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  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the destruction of olive trees belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank in order to create a Nature Reserve.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are well aware of the difficulties facing Palestinian olive growers and of the particular sensitivities around olive trees given their status as a national symbol and the sole source of income for many Palestinian farmers. We repeatedly express our serious concerns to the Israeli government about the destruction of olive trees, whether by the Israeli authorities or by extremist settlers. We hold the Israeli authorities responsible for enforcing the rule of law and providing the appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel in the light of figures released by the Parliamentary Under Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which showed that the Israeli military have opened fire into the Gaza Access Restricted Area on at least 696 occasions since August 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raise concerns over use of live fire by Israeli security authorities, most recently on 19 October when our Ambassador in Tel Aviv spoke to Israel’s Cabinet Minister, Avichai Mandleblit. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), also raised the use of live fire by the Israel Defence Forces with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during his visit to the UK on 10 September.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to protect British journalists in the light of the assault by Israeli soldiers on two AFP journalists during a West Bank demonstration.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The safety of British nationals is a key concern. Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice highlights specific risks relating to travel within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, for example, risks relating to Palestinian demonstrations. We also provide consular assistance to British nationals in line with our guidance when it is required. The UK has repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about the manner in which the Israeli Defence Force polices non-violent protests and the border areas, including use of live ammunition. We are also clear that protection of the freedom of the media is an important part of respecting human rights.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to improve the quality of the apprenticeship schemes, in the light of the conclusion in Ofsted’s report that very few apprenticeships are delivering professional level skills.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We have been taking steps to improve the quality of apprenticeships, including insisting that all apprenticeships should be paid jobs with substantial stretching training and robust assessment procedures and last for a minimum of 12 months. We are committed to delivering employer-led apprenticeship reforms, which are improving the quality of apprenticeships to provide the skills that employers need.

    The availability of apprenticeships at a range of levels is essential to meet the skill needs of employers and improve productivity. We are committed to growing the numbers of Higher and Degree Apprenticeships, which are widening access to the professions, and developing the higher level technical skills needed to improve productivity and support British industry to compete internationally.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the International Business Advisory Council’s statement that implementing the World Trade Organisation’s trade facilitation agreement should be a priority for governments.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The Government strongly supports the World |trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation and encourages other WTO Members to ratify so that the agreement can enter into force as soon as possible.

    Implementation of the Agreement will reduce the costs of cross-border trade, benefitting consumers and business alike. Once implemented, studies suggest the Agreement will add over £70 billion to the global economy. Of this, we expect a benefit to the UK of up to £1bn.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue an updated National Asset Register.

    Greg Hands

    The decision to stop the publication of a National Asset Register was made before the first publication of the Whole of Government Accounts for 2009-10. The Chancellor of the Exchequer considers public spending measures as part of the spending review process and will present his spending review to the House on 25 November.

  • Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to bring forward legislation for a city tax on tourists and other visitors.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has no plans to introduce a ‘city tax’ on tourists or visitors to the UK.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials of his Department in each of the last three years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Information on Non-consolidated performance related pay for HM Treasury is publically available on gov.uk as part of the Transparency agenda. The information is up to date for the last 2 financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14.

    Non-consolidated performance related pay is only paid to reward excellence, for example to recognise and incentivise those responsible for delivering high quality public services and savings to the taxpayer. These one-off payments are not pensionable. Since 2010-11 the Government has restricted awards for senior civil servants to the top 25% of performers (from 65% in previous years), saving around £15 million overall.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential cumulative financial effecr by 2021 on the twelve local authorities in the North East of the Government’s proposal to localise business rates.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

    Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the level of staff turnover was in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s digital team in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

    Brandon Lewis

    The turnover figures requested are as follows:

    Month

    DCLG

    DCLG Digital team

    October 2014

    0.8%

    0.0%

    November 2014

    1.0%

    0.0%

    December 2014

    0.6%

    0.0%

    January 2015

    0.8%

    0.0%

    February 2015

    0.5%

    0.0%

    March 2015

    2.5%

    0.0%

    April 2015

    4.6%

    0.0%

    May 2015

    1.0%

    11.1%

    June 2015

    0.4%

    0.0%

    July 2015

    0.6%

    0.0%

    August 2015

    1.0%

    0.0%

    September 2015

    1.4%

    0.0%

    The overall turnover rates in the 2014-15 financial year were 12.8% and 11.1% respectively. The turnover figures include all staff leaving the organisation, including those who transferred to another Government Department but remained in Civil Service employment, including those that transferred as a result of machinery of government changes. The Department’s Digital team is only made up of 9 staff, therefore small numbers of leavers heavily skew the turnover figures.