Tag: Lord Harris of Haringey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 12 October (HL Deb, col 1889–90), what steps they have taken to inform parents that the provision of information about their child’s nationality for inclusion in the school censure is optional and that they can decline to provide that information without any adverse consequences.

Lord Nash

The Department for Education publishes guidance for schools on administering the school census. It is up to schools to then work with parents and guardians to collect this data. As stated in the guidance (section 5.3.5) the requested information on nationality is as declared by the parent or guardian. The parent or guardian may decline to provide this information to the school without consequences. In such a case, the school would record this as ‘refused’ to meet its statutory duty to make a return.

However, the Department is aware that a number of schools have not implemented the collection in accordance with the guidance. We will, therefore, work with the sector to consider how it can better support schools in collecting school census data for future rounds.

To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries. This note has also been published on the Department’s public website.

The guidance is available on the Government’s website, www.gov.uk, by searching for ‘School census 2016 to 2017: guide for schools and LAs’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, in how many instances people have been imprisoned for defaulting on payment of their council tax.

Lord Faulks

Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

Year	Total
2012	107
2013	108
2014	89

Notes:

These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.

Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.

Year	Number of Judicial Reviews	Upheld	Refused
2012	0	0	0
2013	0	0	0
2014	2	0	2

Notes:

These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, what was the estimated cost to the public purse of people being imprisoned for defaulting on payment of their council tax.

Lord Faulks

This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The department routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison, and in summary form the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. These can be found on Gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, how many cases of individuals imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax were appealed to the High Court, and in how many of those cases the appeals were upheld.

Lord Faulks

Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

Year	Total
2012	107
2013	108
2014	89

Notes:

These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.

Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.

Year	Number of Judicial Reviews	Upheld	Refused
2012	0	0	0
2013	0	0	0
2014	2	0	2

Notes:

These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued any guidance on the circumstances in which an individual should be imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

In June 2013, DCLG issued ‘Guidance to Local Councils on Good Practice in the Collection of Council Tax Arrears’. The document (attached) provides guidance to local authorities on enforcement and clearly sets out the Government’s position. It is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdf

Collection and enforcement of unpaid council tax is a matter for local authorities. They are best placed to consider the circumstances of the taxpayer who has fallen into arrears and to decide what action to take.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of GP surgeries that are failing to meet their obligations under regulation 15A of the National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2004, as amended, to establish and maintain a Patient Participation Group.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England is responsible for the assessment of general medical practices compliance with contractual requirements.

NHS England operates an annual practice declaration to support its local teams assess contractual compliance. The annual declaration was amended this year to include key areas of enquiry in relation to the new responsibilities to establish and maintain a Patient Participation Group.

The NHS (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations contain steps which NHS England may take where a practice does not comply with the terms of the agreement. These include issuing a remedial notice and, if no action is taken as a result of this notice, a breach of contract notice which could result in NHS England withholding money, due under the agreement, or terminating the agreement.

NHS England does not currently hold information nationally on the use of contractual sanctions. NHS England is developing its reporting systems to identify the number of breach notices issued periodically and to identify common themes associated with contractual non-compliance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that the obligations under regulation 15A of the National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2004, as amended, to establish and maintain a Patient Participation Group are being met.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England is responsible for the assessment of general medical practices compliance with contractual requirements.

NHS England operates an annual practice declaration to support its local teams assess contractual compliance. The annual declaration was amended this year to include key areas of enquiry in relation to the new responsibilities to establish and maintain a Patient Participation Group.

The NHS (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations contain steps which NHS England may take where a practice does not comply with the terms of the agreement. These include issuing a remedial notice and, if no action is taken as a result of this notice, a breach of contract notice which could result in NHS England withholding money, due under the agreement, or terminating the agreement.

NHS England does not currently hold information nationally on the use of contractual sanctions. NHS England is developing its reporting systems to identify the number of breach notices issued periodically and to identify common themes associated with contractual non-compliance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sanctions are available to NHS England to enforce the obligations under regulation 15A of the National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2004, as amended, to establish and maintain a Patient Participation Group, and what information they have about the use of such sanctions.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England is responsible for the assessment of general medical practices compliance with contractual requirements.

NHS England operates an annual practice declaration to support its local teams assess contractual compliance. The annual declaration was amended this year to include key areas of enquiry in relation to the new responsibilities to establish and maintain a Patient Participation Group.

The NHS (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations contain steps which NHS England may take where a practice does not comply with the terms of the agreement. These include issuing a remedial notice and, if no action is taken as a result of this notice, a breach of contract notice which could result in NHS England withholding money, due under the agreement, or terminating the agreement.

NHS England does not currently hold information nationally on the use of contractual sanctions. NHS England is developing its reporting systems to identify the number of breach notices issued periodically and to identify common themes associated with contractual non-compliance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the new EU Package Travel Directive (2015/2302/EU); and what plans they have to implement that Directive in advance of the UK leaving the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK Government was influential in negotiating the new EU Package Travel Directive (2015/2302/EU). In particular the new rules extend protection to holidaymakers who pull together the elements of a package themselves using online providers, as well as those buying one “off the shelf”.

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 including the updated Package Travel Directive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for UK-based airlines of the Single European Sky when the UK leaves the EU.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU for our aviation industry. This includes the implications for UK-based airlines relating to Air Traffic Management and the Single European Sky after the UK leaves the EU.