Tag: Parliamentary Question

Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received from (a) the Council of Europe, (b) the UN and (c) other international bodies on the UK’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dominic Raab

We have received no such formal representation. Ministry of Justice Ministers have met the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Jagland, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence de Greiff.

01/01/2023
Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing penalties levied on employers who do not pay staff at least the national minimum wage.

Nick Boles

From April 2016, we are increasing the calculation of penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed. The penalty is reduced by half if employers pay within 14 days.

By increasing the penalties for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) we intend to deter employers from breaking the law so that working people receive the money they are legally due.

This new calculation ensures a tougher penalty for employers found to have underpaid the NMW.

The fast track Impact Assessment for increasing the penalties has been validated by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published here – http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/324

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01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy that a lump sum paid by a public sector employer to an employee’s pension fund to compensate the scheme for having to pay a reduced pension earlier than expected should be used as part of the calculation for the public sector exit payment cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

Greg Hands

The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department of the Export Support Team was in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and whether those costs have been reimbursed by the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Export Support Team is part of the Defence and Security Organisation, part of UK Trade and Investment. The Minister for Trade and Investment is responsible for administrative and funding arrangements, including attached Service personnel’s capitation costs. Therefore, there is no cost to the Ministry of Defence.

01/01/2023
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to review and propose simplification of household waste and recycling collection across the UK.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra and the Waste and Resource Action Programme are working with local authorities and other waste management stakeholders to develop a vision and business case for greater consistency in the way materials are collected for recycling. This will set out the benefits that could be achieved for householders, local authorities, reprocessors and others. The vision is to be published in the summer and will include proposed models for more consistent arrangements for collection of recyclable materials.

The broad aims for this work are to help local authorities to reduce costs; improve the quality and quantity of materials collected and to improve householder engagement and participation in recycling through reducing confusion and inconsistency and providing opportunities to improve communications.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of human rights workers being (a) summoned for questioning, (b) banned from travelling and (c) subject to attempts to freeze their personal funds and family assets by the Egyptian authorities.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt, including for Non Government Organisations (NGOs). Human rights defenders have been subject to measures including questioning, travel bans and judicial applications for asset freezing against individuals and their families. I refer you to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Sate for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) on 22 March. UK officials have raised our concerns with representatives from the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London.

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 6.7 of the UK national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing, published in October 2015, how many money laundering cases investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had funds initially moved through (a) banks, (b) money service businesses and (c) each other item on HMRC’s database in each year since 2009-10.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs does not record data on its money laundering investigations in this way.

01/01/2023
Crispin Blunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS England’s consultation on a proposed method to support investment decisions in specialised commissioning, launched on 12 April 2016, if NHS England will issue a consultation on arrangements for commissioning treatments recommended through NICE’s highly specialised technology programme.

George Freeman

As part of the work to develop NHS England’s strategic framework for specialised services, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will be working together closely to improve the adoption of highly specialised technologies. Further detail will be set out in the coming months in light of the conclusions of the Accelerated Access Review.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the importance of direct long-haul air links with a hub airport when opening trade discussions around the world.

Mr John Hayes

Evidence on the links between long-haul air connections and international trade was presented by the Airports Commission in its Final Report and supporting documents. The Government is considering all of this evidence very carefully.

01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) missions flown and (b) air strikes the armed forces have conducted within Iraqi territory in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning

From 1 October 2015 to 25 October 2016 the UK conducted 1,991 combat missions over Iraq. Broken down by month these are:

	Typhoon FGR4	Tornado GR4	Reaper MQ9
2015
October	0	45	61
November	0	52	62
December	47	72	56
2016
January	48	72	74
February	49	73	54
March	55	53	55
April	48	46	56
May	51	52	66
June	50	46	71
July	51	44	66
August	39	46	61
September	33	44	63
October	41	38	51
Total	512	683	796

During 1 October 2015 – 25 October 2016 the UK has conducted a total of 784 airstrikes within Iraqi territory. These are detailed as follows:

2015
October	18
November	57
December	86
2016
January	97
February	60
March	67
April	70
May	69
June	77
July	44
August	42
September	51
October	46
Total	784

These strike numbers are constantly reviewed and updated by the Coalition to ensure records are as complete and as accurate as possible. As such, past and future statements regarding statistics may differ to those given here.

01/01/2023