The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the timelines and milestones for Defence Equipment and Support Transformation will be published online and on the Defence Intranet.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her and the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Sir Peter Luff) on 7 April 2014 (Official Report, column 91W-92W).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether Mary Portas is still engaged as an adviser to the Government on high streets in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Brandon Lewis
Mary Portas has helped raised the profile of British High Streets and sits on the Future High Street Forum as one of the founding members. All members play an important role and are working with Government to bring the issue of High Streets to national attention.
This Government is committed to standing up for local shops and high streets. We have done this by cutting business rates for local shops, making sensible changes to planning rules and taking action to tackle unfair parking practices.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which parties have received the £30 million for the Garden Bridge announced in the National Infrastructure Plan.
Danny Alexander
HM TREASURY
Helen Goodman MP
BISHOP AUCKLAND
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which parties have received the £30 million for the Garden Bridge announced in the National Infrastructure Plan. 195166
DANNY ALEXANDER
The £30 million contribution to the Garden Bridge from Government is conditional on a business case being produced that demonstrates the project represents good value for money. The business case is expected to be complete by mid 2014.
Should the business case demonstrate that the project represents good value for money, Government will agree the detailed terms of funding with the Garden Bridge Trust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the last Finance Ministers Quadrilateral met; and if he will place in the Library the minutes of that meeting.
Danny Alexander
The last Finance Quadrilateral was held on 18 November 2013.
No formal minutes of the meeting were taken, but Ministers present discussed the general economic outlook for the UK and for each of the devolved administrations, as well as looking forward to the forthcoming Autumn Statement. Agreement was reached at the meeting regarding the framework under which the devolved administrations could carry forward Financial Transactions capital into future years.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations aim to meet regularly in Quadrilateral format, complimenting bi-lateral meetings and conversations throughout the year. It is anticipated the next Quadrilateral will take place over the coming months. No date or agenda has yet been set.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the next meeting of the Finance Ministers Quadrilateral will take place; and what will be discussed at this meeting.
Danny Alexander
The last Finance Quadrilateral was held on 18 November 2013.
No formal minutes of the meeting were taken, but Ministers present discussed the general economic outlook for the UK and for each of the devolved administrations, as well as looking forward to the forthcoming Autumn Statement. Agreement was reached at the meeting regarding the framework under which the devolved administrations could carry forward Financial Transactions capital into future years.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations aim to meet regularly in Quadrilateral format, complimenting bi-lateral meetings and conversations throughout the year. It is anticipated the next Quadrilateral will take place over the coming months. No date or agenda has yet been set.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposed role for National Savings and Investment (NS&I) offering pensioner savings bonds with NS&I’s objective of reducing the cost to the taxpayer of Government borrowing.
Nicky Morgan
NS&I’s purpose is to provide cost effective financing for the Government that balances the interest of savers, taxpayers and the wider markets.
Given that the NS&I fixed-rate savings bond for people aged 65 or over are a Budget measure designed to offer targeted support to a particular group of savers, the costs of raising funding through these bonds, rather than gilts, was represented in Table 2.1 of the Budget 2014 document.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment he has made of the effect of pensioners savings bonds on the private sector investment market.
Nicky Morgan
The Budget set an upper limit of £10 billion for the level of inflows that National Savings and Investments (NS&I) should attract into the fixed-rate savings bonds for people aged 65 or over. This is less than 1% of the total UK retail savings market.
The NS&I savings bonds announced at Budget should therefore not stop other institutions from attracting deposits or increasing lending. Furthermore, the introduction of New ISAs with an annual subscription limit of £15,000 will provide additional opportunities for banks and building societies to attract retail deposits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which social care providers have been identified by HM Revenue and Customs as non-compliant with national minimum wage legislation; how much is owed in arrears by each such provider and to how many workers; and what value of fines have been levied on such providers to date.
Mr David Gauke
The Government takes the enforcement of National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously and HMRC enforce the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999. It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have a legal duty of confidentiality towards their customers. For NMW, this includes employers and their workers. This means that HMRC cannot supply all the information requested as this would breach HMRC’s statutory duty of confidentiality under s18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.
Fines are associated with criminal offences. Where minimum wage arrears are identified for any pay reference periods starting on or after 6 April 2009, the employer will be charged an automatic penalty. The rate of the penalty charge was 50% of the arrears falling in pay periods after 6 April 2009 (minimum penalty charge was £100 and the maximum was £5,000).
The Government has increased the financial penalty percentage from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the unpaid wages owed to workers, and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. These new limits are now in force where arrears are identified in pay reference periods on or after 7 March 2014. The Government will also bring in primary legislation as soon as possible so that the maximum £20,000 penalty can apply to each underpaid worker.
To ensure that underpaid workers receive the arrears of national minimum wage due to them, HMRC contacts every employer for confirmation that they have paid the arrears to workers. In cases where 5 or fewer workers are owed arrears HMRC also contacts all those workers for confirmation of payment. In cases where more than 5 workers are identified as being owed arrears HMRC contacts an additional sample of workers for confirmation of payment.
HMRC records information by Standard Industry Codes. The table below shows the number of employers in the Social Care sector found to be non-compliant with NMW legislation in the last year. Also shown are the value of arrears, the number of underpaid workers identified and the value of penalties issued to employers as a result of those investigations.
|
Financial Year |
Number of employers recorded as Social Care Sector and found to be non-compliant |
Arrears identified during those investigations |
Underpaid workers identified during those investigations |
Penalties issued during those investigations |
|
2013-14 |
30 |
£800,883 |
3,620 |
£46,020 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on the voluntary exit scheme for staff at HM Revenue and Customs offices in Northern Ireland.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched two voluntary exit schemes in November 2013 for people in 21 of its offices and for people in its Debt Management and Banking division. Further schemes were opened in February 2014, for eligible staff at Administrative Assistant grade across the country and for people affected by the decision to replace enquiry centres with a new service for customers who need extra help.
There are nine offices or enquiry centres across Northern Ireland where eligible people have been invited to apply for one of the schemes. A summary of the progress at 4 April 2014 can be found in the table below.
|
Location |
Invited to apply |
Applied for VE |
Offered VE* |
Accepted VE |
Declined VE |
Pending Decision** |
|
Antrim |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||
|
Ballymena |
4 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
Belfast |
17 |
14 |
11 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
|
Coleraine |
10 |
9 |
9 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Craigavon |
11 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
|
Enniskillen |
30 |
24 |
23 |
5 |
17 |
1 |
|
Lisburn |
8 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
|
Londonderry |
79 |
66 |
66 |
32 |
34 |
0 |
|
Newry |
137 |
45 |
45 |
30 |
15 |
0 |
|
Total |
297 |
176 |
172 |
83 |
74 |
15 |
|
* 4 of those that applied withdrew their applications after being successful in obtaining a post in the new service for customers who need extra help |
|
** A decision is pending for 15 people as they have until 28 April to decide whether or not to accept a formal offer of voluntary exit. |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings HM Revenue and Customs has conducted with Network Rail on the development of new parking facilities at Dover Priory railway station in the last six months.
Mr David Gauke
No meetings have taken place between HM Revenue and Customs and Network Rail regarding the development of new parking facilities at Dover Priory railway station in the last six months. However, Network Rail have been in contact with Mapeley as owner/managers of the site.