Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Inglewood on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to preserve UK citizens’ legal right to live in and travel freely across Europe following Brexit.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of UK nationals already living in mainland Europe, and that of EU nationals already living here. The only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU member states were not protected in return. UK nationals that have lived lawfully and continuously for a period of 5 years in a given EU Member State will automatically have a permanent right to reside there.

The reciprocal rights and entitlements that will apply following the UK’s exit are subject to the wider negotiation on our future relationship with the EU. We have not yet begun these negotiations, so it is not possible to set out any positions in advance. However, at every step of this negotiation we will seek to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people, at home and overseas.

01/01/2023
Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to maintain the current level of train services between Eastbourne and Gatwick Airport under any proposals for a second Brighton mainline; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

The Government has recently commissioned the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study to examine the strategic case for investment in existing and new rail capacity. The findings of the Study will help Ministers make decisions on future rail network investment, which will help shape service patterns to Eastbourne and other areas of the South Coast. The intent of the Study is to ensure that services meet the current and future needs of passengers on this critical link between London and the South Coast.

01/01/2023
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 3 December (HL Deb, col 1205), how much of the estimated £600 million additional partnership funding” has been received from private sources; and from which sources.”

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Six months into a six-year programme, £250 million has been secured. A further £350 million of potential contributions has been identified. Of the £250 million secured to date, £61 million comes directly from private sources.

01/01/2023
Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect of the HM Revenue and Customs Location Strategy on future tax revenues.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff in Scotland live within Reasonable Daily Travel of Glasgow or Edinburgh. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.

HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.

Activities of trade union representatives are governed by long-standing agreements with departments.

01/01/2023

Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on using debt collection agencies in each of the last seven years.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

01/01/2023

Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will suspend the process of determining the application for the licence for ship-to-ship transfers in the Cromarty Firth until he has formally consulted Marine Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There are no valid reasons to suspend the process of determining the application for an Oil Transfer licence for ship to ship transfers in the Cromarty Firth.

Officials from Marine Scotland were sent the application details and information by email on 9 December 2015. A reminder about the deadline for comments on this application was sent to the same officials by email on 3 February, five days before the end of the extended consultation period.

A Marine Scotland official confirmed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on 11 February that they had seen the information and had no intention of submitting a response.

01/01/2023
Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the budget apportioned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is sufficient for the development of the knowledge, understanding and policy sophistication required in respect of the Islamic world.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is devoting considerable resource to strengthening the organisation’s expertise and skills, including geographical, language and other relevant expertise, such as understanding the Islamic world. The opening of the FCO’s Diplomatic Academy last year has given new impetus and structure to this work. There is a growing range of formal and informal learning in London and throughout the FCO network, including better sharing of knowledge internally and increased access to external expertise. We put time and effort into understanding political trends globally including the “Islamic” element of political Islam. Our online Foundation Level course includes a basic religious literacy module. Our diplomatic missions report regularly on trends in political Islam and our research analyst cadre provide in-depth expertise, analysis and links to academics and think tanks. The FCO’s Human Rights and Democracy Department run training courses on religion and foreign policy which serve as a practitioner level religion/foreign policy module for the Diplomatic Academy. We also offer training on contemporary Islam and its role within politics and society in various regional contexts.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will (a) list the titles of and (b) publish on her Department’s website all reports prepared by (i) officials of her Department and (ii) contractors for her Department since May 2015 on options for financing new nuclear power plants.

Andrea Leadsom

The department has retained advisers in relation to this matter, however any reports they have prepared are commercially sensitive.

01/01/2023
Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

Kris Hopkins

The Department has used the services of (a) PwC, once in the last three financial years. This was for the provision of VAT advice. The cost to the public purse was £1,350. My department has not used the services of any other consultant firms in the last three financial years.

01/01/2023
Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the protection of children in care and children in need of delays in the work undertaken by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Lord Keen of Elie

Data collected by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) shows that, since April 2012, the average time to complete care and supervision applications has reduced from 48 weeks to 30 weeks. These are the proceedings most commonly initiated by a local authority and Cafcass has played a key role in working with other parts of the family justice system to achieve that reduction.

Since April 2012, Cafcass has also exceeded its targets to allocate at least 97% of the open public law care workload to an appointed Children’s Guardian, and to allocate care applications to an appointed Children’s Guardian in no more than 3 working days.

01/01/2023