Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of tax credit recipients in paid work have incomes above the income tax threshold.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government is committed to achieving a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy. That means more emphasis on support to working families on low incomes through reducing tax and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.

    The Chancellor is listening to concerns raised by colleagues and will announce in his Autumn Statement how he plans to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits and saving the money we need to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

    HM Revenue & Customs publish statistics about individuals and households claiming tax credits and child benefits, which are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the effect on the household income of an existing tax credit claimant family with one earner and three children in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20 of proposed changes to tax credits, assuming they are migrated to universal credit at the start of 2018 and experience a change in circumstance and lose their transitional arrangements.

    Priti Patel

    At the summer budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the Government’s commitment to move the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.

    UC is a fundamentally different benefit to the legacy benefit system and provides people with support into, and to progress in work.

    Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with Universal Credit. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in deciding on measures to limit pollution from storm water overflows in accordance with the footnote to Annex I.A of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), they have specified a certain acceptable number of storm water overflows per year in respect of the Thames Tideway upstream of Beckton; and, if so, what that number is.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    We have not specified an acceptable number of storm water overflows per year in respect of the Thames Tideway upstream of Beckton. The approach we have taken in the Tideway area is to improve sewage treatment and to increase the capacity of the collecting system, with a view to meeting agreed environmental objectives and to complying with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The measures to deliver this are the Lee Tunnel, the Thames Tideway Tunnel and upgrades to five major sewage treatment works in London.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the National Offender Management Service’s budget was for its allocation of illicit alcohol-detecting dogs in each of the last five years; and how many finds have been made by those dogs in each of those years.

    Andrew Selous

    There are more than 500 specially trained dogs used within prisons to search prisoners, visitors, prison perimeters and suspicious packages for illicit items, such as drugs, weapons, alcohol and mobile phones. Many dogs are trained so that they can detect a range of contraband rather than one particular substance. The specific combination of capabilities is managed by regional search teams so that dogs can be used most effectively to tackle prevalent risks in that region.

    For those reasons, it is not possible to allocate a specific budget to dogs who have been trained to detect alcohol. Data on the number of alcohol finds made by dogs is not recorded.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies on encouraging school leavers to consider careers in science and mathematics of the conclusion of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in its report, Engineered in Britain, published in December 2015, on the rate of change in the numbers of school leavers considering such careers.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government is determined to increase the number of young people studying science and mathematics This includes an ambition that by 2020 we want to see a 20% increase in A level entries by girls to these subjects. Since 2010, there have been 28,000 more science and mathematics A level entries.

    In order to attract the best and brightest into the teaching profession, we are offering bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 to attract top science and mathematics graduates into teaching. We are also investing up to £67 million to recruit 2,500 additional maths and physics teachers and upskill 15,000 existing non-specialist teachers over the lifetime of this parliament. We welcome the contribution that the Institution of Mechanical Engineers is making through its programme of two-week industrial placements which will give teachers a better understanding of the application of science and engineering in the real world.

    The Government is also taking action to ensure that young people are making well-informed choices about their future which include a good understanding of the value of science and mathematics subjects. Programmes such as STEM ambassadors and the Big Bang Fair are aimed at raising awareness of the range of careers that science and technical qualifications offer. The Government also supports the industry-led Your Life campaign which aims to transform perceptions of science and maths.

    We want to transform careers education and guidance so that all young people can access high quality support when they need it. The Government plans to publish a comprehensive careers strategy later this year to outline this government’s plans for improving careers provision by 2020. Over this parliament we are committing a total of £70 million to our strategy. As part of this, we will provide further funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to embed and further extend its projects already underway, including the Enterprise Adviser Network, its Careers and Enterprise Fund, its research and wider activity to bring schools, colleges, business and careers and enterprise organisations closer together.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the potholes on the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway between junctions 10 and 11 to be repaired and the carriageway resurfaced; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England completed temporary surface repairs and filled nine potholes overnight on 30-31 March. They plan to carry out permanent surface repairs between junctions 10 and 11 in mid-May 2016. These will be hot patch repairs, which are just as effective as permanent resurfacing and are durable enough to last until the next resurfacing scheme.

    Highways England inspects the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 twice weekly, with the latest safety inspection completed on Wednesday 13 April.

    Highways England will continue to ensure that the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 remains safe and serviceable. This section is not due for resurfacing in the current Delivery Plan, due to the general condition being satisfactory.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential for the reintroduction of pine martens into areas of the UK that are infested with grey squirrels.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Forestry Commission is involved in the Vincent Wildlife Trust’s pine marten recovery project in mid and north Wales. The Forestry Commission in England is supporting a project in the Forest of Dean with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Forest Research and others to pursue a pine marten restoration project. This project includes studies into impacts of pine martens including on trees and other wildlife. Natural England is also working with the Trust to restore viable populations of pine martens to northern England.

    The Forestry Commission is also working closely with one of the authors of the paper that identified the decline in grey squirrel populations in the Irish midlands, which may be associated with the abundance of pine martens. The work with the author and others will further explore the relationship between red squirrels, grey squirrels and pine martens in the UK.

  • Paul Maynard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Paul Maynard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will consider the proposal from contributors to the report entitled Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021 to redefine what constitutes a comprehensive and efficient service under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Responses to the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce’s Ambition consultation are being carefully considered and the Ambition document will be published in due course. There are no plans to amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

    The 1964 Act does not seek to be overly prescriptive in defining comprehensive and efficient, and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how to provide a public library service to their local community, within available resources.

    The ‘Libraries as a Statutory Service’ was published in December 2015 and contains information on the legislative framework for library services under the Act. This sets out the factors to which the Secretary of State gives consideration in response to complaints about whether a local authority is providing a comprehensive and efficient library service.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of UK trade was with (a) Germany, (b) France, (c) Italy, (d) Spain, (e) Australia, (f) China, (g) Singapore, (h) US, (i) Canada and (j) other EU member states in each of the last five years.

    Mark Garnier

    The proportion of UK trade (exports and imports) with Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, the US and all EU member states in each of the last five years is given in the attached table. The estimates are based on data sourced from the latest Office for National Statistics’ Pink Book 2016 release.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2849) on the review of retention of custody images by police forces, with which specific stakeholders they have discussed that issue and whether each has submitted evidence.

    Lord Bates

    The review is ongoing, and is anticipated to report before the Christmas recess. Specific stakeholders consulted as part of the review include the Biometrics Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the National DNA Database Ethics Group, the National Police Chiefs Council , the College of Policing and local police forces. The report can be expected to address the operational and legal issues and risks, and set out plans for implementation.