Tag: Parliamentary Question

Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of HM Revenue and Customs’ Large Business Service worked on each of that service’s investigations relating to the tax of companies in each of the last six years.

Mr David Gauke

Until 31 March 2014, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Large Business Service (LBS) dealt with the tax affairs of around 800 of the largest businesses in the UK. From 1 April 2014 HMRC’s Large Business directorate (LB) deals with the tax affairs of around 2,000 large businesses.

At 31 December 2015, the number of staff deployed in LB was 2,600.

At year end (31 March), the number of staff deployed in previous years was:

LB

2014-15 2,350

LBS

2013-14 1,303

2012-13 1,194

2011-12 1,306

2010-11 1,438

These staff are supplemented by specialists in other parts of HMRC. It is not possible to say how many staff were deployed on each investigation.

01/01/2023
Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-25.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Commission has made of the level of electoral fraud in Tower Hamlets.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission works with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to collate data from police forces about cases of alleged electoral fraud reported each year. This data is published on the Commission’s website.

The data show that 49 cases of alleged electoral fraud offences were reported in Tower Hamlets in 2014. Of these cases, no further action was taken following investigation by the police in 39 cases. This was either because the activity involved was not in fact an offence; there was no evidence that an offence had been committed; or there was insufficient evidence to identify a perpetrator. It also included cases which, following investigation, were found not to have involved electoral fraud offences.

Five cases were locally resolved with advice from the police or the Returning Officer, and one case resulted in a caution being given. Of the remaining four cases, one resulted in court proceedings being initiated, one awaits prosecution advice and two remain under investigation.

A total of 28 cases of alleged electoral fraud offences were reported in Tower Hamlets in 2015. No further action was taken following investigation by the police in 23 cases, and one case was locally resolved. One case awaits prosecution advice and three remain under investigation. The Commission will monitor the outcome of any investigations relating to electoral fraud offences.

In advance of the May 2016 elections, the Commission is working closely with the police and electoral administrators in each of the 18 areas it has identified as being at higher risk of allegations of electoral fraud, including Tower Hamlets, to ensure that robust plans are in place to detect and prevent fraud.

The Commission also encourages anyone who has evidence that an electoral offence may have been committed to report this to the police, either directly or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

01/01/2023
Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the Young Women’s Trust on page 13 of its report, Making apprenticeships work for young women, that apprenticeships are reinforcing, rather than challenging, occupational segregation by gender.

Nick Boles

We want to make apprenticeships accessible to the widest possible range of people, as part of meeting our commitment to reach 3 million starts in England by 2020.

Women are well-represented within English apprenticeships – 53.0% of starts in 2014/15 were made by women. This is higher than in both 2013/14 (52.9%) and 2009/10 (49.6%). We will continue to support the extension of this positive representation across all sectors.

We have made it a priority to ensure that all young people have access to quality careers advice and support to help them make the right personal choices. This includes communicating career opportunities in sectors such as science and engineering. We will launch a new communications campaign in May aimed at promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Our promotional campaigns include role models of successful female apprentices in sectors where they are under-represented.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 35103, what the role is of the Liaison Officers deployed in Saudi coalition headquarters.

Michael Fallon

UK Liaison Officers located in Saudi Headquarters exchange information between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to give the UK a better degree of insight into Saudi processes.

They remain under UK command and control and are not embedded with the Saudis. They do not provide training or advice on International Humanitarian Law compliance, and have no role in the Saudi targeting chain.

01/01/2023

Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is for a decision to be made for a personal independence payment claim in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) England.

Penny Mordaunt

The table below shows the average (median) actual clearance times (AACT), in weeks, for normal rules new claims and DLA reassessments to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for Airdie and Shotts, Scotland and England in April 2016.

April 2016	Normal Rules, New Claims AACT (weeks)	Normal Rules, DLA Reassessments AACT (weeks)
Airdie and Shotts parliamentary constituency	11	13
Scotland	10	13
England	9	12

Source – PIP Computer Systems management information.

Notes to table:

1) The figures are for normal rules only, and do not include special rules for the terminally ill, as these claims have a separate and faster route through the claims process.

2) ‘Time take for a decision’ has been interpreted as the average time between the date of referral to the assessment provider and the date of the DWP decision to either award or disallow the claim. It does not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant or claims that were disallowed by DWP pre-referral to the Assessment Providers (e.g. for failure to meet basic eligibility criteria or failure to return the Part 2 form within the time limit).

3) Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.

Further information on AACTs is published and available at;

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics

“

01/01/2023

Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce the contract award date for the Defence Business Services corporate services integration and innovation provider contract; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. Timescales will be confirmed in the event of a decision to outsource.

01/01/2023
Graham Stringer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stringer on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to issue guidance on the implementation of the EU Cross Border Enforcement Directive.

Andrew Jones

The UK is required to transpose the EU Directive 2015/413 on the Cross Border Exchange of Information on Road Safety Related Traffic Offences by 6 May 2017. Work is currently underway to implement the relevant legal changes by this date. Explanatory notes will accompany the secondary legislation implementing the data sharing requirements and these will be made public when the legislation is tabled.

01/01/2023
Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the use of hollow-point bullets by the Israel Defence Forces.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities. However, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv regularly raises UK concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, most recently on 19 November with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs and Public Security. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv also raised the issue of force with the Head of the Civil Department of the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Civil Department, on 24 November and the Israeli National Security Council on 18 November.

01/01/2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to devise a written policy for the development, integration and use of military unmanned systems.

Earl Howe

The Ministry of Defence is currently seeking to articulate in one policy document the considerations for future UK capability requirements, development, integration and use of unmanned systems.

01/01/2023
Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Zephyr 8 UAVs his Department plans to buy; what the estimated cost per unit is of that equipment; what the programme through life cost is of that equipment; and where he plans units of that equipment will be based.

Mr Philip Dunne

As part of our commitment to providing next-generation battlefield intelligence capabilities to the UK Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence is planning to contract for the demonstration of two Zephyr Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This contract will allow the UK to understand whether Zephyr can fulfil the requirement for a high-altitude persistent surveillance capability, as announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The £10.6 million contract, due to be signed imminently with Airbus Defence and Space, is for an operational concept demonstration rather than individual platforms, so unit costs are not held. Furthermore, as the Zephyr demonstrators will not be in-service, they will not be based at a particular location and there will be no related support or through-life costs.

Tests are due to take place in 2017 to assess Zephyr’s capabilities and explore its potential.

01/01/2023