UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the budget is for prison libraries in (a) total and (b) each prison in 2015; and what the cost was in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    All prisons in England and Wales have a library. NOMS has been responsible for funding prison library services in England from April 2011.

    The total NOMS allocated budget for prison libraries in 2015/16 in England was £7,592,414

    The attached table shows both the provider and allocated library budget for each prison in England since 2010. NOMS is not responsible for funding library services in prisons in Wales as this is a devolved function of the Welsh Government so data is not included. Privately managed prison contracts put in place since 2011 have identified levels of funding for libraries and so are included in the table. The table does not include library provision at privately managed prisons whose contracts were awarded before 2011 as this was part of the overall included contract price and so it is not possible to extract a specific cost element to this part of the contract. This equates to 10 prisons.

    On 8 September 2015 the Secretary of State announced a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates, which will report later in the year.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to educate local flood resilience groups on the dangers of toxins in flood water.

    Rory Stewart

    Public Health England publishes guidance on health issues that responders might encounter during flood recovery. We understand that many flood action groups already ensure that anyone dealing with floodwater is aware of potential contaminants. Advice is also available on many local authority websites.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to clarify the tax rules relating to fines imposed on banks.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Fines imposed as a punishment by regulators are non-deductible for UK Corporation Tax purposes, while compensation expenditure arising from trading activity is in principle deductible.

    However, the government took steps in Finance Act (No2) 2015 to make compensation associated with bank misconduct and mis-selling non-deductible and offset the deductibility of administrative costs associated with this compensation through a taxable receipt. This action is forecast by the OBR to increase banks’ tax payments by around £1bn over the next 5 years.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has had discussions with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on the publication date of guidance for health professionals on abortion; and whether she plans to hold such discussions with those Ministers.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I have had no discussions with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on the publication date of guidance on abortion for health professionals.

    Abortion law and guidance in Northern Ireland is a transferred matter and is therefore the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the Strategic Road Network Highways England plans to have resurfaced by the end of the current road investment period.

    Andrew Jones

    As part of Road Investment Strategy, we are committing over £0.75 billion to long term capital renewals every year between 2015 and 2020. This will allow for the repair and replacement of 80% of the road surfaces on England’s strategic road network.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many transfer pricing cases have been opened with HM Revenue and Customs’ transfer pricing unit in each year since 2008-09; how many such cases have been closed in each such year; and how much was raised in each such year.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes annual statistics reporting its performance across its transfer pricing work, including enquiries, advance pricing agreements, advance thin capitalisation agreements and mutual agreement procedure cases. The most recent published statistics are for 2013- 14. HMRC intends to publish the statistics for 2014-15 shortly. These statistics answer many of the individual questions asked. However, HMRC does not hold information centrally in a form which allows it to answer all the questions asked in the required timeframe.

    The aim of the Advance Pricing Arrangements (APA) Programme is to provide businesses with certainty on the pricing of complex intra-group transactions. An APA sets out the method for determining, in accordance with the law, the transfer price for intra-group transactions. APAs are part of the internationally recognised best practices recommended by the OECD. HMRC has published guidance about what APAs are, the circumstances where it would be appropriate for businesses to apply for an APA and what information is required before any agreement can be made.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend the UK to continue to be a member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK continues to be an active member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights. I also refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) in the House of Commons on 14 June 2016 (House of Commons Vol. 611, Column 1615), in which he said that while we cannot rule out forever withdrawal from the Convention, it is not the Government’s policy to withdraw.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times the Junior Doctors’ Committee of the British Medical Association has (a) left negotiations already in progress and (b) refused written requests to return to negotiations on the proposed junior doctors’ contract since any negotiations on that proposed contract began.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The British Medical Association (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee walked away from negotiations twice. The first time was after almost a year of negotiations on 16 October 2014. The second time was on 4 January 2016 during negotiations following an agreement at ACAS.

    Ministers wrote to the BMA on a number of occasions – four of these letters, between July and November 2015, were explicit requests to enter negotiations. The BMA refused on each occasion.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the proposed byelaw changes for the waters between the Scottish mainland and the Island of Raasay.

    Mark Lancaster

    In accordance with the byelaws review process the Ministry of Defence has engaged with the Scottish Government Criminal Justice Division regarding the proposed new British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre Byelaws.

  • Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations have been made to his Department on fraud involving the tax status of lorry drivers.

    Andrew Jones

    The Road Haulage Association has made my Department aware of concerns about widespread fraud involving the tax status of lorry drivers. The Road Haulage Association has raised these concerns directly with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.