Tag: Richard Fuller

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 8 March 2016 to Questions 30341 and 30342 and with reference to the Answers of 5 December 2013 to Question 179450 and 21 January 2014 to Question 182897, when his Department (a) decided to stop collecting the required information and (b) began to collect information in such a way that it can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

For questions 179450 and 182897 volumes of prosecutions and number of errors identified were provided, however these were not all fraud cases, including cases where the error was not deliberate. This did not explicitly answer the enquiry, however was given to provide helpful context. It is not possible to separate cases into those which are a mistake and those where fraud has been accepted without individual case by case analysis.

Again, we cannot directly answer 30341 and 30342 but have provided the below extra information to assist;

	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Total Fraud Investigations (1)	125,140	116,480	171,730
of which total positive outcomes (2)	20,800	20,050	24,600
of which total fraud cases (3)	15,350	12,870	13,600
over which total prosecuted (4)	11,390	8,490	7,150

(1) Total cases investigated by Local Service or complex criminal Investigations.
(2) Total cases where an error has been identified and corrected.
(3) Prosecutions + admin Penalties + cautions: cases where fraud has been proven or accepted.
(4) Cases accepted by CPS for prosecution.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many settlement visas granted on appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) have been issued by UK Visas and Immigration (a) within one month, (b) between one to three months, (c) between three to six months, (d) between six to 12 months and (e) more than 12 months after that tribunal’s judgement in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire

The information is not readily available or held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on patient welfare of proposals made by some clinical commissioning groups to discontinue funding IVF treatment.

Jane Ellison

The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

The Government has made it clear that blanket restrictions on treatment are unacceptable and all decisions on treatment should be made by doctors based on a patient’s individual clinical needs and in line with the National Institute for health and Care Excellence guidelines.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many standard visitor visas granted on appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) have been issued by UK Visas and Immigration (a) within one month, (b) between one to three months, (c) between three to six months, (d) between six to 12 months and (e) more than 12 months after that tribunal’s judgement in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire

The time taken between receiving a determination from the First Tier Tribunal relating to a standard visitor visa and subsequent issue of visa can be found in the table below:

	Time between notification of allowed appeal and issued decision
Period	Under 1 month	1-3 Months	3-6 Months	6-12 Months	Over 12 Months
YE Sep-13	105	35	–	–	*
YE Sep-14	110	60	5	5	–
YE Sep-15	10	5	*	*	–

All figures are obtained from local Management Information.

Figures rounded to the nearest 5.

‘-‘ represents 0 cases ‘*’ represents less than 3 cases.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her most recent assessment was of whether Hizb ut-Tahrir should be proscribed.

Mr John Hayes

Hizb-ut Tahrir (HuT) is not proscribed in the UK. Decisions on proscription must be proportionate and based on evidence that an organisation is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000. Hizb-ut-Tahrir, along with other organisations which cause us concern, is kept under continuous review. As and when new material comes to light it is considered and the organisation reassessed as part of that process. Individual members of HuT are, of course, subject to the criminal law.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring into force section 165 of the Equality Act 2010.

Andrew Jones

The Government is considering how best to address problems wheelchair users face when using taxis and private hire vehicles, including the possible commencement of Sections 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010.

Both taxis and private hire vehicles are a particularly valuable form of transport for disabled people. We would strongly encourage all taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to assist wheelchair users, wherever possible, and would also strongly discourage the practice of making additional charges to assist a disabled passenger.

Notwithstanding the status of section 165 of the Equality Act, disabled taxi and private hire vehicle passengers are protected from discrimination under the general provisions of the Act which prohibit any form of discrimination in the provision of good and services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft to help prove ownership of their vehicles.

Andrew Jones

There are no plans to create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft.

The purpose of the vehicle register held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to record vehicles and their keepers. The register is maintained to assist in revenue collection, road safety and law enforcement. It holds details of the keepers of vehicles and shows who is responsible for their day to day use. It is not a register of legal title or ownership of vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-01-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to review the amount of compensation for losses paid to Equitable Life policy holders over the course of the current Parliament.

Harriett Baldwin

There are no plans to review the payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. The Scheme closed to new claims on 31^st December 2015. However, the annual payments to With-Profits Annuitants will continue unaffected for the duration of their annuity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the next set of National Diet and Nutrition Survey data is planned to be published.

Jane Ellison

The next report of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey is being prepared and will be published as an Official Statistic; the publication date will be announced in advance in accordance with the Official Statistics Code of Practice.