Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the merger of his Department with the Department for International Development cost; and how many roles will be (a) lost and (b) created (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas as a result of that merger.
Answered by James Duddridge
The creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has unified our international efforts so we can maximise the UK's influence around the world.
As the Foreign Secretary has said, we will implement the merger in the most cost-effective way possible. The ultimate shape of the FCDO will depend on the outcomes of the Integrated Review and Spending Review which will define the Government's ambition for the UK's role in the world and the long-term strategic aims for our national security, defence, development and foreign policy. As such, it is not possible to determine yet the anticipated final costs of the merger or the size of the department needed to deliver against those ambitions. We anticipate there may be cost savings in the long term as a result of using our resources more effectively and efficiently, though this is not the primary goal of the merger.
The Foreign Secretary has said there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the merger, but that some roles and responsibilities may change. We will continue to engage with staff throughout this process.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to comply with the Victims Directive after the UK leaves EU.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Victim Directive (2012/29/EU) and the Victim Compensation Directive (2004/80/EC) will cease to apply to the UK after the end of the transition period, subject to the winding down provisions contained in the Withdrawal Agreement. The common minimum standards set out in the Victim Directive have been implemented in domestic law; for example, in England and Wales primarily through the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code) issued under section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. These measures are unaffected by the UK’s exit from the EU. Victims of crime injured in Britain may be eligible for the Britain-wide Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme ('the Scheme'), which provides publicly funded compensation to victims who suffer a serious physical or mental injury as the direct result of a violent crime. Awards under the Scheme are a recognition of public sympathy for the pain and suffering caused by violent crime. Where the crime was committed in an EU Member State, victims may be eligible to apply to the compensation scheme in that State, under the European Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crimes.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department allocates to the Victim Support Homicide Service/Lucie Blackman Trust to support families bereaved abroad.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring effective practical and emotional support for those bereaved by homicide and has taken steps to improve the funding available for these victims.
The current Homicide Service commenced in April 2019 and provides bereaved families with access to the fullest range of practical, emotional, specialist and peer support to families bereaved both in England and Wales as well as by homicide abroad.
We have provided Victim Support up to £3.4m per annum in funding for the delivery of the Homicide Service. In 2020/21 we are providing up to £500k in additional funding to the Homicide Service.
The funding available includes a contribution of up to £160k per annum from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to provide support to eligible families bereaved abroad. In addition, the FCDO has contributed funding of £40,000 this financial year to the Lucie Blackman Trust to support missing British nationals and their families.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What plans he has to provide (a) support and (b) accommodation for overseas nationals experiencing homelessness with no recourse to public funds during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
We have provided over £3.2 billion of new funding to help local authorities to reduce risks to public health and to support individuals on the basis of need. This includes those sleeping rough.
The Government recognises that these are unprecedented times and expects local authorities to support people who are sleeping rough, and also to minimise unnecessary risks to public health, acting within the law.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what safeguards are in place to protect consumers from payday lenders that have gone into administration.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, including payday lending, by transferring responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2014. This more robust regulatory system is helping to deliver the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet the needs of all consumers.
Where the FCA has found issues with firms’ practices through its supervision process, it has acted. However, many complaints regarding payday lenders originate before the FCA was responsible for the regulation in this market.
When a firm enters administration, assets are pooled and used to cover customer redress claims and administration costs with these claims being addressed in order of the creditor hierarchy. The payment of redress claims is a matter for the administrators.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the compensation scheme of last resort for customers of UK authorised financial services firms and is funded by a levy on industry. The FSCS is an independent non-governmental body and carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the FCA. The FCA has the power to decide which activities are given FSCS protection. In 2016, the FCA decided not to extend FSCS protection to most consumer credit activities because it believed other regulatory requirements were sufficient. The full reasoning behind the FCA’s decision is set out in a letter from its Chief Executive to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee on 15 February 2019.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Financial Conduct Authority has for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to cover payday lenders that mis-sell or go into administration.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, including payday lending, by transferring responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2014. This more robust regulatory system is helping to deliver the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet the needs of all consumers.
Where the FCA has found issues with firms’ practices through its supervision process, it has acted. However, many complaints regarding payday lenders originate before the FCA was responsible for the regulation in this market.
When a firm enters administration, assets are pooled and used to cover customer redress claims and administration costs with these claims being addressed in order of the creditor hierarchy. The payment of redress claims is a matter for the administrators.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the compensation scheme of last resort for customers of UK authorised financial services firms and is funded by a levy on industry. The FSCS is an independent non-governmental body and carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the FCA. The FCA has the power to decide which activities are given FSCS protection. In 2016, the FCA decided not to extend FSCS protection to most consumer credit activities because it believed other regulatory requirements were sufficient. The full reasoning behind the FCA’s decision is set out in a letter from its Chief Executive to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee on 15 February 2019.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to answer Question 11631 tabled on 3 February 2020 by the Hon Member for Livingstone.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The response for UIN 11631 was given on 26 February 2020.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on legal fees in each year since 2010.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Data for professional fees expenditure is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts but is not disclosed separately for legal fees.
Home Office Annual Accounts 2018-19 - page 135
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/807126/6.5571_HO_Annual_Report_201920_WEB.PDF
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) women and (b) men were (i) charged, (ii) convicted and (iii) received custodial sentences in relation to television licence fraud in the last 12 months for which such information is available.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice holds and publishes data on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes, but not on charges. We have interpreted your questions to be related to non-payment of television licence fees rather than fraud. Figures for prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for the non-payment of TV licence fees up to 2018 are available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool:
Filter by offence ‘191A Television licence evasion’. Then drag the ‘Sex’ filter into the rows field. The number of a) females, b) males convicted of this offence are shown in rows 35 and 34, respectively.
The number of a) females and b) males sentenced to immediate custody can be found in rows 90 and 89, respectively. However, custody is not a sentencing option for TV licence evasion, therefore these rows appear as nil.
Asked by: Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party - Livingston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many requests have been made for consular assistance by UK citizens since 2014.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2014, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has handled over 131,000 new Consular assistance cases and issued more than 182,000 emergency travel documents to British nationals who have had their passports stolen, lost, damaged or were otherwise unavailable. The FCO has responded to over 1,800,000 Consular telephone enquiries over the same period.