Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the change in the time taken to process minor planning applications between 2010 and 2015; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the change.

Gavin Barwell

The Technical consultation on the implementation of planning changes, published in February 2016, set out our proposals for expanding the approach to improving planning performance in the processing of planning applications. We are considering responses received.

We want to raise performance, so we are extending the designation regime – which has improved processing time on major planning applications – to minor planning applications.

The attached table shows the performance in time taken to process major and minor planning applications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2015 to Question 43633, what the terms are of his Department’s emergency loan agreement for British nationals overseas who require assistance from public funds to pay for repatriation; and what provision his Department makes for people who cannot afford the repayment conditions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

When a British national (BN) enters into an emergency loan agreement with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) they sign a form to declare that they have exhausted all other methods of helping themselves, and accept the sum of the debt in its entirety. By signing the form, the BN is acknowledging that if they do not repay the loan within 6 months, the remaining balance will be subject to a surcharge of 10%; and that the total amount loaned to them must be repaid within five years. Failure to repay the debt may result in legal proceedings to recover monies owed.

In most cases, people are also required to agree to give up their passport. In all cases they must acknowledge that Her Majesty’s Passport Office will not process an application for a new passport until the debt is paid in full. They must also consent for the Department for Work and Pensions to release to the FCO such information as may be relevant in respect of any non-payment.

We know that some individuals face difficulties in repaying their loan. When agreeing to the terms of the loan agreement we advise people to contact the FCO upon their return to the UK to discuss the options for loan repayment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by her Department are non-UK nationals.

George Eustice

All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason her Department has invited private sector companies to tender for work currently carried out by its civilian enforcement officers.

Dr Phillip Lee

HMCTS are considering a range of options about how best to deliver this service. The tender process will allow HMCTS to make informed decisions about what is in the best interests of the service and the taxpayer. No decision on the way forward for the Civilian Enforcement Office role has been made at the current time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the likely costs in administering changes to IR35 on public sector contracts; whether these costs will fall on public sector organisations; and what estimate his Department has made of the net gain to the Exchequer resulting from those changes.

Jane Ellison

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has formally consulted with stakeholders, including a large number of public sector organisations on the impacts of the changes. The Government is analysing these responses and will respond in due course.

Changes to off-payroll working in the public sector will make the engager responsible for deducting and paying associated tax and National Insurance where the intermediary rules apply. These changes will increase compliance with existing rules, rather than introducing a new tax liability. It is right that public sector bodies ensure that their workers are paying the correct amount of tax. At Budget this year, the Government published an estimate of the Exchequer yield as a result of these changes. This totalled around £550 million over the scorecard period, to 2021.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by her Department are non-UK nationals.

Caroline Dinenage

All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of (a) the scale of the recent changes on the cost of care homes for self-funding elderly people and (b) the effect of those changes on the number of care home closures in the UK.

David Mowat

The Department continues to monitor the market of care providers.

There has been no significant change in capacity in care homes in the last three years. The total number of beds for older people and those with dementia in England has remained stable at around 410,000.

Figures from Christie & Co show a differential between fee rises for self-funders & those paid by local authorities, but we are not aware of this driving changes in provision.

The Department continues to monitor the whole of the market of care providers and engage with the sector to better understand the challenges they face and support local authorities who purchase services.

The Department recognises that social care has a key role to play in reducing delayed transfers of care from hospital.

The National Health Service takes Delayed Transfer of Care seriously. As well as funding the NHS’ own plan for the future with £10 billion, we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion extra a year for adult social care.

The Department works closely with the NHS, local government and the independent care sector to help improve transfers out of hospital, share good practice and minimise delays.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of outstanding cases handled by the Child Support Agency were classed as non-compliant before the implementation of the 1993 and 2003 statutory schemes’ closure process.

Priti Patel

Proactive Case Closure of 1993 and 2003 Scheme cases began on 30 June 2014. As at June 2014, 14% of cases with a current liability were non-compliant i.e. paying nothing.

The Department records statistics on the compliance status of 1993/2003 Scheme cases and publishes these in the Quarterly Summary of Statistics. This information is set out on Page 51 of the statistics which can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to provide additional funding for local authorities to provide school crossing patrols.

Nick Gibb

The Government has no plans to make additional funding available specifically for school crossing patrols. The Education and Inspection Act 2006 (section 508A) puts a duty on local authorities to promote and establish a strategy for developing a sustainable transport infrastructure that meets the needs of children and young people in their area. This strategy should address such issues as enhanced child safety and security. School Crossing Patrols are one option that can contribute to the fulfilment of this duty. It is for local authorities and schools to determine if and how school crossing patrols are funded from the resources made available by central government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what safeguards his Department plans to put in place to ensure that people who leave their council homes as a result of the proposed pay to stay scheme are able to afford private rented property in the same area.

Brandon Lewis

It is only fair that social tenants who can pay more should pay more. There are more than 40,000 tenants in social housing who benefit from subsidised rents but where the annual household income is over £50,000. We have however consulted on a proposal for a taper to ensure that work incentives are protected. If adopted, this would mean that households towards the lower end of the proposed income thresholds would see a low rise in their rent below market rental values in areas where market rent is higher than social rent. Of course, if tenants on incomes well above the proposed threshold wish to take up a rental opportunity in the private sector then this should be encouraged to free up social housing for those most in need.