Tag: Ivan Lewis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the level of violent crime in Greater Manchester.

Mr John Hayes

The independent Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that in the year ending September 2015 violent crime was 25% lower than in June 2010 and shows no significant change compared to the previous year (September 2014). Knife crime offences recorded by the police also remain 14% below the level of offences in 2010.

Ending gang violence and exploitation is a priority for the Government and on 13 January 2016 we published a paper setting out our refreshed approach. This has a twin focus concerned with both reducing violence, including knife crime, and protecting vulnerable individuals from exploitation by gangs. We are taking a number of steps to reduce violent crime including supporting proactive policing on knife crime and working with retailers to promote the responsible sales of knives.

In addition, as part of the Government’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, we are funding Greater Manchester Police to deliver a project that aims to identify individuals at risk of becoming engaged in serious and organised crime and offering them an alternative path through a series of potential interventions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the gender pay gap for women over 40.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government is committed to full gender equality in the workplace. We will be introducing gender pay gap reporting for companies with at least 250 employees and will provide £500,000 in support to help business calculate, understand and address their gender pay gaps. The Government expects employers to start publishing the required information from April 2017.

The Government’s ambition is to unlock the skills, talents and experience of older workers. Working with business, International Women’s Day 2016 saw the Women’s Business Council launching a toolkit to encourage older women to enter and stay on in the workplace. The Women’s Business Council has established a working group on older women workers to address how business can offer practical support to older workers.

This builds on action the Government has already taken to ensure an effective framework to help women return to and progress in work. These measures include introducing shared parental leave, extending the right to request flexible working to all employees and increasing support for childcare costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces in England operate a neighbourhood policing model.

Mike Penning

How neighbourhood policing is delivered, its priorities, and the specific model that is used, are decisions for Chief Constables in conjunction with their democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners. This Government believes in local policing, accountable to local communities. That is why we abolished all central Government targets and put local people in charge by introducing directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the capacity of Greater Manchester police service to tackle cyber-crime.

Mike Penning

As the Chancellor announced in the Spending Review, no PCC will receive a reduction in cash funding over the Spending Review period if they choose to maximise their precept. It is an operational decision for chief officers, working with their PCC, to determine how best to allocate their available resources taking into account local and national priorities. In total, including national transformation funding and other funding, policing will see a £900 million increase in funding by 2019/20 in cash terms. We will continue to allocate specific funding for Counter Terrorism Policing over the course of the Spending Review period to ensure that the CT policing network has the capabilities it needs to tackle changing threats. The settlement will increase counter-terrorism policing funding in real terms in 16-17 to £670m.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of planned budget changes to her Department’s Afghanistan Project on economic security in that country.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK remains committed to a long term partnership with Afghanistan, as I communicated to President Ghani when I visited in June 2015.

It is worth noting that Afghanistan has made significant progress over the last decade, and the UK will continue our support to protect these hard-won gains. For example, UK support has helped ensure that more than 60% of the population now live within 2 hours walking distance of public health facilities, compared to only 9% in 2002. We have committed to spend £178m million in bilateral aid per year until at least 2017, and future commitments will be determined as part of the Bilateral Aid Review, due to be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the expected cost is of replacement of the Emergency Services Network in Greater Manchester; and how that project is to be funded.

Mike Penning

The Emergency Services Network (ESN) transition is being managed regionally. Greater Manchester is part of the North-West Region, incorporating North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Services, as well as Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Constabulary and Merseyside Police. The Core costs of operating the network are initially borne by the Home Office, but shared by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health, Welsh and Scottish Governments. The Non-core costs of connecting to the network and utilising it will be borne by local Emergency Services organisations and exact costs in Greater Manchester will be dependent upon take up of device and connection numbers to meet local operational needs. Taken together, the Core and Non-core costs of ESN are projected to cost £5 billion over the 15 year operating life of the network, saving in the region of £3 billion on the costs of the current Airwave service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 36W, on minimum wage: Northern Ireland, whether HM Revenue and Customs’ national minimum wage enforcement team have any staff located in Northern Ireland outside the city of Belfast.

Mr David Gauke

The Government takes the enforcement of national minimum wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce the NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

The National Minimum Wage team in Northern Ireland contains six full-time and two-part-time staff with all using Belfast as a base location.

However, as I explained in my previous response, HMRC deploys resources to risk, so work relating to a specific geographical area may not always be undertaken by the NMW team based in that area. In addition, the NMW Dynamic Response Team (DRT) provides a multi-agency response to emerging risks, high profile casework and compliance initiatives across the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what services Healthcare UK offers to organisations based in the devolved regions.

Matthew Hancock

As a constituent part of UK Trade and Investment, Healthcare UK has responsibility for the provision of support and assistance to new and existing healthcare exporters of goods and services across the UK and for promoting the UK and all its constituent parts to foreign investors.

The devolved administrations are responsible for devising and implementing additional programmes to meet the particular needs of companies based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and for promoting Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to foreign investors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 36W, on minimum wage: Northern Ireland, how many people are employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time in the HM Revenue and Customs national minimum wage enforcement team based in Belfast.

Mr David Gauke

The Government takes the enforcement of national minimum wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce the NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

The National Minimum Wage team in Northern Ireland contains six full-time and two-part-time staff with all using Belfast as a base location.

However, as I explained in my previous response, HMRC deploys resources to risk, so work relating to a specific geographical area may not always be undertaken by the NMW team based in that area. In addition, the NMW Dynamic Response Team (DRT) provides a multi-agency response to emerging risks, high profile casework and compliance initiatives across the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-07-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the direct financial benefit of the abolition of air passenger duty bands C and D to airports in Northern Ireland.

Priti Patel

The abolition of Air Passenger Duty bands C and D cuts up to £52 per passenger off the cost of a journey originating in Northern Ireland, including connecting flights.