Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans that his Department’s further education area reviews will incorporate equality impact assessments.

    Nick Boles

    Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010. The reviews do not however, mandate action, and colleges are independent corporations, so it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision.

    Each area review steering group will consider relevant data relating to current courses delivered within their area, assess the relevance of these courses to local learner and employer needs and determine how current and future demand can be best met through the recommendations of the area review.

    Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017

    We expect the costs of completing an area review to be met within existing budgets, with minimal additional costs to the colleges, local authorities or LEPs involved. The Departments and their agencies will undertake this work with no additional staffing. Additional costs will be minimal.

    The costs arising from the recommendations of each review will be explored as part of the process. We expect the colleges, alongside local authorities and LEPs with devolved skills budgets, to consider how these costs can be met locally. Where there are costs that cannot be met, but which are essential to the successful implementation of the review, we have announced a facility for transitional funding to support this. We will provide more detail in due course.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the personal and professional connections of the directors of UK-listed banks with domestic and overseas politicians on the potential risk of money laundering; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is taking concerns about the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements regarding Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) seriously. While addressing corrupt PEPs is an important aspect of global efforts to tackle corruption and money laundering, it is essential that this be done proportionately. The current AML regime is governed by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, which implement the EU’s Third Money Laundering Directive and are based on the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. We intend to seek views on the transposition of the EU’s Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which addresses domestic PEPs, in our consultation which will be published in the spring.

    It is for individual financial institutions to apply a risk-based approach when considering Enhanced Due Diligence measures with regards to PEPs, in accordance with the Regulations and with FATF standards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the Treasury-appointed supervisor which oversees financial institutions’ implementation of the Regulations.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is planned that officials of his Department will attend the trial of Egyptian non-governmental organisations scheduled for 20 April 2016 in Cairo.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Representatives of the Embassy attended the previous hearing on 24 March, and plan to attend the next hearing on 20 April. We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt. I encourage the government of Egypt to work with civil society organisations to implement the rights guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution and allow non-government organisations to operate freely.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the reported raid of Nabil Adib’s office by Sudan’s national security and intelligence services and the alleged assault and arrest of people in that office.

    James Duddridge

    The International Federation for Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture and African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies have all reported on the alleged raid on Nabil Adib’s office on 5 May. We have raised our concerns about this case directly with the Government of Sudan, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan on 11 to 12 May. We will continue to monitor this case closely.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Fitness for Work data his Department receives from GPs, collected under the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Statements of Fitness for Work) Directions 2015, is considered identifiable personal data by his Department.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The data collected under the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Statements of Fitness for Work) Directions 2015 will be non patient identifiable on extraction and anonymous on publication, and will not contain any personal information that can be used to identify individuals. Additional measures such as aggregation of disease codes and small number suppression will also be applied which means that, for published information, any number less than five will be replaced by a star.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to section A8.1 of the Benefits and Credits, Error and Fraud Adding Capacity 444 contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited and HM Revenue and Customs, what the profiling techniques are that are used to identify non-compliance.

    Jane Ellison

    Information about the use of profiling techniques can be found within the Concentrix contract at Annex A10.2 and A22.1: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae4c-3ac1f359afc7

    “

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether 18 to 21 year olds who live in supported accommodation will be able to claim the housing element of universal credit when they move out of supported accommodation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    From April 2017 the Government will remove automatic entitlement to housing support for 18-21 year olds in Universal Credit. This rule, which will apply to new claims from those who are out of work, will ensure parity with those young adults who are in employment but are unable to afford to leave home. However, there will be circumstances where it is reasonable to support a young person in living independently. The Department is discussing this issue with key stakeholders in order to determine which groups might be exempt from the general rule. This includes many organisations that provide supported accommodation for young people. It is too early to confirm the outcome from those discussions.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK, as one of the three guarantor powers of Cyprus, was consulted in connection with the request by Russia to the government of Cyprus for the provision of military facilities on that island.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have discussed with the Republic of Cyprus their dialogue with the Russian Federation on the provision of facilities for humanitarian and emergency purposes. The Republic of Cyprus have stated very clearly that they have no plans for a Russian military base on the island.

    The UK remains fully engaged on issues of regional security with the Republic of Cyprus, while recognising that it is for the Republic of Cyprus to decide which bilateral agreements to sign.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many countries UK Reapers are currently operational.

    Penny Mordaunt

    UK Reapers are currently operational in Iraq and Syria. No UK Reapers have been deployed to Libya, and no personnel from UK Reaper Squadrons have been deployed to Libya, Kenya or Somalia in the last three years.

  • Seema Kennedy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Kennedy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Kennedy on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the financial sector and employer groups on workplace money management and workplace payroll savings schemes.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government is committed to supporting savers, and government officials meet regularly with the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals to discuss the role that payroll deduction can play in promoting workplace saving, particularly in relation to the credit union movement. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is funding a £38m project to enable participating credit unions to expand their services to many more consumers, including to employees via workplace payroll savings. DWP is also looking into providing payroll savings facilities for their staff who are members of a credit union.