Tag: Emily Thornberry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total size was of the core defence capability training budget in each of the last six years.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence undertakes a wide range of training activity, from phase 1 and phase 2 training for new recruits to complex joint exercises with other nations and specialist training for specific trades and skills, such as nuclear engineering. The costs for these activities encompass nearly all of the Defence Lines of Development and cannot be broken out without incurring disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her most recent estimate is of the number of UK citizens who have travelled to fight with Daesh in Syria and Iraq; and how many such persons have since returned to the UK.

Mr John Hayes

Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half of those have returned and approximately 15% are deceased.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount paid for the reimbursement of childcare costs to claimants in receipt of the childcare element of universal credit was in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 216015, what criteria his Department sets for eligibility for free NHS prescriptions for households in receipt of universal credit.

Alistair Burt

The Department has introduced two earnings thresholds to determine entitlement to Help with Health Costs, including free NHS prescriptions, for those getting Universal Credit. A higher earnings threshold has been set at £935 net per month for claimants who are responsible for a child or who have limited capability for work, and a lower one at £435 net per month for all other claimants. These thresholds became effective on 1 November 2015, and replace the interim arrangement whereby all Universal Credit claimants were entitled.

In setting these earnings thresholds, we have broadly aligned entitlement through Universal Credit with the arrangements for those benefits which currently provide entitlement and which Universal Credit will replace, within the constraints imposed by the different structure of Universal Credit and the need to avoid additional costs to the NHS. The thresholds will make sure that those claimants on the lowest incomes continue to get Help with Health Costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by HM Revenue and Customs to enforce compliance with minimum wage legislation in each of the last 10 years.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker.

The Government has increased annual funding of National Minimum Wage enforcement by over 60% since 2010, meaning a £13.2m budget in 2015/16.

This has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the minimum wage; there are currently 237 staff (224.05 full-time equivalent) in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Minimum Wage teams, up from 171 at the start of 2014/15.

Previous years’ detail is provided in the table below:

Year	Funding allocated by BIS (or predecessor departments) (£m)	Full-time equivalent staff
2006/07	5.8	Not available
2007/08	6.8	Not available
2008/09	7.6	139.16
2009/10	8.3	140.18
2010/11	8.1	142.18
2011/12	8.3	138.88
2012/13	8.3	142.37
2013/14	8.3	157.85
2014/15	9.2*	183.47

*Increased in-year

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to the Work Programme since 2011 who had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral achieved a qualification before leaving that programme.

Priti Patel

The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Attorney General, how many cases of suspected non-compliance with minimum wage legislation were referred to the CPS in each of the last five years; and how many such referrals led to a prosecution in each of those years.

Robert Buckland

Data held centrally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), together with information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the National Minimum Wage (NMW), shows that there were three cases which were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by HMRC in the financial year 2010 – 2011, of which two resulted in prosecution. No referrals were made in the financial years 2011 – 2012 and 2012 – 2013. No cases were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by HMRC in 2013 – 2014 and two cases were referred in 2014 – 2015, of which one resulted in prosecution. One case has been referred in this financial year (2015-2016), which is currently under consideration.

The majority of employers identified as paying below the National Minimum Wage pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they do not do so, HMRC pursues recovery through the civil courts. For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour HMRC operates a policy of selective and exemplary criminal investigation action as part of a wider enforcement strategy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what statutory provision exists to ensure that the claimant commitments of universal credit claimants with dependent children include adequate protections for the wellbeing of the children.

Priti Patel

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 and Universal Credit Regulations 2013 set out the types of requirements which may be imposed depending on the circumstances and characteristics of the claimant. Regulations also make clear the circumstances in which requirements should be limited or even lifted entirely for a temporary period. For example, Regulations 98 and 99, which provide provisions for suspension of requirements where children are in distress.

All claimant commitments are tailored to the individual and through a discussion between the Work Coach and the claimant, requirements are tailored for a broad range of circumstances – including for matters relating to the wellbeing of children. These reasonable requirements, including any limiting or lifting and the reasons, are recorded within the claimant commitment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will expand the Targeted Affordability Fund to assist with changes to housing benefit in the social sector announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Justin Tomlinson

The Targeted Affordability Funding will be based on recycling around 30 per cent of the savings from the measure to freeze LHA rates, which was announced in the Summer Budget. The funding will be available from 2017/18 onwards and will be used to support areas where higher rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation. The amounts of funding which will be available each year and the plans for how we will distribute it, will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many single people under the age of 35 with no dependent children were accepted by local authorities as (a) homeless and (b) homeless and in priority need in each of the last six years.

Mr Marcus Jones

The information requested is not held centrally.