The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.
Justin Tomlinson
The spend on non-payroll staff in Department for Work and Pensions in 15-16 will be published in the Departments Annual Report and Accounts on 30th June 2016 following completion of the audit and Permanent Secretary and Comptroller and Auditor General sign-off.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what (a) meetings and (b) discussions he has had with Didier Seeuws, Head of the Brexit Taskforce at the European Council.
Mr Robin Walker
The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations. We will ensure that we engage closely with all relevant interlocutors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the contractual agreement between her Department and G4S Care and Justice Services (UK) Limited at HM Prison (a) Birmingham and (b) Oakwood for what reason financial remedies have been levied in (i) failure to comply with procedures, (ii) incidents and (iii) failure to comply with prison regime in each year from 2012-13 to date.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Privately Managed prison contracts contain provisions which allow financial remedies to be applied for non-performance.
Performance points are awarded according to the severity of failure. If the total number of points exceeds the agreed baseline for the performance quarter or year, financial remedies are applied against the Contractor in accordance with the Contract.
As financial remedies are only applied if baseline targets are exceeded it is not, possible to link individual incidents to the value of remedies that have been applied due to this cumulative effect.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reduce the cost of an application for a certificate of travel to the same levels as for a convention travel document.
James Brokenshire
The estimated cost of processing a certificate of travel is currently £382 for those over the age of 16 and £244 for those under the age of 16.
Fees for applications for certificates of travel reflect estimated processing costs. The Geneva Convention requires that Convention Travel Document fees must not exceed those for UK passports. Immigration and nationality fees are reviewed and updated annually and reflect changes in estimated costs and passport fees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that save-as-you-earn and share incentive plan savings limits are increased in line with inflation on an annual basis.
Mr David Gauke
The tax-advantaged Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) limits were significantly increased from April 2014. The increases the Government have made are reasonable, given the average monthly SAYE savings and the value of awards currently made to employees under SIP, and they represent the best use of resources. The Government will continue to keep the SAYE and SIP limits under review.
In addition to increasing the SAYE and SIP limits, the rules of the schemes were substantially reviewed and simplified following the recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification in March 2012. Last year, the requirement that these schemes must be approved by HM Revenue and Customs to qualify for favourable tax treatment was replaced by self-certification. Coupled with other changes to simplify some technical aspects of the rules, this will make these schemes more attractive to businesses and employees.
No data is collected and no estimates are made of the income levels of the participants in SAYE schemes.
Permitting private equity backed companies to offer all-employee tax advantaged schemes would be likely to involve significant changes to the rules of the schemes, and there would be a number of other factors to consider carefully, including the increased cost and complexity of any extension.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what average time her Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.
George Eustice
The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness.
The published figures can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the likely cost of establishing and running his extended ministerial office.
Matthew Hancock
The costs of running all parts of the Cabinet Office will be accounted for in the Department’s annual report and accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that people with rare neuromuscular conditions in Sheffield, Heeley constituency have access to the appropriate wheelchair for their condition.
Alistair Burt
Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning wheelchair services.
NHS England advises that it is supporting improvements in wheelchair services to ensure wheelchair users and their families can lead full, independent and active lives. This work involves establishing a new national wheelchair data collection to drive improvement, piloting a tariff for wheelchairs and supporting improvements in the commissioning of services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The cost to the Department for Transport (including its executive agencies, but excluding its non-departmental public bodies)using external agencies for therecruitmentof Senior Civil Serviceposts in the last three financial years is set out below:
Financial year 2012/2013 – £195,596.40
Financial year 2013/2014 – £219,587.08
Financial year 2014/2015 – £198,740.56
The financial data on the cost of using external agencies for the recruitment of Senior Civil Service posts in the financial years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 are not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.
Harriett Baldwin
The function of the redeployment pool is to give appropriate support to employees who have become surplus as a permanent post no longer exists for them. The redeployment pool helps them remain in employment and provides priority access to vacancies before they are advertised across Treasury.
There are no employees in the HMT redeployment pool.