Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce a levy on companies employing foreign workers below an agreed wage threshold.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Foreign workers in the UK benefit from the same rights under National Minimum Wage legislation as UK workers.

    In addition, companies sponsoring non-EEA workers to fill vacancies under Tier 2 (General), the skilled work immigration route, must pay a salary of at least £20,800 (rising to £25,000 later this autumn and £30,000 in April 2017) or the appropriate rate for the particular occupation, whichever is higher. For non-EEA workers using the Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer) route for multi-national companies, the salary minimum is £24,500, rising to £30,000 later this autumn and £41,500 from April 2017.

    From April 2017, the Government will levy an Immigration Skills Charge on Tier 2 employers of £1,000 per sponsored worker per year. A reduced rate of £364 will apply to small and charitable sponsors. PhD-level roles, intra-company transfer graduate trainees, and graduates switching from the student route will be exempt.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support people in Pakistan who are creating safe spaces for the discussion of liberal Islam

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID supports the rights of all groups to follow their religious faith and to live safe lives. Wherever possible, our programmes in Pakistan promote diversity and tolerance. For example, our work with civil society groups focus on strengthening the political voice of excluded groups and providing them with better access to justice. Our education programmes in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces support the implementation of Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum which teaches religious tolerance and respect for diversity.

    The Government of Pakistan has publicly recognised the problems facing minorities and the need to bring an end to religious persecution. We remain fully committed to working in partnership with them to achieve this and raise these issues regularly with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently the Head of DFID Pakistan raised this issue in October as part of the bilateral assistance talks.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the development of enterprise zones in West Yorkshire.

    Greg Hands

    The Spending Review detailed new Enterprise Zones which will be established across England. This includes the Leeds City Region M62 Corridor Enterprise Zone in West Yorkshire.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce changes to procedures to deal with motor accident claims for whiplash.

    Dominic Raab

    In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced further reforms to tackle the number and cost of whiplash claims. The Government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department will launch its consultation on the universal service obligation on superfast broadband; and for how long that consultation will be open.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    We intend to launch our consultation on proposals to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation in early 2016. The duration of the consultation will be proportionate to the issues under consideration, as advised by the Cabinet Office guidelines, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492132/20160111_Consultation_principles_final.pdf

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  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many appeals against Local Planning Authority decisions by developers he has received under Section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in each year since 2009-10; in how many of those cases in each year did he exercise his powers under Section 79 of that Act to (a) allow under Section 79(1)(a), (b) dismiss under Section 79(1)(b), (c) decline to determine under Section 79(6), (d) dismiss under Section 79(6A) the appeal and (e) amend the planning authority’s original decision in any way; and in how many such cases the Local Planning Authority subsequently paid compensation to the developer as a result of his decision.

    Brandon Lewis

    The attached table only covers Section 79 (1)(a) and Section 79(1)(b).

    We do not hold the data on section 79(6) as the legislation is very rarely used with only a handful of cases in the last 7 years. In addition, the Section 79 (6) ‘compensation’ element only allows for a party to apply for costs. This can only occur where a party has behaved unreasonably, and this has directly caused another party to incur unnecessary or wasted expense. The costs order states the broad extent of the expense the party can recover from the party against whom the award is made. It does not determine the actual amount. PPG ‘Appeals’ section 4 relates.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 March (HL Deb, col GC297), whether they will provide a breakdown of the £45 million spent in Gaza since October 2014.

    Baroness Verma

    In October 2014, the UK pledged £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo. This included funding for reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation for those injured, clearance of unexploded ordnance, short term employment schemes, shelter and basic services, support to the private sector to reopen factories and businesses, funding for the UN’s new construction materials monitoring mechanism, technical assistance and direct support to the Palestinian Authority. The UK has disbursed this pledge in its entirety. Since then the UK has provided more than £25 million of additional support to Gaza for a range of activities, including basic service delivery and further support to the private sector.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions Ministers of his Department have had with counterparts in non-EU states on policies and steps to reduce the number of neural tube defect-affected pregnancies.

    Ben Gummer

    We are not aware that any Ministers have attended any formal meetings with countries outside the European Union member states where policies on reducing the number of neural tube affected pregnancies have been discussed.

  • Chris Philp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Philp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Philp on 2016-05-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of personal injury whiplash claims.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Between 1 April 2013 and 6 April 2015 the coalition government implemented a substantial programme of reform to reduce and control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims.

    Despite that progress, the present government remains concerned about the number and cost of whiplash claims, which is why further reforms were announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2015. These new reforms will remove the right to compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity from minor whiplash injuries, and reduce legal costs by raising the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000. The government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course, with a view to implementing them as soon as the necessary legislation is in place.

  • Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what Government funding schemes are available to member trusts for restoration of cultural venues in Yorkshire.

    Matt Hancock

    Various grant schemes are available for the restoration of cultural venues in Yorkshire. The Heritage Lottery Fund have several schemes which can be used for restoring cultural venues, including their Heritage Grants, Sharing Heritage, and Townscape Heritage, amongst others. From the Arts Council, these include Grants For The Arts, Small Capital Grants, and Large Capital Grants. Historic England also give grants to properties on the Heritage at Risk Register, and these can be used for the restoration of cultural venues.