The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people started to receive universal credit in March 2014.
Esther McVey
Statistics on how many people started Universal Credit in March 2014 can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much compensation was paid by the Land Registry following fraudulent registrations in each year since 2005.
Michael Fallon
Indemnity figures are published in Land Registry’s annual report and accounts and the information for the years requested is collated below:
|
Financial Year |
Indemnity paid due to fraud and forgery (£)* |
|
2005/06 |
9,834,617.73 |
|
2006/07 |
2,123,496.34 |
|
2007/08 |
3,953,378.02 |
|
2008/09 |
5,074,113.43 |
|
2009/10 |
4,947,650.06 |
|
2010/11 |
7,367,416.18 |
|
2011/12 |
7,190,094.82 |
|
2012/13 |
5,101,916.00 |
|
2013/14 |
7,209,713.53 |
*Substantive loss plus costs
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he last reviewed the level of income disregard threshold for employment and support allowance.
Esther McVey
The occupational pension income threshold for Employment and Support Allowance was last reviewed as part of the 2014/15 annual uprating exercise. It was decided that no change would be made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2014-04-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of raising the £325,000 inheritance tax threshold to (a) £1 million and (b) £500,000 in each of the next five financial years.
Mr David Gauke
This Government has no current plans to increase the inheritance tax threshold.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2014-06-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal measures he has introduced to reduce taxes on families.
Mr David Gauke
This government appreciates that times are tough and budgets are squeezed for families, which is why we have taken continued action to help ease the burden on hard working families.
Measures have included raising the Personal Allowance to £10500; abolishing the previous government’s fuel duty escalator, and introducing a further 2 years of Council Tax freeze funding in 2014/15 and 2015/16 for local authorities which choose to freeze Council Tax.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) secularist and (b) humanist organisations since May 2010.
Stephen Williams
Ministers have regular meetings with a range of different partners and organisations. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published on the Department’s website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether export licences to Syria have been granted for the period since 1 July 2012; and if he will describe any such material so exported.
Michael Fallon
Five Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and one Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) have been granted.
The information provided relates to goods or services that have been licensed for export. The licences were granted to international and humanitarian organisations to support and protect staff working in these organisations. The six licences granted authorise export of the following:
SIEL for: components for body armour;
SIEL for: NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protective/defensive equipment;
SIEL for: body armour, components for body armour, military helmets;
SIEL for: body armour, military helmets;
SIEL for: components for all-wheel drive vehicles with ballistic protection;
OIEL for: cryptographic software; equipment employing cryptography.
The licences were granted to international and humanitarian organisations to support and protect staff working in these organisations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) aggravated assaults against members of the armed forces and (b) times members of the armed forces were discriminated against in bars, restaurants and hotels in each year since 2003.
Anna Soubry
This information is not held by the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effects of the shadow banking sector on the UK economy.
Andrea Leadsom
When appropriately conducted, shadow banking can benefit the economy by increasing the availability of credit to a range of individuals or firms, and provide a valuable alternative to bank funding. It provides credit and liquidity to the real economy and can improve efficiency and drive innovation in the financial system through firms developing expert knowledge in a particular area.
However, the Government is aware of the risks shadow banking activities pose to financial stability when things go wrong. The crisis showed that some shadow banking entities created pro-cyclical build-ups of leverage, did not fully transfer credit risk, were susceptible to rapid sell-offs, and were very complex. It also became clear that the shadow banking sector had very complex interconnections with the traditional banking system.
Recognising the need to improve the transparency and supervision of the shadow banking sector, the Government has taken steps to improve the way shadow banking entities are regulated.
Domestically, the Government has created new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. In September last year, the Committee agreed as one of its medium term priorities the identification and management of potential systemic risks from shadow banking.
At the international level, the Government is actively supporting the effective regulation of the sector in EU policymaking, and the UK is instrumental in shaping the global regulatory response at the Financial Stability Board.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.
Gregory Barker
The Table below details the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultancy expenditure in 2013-14:
|
2013-14 |
£k |
|
KPMG LLP |
2,340 |
|
Lazard & Co Ltd |
1,940 |
|
Deloitte LLP |
855 |
|
Baringa Partners LLP |
238 |
|
Mott Macdonald Group Ltd |
91 |
|
Redpoint Energy Ltd |
91 |
|
Poyry Management Consulting (UK) Ltd |
61 |
|
Oxera Consulting Ltd |
60 |
|
Cambridge Economic Policy Associates |
55 |
|
E S P Consulting |
48 |