Tag: Gareth Thomas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will devolve (a) tax raising powers, (b) business and skills funding, (c) housing and planning, (d) transport, (e) health and (f) policing and criminal justice to the Mayor of London and London Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy

Our devolution agenda is making huge strides in putting decision making powers in the hands of local people. London has been the trailblazer for that and already has significant powers across a range of policy areas including housing, transport and policing. We remain open to exploring opportunities to devolve further powers to local areas that may approach with such proposals, including London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Lithuanian government against plans for a convention centre to be built in the Jewish Cemetery in Piramont, Vilnius; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The Government is aware of plans announced by the Lithuanian Government to renovate the Soviet-era Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, located in the Šnipiškės Jewish cemetery. The existing building on the site has been left derelict for some time. The Chairperson of the Jewish Community in Lithuania has been clear in her public support for the renovation, stressing that the current site is run-down and at risk otherwise of further deterioration. It is our understanding that there will be no significant structural changes and that only the interior will be renovated for use as a centre for conferences and cultural events. The surrounding area will be maintained as a memorial park. The Lithuanian Prime Minister has said that all Jewish cemeteries in Lithuania would be memorialised and marked by the end of 2017. We welcome his commitment to working alongside the Jewish Community of Lithuania and the international Jewish community on this renovation. The Lithuanian government has also said it will discuss the renovation with the Israeli government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she estimates her Department’s investigations into applications for family reunion from Kuwaiti Bidoon people will be concluded; how many such application are outstanding in that category; when the earliest such application under that category that remains outstanding was submitted; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

UK Visas and Immigration is aware of around 380 outstanding applications for Family Reunion from individuals claiming to be the dependent of someone granted refugee status in the UK as a Kuwaiti Bidoon. The oldest application in this cohort where a decision has not yet been taken was submitted on 11 March 2014.

UK Visas and Immigration is committed to concluding these applications as soon as possible. They are complex and require detailed investigation, including consultation with international partners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups he estimates will publish a recovery plan in the next 12 to 18 months; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

As part of NHS England’s financial management processes, it expects clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with planned cumulative overspends to provide it with recovery plans. Financial recovery plans may also be requested where a CCG’s financial position deteriorates during a financial year. In the past three years the number of CCGs with planned cumulative overspends has been nine in 2013/14 (with 19 actual cumulative overspends at year end), 18 in 2014/15 (19 at year end) and 22 in 2015/16 (29 forecast full year overspends as at November 2015).

NHS England has requested CCGs submit final financial plans for 2016/17 by the beginning of April. As in previous years, those planning cumulative deficits will be required to submit or refresh recovery plans. NHS England will not be in a position to estimate the number of CCGs likely to submit recovery plans in 2016/17 until the planning process is further advanced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students were entered for (a) GCSE and (b) A levels in (i) Arabic, (ii) modern Greek, (iii) Japanese, (iv) Urdu, (v) Bengali, (vi) modern Hebrew, (vii) Punjabi, (viii) Polish, (ix) Dutch, (x) Persian, (xi) Turkish, (xii) Albanian, (xiii) Cantonese and (xiv) Mandarin in (A) total and (B) each region in (1) 2011, (2) 2012, (3) 2013, (4) 2014 and (5) 2015; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

It is not possible to identify pupils entered for Mandarin Chinese from data held by the Department. The Department does hold information on the number of entries into GCSE Chinese which includes Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese subjects, including Cantonese.

There is no GCSE or A level qualification in Albanian.

The table attached provides information on the number of GCSE and A level entries for the stated subjects in each region between 2010/11 and 2014/15. [1][2]

[1] Coverage is for all state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) in England.

[2] Figure has been suppressed due to low numbers (1 or 2 pupils) or where secondary suppression has been applied.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff have been assigned to tackle employers of illegal immigrants in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Border Force is a law enforcement command within the Home Office which secures the UK border by carrying out immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the UK. Tackling employers of illegal migrants is dealt with by Immigration Enforcement which is responsible for preventing abuse, tracking immigration offenders and increasing compliance with immigration law.

In the event that an employer is found to have employed an illegal worker, they may be subject to a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker unless they have undertaken the prescribed document checks. In the last five years Immigration Enforcement has issued over nine thousand civil penalties to the value of £110 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with officials of his Department in which withdrawal of the valuation check service by HM Revenue and Customs was discussed since May 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

Tax-advantaged employee share schemes are greatly valued by both companies and employers, and the government wants to make sure that the rules surrounding these schemes are as simple and clear as possible. Budget 2016 made a number of changes to the rules for employment-related securities and options which will make these schemes fairer and easier for taxpayers to understand, and therefore encourage businesses to use them.

An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned report conducted by Oxera considered the effect of the tax-advantaged employee share schemes on productivity. The report is available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110203095056/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/tax-advantaged-report2.pdf.

The government’s most recent assessment of the cost of the tax-advantaged employee share schemes to the Exchequer is provided in the table below.

	Forecast cost of Income Tax relief (2015-16)	Forecast cost of National Insurance relief (2015-16)
Share Incentive Plan	£220 million	£165 million
Save As You Earn	£180 million	£140 million
Enterprise Management Incentives	£70 million	£40 million
Company Share Option Plan	£70 million	£40 million

HMRC has not withdrawn the valuation checking service for the tax-advantaged employee share schemes. However, HMRC has withdrawn other checks for non-tax advantaged schemes as, in the majority of cases, acceptable valuations were submitted. Therefore, the valuation service added no value and is seen as unnecessary.

The government keeps all areas of the tax system under review and as part of that in always interested in understanding the views of all interested parties.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the decision to introduce a 30-day deadline to travel once a family reunion visa has been issued; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

The visas issued to non-EEA nationals who are coming from overseas to stay in the UK for more than six-months are limited to 30 days duration because they are intended to act as a means of enabling the person to travel to the UK and to collect their biometric residence permit (BRP) following their arrival in the country. When a family reunion application is made individuals can specify the date they would like the visa to start to enable them to make any necessary travel arrangements, including obtaining exit visas.

The start date of the visa can be deferred for up to three months from the date of application. If there is any delay expected in the processing time of the application, the individual will be contacted by UKVI and informed about the delay. Where someone is unable to make arrangements to travel to the UK within the 30 day period, they can apply for a replacement visa.

We are aware that a small number of families have experienced difficulties with the visa procedures to enable them to join their family members in the UK, and have sought to address these issues by updating the guidance we issue to Entry Clearance Officers on family reunion applications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to require regular audits of the accuracy of records held by credit ratings agencies on UK nationals’ credit history; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin

When consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014, the Government decided that, given their central role in helping to inform responsible lending decisions, CRAs should be directly regulated by the FCA. As such, every credit reference agency’s fitness to trade is being assessed as part of the FCA’s robust authorisation process

Information on a credit report should be purely factual; for example, if arrears were incurred, those lenders who share data through the credit reference agencies will have recorded them.

A credit reference agency is able to correct factually inaccurate information. However, it is the original lender or organisation that supplies credit to a consumer that provides the agencies with the information held on a credit report. Where inaccurate information has been reported to a credit reference agency, a consumer must contact the lender in the first instance.

If a problem with inaccurate data is not resolved satisfactorily with a lender, consumers are able to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is able to investigate and take action where necessary. The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights, and it enforces the Data Protection Act.