from the department.