Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

671645

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	CPS Direct
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what the average call (a) answer time and (b) length was for CPS Direct in each year since 2012.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	59514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2017 answer text <p>The call handling system used by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) provides precise timings on queuing time of all calls received. Figures on length of call have been estimated from available data.</p><p>In 2012-13 the average answer time was 2 minutes 43 seconds; 2013-14 4 minutes 18; 2014-15 12 minutes 34; 2015-16 16 minutes 05 and 2016-17 25 minutes 03.</p><p>For the corresponding years the length of call has reduced from 39 minutes 15 seconds in 2012, 29 minutes 31 in 2013, 26 minutes 52 in 2014, 24 minutes 51 in 2015 and 23 minutes 02 in 2016.</p><p>Throughout this period there have been many changes to the process of CPS authorisation of police charging making year-on-year comparisons potentially misleading.</p><p>Issues which adversely affected efficiency in the summer of 2016 have now been addressed and the current daily average answering times are below 6 minutes.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 16/01/2017 16:40:20 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

671646

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Government Legal Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many lawyers are employed in the Government Legal Service; and how many such lawyers are (a) women and (b) from ethnic minority communities.
tabling member constituency	Leicester East
tabling member printed	Keith Vaz
uin	59592
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>The Government Legal Service (GLS) is not a department but a grouping of the legal profession within Government. Government lawyers take different forms; some are employed by the Government Legal Department (GLD), others employed by regulators and organisations at arm’s length from Government. The GLS is supported by a very small secretariat of fewer than five staff and does not systematically collect information as data is held by the lawyer’s own organisations. We are therefore unable to provide this information for the GLS. There is data for the GLD, which is the single largest ‘member’ of the GLS and the largest provider of legal services to government. As of 31 December 2016 the figures for the Government Legal Department are as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Number of lawyers</p></td><td><p>1,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of female lawyers</p></td><td><p>896</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of lawyers from ethnic minority communities *</p></td><td><p>187</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of female lawyers from ethnic minority communities *</p></td><td><p>132</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>*This figure is obtained from the information that is voluntarily self-recorded by employees</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 19/01/2017 14:42:31 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	338 label Biography information for Keith Vaz

671647

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Fraud Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 29 of the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud, published in December 2016, how many local authorities he expects to take part in the pilot schemes.
tabling member constituency	Calder Valley
tabling member printed	Craig Whittaker
uin	59589
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. In the response, published in December, we have set out on a path to a clear and secure democracy following the commitments in our 2015 manifesto to tackling electoral fraud and protecting our electoral system. In its response to <em>Securing the Ballot</em>, the Government outlined its intention to introduce pilot schemes in a number of Local Authority areas at local elections in 2018, to test the impact of voter identification on the conduct of elections in the UK. The 18 Local Authorities listed in the Government’s response have previously been designated by the Electoral Commission as being the most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud, and it is recognised that these authorities may be interested in operating such schemes, as indeed may be other authorities. Once we have agreed the process and scope of the pilot schemes, we will share this information with Local Authorities and key partner organisations. The response presents a holistic package for reform that will strengthen our electoral system, and the Government is now looking in detail at how and when work on each of the recommendations can be taken forward.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 59590 59591 question first answered 19/01/2017 12:02:04 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	3940 label Biography information for Craig Whittaker

671648

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Fraud Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 29 of the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud, published in December 2016, what discussions his Department has had with the 18 local authorities identified with respect to their interest in taking part in the pilot schemes.
tabling member constituency	Calder Valley
tabling member printed	Craig Whittaker
uin	59590
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. In the response, published in December, we have set out on a path to a clear and secure democracy following the commitments in our 2015 manifesto to tackling electoral fraud and protecting our electoral system. In its response to <em>Securing the Ballot</em>, the Government outlined its intention to introduce pilot schemes in a number of Local Authority areas at local elections in 2018, to test the impact of voter identification on the conduct of elections in the UK. The 18 Local Authorities listed in the Government’s response have previously been designated by the Electoral Commission as being the most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud, and it is recognised that these authorities may be interested in operating such schemes, as indeed may be other authorities. Once we have agreed the process and scope of the pilot schemes, we will share this information with Local Authorities and key partner organisations. The response presents a holistic package for reform that will strengthen our electoral system, and the Government is now looking in detail at how and when work on each of the recommendations can be taken forward.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 59589 59591 question first answered 19/01/2017 12:02:04 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	3940 label Biography information for Craig Whittaker

