Tag: Emily Thornberry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence of 9 December 2015, HCWS372, on War Pension Scheme – Uprating 2016, if he will make an estimate of the cost of uprating war pensions in line with average earnings in 2016.

Mark Lancaster

The Department uprates War Pensions annually in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), ensuring a consistent approach to social security disability benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. This is in keeping with other public service schemes and reflects the measure of inflation used by the Bank of England. Therefore the Ministry of Defence has no plans to estimate the cost of uprating compensation payments made under the War Pension Scheme in line with average earnings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what occasions Border Force Cutters seized contraband goods while on patrol in UK waters in each of the last six years; and what the (a) volume and (b) type of goods intercepted was in each such case.

James Brokenshire

Border Force does not provide seizure information specific to ports or mode of activity as to do so is likely to compromise border security.

Such information in the public domain is highly likely to inform those who seek to defraud or smuggle, how and where to target their activity in order to evade border controls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for the House to be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to use his Department’s cyber strike capability.

Penny Mordaunt

We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, at which military bases unauthorised entries were reported in each year from 2014.

Mark Lancaster

The figures for unauthorised entries to military bases include drones and air balloon flying at low altitude over military sites but do not include failed attempts at authorised access. None of these incidents resulted in any significant ramifications for Defence security.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) treats all unauthorised entries very seriously. They are investigated to a level commensurate with their complexity and impact by Military Police, MOD Police or local constabulary.

The locations of security incidents of this category recorded within the Ministry of Defence for 2014 are set out below.

Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth

HMNB Clyde

Royal Marine (RM) Stonehouse

Army Reserve Centre, Bristol

Army Reserve Centre, Blackburn

Army Careers Centre, Glasgow

RAF Halton

RAF Kirton on Lindsay

RAF Wyton

RAF Linton on Ouse

RAF Brize Norton

RAF Scampton

RAF Benson

RAF Honington

RAF Mona

RAF Leeming

DSTL Porton Down Range Area

With regard to the locations of security incidents of this category within the MOD for 2015 I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 9 February 2016 to question number 25082.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military and (b) civilian UK personnel are currently deployed in Tunisia; and in what capacity such personnel are deployed.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence has 10 military and no civilian personnel currently deployed in Tunisia. Two personnel form the enduring British Embassy Defence Section, comprised of the Defence Attache and his assistant. The remaining eight personnel are deployed on a temporary basis, subject to regular review, and are either coordinating or delivering training to Tunisia’s security institutions or supporting UN and EU missions in-country.

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.

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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