Tag: Chi Onwurah

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s distributed ledger technology benefits payments trial, what blockchain technology is being used for that trial; whether he plans to dismantle that blockchain technology once that trial has ended; and which organisations outside the Government will have access to (a) that blockchain technology and (b) the data stored as part of that trial.

Damian Hinds

The DWP works continuously with industry partners to identify and test new innovations that could save taxpayer money, safeguard information and better protect payments to customers.

The DWP is undertaking some small scale research involving blockchain technology which is expected to last 3-6 months with the results available in the last quarter of 2016. It uses a private permissioned distributed ledger to allow participants to store their transactions, including payments from DWP. Those transactions can then be viewed securely on a mobile application so that they can, if they wish, monitor and allocate their spending into categories, check their available balance and plan future spending. There are currently about 12 people in the trial which we expect to increase to around 24 people by the close.

The participants in the trial have complete control over their data and how it is used; the government does not receive or see any of that data. The DWP takes privacy and security extremely seriously and this will form part of the learning from the trial.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-09-05.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.3.2 of the Open Banking Standard report published in February 2016, what assessment the Government has made of the (a) cyber security, (b) data protection and (c) fraud risks an open banking environment introduces.

Simon Kirby

The Open Banking Working Group was created at the request of the government to explore options for allowing customers to use their bank data in a safe, secure and efficient manner. The Group published its report in February 2016. The conclusions reached represent the views of the Working Group and are not government policy.

Subsequently, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued the final report of its investigation into retail banking on 9 August 2016. As part of this, the CMA requires nine leading UK banks to create an open API (Application Programming Interface) to allow access to customer account information as set out in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSDII), which will come into force in January 2018. Informed consent, data protection and cyber security are key considerations in the PSDII, and the government will be consulting on the transposition of this directive shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by Cancer Research UK on the barriers to people making GP appointments, published in the Public Health Journal in October 2016.

David Mowat

Analysis of the cancer awareness measure found that the most commonly perceived barriers to seeing a general practitioner (GP) were finding it difficult to get an appointment with a particular doctor, or at a convenient time, and disliking having to talk to GP receptionists about symptoms.

Catching more cancers early is a priority and this year NHS England is investing an extra £15 million in improving early diagnosis and setting up Cancer Alliances to bring together leadership across local areas to drive improvements.

The Government is committed to improving access to GP services as part of our plan for a seven day National Health Service, and has invested £175 million in the GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. The 2015-16 (July 2016) GP Patient Survey found that 92.1% of patients who got an appointment found it was convenient, and 91% of patients who had a GP they preferred to see saw them at least some of the time.

The General Practice Forward View, published in April, announced £45 million of extra funding nationally over five years so that every practice in the country can help their reception and clerical staff play a greater role in care navigation, signposting patients and handling clinical paperwork to free up GP time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ask Ofcom to review communications markets definitions to reflect the role of advertising as a proxy for payment, particularly in regard to the standard SSNIP test.

Matt Hancock

As the independent communications regulator it is for Ofcom to determine how it should approach the issue of defining communications markets and how it applies the standard SSNIP test. Ofcom does already take into account developments such as the role of advertising and the role of data as proxy for payments in the course of carrying out its duties and will continue to do so in its assessments of market power and its analysis of competition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the efficiency of the work visa system in enabling UK businesses to have speedy access to the language skills they need for new markets.

James Brokenshire

Our visa system is set up to welcome skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors. In the year ending June 2015, the number of work visas we issued increased by six percent, with skilled work visas up nine percent.

UKVI continually assesses the efficiency of its customer offer. The average combined processing time for Tier 1 & Tier 2 category visas globally was 7 days in the year ending June 2015. In the same period, 97% of visas were issued within the standard 15 working days processing time.

UKVI operates a number of services that make the visa process more accessible for businesses. These include priority and super-priority visa services, prime time opening hours and a business network with dedicated UK visa staff to assist businesses with their visa requirements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with industry representatives on the Universal Service Obligation announced by the Prime Minister on 7 November 2015; and what representations he has received from such representatives since.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Secretary of State and DCMS officials have discussed the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) with industry representatives, and will be meeting fixed and mobile operators in coming weeks. The Government will launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15161, whether native speaker language fluency is classified as a skill for the purposes of the work visa system; and how the work visa system can assist a UK business seeking a person with Russian native speaker language fluency.

James Brokenshire

Tier 2 of the Points Based System for immigration – the skilled work route – has been reserved for graduate occupations since 2011. Fluency in a foreign language does not increase the skill level of the occupation. UK businesses wishing to employee a Russian speaker may do so under Tier 2 if the position is graduate level and other Tier 2 criteria, including an appropriate salary and an ability to speak English, are met. Unless the role is on the shortage occupation list, they will need first to have tested the resident labour market to ensure there is no suitably qualified resident worker available.

The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The MAC is looking at selection criteria such as, but not limited to, salaries, particular attributes, economic need and skills level. The MAC is not due to report until December and we do not yet know what its findings and recommendations will be. We await the report with interest and will consider it carefully before making any significant changes to the Tier 2 route.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information he has received from TalkTalk concerning the cause of its recent cyber-security breach and the measures it has put in place to prevent another such breach.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government has been in contact with TalkTalk from the early stages of this incident, but this remains primarily a matter for the company itself and for law enforcement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of making penalties for data breaches a criminal act in which negligence is involved.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government keeps the sanctions available for breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) periodically under review. The Information Commissioner alreadyhas the power to serve a Civil Monetary Penalty of up to £500,000 for‘serious’ contraventions of the DPA.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding is available for programme making and special events licence users to encourage them to leave the 700 MHz band.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Ofcom have published a consultation outlining alternative spectrum bands for PMSE users. The PMSE community have been involved in the process to identify alternative suitable spectrum. We are currently working closely with Ofcom to look at how PMSE users can be supported if they need to purchase new equipment.