Tag: Kevin Brennan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many workers who were transferred from the public sector to the private sector under previous privatisations will be covered by the Government’s proposed changes to exit payments in the Enterprise Bill.

Greg Hands

The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what research has been commissioned by his Department into the effects of the extension of Sunday opening hours in each year for which data is available.

Anna Soubry

In 2006 Indepen were commissioned by the DTI to evaluate the economic costs and benefits of extending Sunday Trading hours, a copy of the report can be found on the GOV.UK website.

My Department has not commissioned any research since then into the effects of the extension of Sunday opening hours.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average penalty awarded against employers who failed to pay the national minimum wage was in each year since 2012.

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 Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reviews all complaints that are referred to them.

Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker. A further increase in penalties will come into force in April 2016 and will increase the penalty percentage from 100% to 200% of the underpayments owed to each worker, up to the existing maximum.

In 2014/15, HMRC issued 705 penalties totalling £934,660. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN 205613 for information on previous years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department owed in late payments to small and medium-sized enterprises in each year for which data is available.

Anna Soubry

When making payments, the core Department does not differentiate between small, medium and large enterprises as many small and medium sized businesses can be found at various tiers of the procurement chain.

The Department takes prompt payment very seriously and records show that in the current financial year to the end of February 2016, 96.4% of all valid invoices (by volume) were paid within 5 working days. When looking at the overall value, this equates to 99.8% paid within 5 working days and 99.99% of invoices were paid within the 30 day standard contractual terms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the top five reasons were for imposing sanctions on jobseeker’s allowance claimants in each year for which data is available.

Priti Patel

The available information for the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance sanction decisions, by referral reason, is published and can be found 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

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of which sectors of the British economy are most at risk from foreign export dumping; and what steps he is taking to protect those sectors from that activity.

Anna Soubry

Any industry or business can potentially be affected by dumping. Companies in all goods sectors can therefore seek protection from dumping or subsidy through the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy Regulations by providing evidence direct, or through a trade association, to the European Commission.

Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions by the European Commission have been taken against a wide range of imported products. The attached table shows the sectoral pattern of investigations conducted by the European Commission during the period 2011-2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many requests to meet with hon. Members she has received from each of the political parties represented in the House since her appointment.

Nick Gibb

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education frequently meets Hon Members from across the political spectrum in the performance of her duties.

Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the level of business rates on capital investment in the UK steel industry.

Mr David Gauke

The government concluded the Business Rates Review at Budget 2016. The government consulted with stakeholders, including the steel industry.

From April 2020, business rates for all businesses, including the steel industry, will be cut through a switch in the indexation of business rates from RPI to the main measure of inflation currently CPI.

The government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the revival of the Cornish language.

James Wharton

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 12 May to Question UIN 36737.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the role of the Free Syrian Army in the conflict in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Free Syrian Army is a collective term used by a range of moderate opposition groups in Syria who are fighting the regime and ISIL. The Free Syrian Army call for a pluralistic system that respects the rights of all Syrians. They reject terrorism and terrorist tactics, and have condemned Islamic extremism. They have been fighting both the regime and ISIL in Syria for over two years with success in a number of areas, in particular in Idlib and Aleppo in Northwest Syria and in Dera’a Province in the South.