Tag: Dan Jarvis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the existence of links between the Taliban and Islamic State movements in Afghanistan and the abusive exploitation of extractive resources.

Penny Mordaunt

We assess that the Afghan Taliban leadership opposes Daesh’s presence in Afghanistan, where there has been reported fighting between the two groups. Our judgement is that the Taliban generate funding via illegal exploitation of Afghanistan’s natural resources, for example marble, talcum and lapis lazuli, and through extortion of payments from legal mining operations, but we have seen no evidence to suggest that Daesh is currently engaged in these activities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review eligibility arrangements for the teacher’s Pension Scheme to enable supply teachers to participate in that scheme.

Nick Gibb

The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations currently provide for supply teachers to participate in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer. These are local authorities (LAs), academies and further education colleges. This includes supply teachers who are recruited by a supply agency but then employed directly, under a contract of employment, by the scheme employer.

Where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services’, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme.

The Department does not plan to review these arrangements and considers that it is for employers and teachers to determine how supply teachers are employed, which can in turn enable access to the TPS under the current arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30208, whether she plans to give Ministerial approval to relax the restrictions of the public sector exit cap on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority who leave work after 1 October 2016.

Andrea Leadsom

The proposed public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as being within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This includes the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s sites, which are funded by the UK taxpayer.

It is envisaged that there will be discretion to relax conditions of the cap in exceptional circumstances, for example where there are genuine cases of hardship. This discretion, which would be considered on a case by case basis and which would be subject to Ministerial approval, will be provided for in the exit cap regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the South Korean government on animal welfare as part of the preparations for the Winter Olympics in 2018.

Mr Hugo Swire

I wrote to Ambassadors in the Asia Pacific region in January 2016 to review our approach and assess what progress could be made in the future. Our Ambassador has raised the issue of cruelty related to the dog meat trade with the South Korean authorities, explaining that UK Parliamentarians and the public would like to see regulation that would bring this to an end. As we approach the Winter Olympics in 2018 we will continue to monitor and raise as appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to commemorate the First World War in 2016.

David Evennett

Since the Prime Minister set out plans for the Centenary in October 2012 the Government has delivered highly successful commemorative events for the start of the First World War and the Gallipoli Campaign.

In May 2016, commemorative events will be held for the Battle of Jutland, and in July 2016, we will mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by holding national events at the Thiepval Memorial in France, at Manchester Cathedral, and at Heaton Park. In addition, a national vigil will be held in June at Westminster Abbey, and there will also be vigils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Season Two of the 14-18 NOW culture programme has been announced and this – together with Centenary Partnership events, Heritage Lottery funded projects and local commemorative activity – will ensure people right across the UK have the opportunity to participate in commemorative events.

Other centenary activities such as the UK Tour of the “poppies” and the national repair and conservation of War memorials also continue, more details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to increase the installation of home insulation.

Andrea Leadsom

We have made a commitment to insulate 1 million more homes this Parliament.

We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through a reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017. This will run for five years, with a value of around £640 million per year.

Additionally, our Private Rented Sector Energy Efficiency Regulations, made law from March 2015, will help domestic tenants in the private rented sector by making it illegal to rent out a property with an energy efficiency rating below band E from April 2018 onwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings Ministers of his Department had to discuss tax evasion and avoidance between (a) 5 April 2016 and 5 May 2016 and (b) 6 May 2016 and 6 June 2016.

Matthew Hancock

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis. In line with the practice of previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of child maintenance arrears.

Caroline Nokes

We have at our disposal a range of strong enforcement powers, intended to ensure all parents fulfil their financial responsibilities towards their children. We use all of the powers available to us where it is appropriate to do so, and we are seeking to extend these where appropriate, for instance by deducting money from bank accounts held jointly by the paying parent.

We take into consideration a number of factors when deciding if and what type of enforcement action to take, including the welfare of any relevant children involved and the likelihood of collecting monies owed. Taking enforcement action can be a costly process, particularly in cases where the paying parent is determined not to pay – we must therefore ensure we maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our enforcement system, deciding what is appropriate on a case by case basis and using powers that have the greatest chance of ensuring people meet their obligations and securing money for children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the use of legal highs.

Mike Penning

The 2014 report of the New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Review Expert Panel concluded that “after years of stable and declining drug use, the emergence of NPS has been a ‘game changer’”. An accompanying report (New Psychoactive Substances in England: A review of the evidence) used data from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) to examine the prevalence of use of NPS. It indicated that mephedrone was the most prevalent NPS, though use among adults aged 16-59 had fallen from 1.3% in 2010/11 to 0.6% in 2013/14 (use of mephedrone stood at 0.5% in 2014/15). Mephedrone was controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in April 2010. According to the 2014/15 CSEW, 0.9% of people aged 16-59 used an NPS in the last year. This was the first year that the CSEW collected data on the use of NPS generally (as opposed to specific substances).

The Psychoactive Substances Bill currently before Parliament introduces a blanket ban on the trade in psychoactive substances. The Bill will confer significant new powers on the police and other law enforcement agencies to restrict the supply of psychoactive substances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on raising the upper trivial commutation limit for pensions above £30,000.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government currently has no plans to raise the upper trivial commutation limit for pensions above £30,000.

The Government believes this is the appropriate level which balances providing individuals with flexibility without placing a significant administrative burden on pension schemes.