@prefix rdf: . @prefix xsd: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . @prefix rdfs: . @prefix api: . @prefix parl: . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "1" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Home Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Home Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Home Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Entry Clearances: Overseas Students" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will commission an independent review of the (a) adequacy, (b) cost effectiveness and (c) effect on the diversity of students of credibility interviews within the student immigration system." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "209352" ; dcterms:date "2019-01-16"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Caroline Nokes" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "13" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:hansardHeading "Pet Travel Scheme" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the newly-established intelligence-led approach to the enforcement of the Pet Travel Scheme." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "195123" ; dcterms:date "2018-11-23"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The 2017 Digital Strategy set out that Government would work with regulators and industry to ensure that the advertising of broadband reflects the speeds that consumers can expect to receive and accurately describes the technology used.

Since the Digital Strategy was published, the ASA has implemented new guidance, which states that speed claims should be based on the download speeds available to at least 50% of customers at peak time, and no longer on 'up to' speeds available to at least 10% of customers. Ofcom has also updated its Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds.

The ASA also reviewed the use of the term ‘fibre’ to describe part-fibre and full-fibre broadband and concluded in November 2017 that the term 'fibre' is unlikely to mislead consumers as currently used in the advertising of part-fibre broadband services. In June 2018, the Administrative Court granted CityFibre permission to proceed with its Judicial Review (JR) of the ASA's decision. The next stage is for the Administrative Court to make a substantive decision on the JR.

The Government remains committed to working with regulators and industry to ensure that consumers receive clear, concise and accurate information in order to make informed choices about their broadband, particularly as the rollout of new technologies like full fibre broadband increases. As part of this, we will monitor developments in other countries, including Italy’s current trial of a traffic light system for broadband advertising.

The Government will be consulting on its Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, spectrum and post shortly.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Stourbridge" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Margot James" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2019-02-05"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:groupedQuestionUIN "213439" , "213438" ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2019-02-05T14:09:22.263Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Government will respond to the sub-Committee’s report in due course and in the usual way.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Central Devon" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Mel Stride" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-12"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:groupedQuestionUIN "200140" ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-12T13:57:24.147Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The 2019 loan charge is targeted at disguised remuneration (DR) schemes. These are artificial tax avoidance schemes where earnings are paid in the form of non-repayable loans made by a third party.

DR schemes are contrived arrangements that pay loans in place of ordinary remuneration with the sole purpose of avoiding income tax and National Insurance contributions. When taking into account the loan they received, loan scheme users have on average twice as much income as the average UK taxpayer.

Since the announcement of the 2019 loan charge at Budget 2016, HMRC has agreed settlements on disguised remuneration schemes with employers and individuals of over 650 million pounds. More than 90% of this amount was collected from employers, with less than 10% from individuals.

HMRC have also simplified the process for those who choose to settle their use of avoidance schemes before the charge arises, so that those earning less than £50,000 a year and no longer engaging in tax avoidance can agree a payment plan of up to five years without the need for detailed supporting information. There is no maximum period within which an overall settlement can be agreed, and HMRC will deal with individual cases appropriately and sympathetically.

50,000 individuals are estimated to be affected by the introduction of the DR loan charge across the UK. Information is not held at constituency level.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Central Devon" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Mel Stride" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-03"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-03T15:44:00.097Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "13" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:hansardHeading "Pets: Smuggling" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many seizures have taken place in relation to abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme in 2018." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "195122" ; dcterms:date "2018-11-23"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst" . parl:answerText "

Disguised Remuneration (DR) schemes are contrived arrangements that pay loans in place of ordinary remuneration with the sole purpose of avoiding income tax and National Insurance contributions. On average loan scheme users have twice as much income as the average UK taxpayer, when taking into account the loan they received.

HMRC is working hard to help individuals get out of tax avoidance for good and are encouraging anyone who is concerned about their ability to pay to contact them as soon as possible to discuss their options. HMRC has set up a dedicated helpline for those wanting to settle their avoidance scheme use, and discuss payment options.

HMRC does not want to make anybody bankrupt and very few cases ever reach that stage. They will work with all individuals to reach a manageable and sustainable payment plan wherever possible.

HMRC has simplified the process for those who choose to settle their use of avoidance schemes before the loan charge arises, so that those earning less than £50,000 a year and are no longer engaging in tax avoidance can agree a payment plan of up to five years without the need for detailed supporting information. There is no maximum period within which an overall settlement can be agreed, and all individual cases will be dealt with appropriately and sympathetically.

Since the announcement of the 2019 loan charge at Budget 2016, HMRC has agreed settlements on disguised remuneration schemes with employers and individuals of over 650 million pounds. More than 90% of this amount was collected from employers, with less than 10% from individuals.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Central Devon" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Mel Stride" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-17"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-17T16:00:13.297Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The UK carries out more checks of pets at the border than most other EU member states. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) works in partnership with Dogs Trust, enforcement bodies and transport carriers to identify non-compliant animals destined for Dover and Folkestone ports. This partnership in collaboration with the intelligence-led Task Force has led to over 800 puppies being seized since 2015.

