The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-07-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many self-assessed tax returns which included employee share ownership schemes required investigation by HM Revenue and Customs in each tax year since 2010-11.
Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs is unable to provide this information as it is not a requirement to report employee share ownership schemes separately on Self-Assessment Tax Returns.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40083, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of the British military conducting and supporting air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria.
Mike Penning
The Ministry of Defence shares the view of the Department for International Development that aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help to affected populations. The UK has been clear that the use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and if it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Air drops require certain conditions to be met for successful delivery that are unlikely to be present on the ground in most of Syria including clear drop zones, safe access for the intended recipients, and co-ordination with authorities on the ground to oversee distribution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many community projects have benefited from monies allocated by Scotland’s Big Lottery Fund in the last five years.
Tracey Crouch
From 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2015, the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland has allocated monies to over 11,500 projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15349, if HM Revenue and Customs will expand the tax exemption associated with the Cycle to Work scheme to provide employees with access to tax-free physical activity accessories and personalised activity plans for themselves and their families.
Mr David Gauke
The tax exemption associated with the Cycle to Work scheme is for the loan or hire by an employer to an employee of a cycle or cyclist’s safety equipment. It was established to promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution. This and all other tax exemptions are kept under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total crew complement of HMS Ocean was on its most recent deployment; of what the Embarked Military Forces she carried consisted; and how many helicopters of which type she carried.
Penny Mordaunt
Ships’ complements are not fixed; they vary, even across a class, depending on equipment fits and in response to specific tasking.
HMS OCEAN has a complement of 380 when in her normal operating role; however, this would have varied during her deployment on COUGAR 15 as personnel embarked and disembarked dependent on the activity. The Embarked Military Force (Royal Marines and Aviation Group personnel) was in the region of 620.
Similarly, the number and type of helicopters embarked varied depending on the activity. At points during the deployment, HMS OCEAN carried the following helicopters:
|
Chinook CH47 |
2 |
|
Apache |
4 |
|
Wildcat |
4 |
|
Merlin Mk2 |
2 |
|
Osprey MV 22 (US Marine Corps) |
3 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring staff from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to the Institute for Apprentices to allow continuity of collected labour market information when government funding for that commission ceases in 2016-17.
Nick Boles
The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will have a very small research role, focused around its tight set of core functions. It will not continue the UKCES function of carrying out research into the wider labour market.
BIS has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities. These discussions have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal. We are considering how these can best be delivered in future and will announce future arrangements as soon as final decisions are made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-03-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran concerning the announcement by Iranian state media that an additional $600,000 has been added by them to the existing cash reward for killing Salman Rushdie.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have consistently been clear that threats to Mr Rushdie are completely unacceptable. Our Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran raised our strong concerns with the Iranian government on 29 February about these recent developments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to extend the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme to (a) Iraqi victims of Daesh and (b) members of the Yazidi community.
James Brokenshire
Only UNHCR registered Syrian refugees are eligible under the Syrian Resettlement Scheme, which has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 during this Parliament. We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to seven agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme.
There are no current plans to widen the Syrian Resettlement Scheme but it is operated in addition to our global resettlement schemes: Gateway and Mandate, which are not nationality specific.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken in conjunction with the French government to ensure that unaccompanied child refugees have access to high quality legal assistance in order to submit claims for family reunion under the Dublin III Regulation.
James Brokenshire
Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK and France have committed to ensuring that the provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and the UK seconded an asylum expert to the French administration to improve all stages of the process of identifying, protecting and transferring relevant cases to the UK. The Home Office will review the existing arrangements as part of the work to implement relevant provisions of the Immigration Act 2016. Between the start of January 2016 and 30th April 2016 our records indicate that the UK has accepted over 30 requests from France under the Dublin Regulations to take charge of asylum seeking children on family grounds of which more than 20 have already been transferred to the UK.
To assist with the identification of potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including unaccompanied children) in Calais, the UK has funded a project run by a French non-governmental organisation which aims to identify and direct these vulnerable people to the appropriate support services in France.
The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which informs individuals (including unaccompanied children) of their rights to claim asylum in France and gives them information on family reunification. The frequency of these campaigns has been increased in line with the Joint Declaration signed in August 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Schools of 4 July 2016, Official Report, column 210WH, what the evidential basis is for the statement that 77 per cent of UK employees say that they need more employees with foreign languages.
Nick Gibb
The figure to which I referred on 4 July was derived from a survey by the Confederation of British Industry’s Education and Skills Survey 2015[1] which found that only 23% of businesses said they had no need for foreign language skills among their employees.
[1] http://news.cbi.org.uk/reports/education-and-skills-survey-2015/
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