Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the implications for its policies on the proper use of Church moneis of the case in the ecclesiastical Parish of Longfleet, St Mary's, Poole; what episcopal oversight was there of that case and when the Commisioners were informed of the details; and if the Commissioners will take steps to share lessons learned for best practice with other diocese.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The parochial church council is a charitable body subject to the oversight of the Charity Commission. I understand that the Charity Commission is aware of the case following a referral by the Diocese of Salisbury and the office of the Bishop of Salisbury. The National Church Institutions cannot provide guidance to trustees on particular cases, but the Legal Advisory Commission regularly provides updates for PCCs and other trustee bodies on their general duties and obligations.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made on securing UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The UK recently reached a major milestone in the accession process to CPTPP, by moving to market access negotiations with this trading bloc.
These negotiations will see new, beneficial trading relationships agreed with CPTPP members. Tariffs will be reduced on UK goods exports, and services markets will open up further to British business, through advanced provisions that facilitate digital trade and modern rules on data. We aim to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with multinational companies based in the UK on relocation regulations for employees being relocated into the UK by firms in the EU after the transition period; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
Employees of EU firms who are not UK nationals being relocated into the UK can apply under the intra-company transfer route that our immigration system provides for. Under the UK’s domestic immigration rules, intra-company transferees may be admitted for up to 5 years (and for up to 9 years in the case of high earners) to all successful applications, regardless of where they come from, including from the EU. The UK-EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement commits to 90-day processing times for intra-corporate transfer applications. In addition, both parties have agreed to provisions for accompanying family members of such intra-company transferees.
The provisions for intra-company transferees were informed through detailed conversations with hundreds of stakeholders across UK business sectors, including multinational companies who benefit from the intra-company transfer route.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much income tax revenue was generated from people holding a work visa in the category of skilled work visa in the 2018-19 financial year; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC do not hold information on the visa status of workers paying income tax.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, by how much has the relocation allowance been updated in line with inflation since its introduction in 1994.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The tax exempt relocation allowance has remained at £8,000 since it was introduced in 1994. The Government keeps all reliefs and allowances under review to ensure that they continue to meet policy objectives.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals were relocated into the UK using the intra-company visa system in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The available published data shows the numbers of visas granted in each work route but does not provide any information on where the applicant resided (inside / outside the EU) or if the individual was “relocating”. There is also no guarantee these visas are used.
Data on visas granted by category can be found in Vis_D02 at:
entry-clearance-visa-outcomes-datasets-sep-2020.xlsx
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of individuals in who were granted start-up visas in 2019 earned over £73,900 per annum; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office is responsible for this question, not the Treasury.
The Home Office is unable to provide the statistical answer to this question as it asks for information which is not obtainable from our systems.
The latest published migration statistics (Sept 2020) that are available, can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals from (a) inside and (b) outside the EU were relocated for work purposes into the UK in 2019 by each of the visa categories prescribed by the Government; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The available published data shows the numbers of visas granted in each work route but does not provide any information on where the applicant resided (inside / outside the EU) or if the individual was “relocating”. There is also no guarantee these visas are used once issued.
Data on visas granted by category can be found in Vis_D02 at:
entry-clearance-visa-outcomes-datasets-sep-2020.xlsx
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether travel restrictions during the covid-19 pandemic have reduced the number of professional staff being relocated to the UK for the purpose of taking up professional employment; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In the period in question, the relocation of non-EEA national personnel by a multinational business to a UK branch or subsidiary of that business was facilitated primarily through the Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) category of the Immigration Rules.
The most recent published migration statistics can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if (a) she and (b) her officials will meet with the Chair of the Association of Relocation Professionals on supporting high value jobs through relocation to the UK after the transition period.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My officials regularly meet with businesses and associations across the country. I have asked them to make contact with the Association of Relocation Professionals to initiate a meeting to discuss supporting the relocation of high value jobs to the UK.
Our country has a proud and hard-won reputation as one of the most open economies and one of the foremost destinations for inward investment in the world. The Department supported 1,449 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects during the 2019/20 financial year, which created almost 45,000 new jobs and safeguarded a further 8,000.