Category: Speeches

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether employees of his Department’s Child Maintenance Group will be compensated for the loss of their childcare subsidy.

    Steve Webb

    Five Child Maintenance Group on-site nurseries are due to close on expiry of the contract at the end of September 2014. They are located at offices in Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.

    Child Maintenance Group childcare subsidy was made no longer available to new entrants from 1 June 2012. This brings Child Maintenance Group into line with the Department’s policy on childcare subsidy.

    As part of its remuneration package, the Department supports employees through a salary sacrifice scheme where employees can give up part of their salary in return for childcare vouchers. This scheme allows for significant savings through tax relief and gives parents support in order to make their own choices for childcare.

    Employees affected by the closure of the five on-site nurseries have been offered a day’s special leave in order to look for suitable alternatives.

  • William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Bain on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has held with financial institutions based in the UK in respect of improving tax transparency in other jurisdictions in which they or their subsidiaries operate.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government carried out a formal consultation, starting in September 2013, on the Capital Requirements Directive’s tax transparency proposals for financial institutions which require country-by-country reporting. The records of the consultation are publicly available.

  • Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Williams on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received from UK retailers on the effect of the Sunday Trading Act 1994 on their businesses.

    Jenny Willott

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received representations from a number of correspondents in the last 12 months on Sunday Trading. These include representations from Asda Stores Ltd, Horticulture Trades Association and shopping centres advocating further liberalisation, as well as others such as the Association of Convenience Stores, some large retailers, 2 individual stores and small groups, supporting the current Sunday trading rules or for further restrictions.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Bridget Phillipson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s notice 2014DIN01-032, Increase in the rate of excess fares allowance from 6 April 2014.

    Anna Soubry

    Copies of the Department’s notice on the revision of the cost of living addition salary bands (2014DIN01-021) and the increase in the rate of excess fares allowance from 6 April 2014 (2014DIN01-032) have been placed in the Library of the House.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of divorced and separated parents who will have to decide which of them should own a tax-free childcare account; how HM Revenue and Customs plans to resolve disputes over such decisions; and what additional resources will be committed for this purpose.

    Nicky Morgan

    It is estimated that of the families that will directly benefit from the Tax-Free Childcare scheme around 95% are couples and 5% are lone parents. Based on the best available data, we estimate that around half of these lone parents will be either divorced or separated.

    Working lone parents are more likely to have lower income levels than working couples. More lone parents will therefore receive support for childcare through Tax Credits and then subsequently Universal Credit which is generally more generous than Tax-Free Childcare.

    On the 18 March the Government published its response to the consultation on design and operation of Tax-Free Childcare which sets out that where adults in a family are unable to reach agreement about which of them should claim, HMRC will consider the facts of the case and make a decision.

    The resource requirements of the scheme will be settled once the scheme’s details have been finalised.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will visit further education colleges to discuss the effect of his proposed 17.5 per cent reduction from September for funding for 18 year olds in full-time education.

    Elizabeth Truss

    I have received a large number of invitations to discuss this topic and sadly cannot accept nearly as many as I would like to.

    Nevertheless, I have listened to the views of the hon. and Rt hon. Members, as well as those of colleges and other providers of 16-to-19 education. I am pleased that we have been able to afford to mitigate the impact of the funding reduction on 18-year-olds in the academic year 2014/15. We will cap any losses in relation to this at 2% of the funding that an institution receives for the education of 16-to-19 year olds.

    However, the overriding need to tackle the budget deficit remains, and so the full funding reduction for 18-year-olds will still be necessary in 2015/16. We have carried out and published an impact assessment, which is available online:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-reduction-for-18-year-olds-impact-assessment.

    “

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that newly built residential properties have access to telephone and internet services.

    Nick Boles

    Developers and internet providers recognise the importance of telephone and internet provision in new builds and that customers’ expectation is these services will be available on the day they move in. My Department, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is working with house builders and providers of telephone and internet services to ensure newly built residential properties have access to telephone and internet services.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of dogs owned by people who have previously been banned from owning dogs.

    George Eustice

    No estimate has been made of the number of people owning dogs who have previously been banned. However, the table shows the number of people convicted of breaching disqualification orders, in respect of keeping any animal, made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

    Year

    2010

    2011

    2012

    Convictions

    43

    59

    73

    Source: Data provided by the Home Office on 9 April 2014.

  • Bill Wiggin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Bill Wiggin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the process was by which Arqiva arrived at its decision not to proceed with the proposed Fownhope mast.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    DCMS officials provided Arqiva with the latest data on notspots, updated by Ofcom for 2014 with information from the Mobile Network Operators. This shows that coverage has improved in Fownhope since the inception of the project. The Mobile Infrastructure Project can intervene in areas where there is no mobile coverage from any operator, and where the cost of the build of a mast, considered alongside the numbers of premises that would benefit from the additional coverage, provides value for money. Unfortunately this is no longer the case for the proposed mast location in Fownhope, and Arqiva made a recommendation to officials to not proceed.

  • Menzies Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Menzies Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Menzies Campbell on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response his Department has made to the expulsion of Médicins Sans Frontières from Rakhine state by the Burmese government.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    On hearing of the expulsion of Médicins San Frontières (MSF) on 26 February, the British Embassy registered our concerns with the Burmese government that same evening. Since then we have been liaising very closely with MSF tailoring our lobbying to their support, as they negotiate with the Burmese authorities. The British Ambassador visited the MSF clinic in Sittwe during his visit to Rakhine State from 19-20 March to hear first-hand the impact this decision has had on the local community.

    I summoned the Burmese Ambassador to London on 7 April to make clear our grave concerns about the situation in Rakhine State, including the expulsion of Médicins San Frontières. I called on the Burmese government to urgently restore humanitarian access to all communities in need and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State so that they can operate free of constraint and intimidation. We continue to make clear to the Burmese authorities that there must be no deterioration in the provision of health services in Rakhine State, which is already on the brink of crisis.