Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to renegotiate tax treaties with developing countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    Tax treaties are negotiated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials, reporting to Treasury Ministers.

    The UK has a large number of tax treaties which includes treaties with developing countries. Some of those treaties require updating and HMRC officials actively seek engagement with developing countries to that end. For example, there are ongoing negotiations with Ghana, prospective negotiations with Nepal and negotiations with Lesotho and Malawi are close to conclusion.

    HMRC publishes the programme of tax treaty negotiations and news of signed treaties at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/double-taxation-agreements-developments-and-planned-negotiations.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call for an end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have repeatedly called for an end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma. We are focused on practical action to tackle these issues and are persistent in applying pressure to the Burmese government to live up to the commitments it made when it endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at the London Global Summit in June 2014. We will maintain that approach and raise this issue with the new Burmese government at the earliest opportunity.

    During his visit to Burma in July 2015, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), pressed the Burmese government at Senior Ministerial level on the issue. He also launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. We continue to raise the issue in international fora, including through UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council which we co-sponsor.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Questions 30551 and 30552, on UK membership of EU: Crown Dependencies, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the principles underlying those arrangements are not affected in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

    Dominic Raab

    The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man enjoy special arrangements for access to the EU, provided under Protocol 3 to the UK’s Treaty of Accession to the European Community. As set out in the Government’s White Paper: ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February, the withdrawal process is unprecedented. There is uncertainty about how it would work. There would be no requirement under EU law for these arrangements to be maintained if the UK left the EU.

    The Government respects and values the constitutional relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies, and will continue to engage constructively with them to address issues and areas of concern.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data Jobcentre Plus sets down against a claimant who does not attend a non-mandatory group information session.

    Priti Patel

    Non-mandatory group information sessions are often used by Jobcentres to offer general information; advice and guidance aimed at helping people improve their employment prospects. Where used, these groups run alongside the personalised one-to-one support, which is provided through the claimant’s work coach. Where a claimant has not attended a non-mandatory group information session, work coaches will, as part of their regular contacts with claimants, pick-up a discussion about any help the claimant may need.

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

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the membership of those NHS provider boards that do not achieve financial balance by the end of 2016–17 will be replaced.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS Improvement continues to work with those providers who have not been able to agree control totals by the end of July. At present, 213 of 238 providers (89.5%) have an agreed a control total. Those providers who have been unable to agree a control total will not be able to access the sustainability and transformation fund.

    NHS Improvement is currently consulting on a new oversight regime, which details proposals on how providers will be monitored in future and this will set out how variance from financial plan or control total will be managed.

    NHS Improvement does not intend to replace the boards of those providers who do not achieve financial balance by the end of 2016/17. The organisation’s new oversight regime also sets out in detail how it proposes to monitor and support providers.

    The Government’s Mandate to the NHS 2016-17, a copy of which is attached, confirms that the National Health Service must ensure that it balances its budget, including commissioners and providers living within their budgets. To support this, £1.8 billion of NHS England’s budget for 2016-17 will be allocated through the Sustainability and Transformation Fund to support providers, in particular emergency services, payable through commissioning or as other support.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff of his Department are deployed outside the UK working on issues relating to Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It is not possible to identify a precise figure for staff working on Yemen who are deployed outside of the UK, but the UK diplomatic network does regularly raise the situation in Yemen with their host government and other interlocutors, including the devastating humanitarian and economic situation. As the penholder in the UN Security Council on Yemen, the UK also plays an important role in rallying the international community behind the efforts of the UN Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in trying to reach a peaceful agreement between the Yemeni parties. Peace talks remain a top priority and we will continue to engage with key partners through our overseas network.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working households in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) universal credit have marginal deduction rates of (i) less than 70, (ii) between 70 and 80, (iii) between 80 and 90 and (iv) more than 90 per cent on earned income above the level of the applicable disregard.

    Priti Patel

    In 2010 we estimated that in the existing system half a million people had marginal deduction rates of 80% or above. See page 55 of Universal Credit: Welfare that Works report, below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48897/universal-credit-full-document.pdf

    Further information is not available as we have not updated these estimates.

    “

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the hepatitis C Improvement Framework will include provisions on clinical commissioning groups and local authorities to engage with the Operational Delivery Networks jointly to commission services.

    Jane Ellison

    The draft hepatitis C Improvement Framework has focused on public health improvements in hepatitis C. As such, this does not include provisions on clinical commissioning groups and local authorities to engage with Operational Delivery Networks to jointly commission services as this is beyond the governance remit of the work. In its 2014 report Hepatitis C in the UK, Public Health England recommended that “Health (and, in England, local authority) commissioners should work together to consider how to improve the availability, access and uptake of approved hepatitis C treatments in primary and secondary care, drug treatment services, prisons and other settings, and to drive innovative approaches to provide outreach”. In support of this, I hosted a summit on 3 March 2015 with local authority and voluntary sector representatives, public health and clinical experts to share best practice and explore actions that could be taken at local government level to significantly reduce the burden of hepatitis C and tuberculosis in England.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on developments in the stock market in that country.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor, as well as other HM Treasury ministers and officials regularly meet with their international counterparts to discuss a range of issues, including economic developments in China.

    As the Chancellor said during his trip to China in September 2015, the UK should “support and encourage China on this journey of economic change… Both Britain and China also recognise the importance of rebalancing our economies. It’s another way we can partner each other on the journey ahead… As the home to the world’s global financial centre, Britain can support China’s important financial reforms”.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what the average hourly earnings for their (a) female and (b) male (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employees was in each of the last five years.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The following information relates to employees of the Church of England’s National Church Institutions (NCIs). Senior salaries, gender and race information are published each year in the annual reports of Archbishops’ Council, Pensions Board and Church Commissioners.

    Women make up 55% of the total workforce and hold just over 40% of the roles at a senior level. Most roles fit into a pay banding structure which pays the same for equivalent jobs in each band. The equal pay draft regulations have just been published and the NCIs will be reporting in line with the requirements when they have been passed into law.

    Clergy officeholders, as distinct from employees, are paid a stipend rather than a salary. For information female and male Bishops in office receive the same level of stipend. All other clergy officeholder stipends are based on a national stipend benchmark which is set by post and is the same for female and male clergy in each diocese.