Tag: Lord Taylor of Warwick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to overcome the problem of race hate crimes on Britain’s railway networks in the light of the figures collected by the British Transport Police that show an increase in such crimes of 37 per cent in the past five years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government considers the safety of passengers on the railway to be of paramount importance. The British Transport Police (BTP) is committed to providing policing services that meet the needs of all passengers and people who work on the railways. In line with the College of Policing’s National Hate Crime Strategy, BTP is working with partners to reduce hate crime and the harm that it causes, increasing the confidence of victims to report, and to identify and prosecute those who commit such crimes.

BTP will also work with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to improve awareness, vigilance and reporting on hate incidents, and to identify locations and patterns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they plan to take to redress the gender balance in engineering, construction and transport apprenticeships.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Inspiration starts at school. Schools are legally required to secure the independent advice and guidance that all young people need when making career choices. Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, Enterprise Advisers work directly with schools to develop effective links with other local businesses to equip young people with the skills they need.

We are encouraging more young women to enter science and engineering careers, including apprenticeships. The annual Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (TEWeek) encourages them, to consider a career in engineering. The Your Life campaign inspires young people to study maths and physics as a gateway to STEM careers. The STEM Ambassadors programme is a network of over 28,000 volunteers working with schools across the UK, 40% of whom are women.

The construction sector is working with the Construction Leadership Council to highlight the opportunities the sector offers. Women into Construction, an independent not-for-profit organization, provides bespoke support to women wishing to work in the construction industry and assists contractors in recruiting motivated and trained women.

We are launching a new communications campaign in May aimed at promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Our promotional campaigns include role models of successful female apprentices in sectors where they are under-represented.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the relationships between Norway and the EU, and Switzerland and the EU, could be used as models for the UK’s relationship with the EU after leaving that Union.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government provided an assessment of alternative models that the UK could pursue in its paper "Alternatives to membership: possible models for the United Kingdom outside the European Union", which was presented to Parliament in March this year. It will be for the next Prime Minister to determine, along with their Cabinet, the right approach to take and the right outcome to negotiate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the disclosure by Equal Justice of details of six new discrimination claims involving race, sex and gender against the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), what action they are taking to ensure that MPS black and ethnic minority groups are able to work in an environment that is safe and free from abuse.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government takes allegations of unlawful discrimination in the police very seriously and is firmly committed to ensuring the highest possible standards in policing. Such allegations must be investigated thoroughly and, when and where required, perpetrators must be dealt with robustly.

We are reforming the police disciplinary system to ensure it delivers greater transparency and accountability. We are implementing the recommendations of the Chapman Review to make the police disciplinary system less adversarial with a greater focus on rehabilitation, development and improvement where possible, whilst ensuring the most serious matters are dealt with appropriately and robustly through the police conduct system.

It is essential that the actions and behaviour of racist police officers are not allowed to undermine public confidence in the police’s ability to respond to, investigate and fight crime, or to tarnish the reputation of the police and the majority of officers who work closely and effectively with people from all communities.

The public must also have trust that the police represent the communicates they serve, and the proportion of police officers who are from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds has now risen to its highest level ever with forces taking important steps to attract staff from a diverse range of backgrounds.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures small businesses can take to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

he Government is investing £860m in a comprehensive National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) to protect the UK from cyber attacks, tackle cyber crime and make the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online.

Through the NCSP the Government is providing protective advice and guidance, such as the “Ten Steps to Cyber Security”, the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and “Get Safe Online”, and promoting the Cyber Essentials scheme, which sets out the basic technical controls to protect against common cyber attacks. The Government is also building partnerships with industry and sharing cyber threat information, and building law enforcement capabilities to tackle cyber crime, including the National Cyber Crime Unit within the National Crime Agency, and the new network of cyber crime officers within the Metropolitan Police Service and Regional Organised Crime Units.

The Cyber Essentials scheme and Cyber Streetwise campaign are specifically designed to help protect small businesses. In addition, tailored guidance called “What you need to know about cyber security” is available for small businesses, as well as a free online training course for staff in small and medium-sized business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2015, which found that women are being paid the average wage men earned in 2006.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the gender pay gap in the UK remains the lowest on record.

There are now also more women on FTSE Boards and running businesses than ever before, and this year the UK was ranked as the best place in Europe for female entrepreneurs.

I am proud of our achievements, but recognise there is still more we must do. This is why the government is introducing new regulations that will require larger employers to publish their gender pay gap information. This will encourage companies to take action and drive change on this important issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they respond to the chief executive of Shell, who claims that oil and gas companies would be negatively affected in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom – so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to clarify the tax rules relating to fines imposed on banks.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Fines imposed as a punishment by regulators are non-deductible for UK Corporation Tax purposes, while compensation expenditure arising from trading activity is in principle deductible.

However, the government took steps in Finance Act (No2) 2015 to make compensation associated with bank misconduct and mis-selling non-deductible and offset the deductibility of administrative costs associated with this compensation through a taxable receipt. This action is forecast by the OBR to increase banks’ tax payments by around £1bn over the next 5 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the FSB and Administrative Burdens Advisory Board that the proposed HM Revenue and Customs plans for quarterly tax returns would create a significant administrative and financial burden for small businesses.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has consulted informally to understand how the Making Tax Digital changes will affect businesses. This initial assessment shows a reduction in on-going administrative burdens over the longer-term, contributing to HMRC’s overall target to reduce tax administration by £400m by 2020.

HMRC will publish its initial assessment as part of the formal consultation process, working with stakeholders throughout 2016 to develop understanding, ensuring the final design is focused on reducing burdens.

As with any other tax measure, a detailed assessment of the impact on administrative burdens will be published alongside draft legislation, expected to be in December 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risks that companies may delay investment and hiring new staff in the UK in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

My Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Governor of the Bank of England have been clear that although there is uncertainty ahead, the UK is very much open for business and investment.

Since the referendum, the Government has been actively engaged with businesses of all types and in all sectors to understand their concerns. In the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and other ministers are holding a series of roundtables with business organisations and with CEOs and senior representatives from many of our biggest employers. The Secretary of State also chairs the new business engagement inter-ministerial group, which brings ministers across Government together to discuss issues and challenges facing business, including creating opportunities for investment and trade.