Tag: Chuka Umunna

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many citizens of other EU countries work in his Department.

Greg Hands

Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as some new hires.

Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.

As DIT is currently being formed, details of the staff that the Department employs is being finalised, whilst employee transfers and recruitment are taking place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many citizens of other EU countries work in his Department.

Mr Robin Walker

The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.

As a new Department we do not yet hold diversity data for all of its staff but will be collecting this in line with standard Civil Service practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2015 to Question 9220, if she will place in the Library a full breakdown of all refusals since May 2015 for each Standard Occupational Classification code.

James Brokenshire

A full breakdown of all refusals since May 2015, for each Standard Occupational Classification code has been produced as a separate document. I will place a copy of this document in the Library of the House of Commons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many scientists and engineers have been refused a Tier 2 (General) Certificate of Sponsorship because the annual cap had been reached since May 2010; which Standard Occupational Classification codes have been affected by that cap; and how many applications have been refused for each such code to date.

James Brokenshire

There were no Certificates of Sponsorship applications refused because of the annual cap between May 2010 and May 2015.

For the period from June to October 2015, 55 applications for a CoS for an engineer role have been refused. No applications for a CoS for scientist roles have been refused.

A full breakdown of the number of CoS refusals because of the annual cap, for each Standard Occupational Classification code has been produced as a separate document. I will place a copy of this document in the Library of the House of Commons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals to impose mandatory rent reductions on social landlords of one per cent each year for four years on housing co-operatives which have had a policy of maintaining low levels of rent.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing Benefit bill for England in the social sector now has risen by a quarter over the last 10 years, reaching £13.2 billion in 2014/15. Rising rents in the social housing sector are fuelling this increase in Housing Benefit, with average social rent increases of 55% over the last ten years, compared to 23% in the private rented sector. In the interests of fairness the Government plans to bring rent increases within the social sector back into line with the private rented sector by cutting rents for social housing tenants by 1% a year, for four years.

The Government recognises that rent reductions may have a bigger impact on some providers and some specific types of housing and has decided to put in place a one-year exception from the rent reduction for fully mutual co-operative housing, almshouses, community land trusts and supported housing while we consider the approach for the second year of the reductions onwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on the applicability of Florrie’s law, capping council housing repair bills, to works which were commissioned but not implemented before that law was introduced in August 2014.

Brandon Lewis

Free advice and information about service charge issues, including the applicability of The Social Landlords Mandatory Reduction of Service Charges (England) Direction 2014 (known as ‘Florrie’s Law’), is available from the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE). This is a specialist body funded by my Department to provide initial advice and guidance on a wide range of residential leasehold issues.

These Directions do not apply to service charges for major works where a local authority has already been awarded Government funding to carry them out, regardless of whether the works have commenced before the law was introduced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children were housed in temporary accommodation for longer than the six-week legal limit in (a) the London Borough of Lambeth, (b) London and (c) England and Wales in each year since 2010-11.

Mr Marcus Jones

We do not collect data on the numbers of children in temporary bed and breakfast style accommodation for longer than 6 weeks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to respond to the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and whether her Department has made an assessment of the submission to the CRC by the Children’s Rights Alliance England in their See It, Say It, Change It report, published in July 2015.

Edward Timpson

As part of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, the UK Delegation will attend an oral hearing with the UN Committee in May 2016. Following this, the UN will produce concluding observations, which the UK will consider.

The Government welcomes the views of children and young people. Senior officials, including the UK State Party’s delegation, have read and noted the contents of the ‘See It, Say It, Change It’ report and the Minister for Children and Families will meet with the group of young people who produced it to hear more about the issues that concern them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department had in the selection of appointed local authority heads of social services departments from 1985 to 2015.

Karen Bradley

The Home Secretary has not had any involvement in appointing local authority heads of social services departments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the value for money provided by Motability to (a) disabled people and (b) the public purse.

Justin Tomlinson

Motability is an independent charitable organisation, wholly responsible for the Motability Scheme. More detailed information about the operation of the Scheme can be requested from the Director of Motability, Motability, Warwick House, Roydon Road, Harlow, Essex, CM19 5PX.

The Department does not provide any funding to Motability so the Scheme does not come at a direct cost to the taxpayer.