Tag: Kate Hoey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which (a) retired civil servants and (b) former Ministers have travelled to Libya at public expense since October 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Since 2011, the Government has funded visits to Libya by current officials and Ministers as part of regular diplomatic relations. In addition, in periods when the security situation in Libya permitted it, a number of visits to Libya, including by Jonathan Powell the Prime Minister’s Envoy to Libya, have been funded by HMG.

No retired civil servants or former ministers have visited Libya at public expense.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the report of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain on the Bahraini government’s implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have noted the report by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain which assesses the progress the Government of Bahrain is making against the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report (BICI). In June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council presented similar findings by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. That is why we continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to ensure full implementation of the BICI recommendations, as well as those accepted in their UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review, and we are offering UK assistance to help them achieve this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-04-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of small businesses which will not be able to afford the digital accounting software to enable them to submit digital tax returns; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has committed to ensuring free software is available for those with the simplest affairs in order that businesses can meet the requirements of Making Tax Digital. In addition, many businesses are already using digital record-keeping tools to deal with their tax affairs.

The Government has received a number of representations from individuals, businesses, professional bodies and the software industry about Making Tax Digital. Both I and officials from HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs have discussed the reforms with a wide range of professional bodies and advisory groups representing small businesses and the self-employed. Extensive consultation will take place throughout 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what was discussed at the meeting between Sir John Scarlett and Moussa Koussa in the UK in 2001.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

It has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on meetings involving intelligence officials.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of members in Northern Ireland of each trade union opted to pay the political levy; and which of those trade unions’ headquarters are in (a) Great Britain and (b) Northern Ireland.

Nick Boles

The latest Annual Report of the Certification Officer shows that 4,954,606 union members in Great Britain paid the political levy in the period 2013-2014. This represents 70.67% of the total number of individuals who were union members in the same period.^[1]

Employment law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and I am not able to respond to the questions relating to Northern Ireland.

[1] Political Funds of Trade Unions, 2013-2014, Annual Report 2015/2016 of the Certification Officer, page 68-69, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449387/CO_Annual_Report__2014-2015_.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of introducing competition into the Disclosure and Barring Service; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service is a non-departmental public body which provides access to appropriate criminal record information for employers through its disclosure service for England and Wales. It also makes independent barring decisions about people who have harmed, or where there is considered to be a risk of harm to, a child or vulnerable person within the workplace. Given the sensitive nature of this work and the reliance on police forces to provide locally held intelligence, it would not be appropriate to introduce competition.

Whilst no assessment has been made of the affect of timeliness on the number of job opportunities which may have been lost, the impact which delays may have on applicants is recognised. The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. In very exceptional cases, where it is apparent that a delay is likely to cause undue hardship to an applicant, the DBS will do all it can to expedite the process by raising an escalation with the relevant police force.

The average end to end time taken to complete a DBS check, including the time taken by police forces, is listed in following table.

Financial Year	Average calendar days for a disclosure to be processed
13/14	11.5
14/15	14.4
15/16	14.5

The proportion of checks which took longer than (a) eight weeks (b) 12 weeks and (c) six months is listed in the following table.

Financial Year	Disclosures which took longer than 8 weeks	Disclosures which took longer than 12 weeks	Disclosures which took longer than 6 Months
% of Disclosures	% of Disclosures	% of Disclosures
13/14	2.6%	0.8%	0.0%
14/15	4.9%	2.1%	0.1%
15/16	5.2%	3.5%	0.3%

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) ex gratia and (b) other payments were made to Moussa Koussa by the UK Government in 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Moussa Koussa has received no payments from HMG.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of trade union members in (a) Great Britain and (b) Northern Ireland pay the political levy.

Nick Boles

The latest Annual Report of the Certification Officer shows that 4,954,606 union members in Great Britain paid the political levy in the period 2013-2014. This represents 70.67% of the total number of individuals who were union members in the same period.^[1]

Employment law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and I am not able to respond to the questions relating to Northern Ireland.

[1] Political Funds of Trade Unions, 2013-2014, Annual Report 2015/2016 of the Certification Officer, page 68-69, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449387/CO_Annual_Report__2014-2015_.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what records the Government holds on how many job opportunities have been lost due to the time taken for Disclosure and Barring Service checks to be made.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service is a non-departmental public body which provides access to appropriate criminal record information for employers through its disclosure service for England and Wales. It also makes independent barring decisions about people who have harmed, or where there is considered to be a risk of harm to, a child or vulnerable person within the workplace. Given the sensitive nature of this work and the reliance on police forces to provide locally held intelligence, it would not be appropriate to introduce competition.

Whilst no assessment has been made of the affect of timeliness on the number of job opportunities which may have been lost, the impact which delays may have on applicants is recognised. The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. In very exceptional cases, where it is apparent that a delay is likely to cause undue hardship to an applicant, the DBS will do all it can to expedite the process by raising an escalation with the relevant police force.

The average end to end time taken to complete a DBS check, including the time taken by police forces, is listed in following table.

Financial Year	Average calendar days for a disclosure to be processed
13/14	11.5
14/15	14.4
15/16	14.5

The proportion of checks which took longer than (a) eight weeks (b) 12 weeks and (c) six months is listed in the following table.

Financial Year	Disclosures which took longer than 8 weeks	Disclosures which took longer than 12 weeks	Disclosures which took longer than 6 Months
% of Disclosures	% of Disclosures	% of Disclosures
13/14	2.6%	0.8%	0.0%
14/15	4.9%	2.1%	0.1%
15/16	5.2%	3.5%	0.3%

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what costs relating to the relocation of Moussa Koussa to Qatar in 2011 were met by the UK Government; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Mr Koussa’s entry into Doha was a matter for him and the Qatari authorities.

No elements of Moussa Koussa’s travel to Qatar were paid for by the UK Government.