Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need for changes to the offence of manslaughter by gross negligence, in the light of the Court of Appeal ruling that the conviction of Dr David Sellu was not safe.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The law relating to manslaughter by gross negligence was clarified in the case of R v Adomako (1994) where a four stage test, known as the Adomako Test, was outlined by the House of Lords. Before convicting a defendant of gross negligence manslaughter a jury has to be satisfied that:
(a) that there was the existence of a duty of care to the deceased;
(b) that there was a breach of that duty of care;
(c) that the breach of that duty of care caused (or significantly contributed) to the death of the victim; and
(d) that the breach of the duty of care “departed so far from accepted standards” as to be characterised as gross negligence, and therefore a crime.
The Government takes the view that the Adamako Test continues to provide effective and appropriate guidance in aiding the determination of gross negligence manslaughter cases. In allowing Dr Sellu’s appeal, the Court of Appeal did not call for the law to be changed, and the Government has no plans to reform the law in this area.
The overall statistics on manslaughter are available in the ‘Criminal Justice Statistics’ series at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015. Statistics are not separately captured on whether a case of manslaughter occurred as a result of gross negligence.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions of Trust and Company Service Providers have been initiated by HM Revenue and Customs since 1 January 2014.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not act as a prosecuting authority. All prosecutions are authorised by the relevant independent prosecuting authority and, in making their decision, they consider two tests; whether there is enough evidence to prove the case, and whether it is in the public interest to bring the case to court.
For England and Wales this is the Crown Prosecution Service; for Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; and for Northern Ireland, the Public Prosecution Service for NI.
No Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSPs), whether supervised by HMRC or another professional body under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, were prosecuted in the period from April 2015 - March 2017. Before this date, HMRC did not collate statistics specifically on investigations or prosecutions involving TCSPs.
However, in the period from April 2015, HMRC has commenced a number of criminal investigations that involve TCSPs, which are at various stages in the criminal investigation process.
These include investigations involving various offences and are not restricted to Proceeds of Crime Act money laundering offences or breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policy is adopted by HM Revenue and Customs in deciding whether to publish details of enforcement actions taken against regulated sectors under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations is a function of HMRC. In making decisions on publication of information about this function, HMRC considers transparency, consistency and confidentiality in determining how best to meet legal requirements. Legislation that informs these decisions includes the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act, the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Money Laundering Regulations.
As explained in my answer of 20th February, “HMRC does not publish enforcement information broken down by sector as this could prejudice the prevention and detection of crime.”
Information relating to coverage and the likely penalties for non-compliance could be used by criminals to aid them in choosing approaches to attempt to launder money or finance terrorism.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government for each year since the passing of the Mesothelioma Act 2014 (1) how much was raised through the provision in the Act to impose a levy on employers' insurers to provide compensation to sufferers from mesothelioma, (2) how much of that sum was paid out in compensation to sufferers from mesothelioma, and (3) what happened to any difference between the sum raised through the levy and the amount paid out in compensation.
Answered by Lord Henley
A full report on the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS), including details on how the levy is estimated can be found in the Annual Review
1) The amount of the levy raised through the provision of Mesothelioma Act 2014 in respect of the DMPS is:
2) In 2014/15 a total of 24.2m was paid to successful applicants. In 2015/16 a total of £29.7m was paid to successful applicants. 2016/17 is not yet calculated.
3) The difference between the sum raised through the levy and the amount paid out to applicants in compensation is used in one of the following ways:
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 20 February (HL5284), what assessment they have made of the impact of HM Revenue and Customs enforcement actions in relation to money laundering.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Tackling money laundering is a UK-wide issue and receives a cross-Government response. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) supervises specific sectors, and investigates high risk activity, in close collaboration with other supervisors and law enforcement agencies.
Effectiveness is best assessed in the round. The latest UK national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing is published on gov.uk[1]. The assessment factors in information about the impact of anti-money laundering activities, including contributions from across HMRC and other organisations.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many enforcement actions have been taken against Trust and Company Service Providers by HM Revenue and Customs since 1 January 2014 under the following categories: (1) criminal prosecutions, (2) fit and proper rejection, (3) suspension, (4) fines imposed, (5) reprimands, (6) undertakings, (7) conditions placed, (8) warnings given, and (9) action plans required.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) supervises businesses across seven sectors under the Money Laundering Regulations, including those Trust or Company Service Providers not already supervised by other bodies.
HMRC does not publish enforcement information broken down by sector as this could prejudice the prevention and detection of crime. HM Treasury publishes aggregate details of HMRC’s enforcement actions in its annual “Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist finance supervision report”.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the transfer of care rate for each local authority in England; and what assessment they have made of the reasons for any differences in the transfer of care rate between local authorities.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England compiles and publishes monthly delayed transfers of care data. The data is available by each local authority and National Health Service trust, and includes the reason for the delay against a defined set of 10 categories. The data set is published in an online-only, interactive format.
Delays have multiple causes and as a result there is variation between local authorities. A wide-ranging package of support is in place to help areas improve transfers out of hospital and reduce delays, including work as part of Accident and Emergency Improvement Plans to understand and address delays in hospital discharge and promote good practice.
The NHS and local government have also developed new resources, including a high impact change model for reducing delayed transfers of care. In addition, the Emergency Care Improvement Programme provides tailored support to local systems to support rapid and sustained improvement in performance.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Companies House intends to launch a public consultation on the proposal to reduce the amount of time that records of dissolved companies are retained from 20 years to six; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government has no current plans to bring forward proposals to reduce the period of time that Companies House retains records of dissolved companies.
We will continue to keep the retention period under review. Any future proposal to change the retention period would be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to including Design and Technology as a science option within the English Baccalaureate.
Answered by Lord Nash
Design and Technology (D&T) is a subject that can inspire and equip young people for further study and careers in a range of design and engineering fields. Our reforms to the D&T curriculum and qualifications move the subject on from its craft-based routes to be aligned with high-tech industry practice.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for pupils to study other subjects of their choice. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils. As the EBacc covers up to eight GCSEs, this leaves room for other choices, including D&T.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of Design and Technology studies to the UK economy.
Answered by Lord Nash
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are vital subjects in our modern economy and there is a widespread demand for employees with knowledge and skills in these subjects. That is why we have worked closely with key organisations in the sector, such as the James Dyson Foundation, the Design and Technology Association and the Royal Academy of Engineering to ensure the content of Design and Technology curriculum and qualifications set out the knowledge and skills sought by leading engineering employers and are aligned with high-tech industry practice. The new GCSE and A level begin to be taught from September 2017.