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  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to principle 7 in paragraph 3.2 of his Department’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, whether he plans to include that principle in an updated statement of funding policy.

    Greg Hands

    Principle 3.2.7, as set out in the 2010 edition of the Statement of Funding Policy, encompassed business rates income and council tax revenues collected by Scottish local authorities.

    The Statement of Funding Policy is reviewed and updated periodically. The devolved administrations have been informed that the Treasury expects to publish a revised version on 25th November to coincide with the Spending Review announcement.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.25 of his Department’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, when he expects the statement of funding policy to be next updated.

    Greg Hands

    Principle 3.2.7, as set out in the 2010 edition of the Statement of Funding Policy, encompassed business rates income and council tax revenues collected by Scottish local authorities.

    The Statement of Funding Policy is reviewed and updated periodically. The devolved administrations have been informed that the Treasury expects to publish a revised version on 25th November to coincide with the Spending Review announcement.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to principle 7 in paragraph 3.2 of his Department’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, which areas of self-financed expenditure of the Scottish Parliament are included in that principle.

    Greg Hands

    Principle 3.2.7, as set out in the 2010 edition of the Statement of Funding Policy, encompassed business rates income and council tax revenues collected by Scottish local authorities.

    The Statement of Funding Policy is reviewed and updated periodically. The devolved administrations have been informed that the Treasury expects to publish a revised version on 25th November to coincide with the Spending Review announcement.

  • Mark Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Garnier on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) efficiency of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and (b) potential merits of providing emergency payments to councils who face budgeting difficulties due to the time taken by the VOA to re-assess business rates.

    Mr David Gauke

    1. By July 2015 the Valuation Office Agency had cleared over 94% of outstanding business rates appeals as of 30 September 2013 in England. The Agency continues to focus on clearing outstanding appeals. In order to further improve the efficiency of the Agency, the Government will introduce a more structured, rigorous and transparent appeals system as part of this session’s Enterprise Bill.
    2. The business rates retention scheme in England is providing real incentives for councils to support enterprise and economic growth. In 2015-16, 362 authorities expect to retain an extra £544 million in business rates above baseline funding. Under the scheme, local authorities or pools of local authorities are protected against significant declines in business rates income through a safety net that guarantees income at 92.5% of baseline funding. And in a radical reshaping of the state we will ensure that by the end of the Parliament the local government sector will retain 100% of local taxes to spend on local government services.
  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Help to Buy mortgages have been declined on the basis of a poor credit rating.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government does not collect information on the number of Help to Buy mortgage applications declined on the basis of a poor credit rating.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Help to Buy mortgages have been refused by the Government despite being accepted by the participating bank.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has established a criteria of eligibility for Help to Buy mortgages for participating banks to uphold. The responsibility of approving or rejecting a Help to Buy mortgage is given to participating banks.

    There are currently two existing Help to Buy schemes; the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme and the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The eligibility criteria for each of these schemes can be found on the Help to Buy website: http://www.helptobuy.org.uk

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  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to better regulate financial service providers working in the UK (a) in general and (b) specifically those selling off-shore services and investment opportunities; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for the regulation of financial services in the UK.

    This is therefore a matter for the FCA, who are operationally independent from Government.

    The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to promote Pension Wise.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government launched a comprehensive nationwide marketing campaign in late August. This will ensure that more people are aware of Pension Wise, of how it can help them, and that they can – and do – access high-quality, impartial guidance on making the most of the new pension flexibilities.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Department has responsibility for (a) data protection, (b) data sharing and (c) the Information Commissioner’s Office.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Department for Culture Media and Sport is responsible for data protection policy and sponsorship of the Information Commissioner’s Office. This includes overall responsibility for the legal framework for data sharing under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Cabinet Office is leading on improving how data is accessed and shared across government.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much under each cost heading was spent on the House of Lords Appointments Commission between 2010 and 2015; and how many times that Commission met during that period.

    Matthew Hancock

    Expenditure figures for the House of Lords Appointment Commission are published in its annual reports which are available on its website athttp://lordsappointments.independent.gov.uk.

    Details about the Commission’s meetings are also available on its website.

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