Demand drives the illegal trafficking of puppies. Defra works with stakeholders to drive up standards for advertising, and to educate potential owners on how to responsibly buy a pet. Defra has published guidance on buying a pet. We have recently consulted on a ban on third party sales of puppies and kittens, and are completing the analysis of the results.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Macclesfield" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "David Rutley" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-03"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-03T16:51:43.043Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The government fully recognises the important economic and cultural contribution that EU and international students make to the UK’s higher education sector. We want that contribution to continue and are confident – given the world class quality of our higher education sector – that it will. We welcome international students and there continues to be no limit on the number who can come here to study, nor any plans to limit any institution’s ability to recruit them.

The UK remains a highly attractive destination for non-EU students, with their numbers remaining at record highs – over 170,000 non-EU entrants to UK higher education institutions for the seventh year running. The UK is a world-leading destination for study, with 4 universities in the world’s top 10 and 16 in the top 100 – second only to the USA. We actively promote study in the UK through the GREAT Campaign and to over 100 countries through the British Council.

In the immigration white paper, published on 19 December 2018, the government proposed to increase the post-study leave period for international students following completion of studies to 12 months for those completing a PhD, and to 6 months for all full-time postgraduate students and undergraduate students at institutions with degree awarding powers. Going beyond the recommendations set out by the Migration Advisory Committee, these proposals will benefit tens of thousands of international students.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Kingswood" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Chris Skidmore" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2019-01-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2019-01-21T14:58:00.873Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Chris Skidmore" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "13" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs" ; parl:hansardHeading "Dogs: Smuggling" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many reports of illegally imported puppies the Animal and Plant Health Agency have been called out to in 2018." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "195121" ; dcterms:date "2018-11-23"^^xsd:dateTime . skos:prefLabel "House of Commons" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "14" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Treasury" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Treasury" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Treasury" ; parl:hansardHeading "Revenue and Customs" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Sub-Committee report entitled The powers of HMRC: treating taxpayers fairly, HL 242." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "200151" ; dcterms:date "2018-12-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

An internal review of point of application credibility interviews for interna-tional students was conducted in 2018 to ensure that interviews are adding value to the case consideration process and not unnecessarily inconven-iencing customers. Up to date risk information was factored in to this review. Regular engagement with universities and other educational institutions en-sures that feedback is collected in relation to the application process.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Romsey and Southampton North" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Caroline Nokes" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2019-01-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2019-01-21T18:00:05.633Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Government considers that it is important that the information on the companies register should not become a tool for abuse. In response to concerns about the availability of residential address information on the register, we brought regulations into force in April to make it easier for people to have this information suppressed. We are also currently considering a broad package of reforms to Companies House, including the protection of personal information. We plan to consult on these reforms in 2019.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Rochester and Strood" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Kelly Tolhurst" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-12"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-12T16:51:21.837Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

Since December 2015 APHA has been taking an intelligence-led approach at Dover aimed at disrupting the illegal importation of puppies and abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme, which is yielding positive results. As part of this activity APHA is working with the Dogs Trust and Kent County Council to quarantine underage dogs intercepted at both Dover Port and Eurotunnel.

In 2018 281 animals have been quarantined due to non-compliance with the Pet Travel Scheme. This figure may include commercial dog imports.

Enforcement action regarding illegally imported puppies is under the remit of Local Authorities. APHA are not able to provide data regarding seizures by local authorities in relation to abuse of the Pet Travel Scheme.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Macclesfield" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "David Rutley" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-03"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-03T10:31:13.42Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "14" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Treasury" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Treasury" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Treasury" ; parl:hansardHeading "Bankruptcy: Tax Avoidance" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that those affected by the 2019 loan charge are not forced into bankruptcy by the repayments." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "200150" ; dcterms:date "2018-12-07"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Ross Thomson" . rdfs:label "Biography information for Mel Stride" . rdfs:label "Biography information for Margot James" . parl:answerText "

Enforcement action regarding illegally imported puppies is not within APHA’s remit, but is carried out by Local Authorities.

In 2018 the Animal and Plant Health Agency have been called out 44 times following referrals by carriers or border officials, eight of these related to the importation of puppies.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Macclesfield" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "David Rutley" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2018-12-03"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2018-12-03T10:39:07.01Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "201" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy" ; parl:hansardHeading "Companies House: Registration" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to reduce the risk of fraud from the availability of personal information on the Companies House database." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "200149" ; dcterms:date "2018-12-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "60" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Department for Education" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Education" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Education" ; parl:hansardHeading "Entry Clearances: Overseas Students" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to develop an international student growth strategy." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "209353" ; dcterms:date "2019-01-16"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "14" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Treasury" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Treasury" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Treasury" ; parl:hansardHeading "Tax Avoidance: Aberdeen South" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the Aberdeen South constituency affected by the 2019 Loan Charge." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "195124" ; dcterms:date "2018-11-23"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for David Rutley" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "10" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport" ; parl:hansardHeading "Broadband: Advertising" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries of 15 November 2018, Official Report column 545, whether it is his policy that the use of the term fibre in the advertising of part-copper broadband represents misleading advertising." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Aberdeen South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Ross Thomson" ; parl:uin "213437" ; dcterms:date "2019-01-28"^^xsd:dateTime . a api:Page ; "10"^^xsd:long ; "1"^^xsd:long ; "69"^^xsd:long ; dcterms:isPartOf ; api:definition ; api:extendedMetadataVersion ; api:items ( ) ; api:page "0"^^xsd:long ; ; . a api:ListEndpoint ; dcterms:hasPart ; api:definition .