Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with the Financial Conduct Authority the effect of the savings products offered by providers with almost zero interest rates on people with savings.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In January 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its Cash Savings Market Study report, which found that competition in the cash savings market was not working well for many consumers. In response, the FCA has consulted on and will subsequently be introducing new rules from 1 December 2016 designed to improve competition by encouraging easier and quicker switching and improving the information savers receive.

    These new rules will require firms to provide key information in a product summary box at point of sale and to be clear on what interest rate consumers are getting. The FCA will also introduce a new rule which requires firms to provide a prompt and efficient service so that a customer can switch to a better account offered by the same firm.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what rail routes are planned to be designated driver controlled operation in the Northern Franchise.

    Andrew Jones

    This is an operational matter for the new franchisee to discuss with its staff and their trade union representatives after they have taken over the franchise on 1st April.

  • David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories since the cessation of Operation Protective Edge.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has continued since the cessation of Operation Protective Edge. In August 2014, the Israeli Government expropriated over 1000 acres of Palestinian land near Bethlehem, the largest expropriation in 30 years. In September 2014, Israeli authorities approved 2610 units in Givat Hamatos. In 2015, according to Israeli Non-Government Office Peace Now, construction for 1800 previously-tendered housing units began in the settlements. New tenders for 1143 housing units were also published, 560 in the West Bank and 583 in East Jerusalem. 2016 has seen a number of concerning announcements, including: the extension of the Gush Etzion settlement to include the former church compound of Beit al Baraka; the declaration of 385 acres of land near Jericho as ‘state land’; and approval for a further 153 settlement units. We strongly urge the Israeli Government to reverse its policy over illegal settlements.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d’affaires. The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

    The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to respond to the recommendation in the Low Pay Commission’s Spring 2016 report on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) that HM Revenue and Customs investigation of third party reports of NMW breaches be subject to a public protocol.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is carefully considering the non-rate recommendations in the Low Pay Commission Spring 2016, and will respond in due course.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what modelling her Department has undertaken on the demand for school places in each year from 2016 to 2030.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

    We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what changes his Department plans to make to the size of the workforce of the Ministry of Defence Police.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Department plans to recruit around 260 new police officers to the Ministry of Defence Police during the course of 2016-17 to offset anticipated attrition rates and maintain sufficient resource to the level of tasking required.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times her Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    George Eustice

    The attached information shows contracts for consultancy, by company, in the years 2013 – 2016, lists the description of work carried out for Defra and the contractually committed spend by contract.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2016 to Question 47490, whether during those discussions concerns were raised by Japanese investors and representatives of Japanese businesses about the UK’s decision to leave the EU; and whether any conditions were placed on continued Japanese investment in the UK.

    Alok Sharma

    During my discussions, Japanese investors and business raised issues broadly in line with those set out in the Japanese government’s paper of 2 September. As we prepare to negotiate our exit from the European Union, it would be wrong to set out our unilateral position in advance of these negotiations, or provide a running commentary on our discussions with individual companies. We will continue to work closely with Japanese investors and business to ensure we support an open and thriving economic partnership in the future.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much income was generated by the Commercial Court in each of the last 10 years, and what were the operating costs for that Court in each year.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) does not analyse the income or cost of the Commercial Court in this way. Such information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.