Tag: Tulip Siddiq

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many assessments for disabled students’ allowance (DSA) were carried out by an independent needs assessor in each year since 2009-10; what the average such award was in each of those years; and who was contracted to carry out each of those assessments in each of those years.

Joseph Johnson

Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) are available to help pay the extra essential costs they may have whilst studying on an HE course as a direct result of their disability. The Government recently announced reforms to DSAs to ensure that the limited public funding available for DSAs is targeted in the best way and to achieve value for money, whilst ensuring those disabled students most in need continue to get the help they require. The changes also aim to ensure that Higher Education providers all properly adhere to their Equalities Act 2010 duties, for the benefit of all disabled students.

All disabled higher education students who are eligible for DSAs are referred to an independent assessment centre so as to identify the type and level of support they require.

Information in Table 1 sets out the number of study needs assessments carried out by independent assessment centres in England and Wales for English domiciled undergraduate and postgraduate higher education students applying for Student Finance England administered DSAs. Information for numbers of assessments carried out by each assessment centre is not held centrally. Information is not available at individual assessor level. Information for the period prior to 1 April 2011 is not held centrally.

Table 2 sets out the average award of DSAs in each financial year. A list of currently accredited assessment centres is below.

Government does not contract with assessment centres. Assessment centres who wish to work in this area are accredited through the DSA Quality Assurance Group, a not-for-profit membership organisation.

Table 1 –

Timeframe	Number of assessments
1 April 2013 – 31 March 2014	34,355
1 April 2012 – 31 March 2013	32,410
1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012	35,073

Source: DSA Quality Assurance Group management information. Information for the period 1 April 2014 – 31 March 2015 will be available in April 2016.

Table 2 –

Average DSA payments to full-time English domiciled students

Academic years 2009/10 to 2013/14

Academic year	Average payment (£)
2009/10	2,110
2010/11	2,300
2011/12	2,350
2012/13	2,250
2013/14	2,230

Source: SLC, Student Support for Higher Education in England

Note: 2013/14 final figures are the latest available

List of assessment centres in England and Wales

AbilityNet DSA Assessment Centre

Access 1^st Assessment Centre

Access Birmingham Assessment Centre

Access Bristol Assessment Centre

Access Central Ltd

Access Centre Coventry

Access Centre Ealing

Access Centre Hereford

Access Independence Ltd

Access South West

Access SUMMIT

Access West of England

Access@SW15

Action for Blind People Pan Disability Assessment Centre

Aim Assessments

Anglia Access Centre

Assessment Centre Cardiff

Assessment Centre Cardiff Metropolitan University

Assessment Centre on Teesside

ATOP Chester

Bangor Access Centre

Bradford Assessment Centre

Bridgend Assessment Centre

Broadbent & Co

Cambridge Access Centre

Carmarthenshire Access Centre

Central London Assessment Services

Cheltenham Assessment Centre

Durham University Assessment Centre

Exeter Access Centre

Glyndwr University Assessment Centre

Hertfordshire Access Centre

Higher York Access Centre

Hull Assessment Centre

IONA – Kent and SE Assessment Centre

Kent Assessors

Kingston Assessment Services

Lancaster University Assessment Centre

Leeds Assessment Centre

Leeds Metropolitan Disability Assessment Centre

Leicester Assessment Centre

Lincoln Assessment Centre

Lincoln University Assessment Centre

Loughborough Regional Assessment Centre

Maritime Assessment Centre

Midlands Assessment Centre

Needs Assessment Centre

Newport Assessment Centre

North East Regional Assessment Centre

North London Regional Assessment Centre

Nottingham Trent University Access Centre

Nottingham University Access Centre

Open University Access Centre

Oxford Access Centre

Oxford University Assessment Centre

Pennine Lancashire Access Centre

Plymouth Assessment Centre

Portsmouth Assessment Centre

Reading Assessment Centre

Regional Access Centre East London

Sheffield Regional Assessment Centre

South London Access Centre

Southampton Assessment and Study Services

Staffordshire Regional Access Centre

Surrey Assessment Centre

Sussex Regional Access Centre

Swansea Assessment and Training Centre

Taunton Assessment Centre

Technical Assessment and Support Centre

University Centre for Assessments Newcastle

University of Derby Assessment Centre

Wessex Needs Assessment Centre

West London Assessment Centre

Wolverhampton Assessment Centre

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions in each year since 2009-10 he has directed that a planning application appeal which would otherwise be determined by a person appointed by the Secretary of State will instead be determined by the Secretary of State, using his powers under Schedule 6, Paragraph 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Brandon Lewis

The attached table shows the number of S78 planning appeals that have been recovered over the last decade.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on securing stem cell donations from abroad for patients in the UK who have blood disorders or blood cancer in each year since 2003-04; and (a) how many and (b) what proportion of patients in each of those years received stem cell donations from abroad.

Jane Ellison

The Department does not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration advisers were registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) in each year since 2009-10; how many complaints the OISC received about immigration advisers registered with them in each of those years; in how many of those complaints the OISC found wrongdoing on the part of the adviser; in how many such cases the OISC (i) took action against the adviser and (ii) referred the complaint; and how many immigration advisers were (A) prohibited and (B) suspended as a result of such action.

James Brokenshire

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner regulates organisations, which have differing numbers of advisers operating within them. The number of regulated organisations and corresponding number of advisers are set out below.

