The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much (a) the Legal Aid Agency and (b) HM Courts and Tribunal Service spent on intermediaries in each of the last four years.
Mr Shailesh Vara
This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.
Mark Lancaster
Information on non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I am able to provide the following information for core Ministry of Defence Civil Servants.
Home to work travel allowance has been interpreted as Excess Fares Allowance. This is paid to staff who move from one establishment to another on the Department’s instruction. It is normally paid for a maximum period of four years and compensates the officer for additional travel costs they have incurred as a result of the move. The number in receipt of regular Excess Fares Allowance is 1,390.
Car allowance and subsidised health insurance are not routinely paid. There are, however, four officers in receipt of car allowance and 14 officers in receipt of subsidised health insurance as they retained their terms and conditions following an inward transfer from the private sector under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many foreign nationals living in the UK have been prosecuted for a fraudulent child benefit claim for a child living in the EU.
Damian Hinds
The Government has in place a robust system for verifying that those EEA nationals claiming Child Benefit are entitled to do so under the current rules and there is a wide range of checks carried out on new and existing claims to confirm their validity.
Cases of Child Benefit fraud can be investigated by DWP and the Single Fraud Investigation Service (a partnership between DWP Fraud Investigation Service and HMRC), as part of a wider investigation of welfare benefit fraud.
HMRC therefore does not hold figures on the number of Child Benefit prosecutions of foreign nationals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 26811, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of subsidised health insurance.
Matthew Hancock
There are fewer than 5 staff in receipt of subsidised health insurance and disclosing the job titles of those in receipt of subsidised health insurance may lead to the identification of the individuals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many foreign nationals living in the UK have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for a fraudulent child benefit claim for a child living in the EU in each of the last five years.
Damian Hinds
I refer my honourable friend to my response of 14 March 2016 (UIN 27517).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 27517, how many foreign nationals living in the UK have been prosecuted for a fraudulent child benefit claim for a child living in the EU.
Justin Tomlinson
The Information requested is not available. As DWP does not administer child benefit, we do not legally have any powers to investigate alleged fraudulent claims.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has provided to the Courts and Tribunal Service on obtaining and using overseas conviction data in criminal proceedings.
James Brokenshire
Most criminal records requests made by UK authorities are made by the police, where a subject has been arrested and is the subject of an investigation.
Where an investigation leads to a criminal prosecution, Prosecutors are required to make the courts aware of all convictions, including overseas convictions, in bail and sentencing hearings. Further, section 144 and schedule 17 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 makes it clear to judges that convictions from foreign jurisdictions should be considered during criminal proceedings, whenever they are available.
In the last three years (2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16) 39,028, 60,226, and 95,156 requests respectively, were made by the police to EU Member States for previous convictions of foreign nationals under the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS), an increase of over 140% in that time.
In those same years, 19,018, 34,549 and 38,890 requests respectively were made by the police to countries outside the EU for previous convictions of foreign nationals, an increase of over 100% in that time.
To improve the availability of overseas convictions data in criminal proceedings, the Digital First programme, led by the National Police Chiefs Council, is working to improve the information held on Digital Case Files to ensure that overseas criminal convictions are routinely obtained and passed on to the courts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average salary of (a) a district judge and (b) a magistrate was in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The level of pay for the judiciary is based on the recommendation of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. Magistrates are volunteers and do not receive a salary.
The judicial salaries and fee schedules can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/judicial-salaries-and-fees-2016-to-2017
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data from which year of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey has been used to inform the development of the soft drinks industry levy.
Damian Hinds
A wide range of data shows that children in the UK are consuming too much sugar, and this is a cause of obesity and a driver of obesity-related disease. A single 330ml can of cola may contain 9 teaspoons of added sugar, which is more than a child’s daily recommended intake. This is why the government has announced an industry levy designed to encourage producers to reduce the amount of added sugar in drinks.
The most recent published National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) includes data from 2008 to 2012. It reports that sugar sweetened soft drinks are a major contributor to daily sugar intake for children, accounting for about 30% of the daily sugar intake alone.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has received any complaints about the organisation Action on Smoking and Health in the last five years.
Nicola Blackwood
A grant of £160,000 has been awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for financial year 2016/17 and a copy of the signed award letter, including the detailed deliverables of the grant, is attached.
Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. The grant awarded to ASH has been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.
The Department received a complaint about the deliverables of the 2015/16 grant awarded to ASH in June this year. The Department responded to the complainant, confirming it was satisfied that none of the deliverables were in breach of the provisions of Section 64.