The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 21 September (HL2088), what part of the total remuneration paid to members of the Chilcot Inquiry has been paid to Sir John Chilcot in both attendance allowances and expenses.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Inquiry will account for its costs after the completion of its report.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 16 September (HL2087), whether they have any plans to spend an amount equivalent to the spending on Operation Grange in 2015–16 on the search for Ben Needham, or other missing children; and if not, why not.
Lord Bates
This Government is clear that unresolved missing children cases, like that of Ben Needham, are never closed and will continue to support the Greek authorities in its investigations. In 2014, South Yorkshire Police requested a Special Grant payment of £700k to support its investigation into the disappearance of Ben Needham. This funding was approved. No decisions have been made in respect of police funding for 2016/17, but any request from South Yorkshire Police will be considered carefully.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 16 September (HL2087), whether they have established success criteria for the budgeted spend of £2 million for Operation Grange in 2015–16.
Lord Bates
The Home Office funds the cost of Operation Grange from the Special Grant budget. The level of funding provided to the Metropolitan Police in relation to this investigation is reviewed regularly and will continue to be monitored. The Metropolitan Police keep the Home Office informed of the progress of the investigation through regular updates. These include an assessment of the need for continued funding which is linked to whether there remain continued lines of investigation to pursue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Johnny Mercer on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on earnings of the increase in the personal allowance planned for 2016-17; and how he plans to deliver an increase in that allowance to £12,500 by 2020.
Mr David Gauke
Summer Budget 2015 confirmed that the personal allowance will increase from £10,600 in 2015-16 to £11,000 in 2016-17. These changes will benefit over 29 million individuals, taking 570,000 taxpayers out of income tax altogether. A typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax bill reduced by £905, compared to 2010.
This is the first step towards meeting our commitment to raise the personal allowance to £12,500 by the end of this parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the National Living Wage on wage growth.
Damian Hinds
The National Living Wage will mean a full-time minimum wage worker benefiting from the policy will earn over £4,800 more by 2020 in cash terms, a 40% rise on their current wage. Additionally, due to the ripple effect, up to a quarter of workers will see some benefit. The OBR estimate that economy wide wages will be on average 0.4% percentage points higher in 2020 due to the NLW.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Northern Powerhouse.
Greg Hands
This government is determined to maximise the potential of the North of England and reduce the decades-old gap between London and other cities. Employment in the Northern Powerhouse has risen by over 260,000 since the 2010 election, and in the last year alone there are 71,000 fewer people unemployed. We will continue to strengthen the Northern Powerhouse to ensure that this progress is sustained, bringing further benefits to people in the North, as well as the wider UK economy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Heappey on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support businesses.
Mr David Gauke
The government is committed to supporting businesses.
To support investment and drive productivity, the corporation tax rate will be reduced to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020. This will give the UK the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G20 and will save businesses a total of £6.6 billion by 2021.
The permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance will be increased from £25,000 to £200,000, its highest-ever permanent level.
In addition, over one million employers have benefitted from the Employment Allowance which was introduced in April 2014. It allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to deduct up to £2000 off their employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill each year, rising to £3000 from April next year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Graham on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of tax incentives for savings and pensions.
Mr David Gauke
The government is committed to supporting savers at all stages of life and has taken a number of steps to support saving through the tax system, including making ISAs more generous and flexible and introducing a new Personal Savings Allowance from next April. We are also reviewing pension tax relief to make sure it provides the right incentives to save for retirement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to allow local authorities to retain business rate revenues.
Mr David Gauke
The Chancellor set out a radical devolution reform package for local government in his conference speech. This included plans to allow local government to retain 100 per cent of revenue from business rates to spend on local services, as well as giving local authorities the power to lower business rates to boost growth and support jobs.
While there will still be redistribution between Local Authorities to ensure those with a lower tax base do not lose out, local areas will be able to keep all local growth in their business rates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marie Rimmer on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposed changes to tax credits on child poverty.
Damian Hinds
The Government is making changes to Tax Credits which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty. The intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work, ensure work always pays, and then allow people to keep more of what they earn.