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1132887

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Biometrics
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the statutory basis for the use of facial recognition technology by the police is.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	266090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The UK Government remains focussed on ensuring a smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal as soon as possible, and we have been clear that we do not want or expect a no deal scenario. However, as a responsible government, we continue to prepare for all scenarios.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Home Office has been planning and preparing for a no deal scenario for some time, and we have contingency plans in place across areas including law enforcement, passports and the border. Whatever the outcome of our exit from the EU, we remain committed to supporting the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals both domestically and internationally. The UK’s first Voluntary National Review (VNR) will be published shortly. The VNR will review UK action both domestically and internationally in support of Goal 16. It will also outline key challenges and next steps, recognising that while progress is being made, there is more work to do.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government believes that there is a legal framework for the use of live facial recognition technology, although that is being challenged in the courts and we would not want to pre-empt the outcome of this case.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The police have common law powers to use the technology for the purposes of preventing or detecting crime. Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 is the statutory basis for the processing of the facial images obtained from the technology for these purposes. Possible matches produced by these sys-tems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.</ins></p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 25/06/2019 16:34:28 question first ministerially corrected 26/06/2019 15:09:58 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd previous answer version 125204 answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes answering member 4048
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1132889

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Carbon Capture and Storage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of progress on the carbon capture and storage project announced in November 2018.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	266091
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government believes that carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) has the potential to play an important role in meeting the UK’s climate targets. CCUS can add value to the economy and help tackle hard to decarbonise sectors.</p><p>The Government published its CCUS Action Plan in November 2018, designed to progress CCUS in the UK, including enabling the UK’s first CCUS facility to be operational from the mid-2020s. We have also announced £50m of innovation funding to drive down the cost of CCUS.</p><p>I welcome the progress being made on the range of CCUS projects in the UK, including those that were announced in November 2018. Officials from the Department are engaging with these and all other CCUS projects in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 26/06/2019 11:52:58 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1132890

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Literacy: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Literacy Trust report, Children, young people and digital reading, published on 30 April 2019, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report's conclusions on the literacy benefits of children reading both digital and print formats.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	266092
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department welcomes the National Literacy Trust’s research on reading in both print and digital forms. The Department wants children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information, whatever the format. Research suggests that reading for pleasure is more important for children’s educational development than their parents’ level of education.</p><p> </p><p>There is sound evidence that systematic synthetic phonics is a highly effective method of teaching reading to children. Phonics performance is improving. In 2018, there were 163,000 more 6-year-olds on track to become fluent readers compared to 2012. This represented 82% of pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check, compared to just 58% when the check was introduced in 2012.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018 the Department launched a £26.3 million English Hubs Programme, building on the success of the Department’s phonics partnerships and phonics roadshows programmes. Hub schools are taking a leading role in improving the teaching of early reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development, and reading for pleasure. The Department has appointed 34 primary schools across England as English Hubs.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 26/06/2019 15:16:29 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1128428

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Artificial Intelligence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefit of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	257439
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2019 answer text <p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is a complex, emerging area. The Department has seen some outstanding examples of AI and machine learning being used within schools and colleges in England to support teachers to deliver curriculum content as well as to automate burdensome non-teaching tasks such as marking.</p><p>However, the impact of these technologies in the classroom still remains largely unevidenced. We have set up a new AI Horizon Scanning group, so that policy, digital and delivery teams within the Department can explore how AI may impact our policies, as well as the benefits it can bring to the education system.</p><p>The Department also regularly engages with those at the cutting edge of these technologies. For example, the Department is a member of the new Institute for Ethical AI &amp; Machine Learning.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 04/06/2019 07:37:46 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1128429

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Shares: Sales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the use of share buybacks.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	257440
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has noted several significant share buyback announcements in recent months. These can be undertaken for a variety of reasons such as providing a flexible tool for returning excess cash to shareholders and offsetting dilution arising from the issue of new shares such as those issued to employees under employee share ownership schemes. Buyback activity tends to fluctuate, responding to company-specific and wider economic conditions such as the interest rate environment.</p><p> </p><p>The Department commissioned research to further its understanding of longer-term trends in share buybacks, how and why companies make use of them and whether they are being misused to hit performance targets and inflate executive pay. The Department is currently considering this research and will be making an announcement in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 257441 question first answered 05/06/2019 16:18:38 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1128430

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Shares: Sales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on the research into share buybacks initiated in January 2018.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	257441
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has noted several significant share buyback announcements in recent months. These can be undertaken for a variety of reasons such as providing a flexible tool for returning excess cash to shareholders and offsetting dilution arising from the issue of new shares such as those issued to employees under employee share ownership schemes. Buyback activity tends to fluctuate, responding to company-specific and wider economic conditions such as the interest rate environment.</p><p> </p><p>The Department commissioned research to further its understanding of longer-term trends in share buybacks, how and why companies make use of them and whether they are being misused to hit performance targets and inflate executive pay. The Department is currently considering this research and will be making an announcement in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 257440 question first answered 05/06/2019 16:18:38 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1126530

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Tax Yields
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the amount of tax revenue accrued was from UK small businesses in 2017-18.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	254129
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Total tax revenue accrued from micro and small sized businesses combined was estimated to be approximately £120 billion in 2016/17. An estimate for 2017/18 will not become available until Autumn 2019.</p><p> </p><p>The estimate given includes Self-Assessment Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Corporation Tax, VAT, and Pay As You Earn Income Tax and Class 1 NICs. The definition of micro and small sized businesses used is consistent with the EU definition where possible. HMRC works to collect tax due under UK law from all businesses, regardless of size, in the most cost effective way.</p><p> </p><p>The government has also taken a number of steps which benefit small businesses through the tax system. Since Budget 2016 the government has announced reductions to business rates worth more than £13bn over the next five years. NICs bills are also reduced by up to £3,000 for over one million employers, and the UK is also highly competitive, with the lowest overall corporation tax rate in the G20 at 19%. The rate is legislated to fall further to 17% in 2020.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 22/05/2019 10:54:08 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1126531

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	CCTV: Biometrics
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of facial recognition in CCTV.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	254130
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Facial recognition is a fast evolving area of technology with the potential to streamline identity verification and authentication processes across Government and the private sector.</p><p>Its performance is dependent on a number of variables, from the quality of the images, environmental factors, the specific algorithm used, the thresholds or risk profile applied and many other factors. Possible matches produced by LFR systems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 22/05/2019 16:11:43 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1126532

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Social Media: Freedom of Expression
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that social media companies respect freedom of speech when regulating content.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	254131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to upholding free speech, and legislation is already in place to protect these fundamental rights. However, this freedom cannot be an excuse to cause harm or spread hatred.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Harms White Paper sets out the Government's proposals for making the UK the safest place to be online. The proposed independent regulator will have an obligation to protect users' rights online, particularly rights to privacy and freedom of expression. It will ensure that the new regulatory requirements do not lead to a disproportionately risk averse response from companies that unduly limits freedom of expression, including by limiting participation in public debate.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 22/05/2019 11:05:07 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1123992

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
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	Birds: Pest Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons general licences for controlling certain species of bird were revoked before the Government was legally required to do so.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	249208
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Rt Hon. Gentleman to the letter sent from the Chairman of Natural England to the Secretary of State <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-licences-for-controlling-wild-birds-letter-from-natural-england-chair-to-environment-secretary" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-licences-for-controlling-wild-birds-letter-from-natural-england-chair-to-environment-secretary</a></p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 15/05/2019 13:44:50 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis