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  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to permit publication of data by banks in the UK on the aggregate bank holdings of residents in other jurisdictions using the structure developed by the Bank for International Settlements for banking data collection.

    Mr David Gauke

    UK Banks are already subject to extensive disclosure requirements which have been substantially strengthened under this Government.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc were seconded to his Department in the last five years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    No employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded into HM Treasury in the last 5 years.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the US (a) Treasury and (b) Justice Department on HSBC’s licence to operate in the US since HSBC’s prosecution by the US authorities for facilitating money laundering in 2012.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury Ministers and officials regularly discuss a wide range of issues with their counterparts in foreign jurisdictions.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any former officials of his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Civil Service Business Appointments Rules, which are published on GOV.uk, apply to civil servants who intend to take up an appointment or employment after leaving the Civil Service and the approval process will differ depending upon the applicant’s seniority.

    The destination of leavers are not held centrally.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK Export Finance has provided (a) loan guarantees and (b) low interest loans to Rio Tinto plc to support any of its investments or operations overseas in the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    UK Export Finance has not provided loan guarantees or low interest loans to Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department provides tax relief to encourage multinational mining corporations to maintain their headquarters in the UK.

    Mr David Gauke

    Since 2010 the Government has delivered a range of reforms to encourage investment in the UK, including the establishment of headquarter operations by multinational companies. The Government has cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 21% and it will fall further to 20% this April, the lowest rate in the G20. In addition, the Government has introduced the Patent Box, increased the generosity of Research & Development tax credits and modernised the UK’s Controlled Foreign Company regime.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Bradford Metropolitan District Council received from central government in grants in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

    Kris Hopkins

    In 2014-15, Bradford Metropolitan District Council is forecast to receive £655 million in government grants, excluding mandatory housing benefits, equivalent to £3,112 per dwelling. Per dwelling, this is in the top 20 highest in England. Including mandatory housing benefits, the forecast is £838 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns).

    In addition to this, Bradford Metropolitan District residents will also benefit from government grant funding to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority and to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

    We do not hold detailed information on all the individual grants paid out across government departments over the time period.

    However, leaving aside schools spending which has changed due to the funding shift from local authorities to academies, in 2014-15, Bradford Metropoliton District Council’s net current expenditure excluding education is forecast to be £596 million (source: Revenue Account budget returns). This compares with £548 million in 2009-10 (source: Revenue Outturn returns), and is thus an increase in cash terms.

    Of course, every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to pay off the deficit left by the last Administration, including local government which accounts for a quarter of all public spending. Yet these figures illustrate how claims in some parts of the local government sector about “cuts” are over-stated and mislead the public.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential (a) number of job losses at and (b) redundancy costs to local authorities as a result of the proposed takeover of responsibility for LLC1 searches by the Land Registry.

    Matthew Hancock

    At this stage it is not possible to quantify whether there will be any redundancies at local authorities or if so, how many there could be.

    Land Registry’s current research suggests approximately 850 local authority staff deal with Local Land Charges as all or part of their roles. Land Registry acknowledges the possibility that there may be redundancies among these staff, but they will typically have additional responsibilities alongside their Local Land Charges role.

    Further work is required to understand exactly how much time is spent by each individual officer on the Local Land Charges service. Land Registry will, of course, fulfil any TUPE obligations if applicable in any particular case.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support market towns.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government is fully committed to helping communities respond to the structural changes underway in our town centres. Since 2010, we have helped create over 360 town teams, including 27 Portas Pilots. We have funded successful initiatives such as ‘Love your Local Market’ and the Great British High Street Portal and awards. We have strengthened the role of Business Improvement Districts, introduced new permitted development rights and are tackling aggressive parking enforcement.

    In addition, approximately 600,000 businesses are benefitting from Small Business Rate Relief with approximately 400,000 paying no rates at all.

    We announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-16. That includes amongst other things:

    • doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further year (2015-16);
    • increasing the temporary discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 from £1,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16.

    Over half of the £1.4 billion package will go to retail.

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to publish the Government’s response to the review of gambling advertising before the General Election.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    Yes.