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37877

registered interest
date	10/02/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to promote gas safety among leaseholders in local authority-managed properties.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	187486
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Department does not provide advice on gas safety specifically for leaseholders in local authority–managed properties. However, the lease of a property will set out the responsibilities of the freeholder and the leaseholder, including responsibility for maintenance of gas appliances.</p><p>In the private rented and social rented sectors, landlords are required by law to: repair and maintain gas pipework, keep flues and appliances in safe condition; ensure an annual gas safety check on each appliance and flue; and keep a record of each safety check.</p><p>For the social housing sector, the Homes and Communities Agency ‘Home Standard' says that registered providers must “meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the occupants in their homes”. The Homes and Communities Agency has recently issued three ‘serious detriment' notices against Gallions, Your Housing Group and the Guinness Partnership for failing to maintain gas safety and they have all had their Governance ratings downgraded partly based on that.</p><p>The Home Standard is a ‘consumer' standard and therefore applies to all registered providers, including local authorities.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 29/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

37341

registered interest
date	06/02/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
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 additional revenue secured since 2010 as a result of changes to the IR35 tax regulations affecting the self-employed.
tabling member constituency	Hertford and Stortford
tabling member printed	Mr Mark Prisk
uin	187119
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2014 answer text <p>The intermediaries' legislation, known as IR35, does not apply to the self-employed, rather it applies to those providing their services through an intermediary (normally a limited company) who if it were not for the intermediary would otherwise be considered an employee of the client. IR35 ensures that under such circumstances broadly the same tax and National Insurance contributions are paid as if the individual were directly employed.</p><p> </p><p>A very minor change to the IR35 legislation was made in 2010 in consequence of the Corporation Taxes Act 2010.</p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have currently four specialist compliance teams which undertake investigations of intermediaries (commonly called personal service companies) operating across all sectors where potential non-compliance with IR35 is suspected. These teams form part of a restructuring of HMRC's administration of IR35 following recommendations in March 2011 by the Office of Tax Simplification. Revenue secured under IR35 from this direct compliance activity between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2013 is £2.519m. Figures for 2013/14 are not currently available.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 09/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	1424 label Biography information for Mr Mark Prisk

37588

registered interest
date	06/02/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to increase the average hours a week of contracted education provided for 15 to 17 year olds in custody.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	187126
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p>At present 15-17 year olds in young offender institutions (YOIs) receive an average of only 12 hours contracted education a week. We have recently set out our plans for transforming youth custody and putting education at the heart of detention, and at the same time launched a competition for new education contracts in public sector YOIs which will more than double the time spend young people spend in education. In addition, we are seeking to put education at the heart of the YOI regime by bringing the head teacher overseeing education into the senior management team of the establishment.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

36720

registered interest
date	04/02/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) contract staff in his Department as paid the living wage or above.
tabling member constituency	Bradford East
tabling member printed	Mr David Ward
uin	186697
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2014 answer text <p>100% of permanent and temporary staff at HM Treasury are paid the Living Wage or above.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury fully complies with EU procurement directives and awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. Nevertheless, we have encouraged contractors to commit to paying a living wage and expect all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government supports businesses that choose to pay the Living Wage however the Government's main policy on wages is the National Minimum Wage, which has continued to protect the relative wages of the low paid. This is independently set by the Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises their wages without reducing employment prospect. It is for workers and employers to decide the level of wages above the minimum wage based on current circumstances. This includes the Government as a procurer and an employer. Over 95%, around 20 million employees earn above the minimum wage and the majority of public sector workers currently earn above the Living Wage.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 07/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	3923 label Biography information for Mr David Ward

36515

registered interest
date	03/02/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are currently awaiting work capability assessments.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	186209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>In May 2010 there were 225,000 cases with Atos Health care and as of 28 February 2014 there were around 766,000 outstanding cases awaiting Work Capability Assessments being completed. This figure does not include cases yet to be referred to Atos or cases referred to Atos but where the claimant has yet to return the claimant questionnaire.</p><p> </p><p>This includes (a) around 371,000 new claimants of Employment and Support Allowance who should be receiving the assessment rate of the benefit; (b) around 293,000 existing recipients of Employment and Support Allowance awaiting a review; and (c) around 102,000 existing Incapacity Benefit recipients awaiting reassessment.</p><p> </p><p>This figure is based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and is rounded to the nearest thousand.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 27/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

