Category: Speeches

Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of research and development tax credits.

Mr David Gauke

R&D tax credits support businesses to invest in Research & Development (R&D). They play a key role in the Government’s objective to have a tax system that supports productive investment. A 2015 evaluation by HM Revenue and Customs found that each £1 of tax foregone by R&D tax credits stimulates between £1.53 and £2.35 of additional R&D investment.

01/01/2023
Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11029, whether assessment of the necessary infrastructure adaptations to update the facilities at HM Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport has been completed.

Mr Philip Dunne

Assessments are currently under way to inform decisions and refine programme costs of the individual projects at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport.

01/01/2023
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will announce the membership of the Steering Group referred to on page eight of the Government’s Response to the Independent Recall Review by Lynn Faulds Wood, published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 18 February.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

On 11 March, The Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise wrote to potential candidates who have until 6 April to respond. We will issue a statement shortly after.

01/01/2023
Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 32897, how many nationals of other EEA member states of school age migrated to the UK in each year since 2000; from which countries those people migrated; and what nationality those people were.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

01/01/2023
Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report by Lord Heseltine, entitled Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published in June 2016, recommendation 6.6.7, whether he plans to devolve responsibility for the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers to the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Nick Boles

The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is available until the end of the 2016/17 academic year to incentivise smaller employers to offer apprenticeships. The AGE grant will be devolved to The Tees Valley Combined Authority from this August. They will be free to vary the criteria associated with the grant (e.g. size and sector of business) to meet local needs.

01/01/2023

Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

Harriett Baldwin

Detailed information about the work undertaken in individual contracts could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The table below shows the number of times the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has used the services of PwC, Deloitte, Ernst and Young and KPMG and the total expenditure for each financial year.

Vendor Name	Number of Contracts	2013-14 Payments	2014-15 Payments	2015-16 Payments
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP	20	£12,291,493	£10,495,047	£17,459,400
DELOITTE LLP	44	£22,239,558	£12,325,152	£12,342,592
DELOITTE MCS LIMITED	12	£6,142,266	£6,792,413	£2,675,673
ERNST & YOUNG LLP	10	£17,258,841	£16,996,746	£18,786,874
KPMG LLP	24	£25,284,417	£38,350,698	£33,175,164
Total	110	£83,216,575	£84,960,056	£84,439,703

Although the MOD can identify its direct expenditure with individual companies it does not specifically record centrally if the company is a consultancy firm. It is therefore not possible to identify (e) other consulting firms without being provided with a list of specific companies. Non-consulting companies can also provide consultancy services to the MOD as part of a larger contract.

01/01/2023

Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils from white working class backgrounds in (a) selective, (b) non-selective and (c) state boarding schools achieved the highest value added scores in the most recent academic year.

Nick Gibb

Information is provided for white pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals. This is an indicator of economic deprivation which is available for 2014/15 and has frequently been used to approximate the ‘white working class’.

Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in fully selective schools and in boarding schools in 2014/15 are compared with those at the end of key stage 4 in all other state-funded mainstream schools. Pupils in Further Education Sector Institutions are excluded from this analysis. It should be noted that a small number of comprehensive schools use an element of selection in their admissions at the secondary phase.

The proportion of such pupils with a Best 8 Value Added score greater than the national average from each school type is given. The table below shows figures for 2014/15, the latest year for which information is available, for a) selective schools, b) non-selective schools and c) boarding schools.

White pupils known to be eligible for free school meals	Selective schools	Non-selective schools	Boarding schools
Proportion with a Best 8 Value Added score greater than the national average	61.6%	36.5%	35.6%

01/01/2023

Anne Main – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcome was of his Department’s visit to Um-il-Hiran and Ateer; whether he plans to visit that region; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and our Embassy in Tel Aviv visited three Bedouin communities in the Negev, including Um al Hiran, on 5 August. This visit, arranged through the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality (NCF), deepened our understanding of the constant risk of demolition faced by both recognised and unrecognised Bedouin villages; the restrictions on construction in even Government-planned Bedouin towns; and the unequal provision of services to communities of different ethnicities in the Negev. We remain concerned about this situation and will continue to work with partner countries, to address the inequalities.

01/01/2023
Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent on educational materials for prisons in 2014-15.

Nick Boles

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills funds the Skills Funding Agency to administer and deliver education in the majority of adult prisons in England via the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS).

The OLASS budget for 2014-15 was £145.6m. This figure includes funding for the National Careers Service in custody. It excludes a number of private prisons where the operator is responsible for providing education under their contract with the National Offender Management Service.

The OLASS budget includes funding to cover the provision of educational materials. The costs of those materials are not collected separately.

01/01/2023
Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are offering to businesses in all areas affected by flooding in advance of tax payment deadlines.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a dedicated Severe Weather helpline to offer help and advice on any tax matters to those people and businesses affected by the recent flooding. The helpline is 0800 904 7900Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 8.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, excluding bank holidays.

In cases of severe flooding, HMRC will also:
- consider instalment arrangements where customers are unable to pay as a result of the floods;
- agree a practical approach when individuals and businesses have lost vital records to the floods;
- suspend debt collection proceedings for those affected by the floods; and
- cancel penalties when the customer has missed statutory deadlines due to the floods.
01/01/2023