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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

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

576883

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Syria
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on the granting of visas to Syrian passport holders to enter the UK on a short term basis.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	45123
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>It is not Home Office policy to refuse an application for a visa on the basis of an applicant’s nationality. All visa applications are considered on their merits, in accordance with the Immigration Rules.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill grouped question UIN 45126 question first answered 12/09/2016 14:19:26 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

573748

	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: Overseas Students
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of using institutional visa refusal rates as a indicator of institutional compliance with Tier 4 visa regulations.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	44549
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The Home Office launched a Tier 4 visa pilot involving the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Bath and Imperial College London on 25 July. The pilot has been introduced to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within the education sector on the basis of compliance with immigration sponsorship requirements.</p><p>The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with the institutions selected on the basis of their consistently low level of visa refusals. Visa refusal rates are part of the Basic Compliance Assessment, which requires all Tier 4 sponsors to meet three core requirements based on measures of visa refusals, enrolment and completion of studies.</p><p>The limited nature of the pilot is intended to ensure that the outcomes can be adequately monitored, whilst minimising the risk of unintended consequences, before considering rolling-out the scheme more widely.</p><p>The four selected institutions were consulted regarding its implementation. Should the pilot be successful and rolled out more widely, the Home Office will consult key stakeholders about its expansion.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill grouped question UIN 44187 question first answered 12/09/2016 15:45:18 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

577595

	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	Visas: India
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of potential merits of introducing a two year visa option for visitors from India.
	tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
	tabling member printed	Martyn Day
	uin	45533
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>Indian citizens can already apply for 2, 5 and 10 year validity visit visas.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 12/09/2016 14:36:39 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

576885

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy to immediately reject visa applications based on the applicant's nationality.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	45126
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>It is not Home Office policy to refuse an application for a visa on the basis of an applicant’s nationality. All visa applications are considered on their merits, in accordance with the Immigration Rules.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill grouped question UIN 45123 question first answered 12/09/2016 14:19:26 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

573403

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2016
	answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Vetting
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which agencies perform child protection checks prior to a self-employed adult being permitted to provide extracurricular activities to children for which activity or sport there is no governing body.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	44158
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The current system relies on parents to ask self-employed coaches or private providers whether DBS checks have been obtained and what their safeguarding arrangements are.</p><p> </p><p>Sport England has recently provided input on safeguarding into Baroness Grey-Thompson's Duty of Care Review, which is exploring issues around the duty of care that sport has towards its participants. The terms of reference for the review are wide ranging, covering many aspects relating to safety and wellbeing, and safeguarding is one area under consideration.</p><p> </p><p>Sport England is also currently looking at how it can improve safeguarding through its sponsorship of and investment into the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU), a partnership between the NSPCC, Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Wales.</p> answering member constituency Chatham and Aylesford answering member printed Tracey Crouch question first answered 12/09/2016 15:59:53 answering member 3950 label Biography information for Tracey Crouch
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman