Blog

  • Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Halfon on 2014-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the potential cost to the public purse of raising the income tax personal allowance for 2015-16 from £10,500 to £12,300 with the same maximum cash benefit going to basic and higher rate taxpayers but no benefit going to additional rate taxpayers.

    Mr David Gauke

    Raising the income tax personal allowance to £12,300 in 2015-16 is estimated to cost in the region of £9.5 billion.

    A reduction to the basic rate limit has been assumed so that the higher rate threshold is unchanged. As a result of this, basic rate and most higher rate taxpayers would benefit equally from the personal allowance increase.

    This estimate is based on the 2011-12 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2015-16 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Treasury received in VAT charged on ebooks in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

    Mr David Gauke

    No reliable estimate has been possible for the value of VAT levied on the sale of e-books purchased in 2012‑13 and 2013-14.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In HM Treasury these arrangements are kept under review.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government’s target is for the proportion of (a) women, (b) people from black and minority ethnic communities and (c) disabled people in senior management posts in central government departments.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Appointments and promotion in the Civil Service should be made on merit through fair and open competition. To ensure our civil service delivers the best for Britain we must draw on the widest possible pool of talent. We want to ensure that the best people – irrespective of who they are – rise to the top of the Civil Service but are concerned that for too long the very top ranks do not reflect those further down. We have commissioned independent research to look at the blockages women face making it to the very top and will use this to drive a new strategy for managing talent.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what background checks are regularly made on appointees to quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations.

    Mr Francis Maude

    As was the case under the previous administration, The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. As set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, public appointees are expected to uphold the standards of conduct set out in the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s Seven Principles of Public Life.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts the Government holds with (a) Johnson & Johnson, (b) Ethicon and (c) BARD; and what the value was of contracts with each such company.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Since January 2011, as part of the Government’s transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder at:

    https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Mr Francis Maude

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South on 2 April 2014 (Official Report) Column Ref: 721W.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many training courses the Emergency Planning College has provided in Northern Ireland in each year since the college was established; and how many people from Northern Ireland have completed such training courses.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The Emergency Planning College (EPC) has had no requests for direct support of the planning and preparation for the Giro D’Italia Big Start in Northern Ireland in May 2014. The EPC has however delivered a variety of civil protection and resilience planning courses in Northern Ireland for various organisations, including Sports NI.

    The Emergency Planning College (EPC) has provided 79 courses on emergency planning and crises management courses to 1170 attendees delivered in Northern Ireland since 2006. In addition to the training provided for customer organisations in NI, the EPC has trained 358 practitioners from NI attending residential training courses at the EPC since 2006

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what support the Emergency Planning College has provided to the planning and preparation for the Giro D’Italia Big Start in Northern Ireland in May 2014.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The Emergency Planning College (EPC) has had no requests for direct support of the planning and preparation for the Giro D’Italia Big Start in Northern Ireland in May 2014. The EPC has however delivered a variety of civil protection and resilience planning courses in Northern Ireland for various organisations, including Sports NI.

    The Emergency Planning College (EPC) has provided 79 courses on emergency planning and crises management courses to 1170 attendees delivered in Northern Ireland since 2006. In addition to the training provided for customer organisations in NI, the EPC has trained 358 practitioners from NI attending residential training courses at the EPC since 2006

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate how much Government departments have spent on filtering tap water for drinking in each of the last four years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested is not held centrally. However, as part of this Government’s commitment to reducing waste and driving down costs, we are challenging departments on the need to make savings from facilities management.