Tag: Steve Rotheram

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of trends in the rate of race-related crimes in England and Wales over the last five years.

Karen Bradley

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that there were 106,000 incidents of race hate crime a year, based on the combined data from the 2012/13 to 2014/15 surveys (the most recently available figures). There has been a clear downward trend in the number of hate crime incidents between the 2007/08 to 2008/09 and 2012/13 to 2014/15 crimes surveys, which have fallen by 28% for all hate crimes over this period. The Home Office also collects information from the police on hate crimes. This shows that were 42,930 race hate crimes recorded by the police in 2014/15, a 15% increase on the previous year. This increase is largely thought to be due to improvements in recording practices by the police over the last year rather than a real increase in race hate crime. However, it is possible in some police forces areas that recording may not be the only reason and there could be an element of real increases in certain areas.

The Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime, including that perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person. That is why we announced in October last year the intention to bring forward a new cross Government hate crime action plan. This is being developed with the communities most affected by hate crime and will be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will receive a lower state pension under the single-tier pension system.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested can be found in the Impact of the New State Pension (nSP) on an Individual’s Pension Entitlement – Longer Term Effects of nSP published in January 2016. The link can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491845/impact-of-new-state-pension-longer-term-reserach.pdf

Figure 1 of the assessment shows the proportion of all pensioners from 2016 until 2060 at each time point with changed notional State Pension outcomes under the new State Pension.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeship starts there were in each construction occupational area in 2015.

Nick Boles

Apprenticeships are categorised according to the Sector Subject Area of the apprenticeship, not the industry sector of the employer.

The Department does not produce forecasts for apprenticeship starts by Sector Subject Area. Apprenticeships are paid jobs and their availability is dependent on employers offering opportunities and hiring apprentices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that customers who were sold cashback warranties by PowerPlan and who did not receive their cash deposits having not claimed against those warranties receive compensation.

Anna Soubry

The liquidation of the companies involved in the cashback scheme is ongoing. The liquidators have the right to take action against the company if they consider the cashback scheme created an obligation to fund any liabilities.

My hon. Friend from Grantham and Stamford is meeting the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss their findings shortly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprenticeship starts his Department forecasts there will be in the construction sector for 2016.

Nick Boles

Apprenticeships are categorised according to the Sector Subject Area of the apprenticeship, not the industry sector of the employer.

The Department does not produce forecasts for apprenticeship starts by Sector Subject Area. Apprenticeships are paid jobs and their availability is dependent on employers offering opportunities and hiring apprentices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans to respond formally to (a) the recommendations relating to corporate dishonesty and regulatory failure and (b) other recommendations in the report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Scottish Power Cashback Mis-selling, published on 20 April 2016.

Anna Soubry

The Government notes the APPG’s report on Scottish Power and the PowerPlan Cashback Promise.

Two investigations have already been undertaken into the ‘cashback companies’ and Scottish Power. The first in 2002 was by the Office of Fair Trading, which made recommendations concerning the rules for customers to claim cashback and which the companies implemented. The second, in 2004, was by the Department of Trade and Industry under s447 of the Companies Act 1985. This investigation is confidential, and the findings are prevented by law from publication.

However it was concluded that there were no grounds for taking further action either against the companies, Scottish Power or the directors involved. This was reviewed again in 2014 when reports were received from the liquidators of the companies, but the position did not change. I can confirm that no new s447 investigation will be taking place.

The Government has no power to determine liability in this case and has no legal standing to intervene in what is a commercial claim by the liquidator of a limited company against Scottish Power. The liquidation of the companies involved in the scheme is still under way, and the creditors of those companies will receive reports from the liquidators if they are to be paid further dividends.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the number of potential closures of and (b) the reduction in community pharmacies as a result of proposed reductions in funding to such pharmacies.

Alistair Burt

Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of inward investment in (a) Liverpool, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West.

Mark Garnier

The Department for International Trade (DIT) does not publish figures below the UK regional level. However, DIT has published regional figures for 2011/12 to 2015/16 which can be located via the link below to the relevant section on the Gov.UK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-ukti-regions-201011-to-201415/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-uk-region-201011-to-201415

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in what ways the UK’s military mission in Afghanistan is contributing to the protection of civilian Hazaras.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK’s military mission in Afghanistan, as part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, is helping train and advise the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, who are responsible for providing security for the entire population of Afghanistan including civilian Hazaras. In particular UK Armed Forces are playing a vital role in mentoring instructors at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, where the next generation of Afghan military leaders are being taught.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average annual change in tax relief for a person employed via an employment intermediary as a result of the Government’s proposed changes to income tax relief for travel and subsistence.

Mr David Gauke

I refer the honourable gentleman to the Tax Information and Impact Note published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-employment-intermediaries-and-relief-for-travel-and-subsistence/income-tax-employment-intermediaries-and-relief-for-travel-and-subsistence.

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