Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) UK firms based in the South West of England that trade with other EU member states and (b) people employed by those firms.

    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.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department took to raise public awareness of changes to national insurance contributions that will take effect from 2016-17.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The introduction of the new State Pension means that contracting-out of the additional State Pension ended on 5 April 2016. This changed National Insurance contributions for people in Defined Benefit pension schemes who were previously contracted-out, as these employees paid a lower rate of National Insurance in exchange for contributing towards a workplace pension. These changes have been a part of our significant communications effort around the new State Pension.

    Proposals to end contracting-out were first published in a 2011 Green Paper “A State Pension for the 21st century” and then in a January 2013 White Paper “The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving”. Proposals went through consultation with employers, pension schemes and their representatives before the Pensions Act was passed in 2014.

    In November 2014, we launched a public information campaign “Know the Facts” which included specific contracting-out press advertorials, blogs, fact sheets and digital communications. Our new State Pension resource pack has been issued to over 350 organisations and many more employers, to help support them explain the changes to their members and staff, including the change in contracting-out status for their workplace pensions.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the contract to be signed between his Department and Boeing to deliver the UK’s P-8 Poseidon aircraft.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence recently announced during a visit to the United States, we intend to begin ordering P-8 Poseidon aircraft this summer.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the contract with KPMG to provide oversight to the Successor programme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    KPMG are not providing oversight to the Successor programme. In July 2015, KPMG were awarded the Acquisition Support Partner framework contract, assisting the Ministry of Defence to improve the performance of its overall acquisition system. This includes but is not restricted to supporting the nuclear and submarine enterprise.

    The contract has been published on the Government website (Contracts Finder) and can be accessed by the following link:

    • https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3b5ce6b4-ca89-45ca-8526-ca89140a5a32
  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who will be appointed to lead the S4C review.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 covering remit, funding and governance. Further details including the Terms of Reference, timetable and process will be announced in due course.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will collect statistics on waiting times for disability benefit appeals to reach tribunal to ensure that such cases are not subject to delays.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    HMCTS is unable to provide the information requested as it is not held centrally.

    Information about the timeliness of SSCS appeals is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report (for the period April to June 2015, published on 10 September 2015) can be viewed at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015.

    “

  • Lord Ramsbotham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Ramsbotham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been made of the success of the current system of press regulation in preventing children being named before being charged, following the identification before charges were brought of the child convicted of stabbing Vincent Uzomah and the child accused of fatally stabbing Bailey Gwynne.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is committed to a strong, independent and effective self-regulatory system for the press that commands the confidence of both the public and the industry.Following the Leveson Inquiry, and with cross-party agreement, Government has now delivered the framework for a new system of independent press self-regulation: the Royal Charter has been sealed and the Press Recognition Panel has been appointed, opening for business in September of this year. We must now give this new approach time to become established.

  • 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 2016-01-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help credit unions compete in the personal loans and savings market.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has taken significant steps to help credit unions compete in the personal loans and savings market. These include increasing the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 2% to 3% per month; investing £38m in the sector through the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Credit Union Expansion Project; ensuring that universal credit and pensions payments can be paid into any credit union account; providing £500,000 to help armed forces personnel access credit union services; and changing legislation to allow credit unions to admit corporate members.

    The Government has also provided £650,000 to fund the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ‘LifeSavers’ project. This project forms partnerships between primary schools and local credit unions, raising awareness of the credit union movement and encouraging more junior savers to become members.

    In addition the Government has also introduced an amendment to the Bank of England Bill 2015 to support financial mutuals. It amends the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s General Regulatory Principles to ensure that both regulators take account of the differences between mutual societies and other types of firm (where appropriate) whenever they are discharging their general objectives.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department attended the Scottish Steel Task Force meeting on (i) 29 January 2015, (ii) 13 November 2015, (iii) 26 November 2015, (iv) 11 December 2015 and (v) 14 January 2016.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was not present at the first meeting of the Scottish Steel Task Force which took place on 29th October 2015. However, BIS was represented by a Grade 6 level official at the meetings on 13 and 26 November 2015 and 14 January 2016, as well as at the most recent meeting on 4 February 2016. Officials from the Scotland Office have attended all meetings of the Task Force. There was no meeting on 29 January 2016.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding and how many full-time equivalent staff have been allocated to the Forced Marriage Unit in (a) each financial year since its foundation and (b) 2015-16 to date; and how many cases have been reported to that unit in each of those years.

    James Duddridge

    The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage. Our joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Forced Marriage Unit leads efforts to combat it both at home and abroad, through their work on policy, outreach, and casework.

    The Forced Marriage Unit was established in 2005 with six staff, including four FCO staff, a Home Office policy advisor, and an external secondee. The composition and structure has slightly changed over time to reflect the caseload and changing outreach requirements, with the team currently consisting of two joint heads of unit, four caseworkers, and a support officer.

    Figures on the number of cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit, via its public helpline and email inbox, are published on GOV.UK on an annual basis and already includes data for 2012-2014. Data for 2015 will be published shortly. Figures for 2005-11 are provided below.

    Year Total number of cases
    2011 1,468
    2010 1,735
    2009 1,682
    2008 1,618
    2007 262
    2006 197
    2005 152