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Regulated organisations	1753	1851	1930	1971	1939	1670
No. of advisers	4150	3346	3971	3966	3989	3667

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner operates a complaints scheme in respect of regulated advisers. If a complaint is substantiated then the information obtained can be used to form the basis of a decision to refuse an application for registration or a decision to lay formal disciplinary charges. Information obtained as a result of a substantiated complaint can be used as part of less formal action including providing advice to the adviser or giving a notice to improve. There are no separate figures available for suspension or prohibition as these terms overlap with others within the OISC regulatory scheme. Details of complaints and their outcomes are set out below.

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
No. of Complaints	379	291	296	290	268	195
No. Substantiated	78	88	111	155	112	130
Referral for possible prosecution	4	1	2	10	10	22
No. of decisions to refuse/lay charges	49	79	70	101	82	87

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding and how many full-time equivalent staff have been allocated to the Forced Marriage Unit in (a) each financial year since its foundation and (b) 2015-16 to date; and how many cases have been reported to that unit in each of those years.

James Duddridge

The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage. Our joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Forced Marriage Unit leads efforts to combat it both at home and abroad, through their work on policy, outreach, and casework.

The Forced Marriage Unit was established in 2005 with six staff, including four FCO staff, a Home Office policy advisor, and an external secondee. The composition and structure has slightly changed over time to reflect the caseload and changing outreach requirements, with the team currently consisting of two joint heads of unit, four caseworkers, and a support officer.

Figures on the number of cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit, via its public helpline and email inbox, are published on GOV.UK on an annual basis and already includes data for 2012-2014. Data for 2015 will be published shortly. Figures for 2005-11 are provided below.

Year Total number of cases
2011 1,468
2010 1,735
2009 1,682
2008 1,618
2007 262
2006 197
2005 152

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2016 to Question 29770, how much funding for (a) service fees and (b) allowances NHS England allocated to community pharmacies in (i) London and (ii) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in (A) 2015-16 and (B) 2016-17.

Alistair Burt

Payments made by NHS England to community pharmacies in its London region in respect of essential and advanced services in 2014-15 totalled £258,069,000.

For the period April to December 2015, these payments totalled £192,497,000.

Information at constituency level and for the financial year 2016-17 is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on the increase of fees for (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory functions of the Land Registry above (i) operating costs and (ii) inflation in the event that the Land Registry is privatised under the Government’s preferred model of privatisation with a contract between Government and a private operator.

Anna Soubry

Under a contract-based approach, fees would still be prescribed in fee orders made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and set before Parliament. Under a regulator-based approach, fees would be controlled by the regulator.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 15 of Beneficial Ownership Transparency: enhancing transparency of beneficial ownership information of foreign companies undertaking certain economic activities in the UK, published by his Department in March 2016, how much property has been investigated as suspected proceeds of corruption in each year since 2004-05; and what proportion of those properties in each of those years used offshore corporate ownership.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the information requested. Paragraph 15 of the discussion paper refers to information from the 2015 Transparency International Report “Corruption on your Doorstep”. The Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit provided the information to inform the report prior to their joining the National Crime Agency to form the International Corruption Unit. I have received the assurance that it is not possible to provide the information broken down by year without redoing the research which would be at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s news story of 10 April 2016, UK launches cross-government taskforce on the Panama Papers, how many full-time equivalent staff from each agency have been allocated to that taskforce; and whether any staff in that taskforce (a) have the power of arrest, (b) are authorised to access directly the contents of Suspicious Activity Reports, (c) are able to request data on companies incorporated in foreign countries and (d) have powers to fully investigate any allegations of (i) non-compliance with sanctions, (ii) money laundering and (iii) terrorist financing.

Mr David Gauke

There are upward of 100 people currently involved in the multi-agency Taskforce. The number of officers holding each different power is not recorded centrally. Each taskforce member agency has its own statutory powers, networks, functions and confidentiality restrictions. By drawing on these powers and networks, the taskforce will be more effective than any single agency acting independently.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many large businesses were recorded on HM Revenue and Customs’ database in each year since 2009-10; how many full-time equivalent staff were on the payrolls of such businesses; and how much in each business tax was paid by such businesses in each of those years.

Mr David Gauke

Until 31 March 2014, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Large Business Service dealt with the tax affairs of around 800 of the largest businesses in the UK. From 1 April 2014 HMRC’s Large Business directorate deals with the tax affairs of around 2,000 large businesses.

HMRC does not centrally hold large business receipts data for every tax heading, the information for every tax heading could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The number of large businesses and the tax receipts data held centrally for large businesses is:

HMRC’s Large Business directorate:

Number of Businesses	Corporation Tax	Income Tax, National Insurance	VAT	Hydrocarbon Oils	Alcohol & Tobacco
2014-15	2,145	£20bn	£85bn	£52bn	£27bn	£14bn

HMRC’s Large Business Service:

Number of Businesses	Corporation Tax	Income Tax, National Insurance	VAT	Hydrocarbon Oils	Alcohol & Tobacco
2013-14	818	£17bn	£68bn	£41bn	£26bn	£13bn
2012-13	803	£17bn	£64bn	£41bn	£26bn	£13bn
2011-12	783	£21bn	£65bn	£40bn	£26bn	£13bn
2010-11	778	£21bn	£62bn	£34bn	£26bn	£10bn
2009-10	760	£20bn	£58bn	£30bn	£24bn	£11bn

The number of full-time equivalent staff on the payrolls of businesses is not required for tax purposes and HMRC does not hold it.