Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will assess the expected cost to UK consumers who elect to cancel booked package holidays to Sharm el Sheikh and other destinations in the Middle East scheduled to depart during the months of December 2015 and January 2016 where such cancellation is not penalty-free; and if he will make it his Department's policy to issue travel advice which will allow penalty-free cancellation for travel booked to depart during those months.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice provides information and advice so that British nationals can make their own better informed decisions about foreign travel. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills is responsible for regulation of the travel industry and it is not the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to intervene in the regulation of this market. British nationals who have booked package holidays should contact their travel company if they wish to cancel their booking. These holidays will be subject to the terms and conditions of the booking and the provisions of the Package Travel Regulations, which cover among other things changes between the time of booking and the time of travel. Where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against travel since a holiday has been booked, such as Sharm el Sheikh, it is unlikely that a penalty will be incurred.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what service level agreements HM Revenue and Customs has with Concentrix for turnaround time on tax credit queries; and what assessment he has made of the contractor's performance in meeting those targets in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) contract with SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited, signed in May 2014, provides additional capacity to review and correct tax credit claims that are potentially based on incorrect information.
Full details of the contractual arrangements, including agreed performance indicators, put in place in respect of the intervention service can be found at https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae4c-3ac1f359afc7
HMRC regularly monitors the performance of contractors but, due to the commercially sensitive nature of this information, it does not disclose such information.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have been employed to work on the (a) tax credit helpline and (b) general HM Revenue and Customs helpline for hon. Members in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly publishes general performance reports, including those for its Tax Credit Helpline, on GOV.UK.
HMRC does not record call waiting times on the HMRC helpline for Members of Parliament.
HMRC does not have the numbers of staff employed to work on the tax credit helpline in the form requested, and it could only be collected at disproportionate cost.
An average of 10-12 staff were employed on the HMRC helpline for Members of Parliament in each of the last 12 months.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average call response time to calls made to the (a) tax credit helpline and (b) general HM Revenue and Customs helpline for hon. Members was in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly publishes general performance reports, including those for its Tax Credit Helpline, on GOV.UK.
HMRC does not record call waiting times on the HMRC helpline for Members of Parliament.
HMRC does not have the numbers of staff employed to work on the tax credit helpline in the form requested, and it could only be collected at disproportionate cost.
An average of 10-12 staff were employed on the HMRC helpline for Members of Parliament in each of the last 12 months.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had on the potential health effects of the cultivation of oilseed rape with the (a) Secretary of State for Health, (b) Secretary of State for Scotland and (c) Scottish Government.
Answered by George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2015, PQ UIN 5754.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of prescription drugs to treat (a) oilseed rape allergy syndrome and (b) conditions displaying symptoms consistent with oilseed rape allergy syndrome in each year since 2010.
Answered by George Freeman
Information is not collected centrally on the number of people prescribed medicines or the medical condition being treated.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of how many people have been given prescriptions to treat (a) oilseed rape allergy syndrome and (b) conditions displaying symptoms consistent with oilseed rape allergy syndrome in each year since 2010.
Answered by George Freeman
Information is not collected centrally on the number of people prescribed medicines or the medical condition being treated.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had on health effects of the cultivation of oilseed rape with the (a) Secretary of State for Health, (b) Secretary of State for Scotland and (c) Scottish Government.
Answered by George Eustice
I have had no recent discussions on this issue.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) employment and (b) the economy in (i) Fife and (ii) Scotland of the possible closure of Longannet power station.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Commercial decisions on the future of a plant are a matter for the plant’s owner. I encourage all parties to work together to ensure the Longannet workforce remain an important part of any decisions linked to the future of the plant.
Asked by: Mike Weir (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what transmission charges have been paid by power stations in Scotland (a) in total and (b) by each power station in each year from 2005 to date.
Answered by Matt Hancock
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.