Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the not-for-profit company that sets and co-ordinates the 11 plus exam in Buckinghamshire is subject to the public sector equality duty.

Lord Nash

The Department for Education holds no responsibility for the 11 plus exams. These are commercial products which local authorities and independent schools implement at their discretion.

The 11 plus exam, or newly-named ‘Transfer Test’, in Buckinghamshire is developed by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at the University of Durham, which is an independent educational supplier. Private and voluntary organisations are subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 when they carry out public functions. The duty may therefore apply to CEM’s public functions only, but the Department cannot advise on this.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK seafarer (a) officers and (b) ratings employed in the offshore supply vessel sector have been made redundant in each month since June 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We do not hold this information.

01/01/2023
Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research and development her Department is funding into the potential role of agroforestry in improving soil health and condition and prevention of erosion.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Department for International Development supports a number of research programmes that assess the use of agroforestry to promote soil health and prevent as well as reduce erosion. This includes, for example, work with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the global Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research programme (CCAFS).

My Department also supports a wide range of development programmes with agro-ecological components, from agroforestry, soil and water conservation, land use management to climate resilience and conservation agriculture. These include, for example, The Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), and Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED). The full range of our programmes can be found on our Development Tracker website.

01/01/2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of North Korea’s launch of three ballistic missiles on 5 September.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) ballistic missile launches of 5 September are a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). The DPRK’s repeated provocations in 2016 are a threat to regional stability and international security. The UN Security Council statement of 6 September, which the UK fully supports, clearly demonstrates that the international community is united and will not tolerate this destabilising behaviour. We urge the DPRK to abide by UNSCRs and return to credible and authentic discussions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programme.

01/01/2023
Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the tax claims stopped directly by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the last 12 months had previously been referred to Concentrix by HMRC as high risk renewals.

Jane Ellison

Between 1 August 2016 and 31 August 2016 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) automatically stopped 365,483 tax credit claims as a direct result of customers failing to comply with the requirements of the annual renewal process.

Alongside the annual renewal process, HMRC records the number of awards that have been amended, which could be stopped, reduced or increased. Therefore, data showing the total number of claims stopped following a compliance intervention is unavailable.

During the course of the contract, HMRC delegated a total caseload of 2,209,500 cases for high risk renewal checks by Concentrix. Of these 1,635,676 cases were not the subject of further investigation for fraud or error by Concentrix. This amounts to 74% of the total caseload.

The volume of high risk renewals referred to Concentrix are broken down into the three risk categories as follows:
- Undeclared Partner: 1,398,908
- Work & Hours: 564,983
- Child Care: 245,609
01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to respond to its call for evidence on the cost of providing childcare published on 15 June 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The call for evidence is part of the government review on the cost of providing childcare and is one of the sources of evidence that will inform its outcome. The review will inform decisions on funding for early years which will be made as part of the Spending Review on 25 November. The Department published the analysis of the responses to the call for evidence on GOV.UK on 8 October and the report is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-bill-policy-statement

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01/01/2023
Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether carbon capture and storage plants that become operational with the assistance of support not provided by her Department will be eligible to receive contracts for difference.

Andrea Leadsom

Contracts for Difference may be awarded to generators who meet the requirements of eligibility set out in the Contracts for Difference (Definition of Eligible Generator) Regulations 2014. A generating station connected to a complete CCS system is an eligible technology under those Regulations. Contracts for Difference for CCS are awarded on direction of the Secretary of State and would be subject to the circumstances at the time, including factors such as the value for money and affordability of a project and competing demands on available budgets.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK economy of late payments to SMEs in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry

The Department does not hold the information required. However, BACS data shows that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.[1]

The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors.

The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a requirement for all public-sector buyers to publish annually, from 2017, their liability to debt interest payments. In central government we have gone further and faster. We will be publishing against these requirements quarterly from April this year. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

[1] BACS Data June 2015.

01/01/2023
Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage GPs to undertake out-of-hours shifts in primary care.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.

Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.

The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended.

On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.

Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.

01/01/2023

Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 24 January 2013 to Question 139167, how many staff in her Department were in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and what the cost to her Department was of providing that allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

Mr Nick Hurd

The amount spent on Education Allowance by DFID and the number of HCS staff who have benefited from education continuity payments is provided in the table below.

Year	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Total Number of Employees	43	41	46
Employees in UK	£32,165.55	£8,178.80	£9,337.45
Employees Overseas	£995,609.04	£995,852.61	£1,042,819.56
Cost	£1,027,774.59	£1,004,031.41	£1,052,157.01

01/01/2023