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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the respective roles of (a) Highways England and (b) its proposed programme management partner in the delivery of the Road Investment Strategy Programme.

    Andrew Jones

    The government is tripling the capital investment in the Strategic Road Network. Highways England have been given responsibility for delivery of the Road Investment Strategy and operation of the network.

    A four year term contract was tendered competitively by Highways England to a consortium consisting of CH2M Hill, Mace and PwC (CMP) in early July 2015 to help provide additional support to improve their capability and available resources to deliver an increasingly demanding and complex programme.

    This has no impact on the role, responsibilities and requirements of Highways England.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full time equivalent staff were employed at the tax credit office in Preston in each year from 2010 to 2015; and what estimate he has made of the size of the workforce at that office in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

    Mr David Gauke

    The following table outlines the number of full time equivalent staff employed at the tax credit office in Preston at the start of each financial year.

    Financial year

    Number of full time equivalent staff

    April 2010

    2010

    April 2011

    1957

    April 2012

    1998

    April 2013

    2033

    April 2014

    1870

    April 2015

    1787

    The projected full time equivalent staffing levels in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 2,050, 1,941 and 1,834 respectively.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many IT contractors engaged by HM Revenue and Customs work through a personal service company.

    Mr David Gauke

    All IT contractors have been engaged by HMRC through centralised Government contracts and Frameworks that comply fully with Cabinet Office procurement guidelines.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which audiology services have applied for accreditation under the Improving Quality in Physiological Diagnostic Services programme.

    Alistair Burt

    Specific data on which audiology services have applied for accreditation under the Improving Quality in Physiological Diagnostic Services (IQIPS) programme, which is managed by the Royal College of Physicians, are not available. According to the latest IQIPS report, published in October 2015, there are currently 183 audiology services registered with the programme. Further information is available at the following link:

    www.iqips.org.uk

    “

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues to credit reference firms on handling data on people who are on the closed electoral register.

    John Penrose

    The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance to both private and public sector organisations to help them understand their obligations under the Data Protection Act. Organisations wishing to process personal data in the UK, including credit reference agencies, must register with the ICO and comply with the DPA’s eight data protection principles. Among other things, these principles require personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA.

    The ICO’s website provides public information on credit reference agencies’ use of the electoral register at (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/credit/).

    “

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will raise the threshold for carer’s allowance to take into account increases in the national minimum wage.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance which is not linked to the number of hours worked is currently £110 per week (net of certain expenses). It was increased to £110 in April 2015 – an increase of nearly 8%, which far outstripped the growth in earnings.

    The Government keeps the earnings limit under review and keeps under consideration whether an increase in the threshold is warranted and affordable.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions Government officials have accompanied representatives of British overseas territories or Crown dependencies to meetings with the European Commission in the last five years.

    James Duddridge

    The UK is responsible for the international relations of the Overseas Territories, which have a specific status within the European Union Treaties. The Overseas Association Decision is the instrument which sets out the relationship between the European Union and the Overseas Territories of the Member States. In 2015 I attended the annual Forum bringing together Territory leaders, senior representatives from the European Commission and the Member States. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials meet approximately six times a year with the Territories and the Commission to take forward cooperation under the Overseas Association Decision. Other government departments provide officials when required if the subject matter falls within their area of competence.

    The United Kingdom is also responsible for the international relations of the Crown Dependencies which have a special relationship with the European Union under Protocol 3 to the United Kingdom’s Treaty of Accession to the European Community.

    United Kingdom Government officials meet regularly with Crown Dependency and Overseas Territory representatives to discuss forthcoming business; information sharing is a matter of routine. The Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories make their own preparations for meetings with the European Commission but Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials assist when asked to do so. Support is also available from other government departments and the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union should it be required.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, in the light of the recent Panama papers scandal, of how many of the illegal assets subject to confiscation orders they will now be able to claim.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    On 10 April 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new cross-agency taskforce to obtain, analyse and take action on the information that has been made available from Mossack Fonseca and to take rapid action on any form of illegality that emerges.

    A number of investigations are underway and the taskforce, which is accountable to the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will report on its progress later this year.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average age of the child refugees they propose to take in from the conflicts in Syria and North Africa; what assessment they have made of the dominant religion of those children; whether it is their policy that priority should be given to Christian children; and, if not, why not.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme prioritises the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, including families with dependent children of any age. Of the 1,602 Syrians who arrived between October 2015 and March 2016, around half were aged under 18. The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme, announced in April, will resettle vulnerable children under the age of 18 from the Middle East and North Africa region, with their families or carers where appropriate. One of the reasons for creating the scheme was to allow the inclusion of children at risk from nationalities other than Syrian, including, for example, Yazidis from Iraq.

    For both schemes, we work closely with the UNHCR, who identify refugees for resettlement using their established vulnerability criteria rather than seeking to include children of a particular age. While membership of a minority religion is not in itself one of the vulnerability criteria, members of minority religions may qualify under one of the vulnerability headings. It is important that we base our selection criteria on those most in need, rather than on the basis of membership of a particular religious group.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria determine whether personal independence payment assessors receive financial bonuses in addition to their salary.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Department does not prescribe providers with criteria on how they should pay salary or bonuses to their staff. That is purely a commercial decision for the assessment provider.