Tag: Ruth Smeeth

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-09-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions of community amateur sports clubs for operating incorrectly there have been in the last two years.

Jane Ellison

Rather than prosecute Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) for operating incorrectly, any club that does not meet the new regulations, introduced in April 2015, will be de-registered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and assessed for potential Capital Gains Tax charges on the deemed disposal and acquisition of assets.

Statistics are not kept on former CASCs that set up a charity that they subsequently register with HMRC. These new charities are required to simply register the charity with HMRC in the normal way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he intends to publish the responses to his Department’s call for evidence on the National Lottery and raising funds for good causes, launched in December 2014.

David Evennett

The responses to the Government’s Call for Evidence on the National Lottery, society lotteries and competing gambling products in raising funds for good causes will be published, excepting those that are commercially sensitive, in due course.

The Gambling Commission is also providing advice to Government on society lotteries in response to the CMS Select Committee report and we understand they will make this public in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what examination of job roles her Department undertakes when issuing Tier 2 (ICT) visas.

James Brokenshire

Each application for a Tier 2 (ICT) visa must be accompanied by a certificate of sponsorship (COS) issued by the applicant’s sponsor. The COS will set out the job description and the job role the applicant is required to perform, as well as the salary they will be paid and the hours of work they will undertake. The Secretary of State will examine the information on the COS against the codes of practice for skilled workers to ensure the criteria under the Tier 2 (ICT) arrangements are met. The codes of practice set out the relevant skill level and minimum rates of pay that apply to any job.

The Secretary of State may also consider whether the application meets the genuine vacancy requirements set out in the Immigration Rules. This assessment is to satisfy that the information in the certificate of sponsorship has not been tailored specifically to meet the requirements of the Tier 2 criteria.

Entry Clearance Officers within visa sections overseas also have the discretion to conduct additional assessments should they have concerns about specific sponsors. Further compliance checks are carried out after the visa has been issued during compliance visits to ensure roles are genuine and meet the appropriate skill level for sponsorship. Compliance officers routinely assess the credibility of the job roles and collect evidence that the duties of sponsored migrants are in accordance with those stated by the sponsor in the certificates of sponsorship.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of the tableware used in his Department is made in the UK.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has 2 suppliers of restaurant services in the core Department buildings: EC Harris and Baxter Storey.

EC Harris

Currently, 40% of tableware supplied by EC Harris is manufactured in the UK. The policy is to buy UK manufactured tableware to replace existing tableware. The 60% of tableware not manufactured in the UK has been inherited from previous suppliers.

Baxter Storey

Currently, 70% of tableware supplied by Baxter Storey is manufactured in the UK and the remaining 30% is Chinese.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which companies have been issued with more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) visas in a calendar year for each of the last five years; and how many visas for each such company were issued.

James Brokenshire

A list of the sponsors that have assigned more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) in a calendar year for each of the last five years, which also provides the figures of how many of those CoS were used in support of an individual Tier 2 (ICT) application, are to be placed in the House Library.

To break these figures down further into in and out of country applications, and whether the application was successful would require manual intervention and would exceed cost limits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the UK ceramics industry of China being granted Market Economy Status.

Anna Soubry

We are awaiting a European Commission proposal on granting Market Economy Status (MES). We understand that the Commission will also be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue. We will examine any proposal and assessment carefully. In considering the Commission’s proposal it will be important to take into account the wider trade and international context including China’s compliance with international commitments. If China is granted MES, the Commission will still be able to pursue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and impose measures where evidence of dumping or subsidy is found; this is the case with the US and Russia, both of whom have MES status.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30500, what assistance is provided by National Crime Agency CEOP Command staff to local force investigations into child sexual abuse.

Mike Penning

The National Crime Agency CEOP Command assists UK police forces to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse in a number of ways. This includes providing training and advice on specialist capabilities, specialist operational support, and expert child protection advice. For example, the Command assists local police forces with advice and guidance on interview and search strategies, categorisation of indecent images of children, victim identification and victim strategies. The wider NCA, including CEOP Command, also provides support to forces as set out in The NCA Commitment to Working in Partnership with UK Operational Powers, which is available on the NCA website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with representatives of the UK ceramics industry on the effect of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Anna Soubry

I can confirm that I met on 3 February 2016 the British Ceramics Confederation. BIS officials are also in regular contact with the sector on all energy and environment matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30500, what the alternative arrangements are that provide funding for National Crime Agency investigations into non-recent child sexual abuse.

Mike Penning

The non-recent child sexual abuse investigations being conducted by the National Crime Agency are in response to requests from the Chief Officer of the local police forces. As such, the funding for these investigations is from the local police forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the available funding for the Pupil Premium Summer School Programme was spent in 2015; and how much was spent on food provision for children outside term time.

Mr Sam Gyimah

From 2015-16, the total expenditure by the Department on the summer schools programme was £38m. The Department does not collect data on the number of schools that provided meals for pupils as part of their summer school, nor on the amount of summer school funding spent on food provision.