671649

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Fraud Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 29 of the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud, published in December 2016, when his Department plans to finalise full details of the pilot schemes.
tabling member constituency	Calder Valley
tabling member printed	Craig Whittaker
uin	59591
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2017 answer text <p>The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. In the response, published in December, we have set out on a path to a clear and secure democracy following the commitments in our 2015 manifesto to tackling electoral fraud and protecting our electoral system. In its response to <em>Securing the Ballot</em>, the Government outlined its intention to introduce pilot schemes in a number of Local Authority areas at local elections in 2018, to test the impact of voter identification on the conduct of elections in the UK. The 18 Local Authorities listed in the Government’s response have previously been designated by the Electoral Commission as being the most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud, and it is recognised that these authorities may be interested in operating such schemes, as indeed may be other authorities. Once we have agreed the process and scope of the pilot schemes, we will share this information with Local Authorities and key partner organisations. The response presents a holistic package for reform that will strengthen our electoral system, and the Government is now looking in detail at how and when work on each of the recommendations can be taken forward.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 59589 59590 question first answered 19/01/2017 12:02:04 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	3940 label Biography information for Craig Whittaker

671652

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, in how many cases parents with care have alerted HM Revenue and Customs to potential tax fraud by the non-resident parent in each of the last three financial years.
tabling member constituency	Eddisbury
tabling member printed	Antoinette Sandbach
uin	59664
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2017 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 59665 59666 59667 59668 question first answered 18/01/2017 14:26:03 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4506 label Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach

671654

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions have been instigated in each of the last three years by HM Revenue and Customs in respect of false tax returns by non-resident parents where the false return has reduced that parent's liability for child maintenance.
tabling member constituency	Eddisbury
tabling member printed	Antoinette Sandbach
uin	59665
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2017 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 59664 59666 59667 59668 question first answered 18/01/2017 14:26:03 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4506 label Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach

671655

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations have been instigated by HM Revenue and Customs as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities in each of the last three financial years.
tabling member constituency	Eddisbury
tabling member printed	Antoinette Sandbach
uin	59666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2017 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 59664 59665 59667 59668 question first answered 18/01/2017 14:26:04 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4506 label Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach

671656

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of HM Revenue and Customs work on dealing with allegations of false tax returns by non-resident parents seeking to avoid child maintenance liabilities.
tabling member constituency	Eddisbury
tabling member printed	Antoinette Sandbach
uin	59667
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2017 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses information from a wide range of sources, including third party information, to carry out civil and criminal investigations. These have secured over £126 billion in additional compliance revenue since 2010. It is not possible to say how many parents have provided information as HMRC does not centrally collate the management information in this format, nor does it centrally collate information regarding how many prosecutions and investigations have been instigated as a result of allegations of false tax returns in respect of child maintenance liabilities.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s 26,000 (FTE) strong customer compliance group workforce of risk and intelligence analysts, compliance officers and fraud investigators tackle the full range of compliance risks. HMRC compliance staff are assigned to cases across all HMRC risks and customer behaviours and the cases typically involve investigating a range of potential issues. Therefore it is not possible to state exactly how many staff are deployed to a single specific risk, as this will be one of many issues a compliance officer could cover.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have been working together on Child Maintenance issues since 2009. During this time, both departments have worked collaboratively to increase their knowledge of the IT and business processes and to develop and improve the way in which they share information. There is no joint formal training programme in place but HMRC has led awareness sessions for Child Maintenance Group (CMG) on HMRC processes and interpreting PAYE and Self-Assessment data. HMRC also provides on-going assistance to CMG to help them resolve issues as and when required.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 59664 59665 59666 59668 question first answered 18/01/2017 14:26:04 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4506 label Biography information for Antoinette Sandbach

671658

registered interest
date	11/01/2017
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Tax Avoidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what provision there is for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to set aside an accelerated payment notice when the company subject to that notice is seeking a negotiated settlement with HMRC.
tabling member constituency	Broxbourne
tabling member printed	Mr Charles Walker
uin	59587
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2017 answer text <p>The accelerated payment regime was introduced in Finance Act 2014 to change the underlying economics of tax avoidance by requiring disputed tax to be paid upfront while an avoidance scheme is being challenged. Disputed tax remains due and payable under the accelerated payment regime until such time as the dispute is settled by agreement with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) or the dispute is litigated and there is a judicial decision.</p><p> </p><p>Where an accelerated payment has been made, it is repayable if HMRC agrees, or the courts decide, that the scheme in question does produce a tax advantage under the legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Taxpayers can make representations to HMRC about an accelerated payment notice if they believe the conditions for issue have not been met or the amount shown is incorrect. They can also ask the courts to judicially review the issue of an accelerated payment notice.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 59586 59588 question first answered 16/01/2017 17:26:18 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker