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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints from workers were received by HM Revenue and Customs on non-compliance with minimum wage legislation in 2014-15.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker.

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforces the national minimum wage (NMW) legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does so by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, and carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

    I refer the honourable member to the answer provided at UIN 28587 for information on recovery of arrears and on the number of incidences of non-compliance on 26 November 2015.

    In 2014/15, HMRC issued financial penalties on 735 employers totalling £934,660 for non-compliance with NMW legislation.

    In 2014/15, HMRC completed 2,204 investigations as part of its duty to enforce minimum wage legislation.

    Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should contact Acas on 0300 123 1100. HMRC reviews every complaint that Acas refer to it but these may not always lead to an investigation. In 2014/15, HMRC received 2489 worker complaints via the helpline.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 21401, what her Department’s policy is on energy issues affecting park homes.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Park home residents are able to benefit from DECC policies aimed at improving the energy efficiency of homes and helping with energy bills. This includes the Energy Company Obligation, Green Deal Communities, the Renewable Heat Incentive, the Warm Home Discount and the Central Heating Fund.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21012, what further estimate he has made of the (a) number of and (b) cost of repairs identified to date to the (i) strategic road network and (ii) local road network.

    Andrew Jones

    Two sections of road on the strategic road network have been damaged by the recent flooding. The river bank was washed out on both sides at Warwick Bridge on the A69 near Carlisle. This will be repaired, as agreed with the Environment Agency (EA), using gabion baskets at an estimated cost of £60,000.

    A 1.5 mile section of the westbound dual carriageway on the A66 in Cumbria is currently closed following the storms. The provisional cost estimate for reopening this section of the network is between £3m and £5m dependent on the findings of a recent geotechnical survey.

    The rest of the strategic road network in the North West region has now been returned to a fully serviceable condition. The cost of clearing the affected network in the North West region is estimated at £275,000.

    The Department for Transport is continuing to collate a comprehensive list of damage caused to the local highway network following the recent storms encountered in some areas of the country.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will undertake an urgent and comprehensive review into British arms export licences to Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK Government is satisfied that export licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licencing criteria. The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. The Government routinely keeps factors relevant to the licensing of arms exports under active review, and Ministers are consulted in the event of any significant changes in the circumstances relating to UK-licensed exports to ensure that licences comply with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Since the outset of the conflict in Yemen the Government has kept all extant licences and new licensing to Saudi Arabia under continuous review, and has exercised special caution and vigilance in granting new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia, handling each on a case-by-case basis. The conflict in Yemen is being monitored closely, and that monitoring is taken into account as part of the careful risk assessment for exports to Saudi Arabia.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of UK relations with Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As I saw for myself, and as demonstrated my Rt Hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Islamabad and Lahore last month, the UK and Pakistan are joined by strong bonds of friendship and partnership. Our bilateral relationship is underpinned by extensive trade, investment and cultural cooperation. The UK will continue to stand beside the Government of Pakistan as it builds a more secure, prosperous and democratic future for all its citizens.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers the police have to obtain information on the beneficial ownership of companies when considering whether to impose restraint orders or confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

    Mr John Hayes

    As part of a criminal investigation, police can also conduct a parallel confiscation investigation using the powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The purpose of a confiscation investigation is to obtain a confiscation order following the offender’s conviction. As part of that process, and in order to preserve assets for confiscation, a restraint order can be obtained at any point during the criminal investigation or proceeding to effectively freeze those assets. The powers provided by Part 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for a confiscation investigation are a production order, a search and seizure warrant, a disclosure order, a customer information order and an account monitoring order. A disclosure order effectively empowers an investigator to demand information and evidence, including by way of an interview. A customer information order requires any financial institution to provide information they possess on an individual or business including details of any customer due diligence information.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are resident in the areas covered by each clinical commissioning group in England; and how many births were recorded in each such area in each of the last three years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on the devolution of the policy and administration of agricultural subsidies to the devolved administrations once the UK exits the Common Agricultural Policy.

    George Eustice

    Across the UK, agriculture will receive the same level of funding that it would have received under the Common Agricultural Policy until at least the end of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework in 2020, even if the UK leaves the EU before this point.

    The UK Government will be working closely with the devolved administrations as we work on future agriculture policy.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other (a) NATO member states and (b) Commonwealth countries on the upcoming discussions at the UN General Assembly on multilateral nuclear disarmament; and if he will make a statement.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has had discussions with a number of counterparts on the important issue of multilateral nuclear disarmament. The UK Government firmly believes that the best way to achieve a world without nuclear weapons is through gradual disarmament, negotiated using a step-by-step aproach and within the framework of the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the urgent call from UN agencies for respect for health premises and the right to health care in Jerusalem for Palestinians after Israeli security forces stormed an East Jerusalem medical facility on 29 October.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not responded to this issue specifically, we are clear that medical staff should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv met Physicians for Human Rights on 9 November to discuss trends in human rights violations against medical staff. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions.