Tag: Steve McCabe

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2016 to Question 40131, on Children: maintenance, for what reasons the (a) updating work has taken less time than assumed and (b) setting up of arrears on the CMS system is taking longer than anticipated.

Caroline Nokes

It is not unusual for cost estimates to vary as broad assumptions are replaced by more detailed ones. The cost estimates in the impact assessment were produced before the detailed processes involved were finalised and were therefore subject to change. The changes in cost estimates were not due to any change in the scope or objectives of case closure.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2016 to Question 42891, on double taxation: crown dependencies, for what reasons the Government has entered negotiations for a full revision of the treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Jane Ellison

Our double taxation treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) date from the 1950s and although we have updated them in part on several occasions many of the provisions are now out of date.

The OECD Model Tax Convention is the starting point for the UK’s tax treaties. This model has undergone many revisions in recent years, most recently in 2014, with further changes to be incorporated arising from the OECD base erosion and profit shifting project. These negotiations will give us the opportunity of incorporating many of these revisions.

HM Revenue and Customs officials began talks with the Crown Dependencies in April this year and will be meeting again with them soon to continue discussions.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to discourage the financial sector from using performance bonuses in his Autumn Statement.

Simon Kirby

The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to tackle unacceptable pay practices in the banking sector and has the toughest regime on pay of any major financial centre.

Firms are now required to have policies in place to defer, reduce, cancel or clawback bonuses in the event that poor performance or misconduct comes to light and the Government expects firms to be proactive in their application of these policies. Used in this way bonuses can be an effective incentive for staff to act in the long term interests of a business.

The Government’s efforts have resulted in a restructuring of pay including a significant reduction in cash bonuses, and a better alignment of risk and reward in the financial sector.

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 13 June 2016 to Question 39705, what assessment his Department has made of Ethiopa’s progress on providing independent legal access for Andargachew Tsege.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

​On 1 June 2016, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam assured the then Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), that Mr Tsege would be allowed access to independent legal advice to allow him to discuss options under the Ethiopian legal system. Since then, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart, Foreign Minister Tedros, on 3 occasions, most recently during the UN General Assembly in New York, insisting that the Ethiopians follow through with their commitment to allow legal access. The British Government will continue to do so until Mr Tsege is given access to independent legal advice.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the length of time between the publication of his Department’s planned consultation on a proposed secondary market for annuities and the planned introduction of that market for the pensions industry to prepare for that introduction; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of that period on the effective introduction of that market.

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 Justice, what plans she has to allow commercial companies access to sensitive information held by other government departments and agencies on the proposed enforcement purposes of those companies.

Sir Oliver Heald

Ministers have outlined their programme of work to improve the courts in the ‘Transforming our Justice System’ document and consultation published on 15 September. As part of this work we will be considering how we can improve the civil enforcement process.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will undertake an Equality Impact Assessment of the proposed changes to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Ben Gummer

The Government consulted on its reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and considered the responses it received from civil servants and others carefully. It held several meetings with unions during the consultation and then further meetings with unions that agreed to participate. An equalities impact assessment was published on 26 September alongside the Government’s consultation response.

The Government believes its proposed reforms will provide a firm foundation for the management of the Civil Service and its people for a generation. The new terms compare favourably with exit terms in the wider economy and will align the Civil Service Compensation Scheme with reforms across the public sector. It will support employers in managing their workforce and simplify the exit process while treating employees respectfully and fairly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44304, what information her Department holds on the number of language graduates who have entered the teaching profession in each of the last six years.

Nick Gibb

The information is not held in the format requested.

Table 6a of the Initial Teacher Training Performance Profiles details the employment outcomes within six months of being awarded Qualified Teacher Status of those who were trained to teach modern and ancient foreign languages. This includes employment in all sectors: state, independent and sector not known.

The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles-2014-to-2015

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2016 to Question 46555, if he will provide local authorities with an increased level of ring-fenced funding for social care in excess of that provided by the Better Care Fund.

David Mowat

Social care continues to be a key priority for the Government. This is why against the context of tough public sector finances the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. However, it is for local authorities to decide how to prioritise their spending based on local priorities and need.

The Autumn 2015 Spending Review settlement announced that local authorities who are responsible for social care would have the ability to raise additional funding to spend exclusively on adult social care through an annual council tax raise of up to 2% above the existing threshold. This new funding for adult social care will be pooled with additional funding from the Better Care Fund. The Government will be making further funding available to councils for adult social care through an improved Better Care Fund, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-compliant cases the Child Support Agency has closed under its 1993 and 2003 statutory schemes’ closing process.

Priti Patel

As at October 2015, 110 non-compliant cases have been closed as part of the CSA case closure programme.

Notes:

1. Figure rounded to the nearest 10.
2. The figure is the number of cases that have closed in Segment 2 (the designated segment for non-compliant cases) as a result of being proactively selected for case closure.
3. Individual cases can change circumstances over time. As it is the circumstances of the case that determine which segment it will be closed in, the volumes of cases in individual segments change over time, therefore figures may be subject to change.
4. Closures are cases which have been fully closed on the CSA 1993/2003 Systems having undergone any arrears cleanse activity after liability ending.