The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.
Greg Clark
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 6 November 2015, PQ 13946.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have of misuse of the Enterprise Investment Scheme for community energy projects that contributed to their decision to withdraw the scheme for those purposes.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to encourage investment into smaller, higher risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access the funding they need to develop and grow.
Changes have been made to the schemes over time to ensure that asset-backed activities, as well as those that benefit from predictable and reliable income streams, do not qualify, since these often represent lower-risk investments that should be able to secure finance without the need for tax relief. For example, different types of energy generation were excluded from the schemes in 2012, 2014 and 2015, due to clear evidence that such investments were particularly low-risk products offering return of capital, and were being explicitly marketed as such.
Community energy projects in receipt of other government support were not excluded at the time of these previous changes. However, since then the government has become aware of significantly increased interest in the use of community energy for low-risk tax planning purposes. The number of community energy schemes registered as community interest companies (CICs) or community benefit societies has increased from about 5 in 2014 to about 200 by October 2015. The marketing material of these investments suggests that the level of investment risk for community energy, including solar, is comparable to that of activities that were previously excluded.
The government announced at the Summer Budget 2015 that it would monitor the use of the venture capital schemes by community energy organisations to ensure that there was continued value for money for the taxpayer and that they were not the subject of misuse. The government subsequently announced the exclusion of subsidised renewable energy generation by community energy organisations on 26 October 2015, taking effect for investments made on or after 30 November 2015, providing a notice period of five weeks. At the same time, the government announced the exclusion of activities making reserve energy generating capacity available, also with effect for investments made on or after 30 November 2015.
The government believes that the notice period given provided a good balance between the provision of notice to potential investors who might wish to take advantage of the tax reliefs provided through the schemes and the financial risk to the Exchequer that a longer notice period would carry.
To further ensure the venture capital schemes remain well-targeted and deliver value for money, the government announced at Autumn Statement 2015 the exclusion of all remaining energy generation activities from the schemes with effect for investments made on or after 6 April 2016. The new exclusions will apply to both non-renewable and renewable sources of energy generation and apply irrespective of whether a subsidy is received or of the nature of the company carrying on the activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what tests a person convicted of death by careless or dangerous driving is required to undertake being allowed to drive again.
Andrew Jones
If a person is convicted by the Courts of death by careless or dangerous driving and disqualified he/she will need to retake a theory test and an extended driving test in order to get their full driving licence back. An extended driving test must last no less than 60 minutes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide additional funding to South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group for improvements and new facilities at Guisborough Primary Care Hospital.
Alistair Burt
We are making additional resources available to the National Health Service by backing the NHS Five Year Forward View with £10 billion a year real terms additional funding by 2020-21, compared to 2014-15, with £3.8 billion real terms growth in 2016-17.
It is for the local NHS to determine how best to use the funds available to it to improve local services. In 2016-17, the South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group will receive £413.3 million – a cash increase of 3.05%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on alleged mistreatment and torture of British citizens in detention in the United Arab Emirates since 2011.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Directorate is aware of 37 cases of British nationals who have made allegations of torture or mistreatment in detention in the United Arab Emirates since and including 2011. The FCO takes all allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment seriously and takes action appropriate to the circumstances of each case, including raising these with the Emirati authorities where we have permission from the individual.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s policies to tackle bank fraud and scams; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government takes all types of fraud, including those targeted at banks’ customers, extremely seriously.
The Home Office is the lead Government department on crime, including fraud, and crime prevention overall. In February 2016, the Home Secretary announced a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce is a collaboration of banks, law enforcement and Government. This is the first time these organisations have come together to tackle fraud, and particularly to focus on those issues that have been considered too difficult for a single organisation to manage alone. The Taskforce seeks to identify the issues that will make the biggest difference to our collective fight against fraud.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of powdered or vaporised alcohol and its availability.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is taking action to ensure that alcohol in a powdered or vapourised form is subject to controls under the Licensing Act 2003 through a clause in the Policing and Crime Bill currently before Parliament.
This amends the definition of alcohol to cover its form in any state. We are not aware of powdered alcohol being sold in the UK. Vaporised alcohol is sold as a novelty item and its sale has not been widespread across the UK. Licensing authorities treat it in the same way as liquid alcohol for licensing purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-07-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they have made to include disabled cyclists within the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government will work to increase awareness of both the use of cycles as a mobility aid and the need for discretion when implementing ‘cyclist dismount’ regulations in public areas, including stations.
We recently consulted on the draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and as part of the consultation sought views on how to increase cycling and walking in typically under-represented groups, including disabled people. The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and will publish a Government Response later this summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to continue to support Commissioning through Evaluation; and whether he plans to maintain patient access to that programme whilst a formal decision is made on its future.
David Mowat
There are no current plans to stop supporting the Commissioning through Evaluation programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the effect that the offshore wind industry has on stimulating investment in the north of England.
Andrea Leadsom
Recent major investments in the north of England include Siemens and APB’s investment in Hull, Offshore Structure Britain in Teesside and JDR Cables in Hartlepool. There has also been significant investment in operations and maintenance facilities. These investments are helping to deliver high quality and long term jobs to the region.