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422515

registered interest
date	20/10/2015
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Funerals: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the level of charges levied by funeral directors for their goods and services.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	12553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2015 answer text <p>The Department has not made an assessment regarding this issue.</p><br /><p>If there is evidence of anti-competitive behaviour by funeral directors, this should be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority, for consideration.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 29/10/2015 17:51:42 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

421981

registered interest
date	16/10/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Members: Surveillance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Walsall South; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	12204
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2015 answer text <p>The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.</p><p>As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.</p><p>The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.</p><p>It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.</p> answering member constituency South Holland and The Deepings answering member printed Mr John Hayes question first answered 16/11/2015 17:30:21 answering member 350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes previous answer version 24935 answering member constituency South Holland and The Deepings answering member printed Mr John Hayes answering member 350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

420137

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Bladder Cancer: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the BCG vaccines for non-invasive grade 3 aggressive bladder cancer.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	11033
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2015 answer text <p>One of the two United Kingdom licensed Bacillus Calmette-Guérin bladder instillations has been unavailable since 2012, and the manufacturer of the other has increased its production as far as possible to help meet the shortfall. The Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are working closely with both suppliers, as well as others in the supply chain, to ensure that everything possible is being done to make supplies available for patients who need this treatment. The British Association of Urological Surgeons has issued advice for clinicians to ensure that all patients with high risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer receive effective evidence based treatment.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 15/10/2015 13:52:03 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

420358

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
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	Pensions: Small Businesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the merits of providing concessions to ease the cost of automatic-enrolment pensions for small businesses.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	11115
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>In 2010 the independent Making Automatic Enrolment Work (MAEW) review considered the impact of automatic enrolment on small businesses. Following the recommendations of the MAEW review, the Pensions Act 2011 introduced a package of measures to reduce costs and make implementation easier for small employers. DWP’s impact assessments continue to monitor the costs and benefits of automatic enrolment on small businesses.</p><p>DWP is working hard to minimise the additional costs of automatic enrolment, particularly for small employers. The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government specifically to ensure that smaller firms have access to high quality, good value pension provision.</p><p>NEST continues to undertake service improvements, including making it possible for small employers to set up and run NEST directly through their payroll software. The Pensions Regulator is also undertaking research and testing in order to enhance its tools and educational material, and to simplify the automatic enrolment process for small employers.</p><p>The decision to defer the staging period of small and micro firms from April 2014 to June 2015 brought significant easement to small and micro employers, leading to lower contribution costs and lower administrative costs. Additionally the contribution level is being phased in, in order to help employers adjust to these costs. The minimum employer contribution is currently 1% and this will rise to 3% when the auto-enrolment programme is fully rolled out over the next few years.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 11116 question first answered 14/10/2015 16:41:48 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

420360

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
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	Pensions: Small Businesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the costs of automatic-enrolment of pensions on small businesses.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	11116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>In 2010 the independent Making Automatic Enrolment Work (MAEW) review considered the impact of automatic enrolment on small businesses. Following the recommendations of the MAEW review, the Pensions Act 2011 introduced a package of measures to reduce costs and make implementation easier for small employers. DWP’s impact assessments continue to monitor the costs and benefits of automatic enrolment on small businesses.</p><p>DWP is working hard to minimise the additional costs of automatic enrolment, particularly for small employers. The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government specifically to ensure that smaller firms have access to high quality, good value pension provision.</p><p>NEST continues to undertake service improvements, including making it possible for small employers to set up and run NEST directly through their payroll software. The Pensions Regulator is also undertaking research and testing in order to enhance its tools and educational material, and to simplify the automatic enrolment process for small employers.</p><p>The decision to defer the staging period of small and micro firms from April 2014 to June 2015 brought significant easement to small and micro employers, leading to lower contribution costs and lower administrative costs. Additionally the contribution level is being phased in, in order to help employers adjust to these costs. The minimum employer contribution is currently 1% and this will rise to 3% when the auto-enrolment programme is fully rolled out over the next few years.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 11115 question first answered 14/10/2015 16:41:48 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

419466

registered interest
date	17/09/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Freezing of Assets: Syria
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assets of (a) President Assad and (b) the Syrian government have been frozen in the UK; and what the value is of those assets.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	10552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2015 answer text <p>In view of the situation in Syria, Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 imposed an asset freeze against listed Syrian individuals and entities. The EU Regulation, which has direct effect in the UK, requires that all funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by listed persons are frozen.</p><p>Those listed under this regime include natural and legal persons, entities and bodies who have been identified as being responsible for the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria, persons and entities benefiting from or supporting the regime, and natural or legal persons associated with them. These persons and entities include, but are not limited to, President Assad and several members and agencies of the Syrian government.</p><p>The approximate aggregate value of funds frozen in UK jurisdiction under EU Regulation 36/2012 is £151,080,000 (based on an annual audit in September 2014). These funds continue to belong to the individuals and entities listed under the Regulation and are not seized or otherwise held by HM Government.</p><p>The Regulation states that HM Treasury can use this information only for the purpose for which it was provided. In order to comply with this requirement, and to comply with UK data protection law, the figure is provided on an aggregate basis so as not to disclose data relating to funds held by particular individuals or entities.</p><p>HM Treasury publishes the names of those subject to EU financial sanctions on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK, which can be found on the gov.uk website.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 12/10/2015 13:42:04 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

419523

registered interest
date	17/09/2015
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Marine Conservation Zones
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce her decision on the designation of the 23 marine conservation zones proposed in tranche 2.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	10553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2015 answer text <p>Decisions on the marine conservation zones being designated in the second tranche will be announced by the end of January 2016.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 12/10/2015 11:50:13 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

418441

registered interest
date	11/09/2015
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	Burma: Armed Conflict
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on whether Burmese army soldiers who have received training from the UK Government are serving in conflicts in (a) Kachin and Shan states or (b) Kokang areas.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	10077
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2015 answer text <p>As we have previously stated we do not provide combat training to the Burmese Army.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 16/09/2015 13:10:35 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

418444

registered interest
date	11/09/2015
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	Burma: Crimes against Humanity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implication for his policies of the Harvard Law School report entitled War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Eastern Myanmar published in November 2014; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	10079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2015 answer text <p>I refer the hon. member to my answer of 3 December 2014 (PQ <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-11-27/216319/" target="_blank">216319</a>).</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 16/09/2015 13:15:31 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

418472

registered interest
date	11/09/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Burma: Exclusion Orders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Burmese Home Affairs Minister, Lt. Gen. Ko Ko, is excluded from entering the UK.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	10078
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2015 answer text <p>It is Home Office policy not to comment on whether an individual is, or is not, excluded from the UK unless the person concerned has already put this information into the public domain themselves, or if the information is already in the public domain.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 16/09/2015 12:19:02 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz