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577633

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2016
	answering body	Leader of the House
	answering dept id	34
	answering dept short name	Leader of the House
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House
	hansard heading	e-Petitions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of Government responses to e-petitions.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Dr Tania Mathias
	uin	45404
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The new e-petitions system has been running for over a year now and the Government is pleased with the level of engagement that it has prompted among the public.</p><p> </p><p>Individual Departments are responsible for the content and timeliness of responses to e-petitions, however the Leader's office has general Government oversight of e-petitions. My predecessor reminded Cabinet colleagues of the importance of quality and timely responses to e-petitions at the beginning of the second session. I will be writing to Cabinet colleagues this week with a similar reminder.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 12/09/2016 16:28:15 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
	tabling member	4404 label Biography information for Dr Tania Mathias

576254

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2016
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Yemen: Military Intervention
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Saudi-led coalition regarding attacks on medical facilities in Yemen, and what their policy is on that issue.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Helic
	uin	HL1494
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>We are aware of reports of alleged airstrikes on medical facilities in Yemen. It is important that the Saudi-led Coalition conducts thorough and conclusive investigations into incidents where it is alleged that International Humanitarian Law has been breached. They have the best insight into their own military procedures and will be able to conduct the most thorough and conclusive investigations. This is the standard we set ourselves and our allies. The Saudi led Coalition Joint Investigations Assessment Team announced the outcome of 8 investigations on 4 August.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 12/09/2016 11:18:03 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	4331 label Biography information for Baroness Helic

573887

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to improve the affordability of existing pension schemes for companies.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	44305
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The Government is aware of the fact that some parts of the Defined Benefit (DB) pension sector are concerned about the current economic climate, but the situation is very mixed, and the experiences of schemes differ. We do not believe there is a systemic problem but we continually look at ways to improve the affordability of schemes.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 12/09/2016 13:16:01 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

577036

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2016
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible impact of Brexit on workers' pensions.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL1633
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The period since the referendum has seen movements in market conditions that could have a material impact on pension schemes funding positions. However, the precise effect will depend on a number of factors including how assets are allocated and the approach to hedging. It is important to remember that pensions are invested in the long-term. We continue to monitor the impact.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 12/09/2016 16:32:47 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

573920

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Work Capability Assessment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.
	tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
	tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
	uin	44461
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period - and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 12/09/2016 13:30:24 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

573379

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Widowed Parent's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many widowed parents and bereaved cohabiting parents will be financially worse off as a result of the planned changes to the widowed parent's allowance.
	tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
	tabling member printed	Kirsten Oswald
	uin	44076
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The new Bereavement Support Payment will be introduced from April 2017 for new claimants only. Existing claimants of Widowed Parent's Allowance and Bereavement Allowance will remain on those benefits for the lifetime of their awards, so there will be no impact on them or their families.</p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 12/09/2016 10:19:49 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
	tabling member	4413 label Biography information for Kirsten Oswald

