Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claims classed as high risk renewals by HM Revenue and Customs have been referred to Concentrix in each of the three risk categories.

    Jane Ellison

    Between 1 August 2016 and 31 August 2016 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) automatically stopped 365,483 tax credit claims as a direct result of customers failing to comply with the requirements of the annual renewal process.

    Alongside the annual renewal process, HMRC records the number of awards that have been amended, which could be stopped, reduced or increased. Therefore, data showing the total number of claims stopped following a compliance intervention is unavailable.

    During the course of the contract, HMRC delegated a total caseload of 2,209,500 cases for high risk renewal checks by Concentrix. Of these 1,635,676 cases were not the subject of further investigation for fraud or error by Concentrix. This amounts to 74% of the total caseload.

    The volume of high risk renewals referred to Concentrix are broken down into the three risk categories as follows:

    • Undeclared Partner: 1,398,908

    • Work & Hours: 564,983

    • Child Care: 245,609

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from representatives of Greave Primary School on the process through which the funding for that school’s building extension project from the Education Funding Agency has been arranged by the Stockport Local Education Authority.

    Edward Timpson

    School building baseline designs were introduced in October 2012 to help finalise briefs for school building projects and for discussion with local planning departments. It is for contractors to develop them into detailed schemes, or propose alternatives. Guidance on the designs is available online[1].

    Officials from the Department have had regular dialogue with the local authority, the school and its representatives as part of ongoing work to monitor and progress the project.

    While there has been no representation, the Secretary of State and the Department will work with all parties to support the successful delivery of this school’s expansion project.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-designs-for-schools-guidance

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  • Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has for her Department’s Office of Carbon Capture and Storage.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government continues to view Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes are currently being assessed.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many employees were on zero-hours contracts in each financial quarter since May 2010 in each (a) constituency and (b) region.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect all valid claims from farmers in 2015 to the Rural Payments Agency to be paid.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payment window runs between December 2015 and June 2016. As of the end of January the Rural Payments Agency had paid around 66,800 farmers approximately £1 billion. The Rural Payments Agency is focused on paying the remainder as promptly as possible.

    2015 was the first year of the new complex Common Agricultural Policy. The Rural Payments Agency anticipates improvements on payment performance for the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) financial and (b) other assistance her Department has contributed to international support for children with microcephaly and their families.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Department for International Development (DFID) has worked with the Department for Heath (who are leading the UK government’s response), Public Health England and the Foreign Commonwealth Office to help develop the UK strategy on Zika and support the World Health Organisation (WHO) galvanise an effective international response. There are four strands of this strategy which are: (a) galvanising effective leadership and international coordination; (b) ensuring a risk-based approach to identify priority regions/countries and likely impact of further spread; (c) shaping and contributing to country and regional responses and (d) playing a lead role in the international research response.

    DFID has programmes in a number of countries which will support the Zika response. To date, countries in currently affected regions of Latin America and the Caribbean have not made specific requests for financial and/or other assistance from us to support children with microcephaly. We will continue to carefully assess any requests, offer additional assistance where needed and adapt any existing programmes to the needs required. We have already committed £200,000 of bilateral aid in support of Haiti’s Ministry of Health community mobilisation activities. DFID and Wellcome Trust will contribute £10 million (DFID up to £5million) for Zika research. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, working with other government departments and WHO.

  • Lord Cashman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Cashman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Cashman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support better co-ordination of financial and political support amongst governments and multilateral organisations in the advancement of the human rights of LGBTI people at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference that will take place in Uruguay from 13 to 15 July.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As I set out to the House of Lords on the 21 March, the UK will send a delegation to the Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Intersex (LGBTI) Human Rights Conference taking place in Montevideo in July. We are committed to working with those countries that will be represented at the conference, and others, to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTI people. This forms an important part of our wider international human rights work.

    We continue to work through our Embassies and High Commissions and through international organisations, including the UN, EU, the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth, to promote general tolerance and non-discrimination toward LGBTI people and to address discriminatory laws, in particular those that criminalise homosexuality. The Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference will provide an opportunity to share information, best practice and lessons learned with partners and to discuss how to better coordinate international efforts and resources to support the promotion and protection of the rights of LGBTI people worldwide.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35960, on universal credit, who the independent decision makers will be; and how those people will be appointed.

    Priti Patel

    Decision Makers considering the imposition of a sanction are DWP employees. When a sanctionable failure is identified by a work coach, a referral is made which is randomly assigned to a centralised decision maker to review the circumstances of the case, including any representations from the claimant regarding good reason for non-compliance, and arrive at a decision independently of the work coach.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal claimants withdrew their case due to the requirement to pay fees (a) since 2013, (b) between April 2014 and March 2015 and (c) between April 2015 and March 2016.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not record the reasons why claimants withdraw their employment tribunal case.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 25 July (HL1340), what assessment they have made of the relative clinical benefits of the drug lenvatinib as opposed to sorafenib.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Ministers asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop technology appraisal guidance on the use of lenvatinb for the treatment of thyroid cancer on 22 July 2016. NICE plans to develop guidance on lenvatinib and sorafenib through the same technology appraisal and currently expects to publish draft guidance in October 2017.

    In the absence of NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the available evidence and on the patient’s individual clinical circumstances.