The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many employees are employed at the Sheffield office of the (a) Skills Funding Agency and (b) the Insolvency Service.
Joseph Johnson
As at 31st January 2016, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills have a) 13 employees in the Skills Funding Agency and b) Nil employees in the Insolvency Service based in its office in Sheffield.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-04.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on legal advice relating to the Debt Market Integrator.
Matthew Hancock
The total spend on legal fees, including external legal advice, relating to the Debt Market Integrator for 2014/15 and 2015/16 is £3,123,332.
DMI has collected in excess of £22m up to end December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what checks his Department has in place to ensure that credit reference firms do not sell-on electoral roll data.
John Penrose
Under the Regulation 115 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002, anyone who is supplied with the full register is not permitted to sell a copy to any person, disclose any information contained in it, or use it for anything apart from the specified purpose for which the full register has been supplied. In contravening this provision, a person would be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, which currently stands at £5000.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Senior Civil Servants were based in London in each year since 2010.
Matthew Hancock
The proportion of Senior Civil Servants based in London from 2010 to 2015 is set out below:
|
1st April 2010 |
65.1% |
|
1st April 2011 |
65.0% |
|
1st April 2012 |
65.5% |
|
1st April 2013 |
63.9% |
|
1st April 2014 |
65.4% |
|
1st April 2015 |
67.0% |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.
Harriett Baldwin
100% of HM Treasury Senior Civil Servants and 99.9% core policy civil servants are based in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the effect on electoral registration rates of introduction of a requirement to pass on electoral roll data to credit reference firms.
John Penrose
Copies of the electoral register have been made available for sale in one form or another since at least 1832. Credit reference agencies purchase the electoral register because it provides proof to lenders that applicants for credit do in fact live at the address given and that they are not attempting to obtain credit fraudulently using a false name and address. Given the importance of credit in a modern economy, the then Government concluded in 2002 that this was in the public interest. The credit reference agencies are precluded by law from doing anything else with the electoral data, unless the data is also included in the edited register, from which individuals can opt out.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31069 on corruption, what the usual practice is for disclosing such costs.
Matthew Hancock
All Cabinet Office costs are published in its annual report and accounts available on the GOV.UK website.
The Anti-Corruption Champion has had a range of meetings with Ministers and officials from other government departments, as well as representatives from civil society and business, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and overseas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of (a) members of the Senior Civil Service and (b) all officials of his Department will be based at head office on conclusion of BIS2020.
Joseph Johnson
The plans for BIS2020 are still being developed. We do not currently have information on which posts will be at head office in 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the new national living wage on carers who will lose their eligibility for the carer’s allowance for working 16 hours per week.
Justin Tomlinson
The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It is not, and was never intended to be, a carer’s wage or a payment for the services of caring, nor is it intended to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.
The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance is a net figure which is the figure left once income tax, National Insurance contributions and half of any contributions to an occupational or personal pension are deducted from earnings. There are also a number of other deductions which can be made that mean that people can earn significantly more than £110 per week and still be eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit is not linked to the number of hours worked. Instead, it is set at a level that aims to encourage those who give up full time work in order to undertake caring responsibilities to maintain a link with the labour market through part time work.
Whilst the Government does not link the earnings limit to any other particular factor (including the National Living Wage), we do keep it under regular review and increase it when it is warranted and affordable, and this will continue to be our approach. Most recently in April 2015 the earnings limit was increased by 8% to £110, far outstripping the general increase in earnings.
For those carers working around 16 hours a week on a low income and receiving Working Tax Credit, Carer’s Allowance is taken fully into account as income. That means that any loss in Carer’s Allowance is likely to be offset by an increase in Working Tax Credit, and this is one of the changes of circumstances that results in an immediate change to Tax Credits. Going forward the earnings taper in Universal Credit will help ensure that people are always better off in work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many prosecutions were brought under Section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each year since the coming into force of that Act.
Matthew Hancock
No prosecutions have been brought under section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.