The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will meet the Leader of the House to discuss when the Government will next convene the Northern Ireland Grand Committee.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I would be happy to meet my Rt hon Friend the Leader of the House to discuss convening a meeting of the Northern Ireland Grand Committee if there is cross-party support for me doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had on devolving responsibility for rail services to the Midlands.
Claire Perry
West Midlands Rail made a submission to the Secretary of State in October 2014 to devolve rail services in the West Midlands region. The Secretary of State confirmed his support in a letter to West Midlands Rail in March 2015 for rail devolution in the West Midlands and set out the expectation that West Midlands Rail will work with the Department for Transport in developing the specification for the re-letting of the next franchise. A public consultation was launched jointly with West Midlands Rail in December 2015 to inform the specification of the next West Midlands franchise. The new West Midlands Franchise is expected to commence in October 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of video on demand access services.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Ofcom, the regulator for video on demand services, is reviewing how to improve the provision of access services on video on demand services.
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 plans to publish the recommendations of the Gambling Commission in response 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, whether there is a limit on the number of Tier 2 (ICT) visas a company can apply for each year.
James Brokenshire
A Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) certificate of sponsorship (CoS) issued by a Tier 2 (ICT) licensed company is required for a migrant worker to be granted a Tier 2 (ICT) visa. There is no limit to the number of Tier 2 (ICT) CoS that a company can apply for each year. When applying for a sponsor licence the company must tell UKVI how many CoS they may need to the end of the financial year and justify why they need them.
Licensed companies with a proven history of compliance are automatically allocated the same number of CoS they used in the previous financial year. All other sponsors must request CoS each financial year and justify why they are needed. Additional CoS can be requested at any time by all licensed sponsors.
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.