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Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the purchase of buy-to-let property by a person whose current residence derives only from their job will be deemed as a second home for tax purposes under the new Rules on Stamp Duty coming into force in April 2016.

Mr David Gauke

The new higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will apply to the purchase of additional residential properties and will come into force on 1 April 2016. Work-related accommodation which is provided and owned by an employer does not count when considering whether an individual is purchasing an additional property or not. The Government will shortly consult on the policy design, including on the treatment of particularly difficult cases, to ensure the change to SDLT is implemented in a fair way.

01/01/2023
Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement of 25 November 2015, Official Report, column 1361, what the evidential basis is for the statement that an investment of £800 million to fight tax evasion will return almost 10 times that amount in additional tax.

Mr David Gauke

Spending Review 2015 confirmed the additional £800m investment in HMRC, announced at Summer Budget, to tackle evasion and non-compliance, which will deliver an extra £7.2bn over the next five years – a return in tax revenue of almost 10 times the additional funding. The individual measures that the Government has provided funding for and the revenue they raise is set out on page 73 of the Summer Budget 2015 document. The assumptions and methodologies underlying all of the costings are set out in the policy costings document published at Summer Budget 2015. Both of these documents are available on www.gov.uk.

01/01/2023
Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners with mental health problems; how many and what proportion of such prisoners are (a) men and (b) women; and how many and what proportion of such prisoners identify as LGBT.

Andrew Selous

The Government has carried out a survey of prisoners assessing levels of mental health problems within the male and female estate. A link to that report can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220060/gender-substance-misuse-mental-health-prisoners.pdf

We do not hold data on the proportion of the prison population who suffer from mental health problems and identify as LGBT.

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01/01/2023

Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of magistrates has resigned in each month since January 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The requested information is provided in the table below.

Month	Resignations	Proportion of total in post*
Jan	66	0.34
Feb	46	0.24
Mar	95	0.50
Apr	80	0.42
May	95	0.50
Jun	92	0.48
Jul	79	0.41
Aug	69	0.36
Sep	89	0.46
Oct	80	0.42
Nov	64	0.33

* There are approximately 19,000 magistrates in England and Wales.

01/01/2023

Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17720, if he will take steps to ensure that magistrates’ courts seek confirmation of income by means of P60s, payslips, certified accounts or letters confirming benefit entitlement when assessing the level of fines on the basis of income.

Andrew Selous

Defendants before the magistrates’ court are already required to complete a “Statement of Assets and other Financial Circumstances” form which the court takes into account when deciding the amount of any fine or other financial imposition. Defendants are also advised to bring copies of any supporting documentation with them on the day of their hearing, as the court may ask to see evidence of their financial circumstances. The form makes it clear that it is an offence to make a false statement or withhold information.

01/01/2023
Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on maintaining former Magistrates’ Courts in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015 to date.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

Caroline Dinenage

As has been the case under successive Administrations, civil servants, including special advisers, may routinely accompany their Ministers on official visits.

All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic report on Behaviour management and restraint of children in custody, published in November 2015.

Andrew Selous

Restraint is only be used as a last resort, when young people are putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk.

The recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons welcomed our new arrangements, which are designed to limit the use of physical restraint on young people in custody as far as possible.

The report does raise some concerns over how the new system is operating and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

01/01/2023
Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children in (a) Burnley and (b) Lancashire have mothers who are serving prison sentences.

Caroline Dinenage

The specific information requested is not held. However, the Ministry of Justice has recently published statistics on child dependents of female offenders. These statistics can be located at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/female-offenders-and-child-dependents

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01/01/2023
Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Special advisers have accompanied a DFID Minister on an overseas visit 9 times since May 2015.

01/01/2023