The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints his Department has received from hon. Members on the service of Concentrix in the last 12 months.
Jane Ellison
Between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, HM Revenue and Customs received 670 formal complaints in writing or via e-mail from hon. Members relating to Concentrix service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HM Revenue and Customs staff were employed in Scotland in each year since 2006.
Jane Ellison
The number of HM Revenue and Customs staff employed in Scotland each year since 2006 is shown in the following table.
|
Year Ending |
Head Count |
|
31/03/2006 |
11,415 |
|
31/03/2007 |
11,464 |
|
31/03/2008 |
11,018 |
|
31/03/2009 |
11,160 |
|
31/03/2010 |
10,031 |
|
31/03/2011 |
9,860 |
|
31/03/2012 |
9,839 |
|
31/03/2013 |
9,437 |
|
31/03/2014 |
8,959 |
|
31/03/2015 |
8,331 |
|
31/03/2016 |
9,147 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2016-09-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee scheme beyond 31 December 2016.
Simon Kirby
The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme is due to close to new loans at the end of year as planned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make representations to the National Association of Estate Agents to encourage private-rented accommodation sector agencies to reduce the fixed costs that those agencies charge to tenants moving into private-rented accommodation; and if he will make a statement.
Gavin Barwell
Since 27 May 2015, through Section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, letting agents have been required to publish a breakdown of their fees, which redress scheme they are a member of and whether they are a member of a client money protection scheme, in their offices and on their websites. A breakdown of fees enables tenants to compare prices and assess value for money, creating effective competition that should force agents to keep their fees fair and strengthening consumer choice.
The Government has established a Private Rented Affordability and Security working group to explore new approaches to remove entry costs and removal costs for tenants in the sector. The working group which includes representatives from across the PRS and Housing sector, including Crisis, Shelter, the National Landlords Association, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, is expected to provide its findings in the Autumn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend national planning policies so that development of land designated as Green Belt will be resisted until the implications of the UK exiting the EU, and its effect on population and household projections, have been fully assessed and new projections issued for the use of local planning authorities.
Gavin Barwell
In line with our manifesto commitment, the government is committed to strong protection of Green Belt land. Local authorities are responsible for designating Green Belt land, as explained in our National Planning Policy Framework. Only in exceptional circumstances may a local authority alter a Green Belt boundary. Applications for most types of development within the Green Belt are inappropriate and should be refused permission except in very special circumstances. Latest figures for 2015-16 show Green Belt continuing to cover around 13 per cent of England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department remains committed to a target of delivering one million homes by 2020; and what recent projections his Department has made on whether this target will be met.
Gavin Barwell
The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that we need to build more homes. We remain committed to delivering one million new homes, having doubled the housing budget to help us to so.
Since the end of 2009, we have delivered 900,000 new homes, and in the year to March 2016 permissions were granted for 265,000 homes, up 8% on the previous year, thanks to the reformed planning system.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will issue guidance on whether local authorities with significant student populations in their areas should identify the student population separately for the purpose of calculating the full objectively assessed need for housing in their areas in preparation of Local Plans and in estimating the five-year supply of land for housing.
Gavin Barwell
The National Planning Policy Framework asks local authorities to assess their full housing needs and identify the scale and mix of housing and the range of tenures that the local population is likely to need over the plan period. Our planning guidance sets out a clear methodology for assessing development needs for housing and is clear that local authorities should plan for sufficient student accommodation in their area, including through engaging with universities and other higher educational establishments. It is for local authorities to establish a robust housing evidence base to justify their proposed approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in relation to the sub-national population and household projections, if he will review with the Office of National Statistics, the methods of recording and counting of students as an element of the population in local authority areas having significant student populations.
Mr Marcus Jones
DCLG uses the Office of National Statistics (ONS) population projections to produce the household projections. Students are not counted as a separate population in the ONS mid-year population estimates or the ONS population projections. The ONS maintains responsibility for how these statistics are produced, and DCLG have no plans to review the methods used to produce these statistics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will clarify in his planning policy guidance that (a) students aged over 18 years in higher education in any local authority area with significant higher education establishments should be regarded as transient and not permanent residents and (b) particular care in identifying the objectively assessed need for housing should be taken not to count such students as in-migrants who remain resident in the area, but rather as a special element of the population which continually replaces itself.
Gavin Barwell
The National Planning Policy Framework asks local authorities to assess their full housing needs and identify the scale and mix of housing and the range of tenures that the local population is likely to need over the plan period. Our planning guidance sets out a clear methodology for assessing development needs for housing and is clear that local authorities should plan for sufficient student accommodation in their area, including through engaging with universities and other higher educational establishments. It is for local authorities to establish a robust housing evidence base to justify their proposed approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the emergency services can be contacted in areas where mobile phone service is poor or non-existent.
Matt Hancock
Improving mobile connectivity across the UK, including in rural and hard to reach areas, is a priority for the Government and the December 2014 landmark agreement with industry guarantees that each mobile network operator will provide voice and SMS text coverage to 90% of the UK’s landmass by end 2017. Additionally, Telefonica has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98% of UK premises, also by end 2017. Taken together these obligations will cut complete not spots by two thirds, resulting in 98% of the UK landmass with mobile coverage.
This coverage would be available to all mobile phone users for emergency 999 calls as the Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service requires that a caller from a mobile phone is able to roam onto another mobile network to make an emergency call if they have no signal from their own provider.
Furthermore, the Government recognises the importance of public call boxes as a means of calling the emergency services. Ofcom requires that there is a period of consultation before a public call box is removed and that one of the factors to be considered by the relevant public body is the potential importance of the call box to contact the emergency services.