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  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will enter negotiations with her US counterpart to have the ban on British haggis imports to that country lifted once the UK has left the EU.

    George Eustice

    We are working with the US authorities to ensure the restrictions on British lamb are lifted as soon as possible. The US has a longstanding ban on the use of animal lungs as food, but the Scottish haggis industry is working on a US-specific recipe to allow the industry access to the US market at the earliest opportunity.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with (a) East Border Region, (b) Rural Community Networks and (c) other community groups in Northern Ireland as part of the preparations for the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Government will ensure that all views can be reflected in our analysis of the options for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and we are going to listen and talk to as many organisations, companies and institutions as possible to do this. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union visited Northern Ireland on 1 September and I visited on 5-7 October. We engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive and key representatives of businesses and civil society, including roundtables with the retail, hospitality and agrifood sectors and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action. I have also had discussions with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers for Justice, Communities and Infrastructure. Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

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  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to reflect house prices in the calculation of inflation.

    Simon Kirby

    Inflation statistics are produced independently of government by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The current main measure of inflation is CPI. This does not include house prices as these are an asset price and in line with international practice are not included in a consumer price index. However, it does include some costs associated with housing, such as rental prices and the costs of renovating and repair and maintenance of homes. The ONS also produces CPIH, which does include housing costs but is currently undergoing development work after the UK Statistics Authority found faults in its production.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Attorney General, on what date the Serious Fraud Office first received information on allegations of bribery and corruption at Rolls Royce.

    Robert Buckland

    The Serious Fraud Office first received information concerning allegations of bribery and corruption at Rolls Royce in November 2011.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Youth Action Group last met; who attended that meeting; and what the current membership of that group is.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The last Youth Action Group meeting was 25 Nov 2014. A Youth Action Group Workshop was held on 24 Feb 2015.

    Youth Action Group members and meeting participants were drawn from the government departments and national charities that develop policy and deliver programmes for disadvantaged young people. These included the following:

    • Government: Cabinet Office, Department for Education, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Communities and Local Government, Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Department for Health and Ministry of Defence; and
    • VCSE sector: The Prince’s Trust, Rathbone, The Foyer Federation, Catch22, Groundwork, Barnardo’s, Youth United, YoungMinds, Brook and Action for Children

    There are no current plans for this group to meet.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual revenue raised from VAT on tourism and related services was; and what proportion of this revenue was generated in Scotland for each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The government does not hold data on the annual revenue raised from VAT on tourism and related services in the UK and in Scotland. This is because tourism does not follow the standard classification of sectors. For example, revenue raised from travel and hotel accommodation will be a mixture of tourism and non-tourism activity.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to review the levels of VAT paid by tourism and hospitality businesses.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government keeps all taxes under review, although there are no current plans to review the levels of VAT paid by tourism and hospitality businesses.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to review the VAT threshold.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government keeps all tax rates and thresholds under review.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the national minimum wage on the incomes of low income households; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 marked an important step towards building an economy that works for everyone. At £7.20, it represented a 50p increase on the National Minimum Wage, and a pay rise for over a million low paid workers across the UK, many of whom will be in low income households.

    The estimated impacts of the National Living Wage are set out in the impact assessment and Annex B of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s July Economic and Fiscal Outlook (available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111141625/impacts/2016/3 and http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf respectively).

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK solar power market of the proposed 2017 business rate rise for organisations investing in roof top solar power for their own consumption.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Business rates policy in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Government. In England, business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme for England to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.