Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the level of historic income in a non-resident parent's salary within the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012 in order to allow for a more recent updated calculation of maintenance payments to be made.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
My Department has no plans to change its current approach to assessing income. Information obtained from HMRC, for use in calculating maintenance, is for the most recent year for which they hold a complete tax record.
In cases where a parent provides evidence that the income figure used is not the most recent tax year for which HMRC have complete information, for example because the client’s tax record is clerical, there is an escalation process which allows HMRC either to confirm the information already provided as correct, or to provide an updated Historic Income figure.
If at any point an individual’s income changes by at least 25 per cent, the Department may make a new assessment based on current earnings information provided by the paying parent. Setting the threshold at 25 per cent helps to provide stability in the financial arrangements for both the parent with care and non-resident parent. The Department has no plan to review this threshold. At annual review, there is no threshold and the calculation will be amended to reflect the latest income information received from HMRC.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the evidential basis is for his Department to support an indoor ban on e-cigarettes and other reduced harm products on the grounds of such a ban improving public health in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Government has no further plans to ban or restrict the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes in England. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulation already contain provisions which prohibit e-liquids from containing any ingredients that pose a risk to human health.
The Government advice has been clear, the best thing a smoker can do is to quit and quit for good. For those that are unable to quit, switching to e-cigarettes is less harmful than continuing to smoke. Claims relating to cessation can be made on any product that has been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and has successfully evidenced those claims for that particular product.
The Government has no current plans to extend smoke-free legislation to e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, as the basis for this legislation is the health harms associated with second-hand tobacco smoke.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what evidential basis his Department has to support a prohibition on claims of the effectiveness of e-cigarettes and other reduced harm products as smoking cessation aids on the grounds of such prohibition improving public health in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Government has no further plans to ban or restrict the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes in England. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulation already contain provisions which prohibit e-liquids from containing any ingredients that pose a risk to human health.
The Government advice has been clear, the best thing a smoker can do is to quit and quit for good. For those that are unable to quit, switching to e-cigarettes is less harmful than continuing to smoke. Claims relating to cessation can be made on any product that has been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and has successfully evidenced those claims for that particular product.
The Government has no current plans to extend smoke-free legislation to e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, as the basis for this legislation is the health harms associated with second-hand tobacco smoke.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the proposal tabled for the forthcoming World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Conference of the Parties to ban or restrict the sale of certain e-cigarette flavours to responsible adults.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Government has no further plans to ban or restrict the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes in England. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulation already contain provisions which prohibit e-liquids from containing any ingredients that pose a risk to human health.
The Government advice has been clear, the best thing a smoker can do is to quit and quit for good. For those that are unable to quit, switching to e-cigarettes is less harmful than continuing to smoke. Claims relating to cessation can be made on any product that has been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and has successfully evidenced those claims for that particular product.
The Government has no current plans to extend smoke-free legislation to e-cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, as the basis for this legislation is the health harms associated with second-hand tobacco smoke.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what checks are made to ensure that a person is eligible to vote when they register to vote online.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Online applications to register to vote are processed under the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service, operated by the Cabinet Office. This service checks the details provided by the applicant, including their National Insurance number, against government data before passing the application to the relevant local electoral administration team.
Responsibility for determining the validity of an application lies with each local Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). For applications with no National Insurance number and other applications not verified through the digital service, the ERO will seek further information regarding identity. For all applications, the ERO is also responsible for ensuring that other eligibility requirements, such as the nationality of the applicant, are satisfactorily met.
The Government considers the integrity of the electoral register of the utmost importance and has recently welcomed the report published by Sir Eric Pickles into electoral fraud. It is the Government’s intention to respond to this report shortly.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS treatment of craniosynostosis; and if he will take steps to increase training and awareness of craniosynostosis amongst NHS professionals.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of National Health Service treatment of craniosynostosis. All paediatricians are trained to recognise abnormality as part of general training up to Membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH) level.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what forecast she has made of which countries in receipt of UK aid will no longer require UK aid in (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
UK aid is supporting Britain’s interests through building a safer more prosperous world and helping countries achieve a timely sustainable exit from poverty. It is not possible to accurately predict which countries will require aid in those timeframes, but assessments of the likely trajectory of poverty in a country informs how we allocate resources. Programmes are largely focused on countries where extreme poverty currently affects a significant proportion of the population; is projected to persist over the medium term; where DFID has a comparative advantage; and, where the country itself is unable to finance their own development needs.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes HM Revenue and Customs has for resolving complaints relating to class 2 national insurance contributions.
Answered by David Gauke
Each year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives and responds to 50 million phone calls and 15 million letters from Self Assessment and PAYE customers. HMRC commits to responding to complaints within 15 days of receipt and therefore expects that, excluding any that may be received in the last few weeks before abolition, outstanding complaints will have been cleared.
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints relating to class 2 national insurance contributions have been received by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last three years.
Answered by David Gauke
Each year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives and responds to 50 million phone calls and 15 million letters from Self Assessment and PAYE customers. HMRC commits to responding to complaints within 15 days of receipt and therefore expects that, excluding any that may be received in the last few weeks before abolition, outstanding complaints will have been cleared.
The number of complaints relating to Class 2 contributions received in the last three years is set out in the table below:
Year | No. of complaints |
2013/14 | 1122 |
2014/15 | 1210 |
2015/16 | 831 |
Asked by: David Nuttall (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that all outstanding complaints relating to class 2 national insurance contributions are resolved before those contributions are abolished.
Answered by David Gauke
Each year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives and responds to 50 million phone calls and 15 million letters from Self Assessment and PAYE customers. HMRC commits to responding to complaints within 15 days of receipt and therefore expects that, excluding any that may be received in the last few weeks before abolition, outstanding complaints will have been cleared.
The number of complaints relating to Class 2 contributions received in the last three years is set out in the table below:
Year | No. of complaints |
2013/14 | 1122 |
2014/15 | 1210 |
2015/16 | 831 |