Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Marie Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Department has paid in fines to the EU since 2010.

    George Eustice

    As from financial year 2010/11 Defra has accrued £336m for disallowance following the conclusion of EU audits, broken down by financial year as shown in the table below. This relates to a number of different Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Schemes over a number of historical scheme years as disallowance is paid in arrears. These are the only fines that have been imposed on Defra by the EU since 2010.

    Disallowance (*) £m

    10/11

    11/12

    12/13

    13/14

    14/15

    181

    42

    2

    30

    81

    (*) Reflects the sums the European Commission have ruled cannot be reimbursed (i.e. the amounts they have “disallowed”).

    “

  • Baroness Wilcox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Wilcox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wilcox on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much someone earning (1) £15,000, and (2) £150,000, a year would have paid in direct taxation, including income tax and national insurance, in (a) 2009–10 and (b) 2015–16.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Someone earning £15,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £2,726 in 2009-10 and £1,713 in 2015-16.

    Someone earning £150,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £55,189 in 2009-10 and £59,914 in 2015-16.

    This is summarised in the following tables, which break down the liability by Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs):

    1) £15,000

    2009-10

    2015-16

    difference

    Income Tax

    £1,705

    £880

    -£825

    Employee NICs

    £1,021

    £833

    -£189

    Total tax

    £2,726

    £1,713

    -£1,014

    Net income

    £12,274

    £13,287

    £1,014

    2) £150,000

    2009-10

    2015-16

    difference

    Income Tax

    £49,930

    £53,643

    £3,713

    Employee NICs

    £5,259

    £6,271

    £1,012

    Total tax

    £55,189

    £59,914

    £4,725

    Net income

    £94,811

    £90,086

    -£4,725

    This assumes that the individual was born after 5 April 1948 (and therefore not receiving the Age-related Personal Allowance), is paying employee NICs (not contracted out), and has a gross income from pay only. The Income tax calculations assume no other allowances or deductions. The NICs is calculated on an annual basis which assumes a smooth distribution of the income across the year.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to engage with international partners to tackle the persecution of secularists or of people with no faith in Bangladesh.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    As I said to the House on 24 May, there is more we can do to help the Government of Bangladesh to tackle the challenges they face. I raised my concerns about the situation there most recently with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 24 May.

    Our High Commission in Dhaka regularly meets international partners to discuss the treatment of secular activists and minority groups in Bangladesh. Most recently, on 22 May, our High Commissioner met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, with other EU Ambassadors, to discuss signs that intolerance across Bangladesh is increasing

    In September 2015, officials from the British High Commission in Dhaka met Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during his visit to Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to implement the recommendations in his report, which includes a call for the government to “protect the vibrant civil society and pluralistic society in Bangladesh”.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing GP waiting times.

    Alistair Burt

    There is no national standard for waiting to see a general practitioner (GP) and data on waiting times is not collected centrally. To implement the Government’s commitment to transform GP access however, £175 million has been invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients – a third of the population – have benefited from improved access and transformational change at local level. This includes more appointments being made available, especially at times more convenient for patients, such as weekday evenings and weekends. It also includes different approaches like telephone consultations and better use of the wider primary care workforce (such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, pharmacists, the voluntary sector, physiotherapists and paramedics) to deliver improved access to patients. These approaches have helped release local GP capacity and more appropriately matched the needs of patients with the most appropriate professional to care for them. In addition to Access Fund sites, other clinical commissioning groups may offer local initiatives for improving access to GPs.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of ships sailing under flags of convenience, and of the impact of that practice on the British maritime industry.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport analysis of IHS Global data on ship characteristics as at 31 Dec 2015 shows 19,661 vessels registered on open flag registers.

    An analysis of the impact of these registers on the UK maritime industry has not been conducted. However, the Maritime Growth Study (2015) did note that while the volume of tonnage on open registers is significant the amount managed or owned by companies located in these countries is far less substantial.

    The UK is a leading global maritime centre. Government is committed to supporting the UK maritime sector and ensuring growth in UK Ship Register through a greater commercial focus while retaining its reputation for quality.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce poverty in (a) Barnsley Central constituency and (b) other former mining communities.

    Priti Patel

    This Government is tackling poverty through our new Life Chances agenda. This will drive real action which will make the biggest difference to the most disadvantaged children – now and in the future. This approach will ensure that Government action is focused on tackling the root causes of child poverty – worklessness, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt and addiction.

    This Government believes that work is the best route out of poverty and is therefore focused on getting people into employment. With more than two million more people in work than in 2010, and with the number of workless households at a record low, the progress made by this Government has been significant including in Barnsley Central constituency. In the constituency, over the past year, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, or not in work and claiming Universal Credit, fell by 13 per cent.

    We do not have specific data on all former mining communities and this information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Spending Review 2015, what plans she has for the funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government has committed to providing funding to help secure the National Wildlife Crime Unit until at least the end of March next year. Decisions on funding beyond March will be made as part of consideration of the Department’s Spending Review settlement.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in the case of children A and B in relation to Prism, heard on 10 December.

    Lord Bates

    The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) and any decision it makes are entirely independent of Government. The Home Office was not a named respondent in the case and we have made no assessment of the Tribunal’s decision.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have been infected with HIV and hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products; how much his Department has paid to patients so infected with those diseases to date; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Published data estimates that around 4,700 people with bleeding disorders (such as haemophilia) and around 28,000 other people were exposed to hepatitis C in the United Kingdom. This information is from the UK Haemophilia Doctors’ Organisation 2011 annual report. Around 1,200 people with bleeding disorders and 100 other individuals were infected with HIV through treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood products or blood transfusions in the UK. Many of those infected with HIV were also infected with hepatitis C.

    To date over £390 million has been paid out in the UK through the schemes, since they were set up in 1988.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to implement the policy announced on 27 March 2015 by the previous Government on funding to increase the uptake for electric two-wheeled vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government remains committed to supporting the UK’s zero emission motorcycle industry. We have been working with stakeholders on the details of a scheme and will make a further announcement in due course.