Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average number of weeks is for which statutory shared parental pay has been claimed since 1 April 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Government does not yet have any information on the take up of Statutory Shared Parental Pay. Information for the 2015-16 tax year will be available from May 2016, although it will also include claims for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay. Information is not held on the number of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay that are linked to adoption leave.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the proportion of tax to income paid by (a) an Uber taxi driver, (b) a black cab driver and (c) a mini cab driver.

    Mr David Gauke

    All self-employed taxi drivers are subject to the same rules when calculating trading profits chargeable to tax.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for consent have been determined by the Marine Management Organisation since 2010.

    George Eustice

    The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) database was established in April 2011 and accurate data for marine licence applications determined by the MMO are limited to post 1 April 2011. However, I can confirm that since April 2011:

    • 50 fully determined marine licence applications have required an appropriate assessment;
    • 151 fully determined marine licence applications have required an environmental impact assessment;
    • 44 marine licence applications have been refused; and,
    • 3,849 fully determined marine licence applications have been approved, including 1,848 variations to an existing marine licence.
  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of electrifying the railway line from (a) Crewe to Chester and (b) Chester to Holyhead.

    Claire Perry

    We await the industry’s advice on future investment priorities for the England and Wales network in the next Control Period, building on the Wales and other Route Studies. We continue to work with the industry, the Welsh Government and local groups, including the recently announced North Wales and Mersey Dee Region Task Force, to see what more can be accomplished to deliver better journeys for passengers and freight customers in this corridor. We welcome the recent submission by the Welsh Government of their Strategic Outline Business Case for electrification from Crewe/Warrington to Holyhead as a contribution to this work.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has made to the Electoral Commission on resolving recent problems with registration on aboutmyvote.co.uk related to the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    Cabinet Office officials have worked closely with colleagues at the Electoral Commission to ensure the messaging on aboutmyvote.co.uk informs electors that they do not need to re-register for the EU referendum.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for a driving test appointment (a) in England, (b) at the Halifax test centre and (c) at the Huddersfield test centre.

    Andrew Jones

    The average waits for a practical car driving test appointment in (a) England and (b) at Halifax test centre and (c) at Huddersfield test centre are as follows:

    England – 12 weeks

    Halifax driving test centre – 18 weeks

    Huddersfield driving test centre – 17 weeks

    The main cause of current high practical driving test waiting times across the country is a significant and sustained surge in demand for driving tests. The last time there was demand at such high levels was in 2005/6.

    To help address the demand, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) 2015/16 recruitment campaigns resulted in 193 new examiners starting work at test centres across Britain. A further 48 examiners have started testing since April 2016, and DVSA has made employment offers to an additional 110 people, who are currently either attending the new entrant training course, or waiting to attend one.

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) also deploys driving examiners between test centres accordingly to help balance variations in demand for tests. Resources have been pooled between Huddersfield, Halifax, Steeton and Skipton, and the DVSA is currently using resource from Huddersfield and Halifax to help service demand at Steeton and Skipton.. There are five new entrant examiners currently attending training who, if successful, will be deployed into Steeton and Skipton. This will have the knock on effect of helping to reduce waiting times at both the Halifax and Huddersfield test centres.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what UK representation there is at the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The UK is represented at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress by various members of the IUCN UK National Committee (IUCN NCUK). The IUCN NCUK is comprised of IUCN members in the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and also represents the interests of its Members in the IUCN Pan European region. The Chair and Chief Executive from NCUK are both in attendance at the Congress.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consumer protection is available for people who book and pay for accommodation through Airbnb and then find that the accommodation does not exist.

    Margot James

    Consumer protection is a cornerstone of a well-functioning economy that works for everyone. As such, all UK consumers, including those in the sharing economy, are covered by consumer protection regulations against unfair commercial practices.

    As the sharing economy continues to grow and diversify an important part of the success of companies, such as AirBnB, will be ensuring the safety and confidence of consumers is paramount. The Government has worked closely with sharing economy businesses and recognises that a number of companies are taking welcome steps to achieve this. Alongside this, the trade body SEUK, has recently developed a Kitemark to give consumers increased trust and confidence.

    The Government will continue to work with industry to consider what further steps may be necessary to ensure consumers are adequately protected as part of a sharing economy that works for all.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what total amount has been spent by his Department to date on the (a) design and (b) implementation of universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    In ‘Universal Credit at Work’ published in October 2014, we stated that the total cost of implementation is £1.8bn, of which a third (c£0.6bn) has been spent.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Atos assessments are carried out effectively for personal independence payment applications.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department has a number of mechanisms available to monitor and challenge Atos performance in carrying out assessments for Personal Independence Payment. These include a range of Management Information to inform performance against contractual Service Level Agreements relating to, for example, time taken to process claims and the quality of the assessment reports produced.