Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on steps to prevent consumers purchasing counterfeit electrical goods that are being sold in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    I have had a range of discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Scottish Government ministers.

    The UK-wide Intellectual Property Office works with law enforcement and industry partners across Scotland to reduce the availability of all types of counterfeits, including electrical goods.

    Recent successful joint-enforcement activity involving the Intellectual Property Office, Trading Standards, and Police Scotland, in the Barras Market area of Glasgow, achieved over £30 million pounds worth of fake goods seized. These items included not only counterfeit electrical goods, but fake eBooks, watches, clothing, footwear, and tobacco products.

    The operation saw the arrest of 100 traders, the removal of stalls selling fake goods and the return of legitimate business to the area, and is a superb example of the collective effort of Scotland’s two Governments using our powers and potential in a common endeavour.

    The Government does not hold data estimating the number of counterfeit electrical goods that were sold in Scotland during the last 12 months. However, we have recently launched a landmark Intellectual Property enforcement strategy in which we have set out how we will improve our data collection. The Intellectual Property Office are developing a robust methodology for measuring the harm caused by IP infringement and a comprehensive scoreboard to be published annually. This will mean better reporting in the criminal justice system, better reporting of court cases, and a deeper understanding of consumer behaviours and emerging trends.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support diversity champions in the police force.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is clear; increasing diversity in our police forces is not an optional extra. It goes right to the heart of this country’s historic principle of policing by consent. We must ensure that the public have trust and confidence in the police, and that the police reflect the communities they serve.

    The Government has reformed policing to ensure that there is a sector-led approach to making improvements, including in the area of recruitment and representation.

    The College of Policing as the professional body for policing is delivering a major piece of work -black, Asian and minority ethnic Progression 2018 – to address under-representation in policing. The Government looks forward to working with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and individual Police and Crime Commissioners as democratically elected local leaders of policing, to place a greater emphasis on this agenda and urges PCCs to consider the opportunities provided through the Police Transformation Fund.

    While the Government would expect senior commitment in all forces it is for local leaders to decide how they will deliver improvements.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they (1) have confidence in the economic forecasting capability of HM Treasury, (2) have evaluated the performance of HM Treasury forecasters, and (3) have considered the case for outsourcing some or all of HM Treasury’s forecasting functions to another organisation.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing forecasts for the UK economy and public finances. It publishes regular Forecast Evaluation Reports (FERs) in which it compares its forecasts to subsequent outturns and explains any forecast errors.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the financial sustainability of sixth form colleges of (a) VAT and (b) pension costs; and if she will estimate the average proportion of a sixth form college’s budget which is spent on those costs.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Education Funding Agency (EFA) regularly assesses the financial viability of sixth-form colleges on behalf of the department. Those assessments take account of all income and costs for colleges, including costs relating to VAT and pension liabilities.

    The department estimates that VAT accounts for about 3% of sixth form colleges’ expenditure each year.

    With regards to pension costs, sixth-form colleges may contribute to a number of pension schemes. The SFC financial returns are available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sfa-financial-management-college-accounts and show employer contributions to pensions. The EFA does not routinely collect data on the cost of other pension schemes through financial returns.

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  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in developing their plans for improving the careers service for young people up to the age of 18, they have consulted the National Careers Service about possible collaboration.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education works closely with the National Careers Service (NCS), which supports young people directly through a website, telephone helpline and webchat service and through a brokerage role with schools and employers.

    We consulted the NCS in advance of establishing The Careers & Enterprise Company, and since then the two organisations have worked together to understand where and how services can be coordinated to ensure that they complement each other.

    In the spring we will publish a strategy for improved careers provision for young people and we are engaging with the NCS as we develop our proposals. In particular the NCS will support one of our key aims, which is to ensure that young people and their parents or carers can access the information they need to make informed decisions on their education, training and employment options.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications not to pay tax on income from rental properties due to the owner’s overseas status were received in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2011-12 and (e) 2010-11.

    Mr David Gauke

    HMRC does not receive applications not to pay tax on income from rental properties due to overseas status.

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been provided for (a) set-up costs and (b) ongong running costs of the Operational Delivery Networks established to support access to hepatitis C medicines.

    George Freeman

    NHS England initially allocated £1.2 million and is working with local commissioners to ensure that the necessary infrastructure and running costs are provided to the operational delivery networks.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to initiatives aimed at preventing female genital mutilation overseas in each year since 2009-10; and which countries were supported through such initiatives in each such year.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID’s flagship programme to prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), ‘Towards ending FGM/C in Africa and Beyond’, is providing up to £35 million in funding to end FGM in 17 high prevalence countries. The programme includes three core components: work with the UN on challenging social norms and working with governments on policy measures, supporting Africa-led campaigns and a research programme to build the evidence base for tackling FGM.

    The countries covered by this programme are: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Uganda.

    Where applicable some DFID country offices also have their own bilateral programmes. In Sudan for example DFID’s regional programme is complemented by a country specific programme to support the scale up of initiatives to end FGM across the country.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of UK firms based in Yorkshire and the Humber that trade with other EU member states; and how many people are employed by each such firm.

    Anna Soubry

    HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.

    HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government is taking steps to encourage progress towards the holding of a referendum in Western Sahara.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It is for the parties to the dispute to agree a resolution of the final status of Western Sahara. The UK encourages both sides to cooperate with the United Nations process to reach a mutually acceptable solution that provides for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.