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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department provides to partner organisations on using the HM Revenue and Customs logo in such a way as to make it clear to consumers the difference between legitimate partner organisations and scam websites.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has strict brand guidelines around the use of its logo. Only in very occasional circumstances will it allow a third-party supplier to use the HMRC logo alongside its own, when it is providing direct services to customers on behalf of HMRC.

    HMRC is among the most phished brands in the world and is constantly vigilant against the fraudulent use of its logo and brand. Where such misuse is identified, HMRC will take a range of actions to protect customers from fraud, including:

    • demanding the removal of the logo by the third party
    • legal action
    • working with internet service providers to remove websites
    • proactively publicising to customers when new phishing websites are found
      • providing publicity advice to keep safe online.

      Since July 2014, HMRC has closed 22,210 fake websites.

      The Government also provides guidance on gov.uk on the types of genuine communication that customers can expect from the department.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have applied to the National Enterprise Allowance scheme in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    Claimants who are interested in participating in the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) are referred by their work coach to a provider so that they can explore the self-employment options. Participation is voluntary.

    The take up of the NEA is closely linked to the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which begun to drop in 2013 – 2014. It is also worth noting that during 2013 the Department ran a high profile marketing campaign to promote the NEA, using posters & leaflets in jobcentres, YouTube videos, Webinars etc. which may also have influenced take up of the scheme in that year.

    The table below shows how many starts there were with a business mentor in each financial year.

    NEA mentor starts by financial year (1)

    Number (2,3)

    April 2011 – March 2012

    15,170

    April 2012 – March 2013

    31,880

    April 2013 – March 2014

    47,800

    April 2014 – March 2015

    39,830

    April 2015 – September 2015 (six months)

    18,200

    (1) Data Source – DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database October 2015 for all quarters, DWP PRaP database October 2015 for Jan-Sept 2015.

    (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

    (3) It is possible that an individual may start to work with a mentor more than once and therefore appear more than once in these figures.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for universal credit have been made by people whose temporary employment contract has expired since the introduction of that credit.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit is paid on the basis of earnings. Information on types of contracts that claimants are on is not routinely collected.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvette Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) jobs and (b) businesses that have been created in Scotland through European Regional Development Fund projects since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of jobs estimated to have been created in Scotland through European Regional Development Fund projects from the start of the 2007-2013 programmes to the end of February 2016 is 44,311. The number of businesses created in the same period is 17,543.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has accrued to the public purse from use of fixed-odds betting terminals in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) England in each of the last six years.

    Damian Hinds

    This information is not available. This is because HMRC do not ask for a country-by-country breakdown on the taxpayer’s return.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2016 to Question 40258, what the minimum number of responses is for results for a school to be published on Parent View.

    Nick Gibb

    This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that apprenticeships and training programmes are adequately supported through current and future defence procurement (a) guidance and (b) programmes; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence is proud to be the single largest provider of quality apprenticeships in the UK, having delivered more than 150,000. We therefore play an important role in helping the Government meet its commitment to reaching three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.

    We work closely with colleagues across Government and industry to help maintain and develop the essential skills needed to deliver defence outputs. That includes working with industry partners to develop new world-class apprenticeship standards. Where we know that specific skills are needed for the effective delivery of defence capability, our procurement policies allow for consideration of these skills in our tendering activity, and their continued development through the life of relevant contracts.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution by the Secretary of State for Defence, of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118 on how many occasions the Government has considered evidence from (a) non-governmental organisations, (b) Airwars, (c) White Helmets and (d) other organisations working in Syria on the collection of data on civilian (i) casualties and (ii) injuries in Syria from 2016 to date; and on how many occasions the Government has considered such evidence as credible.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has reviewed four batches of information collated by Airwars in relation to possible civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq, where they wished to establish whether RAF aircraft might have been involved. There was no credible evidence that RAF aircraft were responsible in any of these incidents. MOD officials have also met Airwars to outline the process used by the UK to assess the outcome of RAF airstrikes.

    All RAF airstrikes are subject to an assessment of their outcome. Whilst there can be no guarantees in a complex air campaign like this one, our airstrikes are planned meticulously with the objective of minimising the risk of causing civilian casualties.The MOD continues to be prepared to consider credible evidence on this issue from any source.

  • Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for increased benefit fraud in the last financial year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The 2014-2015 national statistics for fraud and error were published on 5 November 2015. We are committed to tackling fraud and error, and these figures show a reduction in total benefit fraud and error to the lowest ever level of 1.8%. There was a slight increase of 0.1% in the benefit fraud figure (from 0.7% in 2013-2014 to 0.8%).

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that UK scientific institutions have the funds to collaborate with those in Arctic countries to monitor and predict the melting of permafrost and the release of methane; and what practical steps are being considered to minimise the environmental impact of the melting of permafrost and the release of methane in the Arctic.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The UK is funding and participating in a number of projects that will improve our knowledge of the Arctic, for example the current NERC Arctic Research Programme, the European JPI (Joint Programming Initiative) Climate collaboration between 16 European countries to coordinate jointly their climate research, and NERC’s Discovery Science grant programme. The UK also continues to invest in infrastructure to support polar science such as the new £200m polar research vessel.

    The best practical way to limit the melting of permafrost and the subsequent release of methane is to keep the rise in global temperatures as low as possible. At the recent United Nations conference on climate change in Paris, the world took an important step forward with an unprecedented number of countries agreeing to a deal to limit global temperature rises.