36518

registered interest
date	03/02/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for applicants for employment and support allowance is between submission of the ESA50 form and the date of the work capability assessment.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	186212
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The average time from submission of an ESA50 to the completion of a face-to-face Work Capability Assessment (for both Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment), for the period from February 2013 to January 2014, was 64 working days</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 27/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

36327

registered interest
date	31/01/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value was of fines that were (a) issued and (b) uncollected in each of the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Tooting
tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
uin	186157
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The value of fines imposed, collected, cancelled and outstanding for the periods from April 2011 onwards are set out below.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Period</p></td><td><p>Value of fines imposed</p></td><td><p>Value of fine collected in the same period they were imposed</p></td><td><p>Value of fines cancelled in the same period they were imposed</p></td><td><p>Value of fines imposed outstanding at the end of the period</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2011 to December 2011</p></td><td><p>£170,962,169</p></td><td><p>£54,843,753</p></td><td><p>£12,470,347</p></td><td><p>£103,648,069</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2012 to December 2012</p></td><td><p>£273,944,704</p></td><td><p>£70,032,092</p></td><td><p>£17,470,412</p></td><td><p>£186,442,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2013 to September 2013 (latest published period)</p></td><td><p>£210,561,372</p></td><td><p>£44,541,677</p></td><td><p>£11,548,807</p></td><td><p>£154,470,888</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The values above only refer to fines and not any other elements of financial impositions such as prosecutor costs, compensation and victim surcharge. Where financial impositions are paid by instalments the fine element is the last part to be paid off after compensation, victim surcharge and prosecutor costs. The values cancelled can relate to legal or administrative cancellations. The value outstanding will include amounts remaining on accounts that are being paid by instalments or were not due for payment by the end of the period specified.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to provide data in this format for any period prior to April 2011 as new performance management information was introduced at that time. It is not possible to identify how much of the amounts imposed in 2011 or 2012 remained outstanding by the end of September 2013 (latest published data period) as data is only available for 18 months after the date imposed – after that it is not possible to extract the amount outstanding for a specific period from the total balance outstanding.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year. At the end of September 2013 total collection (all imposition types excluding confiscation orders) was higher than the same point in the previous year and the outstanding balance had reduced since the start of the financial year. On average over the last 12 month 69% of accounts have been either closed or are compliant with payment terms by 12 months after imposition.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

36328

registered interest
date	31/01/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value is of outstanding fines that were written off in each of the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Tooting
tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
uin	186159
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The amounts of financial impositions administratively cancelled and legally cancelled in each year since 2009-10 are set out in the table below</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Legally Cancelled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Administratively Cancelled</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>£58,277,772</p></td><td><p>£47,398,379</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£62,263,874</p></td><td><p>£50,712,367</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£63,957,203</p></td><td><p>£63,135,442</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£62,594,601</p></td><td><p>£75,868,426</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The number of financial impositions administratively cancelled and legally cancelled in each year since 2011/12 are set out in the table below. Data on the number of financial impositions cancelled is not available prior to 2011/12.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Legally Cancelled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Administratively Cancelled</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>161,455</p></td><td><p>226,955</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>165,195</p></td><td><p>269,486</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is not possible to identify the amounts or numbers written off for just the fine element. The amounts above therefore include all elements of financial penalties (excluding confiscation orders): fines, costs, compensation and victim surcharge. The amounts cancelled in a particular year can relate to impositions from that year or any previous year.</p><p> </p><p>Financial penalties are only administratively cancelled after all attempts to collect the amount outstanding have been made, and in accordance with strict cancellation criteria. These penalties can be written back on to the system if more information is found – for instance, a new address for the offender.</p><p> </p><p>Legal cancellations can be applied after the case has been reconsidered by a Judge or Magistrate. Typically, legal cancellations are used where a case has been re-opened and the defendant has been found not guilty, following the presentation of additional information. Legal cancellations can be full or partial remittances of financial penalties.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has carried out a fundamental review of financial penalty accounts, actively targeting accounts to achieve compliance at the earliest point, as well as tackling old accounts, and administratively cancelling them where there is no realistic chance of collection because they do not have enough information to trace the debtors. This explains the increase in the value of administrative cancellations seen in the figures.</p><p> </p><p>This enabled HMCTS to focus resources on increasing collections on accounts which can be enforced, resulting in the record high level of collection in 2012/13.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year. At the end of September 2013 total collection (all imposition types excluding confiscation orders) was higher than the same point in the previous year and the outstanding balance had reduced since the start of the financial year. On average over the last 12 month 69% of accounts have been either closed or are compliant with payment terms by 12 months after imposition.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara grouped question UIN 186160 question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