574006

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Welfare Tax Credits: Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of recipients of (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit whose payments have been erroneously stopped in each year from 2010 to date.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	44782
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and SYNNEX-Concentrix have arrangements for regular and frequent communications including weekly and monthly meetings as well as other discussions on a day-to-day basis.</p><p> </p><p>Since the beginning of the contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix and HMRC in November 2014 to 11 September 2016, SYNNEX-Concentrix have considered around 667,000 cases of which around 103,000 cases have been amended</p><p> </p><p>The total savings in Annually Managed Expenditure were £2.3 million in 2014-15, £122.3 million in 2015-16 and £159.5 million in 2016-17 to mid- August 2016. The total to date is £284.1 million since commencement of the contract in November 14.</p><p> </p><p>SYNNEX-Concentrix has achieved the 75 day service level agreement throughout the contract period to date.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract variation in October 2015 to the end of August 2016, there have been a) 13 Amber Green Failures, b) 9 Amber failures, c) 10 red failures and d) 13 Black Failures of Key Performance Indicators. During this same period there have been 1,410 checks of these indicators.</p><p> </p><p>Since the start of the contract, the average waiting time for SYNNEX-Concentrix to answer telephone calls has been 6 minutes and 53 seconds and the maximum waiting time for one individual was 1 hour 5 minutes and 34 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract commenced in November 2014 to mid-August 2016, the average length of time taken between SYNNEX-Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and SYNNEX-Concentrix making a decision is 23 days.</p><p> </p><p>These cases are not generally erroneous, but tend to arise when further information is provided by the claimant, allowing SYNNEX-Concentrix to review the case after the initial decision has been made.</p><p>There are currently no tax credit Mandatory Reconsiderations being worked by SYNNEX-Concentrix that are over the target timescale. The table below provides the number of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals that have been received in each financial year since the commencement of the contract.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Appeals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">0</del><ins class="ministerial">3</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">365</del><ins class="ministerial">383</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">167</del><ins class="ministerial">169</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mandatory Reconsiderations</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">436</del><ins class="ministerial">76</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2042</del><ins class="ministerial">7904</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">7989</del><ins class="ministerial">3495</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of appeals received is about 0.08% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made in the same period. The total number of Mandatory Reconsiderations received is about 1.6% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits claimants are asked to provide information within 30 days when undergoing checks for error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The information about the estimate of the number of recipients of child tax credit and working tax credit whose payments have been erroneously stopped in each year from 2010 to date is not available in the form requested.</p><p> </p><p>However, if a claimant believes that an incorrect decision<del class="ministerial">s</del> has been made, they are able to request a review (now known as a Mandatory Reconsideration). If a claimant believes the review decision to be wrong, they may appeal to an independent tribunal. During reviews or at appeal, additional information is often provided that could have supported the original claim, had it been made available earlier in the process. The proportion of reviews and appeals that result in the original decision being changed remains small in proportion to the total number of cases processed.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits are often reinstated when information to support the claim is provided after the initial decision has been taken. Since November 2014 to mid-August 2016 the Contractor has amended 6,755 decisions following the receipt of a mandatory reconsideration. Since the start of the contract to mid-August 2016 the Authority has amended 280 decisions following consideration of customer appeals from a total of around 660,000 cases where SYNNEX-Concentrix has completed its checks.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC does not hold information on how many of these were reinstated following a cancellation and how many were adjusted following an amendment to an award.</p><p> </p><p>For reasons of commercial sensitivity, HMRC does not disclose its intent around either Clauses B5 or E6 of the contract. For similar reasons, HMRC does not publish the reports completed at the end of each Measurement Period at this time nor disclose the number and value of fines and penalties incurred by SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HMRC.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 12/09/2016 16:34:44 question first ministerially corrected 02/12/2016 11:29:40 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison previous answer version 11010 answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

