Author: admin

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions between 2006 and 2011 HM Revenue and Customs officials (a) met and (b) communicated with Peter Twiddy, a consultant who worked at Bircham Dyson Bell.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs officials meet with and receive representations from a wide variety of organisations as part of the policy formulation and delivery process. As has been the practice of successive administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to give details of any such discussion.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on what discussions have taken place between HM Revenue and Customs and former Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair or his advisers about (a) Mr Blair’s tax affairs and (b) charges brought in under the Finance Act 2006 as they relate to those tax affairs.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not divulge details about an individual’s tax affairs.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made on the potential selling price of the Government’s remaining stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland of the implications for the leveraged loans made by that bank to the oil and gas sector of the default rate of companies in that sector on high-yield loans.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government’s shareholding in RBS is managed at arm’s length from HM Treasury by UK Financial Investments (UKFI). However, UKFI’s role is to manage the investment, not the bank. RBS retains its own independent Board of Directors. Commercial decisions such as lending remain the responsibility of the bank’s independent management team and not the Government.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that the £500 million Access Fund is spent on sustainable transport projects.

    James Wharton

    The £500 million Access Fund is part of the Department for Transport’s overall contribution to the Local Growth Fund in this spending review period. As with the majority of the Local Growth Fund it is available to Local Enterprise Partnerships to bid for and spend in line with their own priorities. LEPs are already planning to spend considerably more than £500 million on sustainable transport and we would encourage them to propose ambitious sustainable transport measures in their further growth deal bids this year.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how funding is allocated for the Local Growth Fund; and if he will publish formal guidance on the bidding process for local enterprise partnerships.

    James Wharton

    The Local Growth Fund is competitively awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships based on the strength of their plans for driving economic growth in their areas. The Secretary of State has written to all LEPs setting out the basis on which further awards will be made later this year. The government is encouraging bold and ambitious bids for this further funding, which will be assessed competitively based on the quality of the proposals submitted.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Higher Stamp Duty Land Tax rates announced in Budget 2016 will be levied on properties acquired by social landlords under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

    Mr David Gauke

    The higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for additional properties was introduced to try to make it fairer for people trying to get their foot on the property ladder. Under SDLT legislation, there are exemptions to the tax, including the higher rates, for certain acquisitions by registered social landlords.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of local authority areas in which the Safe Places scheme is used.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department has made no estimate of the number of local authority areas in which the Safe Places scheme is used.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the current level of housing provisions; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the most vulnerable have access to suitable housing.

    Brandon Lewis

    There was an estimated 23.4 million dwellings in England as of 31 March 2014, an increase of 137,000 dwellings on the previous year. This includes 4 million social and affordable rented dwellings (Private Registered Providers plus local authority tenures) (1).

    We are doubling the housing budget to deliver one million more homes, including spending £8 billion to build 400,000 new affordable housing starts by 2021, the biggest new affordable homes programme since the 1970s, and committing £2.3 billion towards delivering 200,000 new Starter Homes.

    (1) Source: DCLG Dwelling Stock Estimate, 2014, England
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/423249/Dwelling_Stock_Estimates_2014_England.pdf

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) full-time equivalent civil servants work in his Department and (b) civil servants work full-time on the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

    Mr Mark Francois

    There are currently 1651 full time equivalent civil servants working in the Department for Communities and Local Government.

    The Northern Powerhouse is a key ambition of this Government which requires input from officials across DCLG and other Government Departments, across a wide range of policy areas. This enables bottom-up ownership of the Northern Powerhouse agenda by Northern areas to ensure the North can influence, direct and benefit from the Northern Powerhouse, including through Devolution Deals.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to commence Section 154 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, on fixed penalty notices for leaving litter.

    Rory Stewart

    No timetable has been set for when Section 154 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 will be commenced.

    Defra has announced plans for a new litter strategy and we are working with industry, experts and councils across England to improve the way we all tackle the scourge of litter. The litter strategy will promote affordable and replicable ways to influence littering behaviour and reduce littering. This will include work on ways to deal with littering from vehicles.