36329

registered interest
date	31/01/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many outstanding fines were written off in each of the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Tooting
tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
uin	186160
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The amounts of financial impositions administratively cancelled and legally cancelled in each year since 2009-10 are set out in the table below</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Legally Cancelled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Administratively Cancelled</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>£58,277,772</p></td><td><p>£47,398,379</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£62,263,874</p></td><td><p>£50,712,367</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£63,957,203</p></td><td><p>£63,135,442</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£62,594,601</p></td><td><p>£75,868,426</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The number of financial impositions administratively cancelled and legally cancelled in each year since 2011/12 are set out in the table below. Data on the number of financial impositions cancelled is not available prior to 2011/12.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Legally Cancelled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Administratively Cancelled</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>161,455</p></td><td><p>226,955</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>165,195</p></td><td><p>269,486</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is not possible to identify the amounts or numbers written off for just the fine element. The amounts above therefore include all elements of financial penalties (excluding confiscation orders): fines, costs, compensation and victim surcharge. The amounts cancelled in a particular year can relate to impositions from that year or any previous year.</p><p> </p><p>Financial penalties are only administratively cancelled after all attempts to collect the amount outstanding have been made, and in accordance with strict cancellation criteria. These penalties can be written back on to the system if more information is found – for instance, a new address for the offender.</p><p> </p><p>Legal cancellations can be applied after the case has been reconsidered by a Judge or Magistrate. Typically, legal cancellations are used where a case has been re-opened and the defendant has been found not guilty, following the presentation of additional information. Legal cancellations can be full or partial remittances of financial penalties.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has carried out a fundamental review of financial penalty accounts, actively targeting accounts to achieve compliance at the earliest point, as well as tackling old accounts, and administratively cancelling them where there is no realistic chance of collection because they do not have enough information to trace the debtors. This explains the increase in the value of administrative cancellations seen in the figures.</p><p> </p><p>This enabled HMCTS to focus resources on increasing collections on accounts which can be enforced, resulting in the record high level of collection in 2012/13.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year. At the end of September 2013 total collection (all imposition types excluding confiscation orders) was higher than the same point in the previous year and the outstanding balance had reduced since the start of the financial year. On average over the last 12 month 69% of accounts have been either closed or are compliant with payment terms by 12 months after imposition.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara grouped question UIN 186159 question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

36331

registered interest
date	31/01/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many outstanding fines remained uncollected on 31 December in each of the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Tooting
tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
uin	186162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>Data on the total number of financial imposition accounts outstanding has only been available since November 2012 so it is not possible to say how many accounts remained outstanding at the end of December for each of the last four years. The available data is set out below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Date</p></td><td><p>Total number of financial imposition accounts outstanding</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2012</p></td><td><p>1,548,516</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2013 (latest published period)</p></td><td><p>1,371,089</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The numbers above relate to accounts which include fines, prosecutor costs, compensation and victim surcharge. The number of outstanding accounts include those which are being paid by instalments or are not yet due for payment.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) takes the issue of financial penalty enforcement very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide. HMCTS actively pursues all outstanding impositions until certain they cannot be collected. Collection reached an all time high at the end of 2012/13 and collection has continued to rise in this financial year. At the end of September 2013 total value of collection (all imposition types excluding confiscation orders) was higher than the same point in the previous year and the outstanding balance had reduced since the start of the financial year. On average over the last 12 month 69% of accounts have been either closed or are compliant with payment terms by 12 months after imposition.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS are actively seeking an external provider for the future delivery of compliance and enforcement services. This will bring the necessary investment and innovation to significantly improve the collection of criminal financial penalties and reduce the cost of the service to the taxpayer.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan