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  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.144 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how women’s charities can apply for some of the £15 million annual fund.

    Greg Hands

    Bids and nominations for donations from the sanitary products VAT women’s charities fund can be submitted to HM Treasury by letter. The letter should set out the amount being sought and detail what it would fund. All representations will be given full consideration ahead of Budget 2016, and further rounds of donations will follow at future fiscal events. The fund will continue to run over the course of this Parliament or until the UK can apply a zero rate of VAT on sanitary products.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on whether the appointment of the chair of the Office of Tax Simplification should be subject to a pre-appointment hearing by the Treasury Select Committee.

    Mr David Gauke

    Angela Knight has been appointed as Chair of the Office of Tax Simplification, and will be paid £400 a day, in line with other public appointments.

    In 2011, the Treasury Select Committee held a post-appointment hearing for the Chair and Tax Director of the Office of Tax Simplification, and has done so for appointments to other bodies. Angela Knight is appearing before the committee, in her role as the new Chair, on 12 January.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what remuneration is provider to the Chair of the Office for Tax Simplification.

    Mr David Gauke

    Angela Knight has been appointed as Chair of the Office of Tax Simplification, and will be paid £400 a day, in line with other public appointments.

    In 2011, the Treasury Select Committee held a post-appointment hearing for the Chair and Tax Director of the Office of Tax Simplification, and has done so for appointments to other bodies. Angela Knight is appearing before the committee, in her role as the new Chair, on 12 January.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2015 to Question 5609, how many HM Revenue and Customs investigations that commenced on or after 1 October 2013 resulted in the issuing of Notice of Underpayment (NOU) of the National Minimum Wage to the employer; how many of those employers receiving an NOU were exempt from his Department’s revised naming and shaming scheme on the basis that the total arrears were less than £100; how many of those employers successfully appealed against being named or shamed; and how many of those employers have been publicly named or shamed under that scheme.

    Nick Boles

    Since October 2013, HMRC has commenced 1004 investigations into National Minimum Wage (NMW) compliance that resulted in the issuing of a Notice of Underpayment (NoU). Of those:

    – 165 employers were exempt from the NMW naming scheme on the basis that the total arrears were less than £100;

    – 27 have made successful representations under the scheme and have not been named; and.

    – 398 employers have been named under the scheme.

    Employers are not named at the point when an NoU is issued. Under the National Minimum Wage regulations, employers have 28 days to appeal against an NoU. They then have a further 14 days to make representations to BIS against being named. We are currently considering the next batch of cases and expect to name more employers shortly.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans the Government has to change the rate of interest on student loans (a) retrospectively for recent graduates and current students and (b) for future students during the current Parliament.

    Joseph Johnson

    There are no plans to change the rate of interest on student loans retrospectively for recent graduates and current students.

    The interest rates are reviewed annually and the rates set from 1st September for the following 12 months. This is set out in the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations. It is too early yet to say what the rate will be from September 2016.

    For the pre-2012 scheme, the rate used is the March Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure which applies during the 12 month period commencing 1st September. If, however, the base rate plus 1% across a specified group of banks is lower than RPI, then this lower rate will be applied instead.

    For the post-2012 scheme, the rate is also set by reference to the March RPI figure (2.5%):

    • RPI plus 3% is applied whilst the borrower is studying and up until the April after leaving their course;
    • After April 2016, variable rates of interest dependent on the borrower’s income will apply for those in repayment. These range from RPI for those earning £21,000 or less to RPI plus 3% for those earning £41,000 or more; and
    • Borrowers who lose touch with the SLC after they leave their course will be subject to an interest rate of RPI + 3%.
  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the effect on the public purse of replacing maintenance loans with maintenance grants.

    Joseph Johnson

    Replacing maintenance grants with loans will reduce grant expenditure by around £2.5bn per year by 2020-21 and therefore make a substantial contribution to reducing the deficit. From that new baseline position, entirely replacing the new, larger maintenance loans with grants would increase grant expenditure – and the deficit – by around £8bn per year.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) his Department, (b) the Competition and Markets Authority, (c) Land Registry, (d) the Ordnance Survey, (e) UK Trade and Investment, (f) Companies House, (g) the Met Office, (h) the UK Space Agency, (i) the Insolvency Service, (j) the National Measurement and Regulation Office, (k) the Intellectual Property Office, (l) the Skills Funding Agency, (m) the Arts and Humanities Research Council, (n) the Biotechnology and Biological Research Council, (o) the British Hallmarking Council, (p) the Competition Service, (q) the Economic and Social Research Council, (r) Innovate UK, (s) the Medical Research Council, (t) the Office for Fair Access, (u) the Student Loans Company, (v) the UK Atomic Energy Authority, (w) the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and (x) the Low Pay Commission; how many of these employees earn more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    The information requested will take time to collate. I will write to the Hon. Member as soon as it is available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to support manufacturers who previously used the Manufacturing Advisory Service once that service is ended.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills did not consult specifically on the decision to close the Manufacturing Advisory Service as this was a commercially sensitive decision. However, through our ongoing discussions with manufacturers and their representatives, there has been wide recognition that the best way for Government to support manufacturers is by getting the fundamentals of the economy right. We are creating a highly competitive business environment to make the UK an attractive location for manufacturing investment, supporting export success, boosting skills and protecting spending on innovation and the cutting edge smart digital manufacturing technologies which will drive the strong UK productivity growth in the future.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

    Anna Soubry

    An interim impact evaluation of the Growth Accelerator programme was published in November 2014. This was followed by a formative evaluation in January 2015, which looked at the delivery of the programme and informed the design of the Business Growth Service. A policy response to the formative evaluation was published in March 2015, in line with a commitment to the National Audit Office

    A review of the Manufacturing Advisory Service was completed in December 2010 and published the following year. An Impact Analysis Methodology study of the Manufacturing Advisory Service is being published in early 2016.

    A full economic evaluation of the Business Growth Service will continue beyond the closure of the service in March. All documents will continue to be available on www.gov.uk.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department had with manufacturers prior to its decision to close the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills did not consult specifically on the decision to close the Manufacturing Advisory Service as this was a commercially sensitive decision. However, through our ongoing discussions with manufacturers and their representatives, there has been wide recognition that the best way for Government to support manufacturers is by getting the fundamentals of the economy right. We are creating a highly competitive business environment to make the UK an attractive location for manufacturing investment, supporting export success, boosting skills and protecting spending on innovation and the cutting edge smart digital manufacturing technologies which will drive the strong UK productivity growth in the future.