Tag: Emily Thornberry

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on recruiting a permanent chair of the Single Source Regulations Office; and when he expects the new chair to be in place.

Mr Philip Dunne

Each year the Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes an analysis of all new contracts which sets out whether they were placed competitively or non-competitively. This analysis appears in the Department’s Statistical Bulletin Trade, Industry and Contracts and the most recent period for which data is available can be found through the link below. Table six in the excel tables and page 11 of the pdf refer to the relevant information.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

Figures for amendments to existing contracts are not held centrally and, due to the large number of such cases, an analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

All single source procurement contracts which met the criteria set out in Part two of the Defence Reform Act 2014 (DRA) are subject to the new single source procurement framework, apart from a very small number which have been specifically exempted from the framework by the Secretary of State for Defence, using the powers granted to him under section 14(7) of the DRA. The Department does not release details of these exemptions in order to avoid influencing future decisions.

Contracts which were signed prior to the new single source procurement framework coming into force can become subject to the regulations on amendment by agreement between the MOD and the contractor. To maximise the benefits from the regulations, the MOD intends to seek such agreement where appropriate, except where there are well founded commercial or practical reasons not to. However, the Department does not hold a central record of the number of contracts which have, on amendment, not been converted to Qualifying Defence Contracts, and the data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Contracts which fall under the Regulations are only referred to the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) when there is a disagreement between the supplier and the contracting authority which cannot be resolved through negotiation between these two parties. The subjects that can be referred to the SSRO are set out in the DRA, and include whether or not costs are allowable, attributable to the contract and reasonable. Should a referral be made by either the MOD or the supplier, the consent of the other party is not required. One such referral was made in 2015, by the MOD.

The MOD is currently pursuing the recruitment of a Chair for the SSRO. The SSRO has an Interim Chairman in post and the Department plans to advertise this substantive position shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many members of his Department’s staff from which of his Department’s sections were seconded to (a) the Joint Intelligence Organisation’s Assessments Staff and (b) the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office during 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are not able to provide the number of Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff seconded to the Joint Intelligence Organisation’s Assessment Staff or the National Security Secretariat for operational security reasons.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from each branch of the armed forces took part in cold weather training in each of the last six years.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK Armed Forces conduct a wide range of training to operate in cold weather environments. Information on the full range of activities is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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 reduction in entitlement to universal credit was which resulted from a claimant taking up paid work 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 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people currently claiming legacy benefits he expects to have transferred to universal credit by the end of the current Parliament.

Priti Patel

It is not possible to predict whether or not people currently claiming benefits will claim Universal Credit in the next five years. The numbers of claimants in receipt of Universal Credit at any given point will vary according to a number of factors, such as the economic climate and developments in Government policy. Even if this data was published, such forecasts may change over time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in receipt of support for mortgage interest who were also in receipt of income-based jobseeker’s allowance, reached the end of the two-year limit in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14 and (f) 2014-15.

Justin Tomlinson

The information is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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 hours each week Jobcentre Plus work coaches are expected to spend with each participant in the Mandatory Intervention Regime under the Help to Work scheme.

Priti Patel

The Mandatory Intervention Regime (MIR) under the Help to Work scheme delivers all the employment support measures available through the JCP Offer and, to supplement those, provides more intensive, personalised support through increased work coach interviews. The length, nature and frequency of these additional interviews is determined locally on a case by case basis and may vary over time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of tenants in the private rented sector were in receipt of housing benefit in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Tomlinson

The information from 2008 to 2015 is available and is published at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit caseload data prior to 2008 can be found at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107093842/http:/statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/index.php?page=hbctb_arc

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints from (a) employees and (b) third parties were received by HM Revenue and Customs’ National Minimum Wage Risk Unit in each of the last six years.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them. However, some complaints may not lead to the commencement of an investigation. This might be due to incomplete information being provided, or the worker subsequently wishing to withdraw their complaint. Similarly, multiple complaints about the same employer would only be recorded under one investigation.

In 2014/15, 2489 worker complaints and 691 pieces of third party information were referred to HMRC. However, I reiterate that not all complaints will lead to an investigation. In previous years, HMRC did not record statistics by complaints received, but by investigations completed. In 2014/15, HMRC completed 2204 investigations. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided to her on 6 May 2014 at Hansard Column 110W for information on prior years.

Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation amongst others, but HMRC does not record the specific numbers of those staff involved beyond this. The budget allocated to HMRC by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is provided as an overall amount. I therefore refer the honourable member to the answers provided to her at UIN 16853 for budget details & UIN 16938 for information on staffing.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance were terminated as a result of a disallowance which followed a sanction in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.