577442

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Welfare Tax Credits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2016 to Question 44669, how many tax credit (a) awards have been considered and (b) error or fraud cases have been identified and corrected since the beginning of the contract between SYNNEX Concentrix and HM Revenue and Customs.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	45573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and SYNNEX-Concentrix have arrangements for regular and frequent communications including weekly and monthly meetings as well as other discussions on a day-to-day basis.</p><p> </p><p>Since the beginning of the contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix and HMRC in November 2014 to 11 September 2016, SYNNEX-Concentrix have considered around 667,000 cases of which around 103,000 cases have been amended</p><p> </p><p>The total savings in Annually Managed Expenditure were £2.3 million in 2014-15, £122.3 million in 2015-16 and £159.5 million in 2016-17 to mid- August 2016. The total to date is £284.1 million since commencement of the contract in November 14.</p><p> </p><p>SYNNEX-Concentrix has achieved the 75 day service level agreement throughout the contract period to date.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract variation in October 2015 to the end of August 2016, there have been a) 13 Amber Green Failures, b) 9 Amber failures, c) 10 red failures and d) 13 Black Failures of Key Performance Indicators. During this same period there have been 1,410 checks of these indicators.</p><p> </p><p>Since the start of the contract, the average waiting time for SYNNEX-Concentrix to answer telephone calls has been 6 minutes and 53 seconds and the maximum waiting time for one individual was 1 hour 5 minutes and 34 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Since the contract commenced in November 2014 to mid-August 2016, the average length of time taken between SYNNEX-Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and SYNNEX-Concentrix making a decision is 23 days.</p><p> </p><p>These cases are not generally erroneous, but tend to arise when further information is provided by the claimant, allowing SYNNEX-Concentrix to review the case after the initial decision has been made.</p><p>There are currently no tax credit Mandatory Reconsiderations being worked by SYNNEX-Concentrix that are over the target timescale. The table below provides the number of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals that have been received in each financial year since the commencement of the contract.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Appeals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">0</del><ins class="ministerial">3</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">365</del><ins class="ministerial">383</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">167</del><ins class="ministerial">169</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mandatory Reconsiderations</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number Received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">436</del><ins class="ministerial">76</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2042</del><ins class="ministerial">7904</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17 to <del class="ministerial">mid-</del><ins class="ministerial">31</ins>August 16</p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">7989</del><ins class="ministerial">3495</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of appeals received is about 0.08% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made in the same period. The total number of Mandatory Reconsiderations received is about 1.6% of all decisions SYNNEX-Concentrix made.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits claimants are asked to provide information within 30 days when undergoing checks for error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The information about the estimate of the number of recipients of child tax credit and working tax credit whose payments have been erroneously stopped in each year from 2010 to date is not available in the form requested.</p><p> </p><p>However, if a claimant believes that an incorrect decision<del class="ministerial">s</del> has been made, they are able to request a review (now known as a Mandatory Reconsideration). If a claimant believes the review decision to be wrong, they may appeal to an independent tribunal. During reviews or at appeal, additional information is often provided that could have supported the original claim, had it been made available earlier in the process. The proportion of reviews and appeals that result in the original decision being changed remains small in proportion to the total number of cases processed.</p><p> </p><p>Tax credits are often reinstated when information to support the claim is provided after the initial decision has been taken. Since November 2014 to mid-August 2016 the Contractor has amended 6,755 decisions following the receipt of a mandatory reconsideration. Since the start of the contract to mid-August 2016 the Authority has amended 280 decisions following consideration of customer appeals from a total of around 660,000 cases where SYNNEX-Concentrix has completed its checks.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC does not hold information on how many of these were reinstated following a cancellation and how many were adjusted following an amendment to an award.</p><p> </p><p>For reasons of commercial sensitivity, HMRC does not disclose its intent around either Clauses B5 or E6 of the contract. For similar reasons, HMRC does not publish the reports completed at the end of each Measurement Period at this time nor disclose the number and value of fines and penalties incurred by SYNNEX-Concentrix under its contract with HMRC.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 12/09/2016 16:34:45 question first ministerially corrected 02/12/2016 11:32:26 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison previous answer version 11020 answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

577587

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	War Crimes: Criminal Investigation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to police services on investigation of historical war crimes.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	45476
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The investigation and prosecution of individuals suspected of war crimes is an operational matter and any decision to investigate or prosecute is the responsibility of the police in consultation with Crown Prosecution Service. Investigations into these offences are conducted using jointly agreed guidelines between the Crown Prosecution Service and SO15 ; these guidelines can be found on the Crown Prosecution Service website. The Home Office does not issue separate guidance to police forces on investigation of historical war crimes.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 12/09/2016 14:48:39 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

573484

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Uganda
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of extending visa-free access to the UK to Ugandan citizens.
	tabling member constituency	Orkney and Shetland
	tabling member printed	Mr Alistair Carmichael
	uin	44260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The UK keeps its visa system under regular review. There are currently no plans to change the visa requirements for Ugandan citizens.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 12/09/2016 15:27:22 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	1442 label Biography information for Mr Alistair Carmichael