Tag: Stella Creasy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish (a) how much spending has been committed from the public purse, and on what, (b) the outcomes proposed and (c) the outcomes achieved to date as part of the joint intervention fund agreement of September 2014 with the French government to combat illegal migration between 2015 to 2020.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The September 2014 Joint Declaration committed the UK to a £12 million contribution to upgrade port infrastructure across the juxtaposed ports in northern France and to ensure effective measures are taken to protect vulnerable persons such as victims of trafficking.

The migrant situation has developed significantly since the September 2014 Declaration and further investment has followed, in line with the Government’s aim to reinforce border security. We continue to work closely with the French authorities at both political and operational levels on a package of measures to further bolster security at ports in northern France. This includes not only physical and personnel security measures but also wider work to tackle criminal gangs involved in people trafficking. The UK has also part funded a project, run by a French non-governmental organisation to identify and direct vulnerable people to protection, support and advice within France.

The investment in security by the UK, the closer coordination of our law enforcement response and the significant investment in police resources by the French Government has led to a significant improvement in the situation at the ports in northern France. The UK and France regularly review security at the ports to ensure the new measures are maintained and remain effective.

Furthermore, at the UK-France summit in Amiens on 3 March, the Home Secretary announced that the UK will contribute £17 million to joint work with France to ease migrant pressures in the Calais region and further strengthen the UK border. Most recently, the Home Secretary and French Interior Minister reiterated at their meeting on 30 August that both Governments are committed to working side by side on a range of issues in northern France.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has had with (a) the Low Pay Commission, (b) Which? and (c) members of the Trade Union Congress to discuss the payment and administration of service charges, tips, gratuities and cover charges on the income of employees.

Nick Boles

The Government’s Call for Evidence into tips, gratuities, cover and service charges closed on 10 November 2015. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received formal or informal evidence from the named bodies. Where any clarification is required or the Government wishes to seek further information, we will request further discussions with these bodies, where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what records her Department holds of (a) children currently in Europe who potentially qualify for resettlement to the UK under the Dublin III convention and (b) children currently in Europe who potentially qualify for resettlement to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 who do not have a family member in the UK; and what the (i) dates are and (ii) source is from which such records were received since 1 January 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism to transfer individuals to other Member States for consideration of their asylum claim, rather than a mechanism for resettlement. The number of unaccompanied children in the process of seeking asylum in other Member States is a matter for individual Member States. However, our secondees in France, Greece and Italy are working to identify and assess eligible cases, and transfers are underway.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-11-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of employees paying tax through PAYE and (b) amount paid by such employees on service charges, tips, cover charges and gratuities administered via workplace payrolls for each financial year from 2010 to 2014.

Mr David Gauke

1. The information requested is as follows:

   2010-11 = 42.6m

   2011-12 = 42.6m

   2012-13 = 42.6m

   2013-14 = 43.7m

   2014-15 = 44.7m

2. This information is not held by HMRC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter from the Immigration Minister to all local council leaders of 8 September 2016, if she will publish the number of places pledged by each local authority area for those unaccompanied refugee children as identified by section 67 of the 2016 Immigration Act to date.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There are currently no plans to publish the number of places pledged by each local authority area for those unaccompanied refugee children as identified by section 67 of the 2016 Immigration Act. The Home Office publishes the number of asylum claims from unaccompanied children as part of the quarterly immigration statistics release. According to the latest release, in the year ending June 2016 there were 3,472 asylum claims from unaccompanied children. The full statistics can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2016/asylum#unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-children

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish the guidance it has issued to schools and colleges for the implementation of Prevent strategy activities for all age groups.

Edward Timpson

The government published statutory guidance on the Prevent duty for specified authorities, including schools, in March 2015. In September 2015 the government published Prevent duty guidance specifically for colleges and universities.

To complement the statutory guidance, the Department for Education has issued practical advice to schools and childcare providers to help them understand their role under the new Prevent duty. Together with Home Office, the Department also published a briefing note on how social media is used to encourage travel to Syria and Iraq. The Department’s core statutory safeguarding guidance for schools and colleges, Keeping Children Safe in Education, was updated in July to reflect the Prevent duty.

All of the above documents are publicly available via the Department’s dedicated preventing extremism website on gov.uk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-extremism-in-schools-and-childrens-services/preventing-extremism-in-the-education-and-childrens-services-sectors).

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is by which unaccompanied child refugees are considered for transfer to the UK from refugee camps in Europe; and what the verification process is for confirming the identity and date of birth of an unaccompanied child refugee.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Under the Dublin Regulation, where an unaccompanied asylum seeking child has close family members in the UK, another Member State may make a transfer request for the UK to consider their asylum claim, which is then considered and if verified, accepted by the UK. In addition, we are working closely with the French, Greek and Italian authorities as well as UNHCR, Unicef and NGOs to identify unaccompanied refugee children who do not have family in the UK but who may qualify for transfer under the provisions of S67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

All individuals being considered for transfer will be assessed for age. Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Once in the UK there is also the option of requesting a further local authority age assessment, which must be case law compliant and approved by two social workers. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish all guidance it has issued to schools and colleges for the implementation of PREVENT strategy activities for all age groups.

Mr John Hayes

The Home Office published guidance on the Prevent statutory duty for specified authorities, including schools, in March 2015. In September 2015, the Home Office published Prevent duty guidance specifically for colleges and universities. The Department for Education issued advice for schools and childcare providers relating to the Prevent duty, which was published in July 2015. All of this guidance and advice is publicly available at the following website links:

• Prevent duty guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

• Department for Education advice for schools and childcare providers on the Prevent duty: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439598/prevent-duty-departmental-advice-v6.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the recorded interest rates of all PFI-financed projects in operation and commissioned by the NHS.

Alistair Burt

The great majority of funding for Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes (usually 90%) comes in the form of two types of senior debt – a loan from a bank or a bond raised in the capital markets.

The remaining cost of the project (10%) is paid in as equity share capital or equity-like loans (subordinated debt) from specialist investors. This enables projects to be financed where there are risks which the bank lenders are unwilling to bear (akin to a deposit when arranging a mortgage). Given these risks, the costs of raising this equity finance are higher.

The combination of these two types of finance and therefore the overall cost of raising all the finance for the project can then be ascribed an annual percentage rate which is known as the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) or more commonly the Project Internal Rate of Return (Project IRR).

The pre and post-tax nominal and real IRRs for equity and the WACC for all NHS hospital PFI schemes which had reached financial close from 1997 (the first) to 2009 were published as part of the Department’s evidence to the House of Commons Health Select Committee (HSC) Public Expenditure Inquiry 2009. The link is below and the information can be found at Tables 12A and 12B:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmhealth/269/269i.pdf

Another four hospital PFI schemes have reached financial close since 2009. The information related to them is not held in the form requested; to identify and collate it would incur disproportionate cost.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings (a) he or (b) others in his Department had with Innisfree Ltd in which public finance initiative funding for Barts Health NHS Trust was discussed in the last five years.

Alistair Burt

Two officials from the Department met Innisfree on one occasion in the last five years, in 2012, to discuss the Private Finance Initiative scheme for Barts Health NHS Trust.