Tag: Steve McCabe

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the findings of the NSPCC’s report, Transforming mental health services for children who have experienced abuse: A review of Local Transformation Plans, published in June 2016.

Nicola Blackwood

We appreciate the work done by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in preparing their report in advance of NHS England’s own qualitative analysis published on 22 August 2016. NHS England also produced a quantitative review in January 2016.

We have an ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders such as the NSPCC to discuss areas of shared interest such as how best we can ensure an effective response to those children and young people who have been abused, including those who have been sexually abused.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of Government-standard qualifying apprenticeship schemes available when the Apprenticeship Levy comes into force in spring 2017.

Robert Halfon

Employer-led reforms to apprenticeships are replacing existing complex frameworks with short, simple, accessible apprenticeship standards designed by employers according to their skills needs. The existing apprenticeship frameworks will close as the new standards are developed and become widely used, and in March 2016 we began the phased withdrawal of SASE frameworks.

We envisage a migration from apprenticeship frameworks to standards over the course of the Parliament, with as much of this as possible to take place by 2017/18.

So far, 246 new apprenticeships standards have been published. A further 176 new standards are in development, and we expect more to come forward before the Apprenticeship Levy is implemented in spring 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will postpone the proposed implementation date of the secondary market for annuities in April 2017 until an appropriate tax code for pensioners is finalised.

Simon Kirby

To date, the Government has published the following consultation documents in relation to the secondary market in annuities policy:

Creating a secondary annuity market – March 2015

Creating a secondary annuity market: response to the call for evidence – December 2015

Creating a secondary annuity market: tax framework – April 2016

Creating a secondary market for annuities – secondary legislation – April 2016

These consultations have now closed. The Government will respond shortly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44396, for what reason there has been a decrease in the number of HC3 certificates issued between 2008 and 2016.

David Mowat

The direct costs of administering the NHS Low Income Scheme in England in the last three financial years are set out in the table. The figures do not include overheads associated with the wider infrastructure of the NHS Business Services Authority.

Year	Direct costs (England only) (£ million)
2015/16	£1,327
2014/15	£1,397
2013/14	£1,414

Source: provided by the NHS Business Services Authority

There is no apparent reason for the decrease in the numbers of HC3 certificates issued between 2008 and 2016. There has been no significant change to the scheme criteria nor the rules for calculation during this period. However, as the application numbers have decreased, there has been a corresponding decrease in the certificates issued.

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

To ask the Attorney General, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by the Law Officers’ Departments are non-UK nationals.

Robert Buckland

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. 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 Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 44488, what safeguards his Department plans to propose to ensure that changes in policy for minor planning applications do not favour developers at the expense of local residents.

Gavin Barwell

In an area where the council has been designated as underperforming, applicants can choose to submit their application directly to the Planning Inspectorate for determination, instead of the council. Applications submitted directly to the Planning Inspectorate will be subject to the same general procedures as those that go to local planning authorities. This includes undertaking consultation on the proposal with the local community. Decisions that are unnecessarily slow, or which refuse development without good reason, can have a real impact by delaying or discouraging investment. That is bad for the economy and bad for communities, so taking action where there is clear evidence that a service is not being delivered effectively is beneficial to all.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that arrears-only Child Support Agency cases outside the current pro-active case-closure programme will be subject to the arrears cleansing process before being transferred to the Child Maintenance Service for collection.

Caroline Nokes

The arrears cleansing process is a feature of the case closure programme, and cases selected for closure will be subject to arrears cleanse before the debt is moved to the Child Maintenance Service system. Cases are not subject to the arrears cleanse process unless they are selected for closure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on what grounds UK aid is given to countries on the EU Commission tax haven blacklist.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID uses a range of criteria to inform how we allocate aid across countries. These criteria include, for example, current and projected poverty levels in the country, the country’s ability to self-finance its development (e.g. through domestic taxation), and the likely effectiveness of UK aid.

A number of EU member states maintain lists of jurisdictions for tax purposes against criteria concerning tax transparency and/or the prevailing tax rate. The EU does not maintain a blacklist; however a list of 30 jurisdictions that featured on 10 or more member state lists was compiled and then superseded by a recent European Commission update.

This update included UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories which had the UK’s signature of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters extended to them in 2014. The updated individual member state lists can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/gen_info/good_governance_matters/lists_of_countries/.

Of the 30 jurisdictions named in the original list, 14 received UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 (the most recent year for which consolidated figures are available). Of these 14, only three (Liberia, Montserrat and Vanuatu) received ODA from DFID for development and humanitarian assistance in that year. Details of funding amounts to these 14 jurisdictions can be found at the Statistics on International Development 2014 page of the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has put in place to fund walking and cycling infrastructure once the Local Sustainable Transport Fund ends in March 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department has a statutory obligation to deliver the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). The Department has commenced the early first stages of work to develop the first CWIS by summer 2016 following a formal consultation in spring 2016. Detailed content of this Strategy is not yet available.

The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by investing over £300m during this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition programme in full, and funding the Bikeability cycle training programme, which increases cycle proficiency amongst school children. It also includes a new ‘Access’ fund for sustainable travel building on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. It is too early to say what the details of this new Access fund will be as discussions are ongoing, but information is expected to be available in the coming weeks.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to include single parents who are in full-time employment in the extension of free childcare to 30 hours per week.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Single parents will be able to access the extended entitlement in the same way as two parent households. A single parent will need to earn a weekly minimum equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum wage or living wage. In addition, their income should not exceed £100,000. This will include employed and self-employed parents.