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  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Minister for Finance in the Republic of Ireland; and what subjects were raised at those discussions.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As has been the practice adopted by previous administrations it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.

  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Ministers for Finance and Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Ireland; and what subjects were raised at those discussions.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As has been the practice adopted by previous administrations it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the UK was allocated from the (a) European Regional Development Fund, (b) European Social Funds, (c) European Agricultural Fund of Guarantee, (d) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, (e) European Territorial Cooperation, (f) Youth Employment Initiative and (g) European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in the period from 2010 to 2014.

    Anna Soubry

    The information requested for points a, b, d, e, f, and g is set out in the financing plans in the respective programmes for these funds which can be found on gov.uk, gov.scotland and gov.wales.

    The information requested for point c can be found on the European Commission and Eur-lex websites.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to UK businesses in the (a) retail, (b) automobile, (c) construction, (d) ICT, (e) financial services and (f) defence sectors of reduced tariff barriers arising from UK membership of the World Trade Organisation.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has not made a specific assessment of the benefits to UK businesses in these sectors as a result of the UK’s membership of the WTO. But the benefits will be substantial as over the 20 years of the WTO average applied tariffs have been cut in half from 15 per cent in 1995 to less than 8 per cent today. And there are now 161 WTO Members comprising 98% of world trade, with the new (post-1995) members contributing 21% of this total. Further benefits are likely from negotiations currently underway: for example the Information Technology Agreement 2 (ITA2) should liberalise tariffs that affect around £12 billion of UK exports and imports.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefit to the UK economy of the preferential trade agreements the EU has negotiated with countries outside the EU.

    Anna Soubry

    The cumulative impact of all concluded, on-going and potential trade negotiations currently being undertaken by the EU could boost UK GDP by over £ 20 billion in the long run.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of (a) the absence of tariff barriers for intra-EU trade and (b) other aspects of the single market.

    Anna Soubry

    The EU provides the biggest single market in the world. EU countries trade twice as much with each other as they would without it. The absence of tariffs contributes to this. The single market also brings benefits for consumers. For example, between 2000 and 2006, the cost of making a 10-minute call in the EU fell by an average of 74%, and roaming charges will be abolished completely in 2017. As part of our agenda for EU reform, we want to go further and faster on economic competitiveness including liberalisation of the services sector, trade, and de-regulation.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to provide tax incentives for businesses seeking to enter the automotive and motor racing industries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government provides generous tax incentives to help new and innovative businesses in the UK, including the automotive and motor racing industries. The rate of corporation tax is currently 20% and will be 18% in 2020, the lowest of any economy in the G20.

    The Government supports research and development (R&D) in the automotive and motor racing industries through R&D tax reliefs. At Summer Budget 2015, the Government also announced that it would increase the permanent level of Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000 which will further support investment in plant and machinery.

    The Government has also committed £86 million through the Advanced Propulsion Centre to secure Britain’s strength in the research, development and commercialisation of low carbon vehicle technologies.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Financial Conduct Authority acts to prevent companies from fraudulently using capital raised from selling ring-fenced bonds to bail out poorly-performing parent companies.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has legislated to ensure that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), are fully empowered to maintain the integrity of the ring-fence, and to take action in preventing this type of misconduct.

    The ring fencing regime includes requirements that directors of the ring-fenced body (RFB) be able to take decisions independently of group entities; that transactions with group entities be on arm’s length terms; and that arrangements with other group entities should be managed as with third parties.

    The PRA and the Bank of England have powers to take action if such a transaction were to have a potential impact on the prudential resilience or resolvability of the RFB. The FCA can also take enforcement action for breaches of its rules or for these types of market abuse, which includes the imposition of substantial financial penalties.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the level of problem debt in the UK.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Office for National Statistics does not publish data on problem debt in the UK. According to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics, unsecured debt as a proportion of income currently stands at 37 per cent in Q2 2015, down from its pre-crisis peak of 46 per cent in Q1 2007.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the most recent Global Financial Stability Report from the IMF.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The IMF’s report concludes that risks to global financial stability from emerging markets remain elevated, amid falling risk appetite and increasing market liquidity risks.

    The UK Government is alive to any implications of these risks for UK financial stability. The Government established the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) to identify and manage these types of risk to the UK financial system.

    The Bank of England’s forthcoming 2015 stress test of the UK banking system will assess its resilience to a deterioration in global economic conditions, particularly in emerging markets.

    Furthermore, the UK’s financial regulatory bodies are continuing to work at an international level on risks relating to global financial market liquidity.