The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what timetable has been set for the repayment of the reallocation of Big Lottery funding which was diverted to the Olympics in 2012.
David Evennett
As agreed when the Olympic loan was signed off, repayments to the National Lottery Distribution Fund will come from land development and sales in the Olympic Park, and are expected to start in the early 2020s.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of people in the Senior Civil Service are based in London.
Matthew Hancock
67% of the Senior Civil Service is based in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21746, what estimate he has made of the value of Integrated Debt Services Limited; and how much the private sector partner paid to purchase their 75 per cent stake in Indresser.
Matthew Hancock
The value of Integrated Debt Services Limited and the amount that the private sector partner subscribed for their 75% stake in Indesser are both considered to be commercially sensitive and cannot be shared.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues to credit reference firms on handling data on people who are on the closed electoral register.
John Penrose
The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance to both private and public sector organisations to help them understand their obligations under the Data Protection Act. Organisations wishing to process personal data in the UK, including credit reference agencies, must register with the ICO and comply with the DPA’s eight data protection principles. Among other things, these principles require personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA.
The ICO’s website provides public information on credit reference agencies’ use of the electoral register at (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/credit/).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle human rights violations against the Rohingya.
Mr Hugo Swire
We continue to press the Burmese authorities, both in public and in private, to take urgent steps to tackle the appalling situation of the Rohingya by improving security and the humanitarian situation, lifting restrictions on freedom of movement and finding a sustainable solution on citizenship. I pressed the government of Burma on this in July 2015 when I visited Rakhine State for the second time. Most recently, I raised the issue with the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September 2015 in New York.
Addressing Rakhine and the persecution of the Rohingya community is one of the most pressing challenges facing the incoming government in Burma. We will continue our efforts to address the serious human rights violations against the community with the new administration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department’s (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.
Mark Lancaster
In the Ministry of Defence (MOD), 31.3% of Senior Civil Servants and those of an equivalent grade, primarily Senior Medical Specialists, are based in London.
The proportion of MOD civil servants employed in policy roles is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what work the Anti-Corruption Champion has undertaken for his Department.
Matthew Hancock
Any costs incurred by the Anti-Corruption Champion in his role in overseeing the government’s work to address corruption in the UK and internationally, will be disclosed in the normal way. These are met by the Cabinet Office. In addition, staff support is provided from within the existing civil service workforce.
The Anti-Corruption Champion is overseeing the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Plan. This includes meeting 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, to champion UK anti-corruption policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have participated in the Summer Diversity Internship Programme since its inception; and how many of those participants have subsequently been accepted onto the Civil Service Fast Stream.
Matthew Hancock
We have been working closely with the Civil Service Commission to provide a mechanism for fast tracking those who have been on the internship to the Fast Stream assessment centre, based on positive appraisal of the intern’s placement performance and completion of the initial internship selection testing.
This initiative is therefore for interns who are successful during the internship programme and we are currently working through the implementation plan.
In the last 5 years 778 have undertaken the programme (2011 – 73; 2012 – 115; 2013 – 161; 2014 – 173; 2015 – 256), with a further 300 anticipated this year. The estimated conversion rate into Fast Stream is 10-15%. Accurate tracking of success into Fast Stream will be achievable for 2016, using an updated applicant tracking approach.
A number of criteria are used to measure socio-economic status, however the metric that is now used to designate lower socio-economic background is parental occupation (aligning with Office of National Statistics methodology). This approach is currently under review following a recent social mobility research study by the Bridge Group.
This internship allowance is taxable and the amount of tax paid will depend on which tax code the intern is put on before they start.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on publication of the registers of gifts and hospitality for civil servants.
Matthew Hancock
We publish details of gifts and hospitality received by the most senior civil servants on a quarterly basis.
The rules for civil servants, including special advisers, on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality are set out in the Civil Service Code, Civil Service Management Code and departmental staff handbooks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility threshold for carer’s allowance to enable carers working 16 hours per week on the new National Living Wage to keep their entitlement to that allowance.
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.