Tag: Parliamentary Question

Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30624 and with reference to the First-Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber Information Rights decision of 11 March 2016, if his Department will publish the Risk Register prior to the universal credit re-set in 2013.

Priti Patel

Following the first tier tribunal decision that the Universal Credit risk register for April 2012 should be released, the document was shared with the requestor.

The government’s view remains that is not in the public interest to publish risk registers because it will compromise the ability to conduct a full and frank assessment of risks and therefore increase the risk to successful delivery of major programmes.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office on the effect of existing legislation on overseas students on steps to increase the number of international students studying in the UK.

Joseph Johnson

Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills meet with Home Office officials and representatives from the education sector on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues related to international students studying in the UK.

The Government is fully committed to controlling migration and supporting the global competiveness of our higher education system. We are delivering this through promoting our universities as places where the brightest and the best of the world’s talent should come to study, whilst tackling immigration abuse where it exists in our education system.

There remains no cap on the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the UK.

01/01/2023
Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures her Department plans to put in place to improve the processing time for sending documentation including national insurance numbers and biometric residence permits to people who have been granted refugee status.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Details to apply for a National Insurance Number (NINO) are collected at the substantive interview and sent to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if a claimant is granted asylum. DWP aim to return these to the Home Office within seven working days before it is sent to the claimant. Processing for Biometric Residence Permits begins once claimants have enrolled their details. If completed promptly it can be received by them within seven working days of the grant of asylum but delays can occur if a claimant has not enrolled their signature or biometrics prior to the grant of asylum.

01/01/2023
Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with water suppliers on tariffs for customers who do not elect to pay for services online.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The Department has not had any discussions with water companies about their charges or tariffs in the context of payment methods.

As regulated private businesses, water companies must follow Ofwat’s charging rules and their licence conditions in setting tariffs for customers. Ofwat’s charging rules set out that companies must include a reasonable choice of payment methods.

Water companies do not generally differentiate between customers that access their account online or pay their water bill by direct debit, and those that choose paper billing and annual payment. However, there are some that offer a discount, reflective of the cost saving, to customers that pay by direct debit. This is an incentive to encourage greater sign up as there are benefits for both the customer and the company.

01/01/2023
Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Prime Minister’s recent assertions at the CBI Annual Conference on 9 November that the UK’s security is provided through membership of the EU, what assessment they have made of the impact of NATO membership on the UK’s security and whether they will continue to oppose any proposals for an EU army or other EU armed forces.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the cornerstone of our national security, and the ultimate guarantor of our defence. But the EU can play a useful complementary role, for example in missions in the Western Balkans and off the coast of Somalia. We always have, and always will, resist any proposal for an EU army.

01/01/2023
Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent Inspectorate report of HM Prison Maghaberry.

Andrew Selous

Prisons are a devolved matter and responsibility for HMP Maghaberry lies with the Northern Ireland Department of Justice.

01/01/2023

Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions have been brought under the Fraud Act 2006 in each year since 2009.

Robert Buckland

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions brought under the Fraud Act 2006. However, records are held showing the overall number of offences charged in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts (the distinction being that some prosecutions involved multiple offences). These figures are detailed in the following table:

Year	Number of offences charged under the Fraud Act 2006 in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ court*
2009-10	27,759
2010-11	29,592
2011-12	28,164
2012-13	26,581
2013-14	25,832
2014-15	26,113

* Data Source: CPS management information system

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigates and, where appropriate, prosecutes the topmost tier of serious or complex fraud cases. The SFO charges offences under the most appropriate legislation in each investigation, and not only the Fraud Act.

The number of individuals charged by the SFO for offences under the Fraud Act (2006) is shown in the table below.

Year	Number of individuals charged under the Fraud Act 2006*
2009	5
2010	7
2011	2
2012	2
2013	4
2014	1
2015	6

* This type of casework information for the years prior to 2012 was not collated centrally in the same way and so the information for these years reflects the records from the time.

01/01/2023

Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was between a fatal accident in construction and a conviction on the latest date for which data is available.

Justin Tomlinson

For fatalities in construction (Standard Industrial Classification, section F) reported to HSE between 2006/07 and 2014/15, the average time between the date of the incident and the date of the first hearing where a conviction is recorded is 1208 days. The time between the incident and conviction dates by yearly time bands is as follows:

Date of Conviction	Average number of days between incident date and conviction date
2006/2007	985
2007/2008	1234
2008/2009	1153
2009/2010	1214
2010/2011	1251
2011/2012	1251
2012/2013	1336
2013/2014	1185
2014/2015	1267

Within the overall time frame from fatal incident to conviction a number of discrete stages may be involved and these are performed by different agencies largely out of HSE’s control:

The police assume primacy initially and retain it until negligent homicide offences have been identified or eliminated.

Where negligent homicide is suspected, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider a file submitted to them by the Police.

HSE works closely with the police and CPS throughout this phase in accordance with the Work Related Deaths Protocol (WRDP) to which the Police, CPS, HSE and other regulators are signatories.

Before HSE brings a prosecution it is normal to await the outcome of an inquest held by HM Coroner.

If a defendant has been charged it can take some time for the case to come to trial particularly where if　it is defended and heard in the Crown Court.

Recognising the importance to victims of ensuring all stages of the process are concluded as quickly as possible, the WRDP National Liaison Committee recently agreed that any decision to prosecute should be made within 3 years of the date of death other than in exceptional circumstances – currently approximately 85% of investigations are completed within this timescale.

For its part HSE has an internal target of completing 95% of fatal accident investigations within 12 months of assuming primacy – attainment is now at 70% and the trend is improving.

01/01/2023

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made on behalf of the 12 Christian leaders tried in Zhejiang Province of China in February and what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of that trial and the sentences handed down on the right to freedom of religion or belief in China, and (2) how those events have been received in China.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China and regularly raise our concerns about freedom of religion and the restrictions placed on Christianity. We make representations on specific cases during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. The next Dialogue is scheduled for April 2016. We also raise our public concerns about freedom of religion and belief in China in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

Regarding the recent trial of Christian leaders in Zhejiang, we remain concerned about the application of due legal process and transparency of justice in China. We are particularly concerned that people seeking to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression or belief are being prevented from doing so. We urge China to protect civil and political rights in line with its constitution and international human rights commitments.

01/01/2023
James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23225, what progress his Department has made on bringing forward changes to secondary legislation that are necessary to implement the relevant provisions of the Pensions Act 2014.

Justin Tomlinson

Work on the changes needed to secondary legislation in relation to the Pension Protection Fund long service cap has begun. I am not, at this stage, able to say when these changes will be brought forward.

01/01/2023