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  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 24859, what funding options for Channel 4 the Government is considering.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The government is looking at a broad range of options for the future of Channel 4, including those proposed by Channel 4’s leadership. We want to ensure a strong and secure future for the broadcaster in what is a fast-changing and challenging environment.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to help more homeless people rent privately.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. At Budget, we went one step further and announced £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living.

    We’re determined to create a bigger, better private rented sector and are attracting billions of pounds of investment to build homes specifically for private rent, which will increase choice for tenants. Our £1 billion Build to Rent fund will deliver up to 10,000 new rental homes, with over 4,500 already started, and our £10 billion of debt guarantees programme will also support the delivery of new rental homes, as well as up to 30,000 additional affordable homes.

    We have also already made a significant investment of nearly £14 million for Crisis to develop a programme to help single homeless people access private rented sector accommodation. Over 10,000 people have been helped, with over 90% maintaining tenancies for at least 6 months


  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2016 to Question 26459, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to the pay to stay scheme proposed in the Housing and Planning Bill on the number of residents who leave their local communities.

    Brandon Lewis

    Following my answer on 17 February, the Government’s consultation response on Pay to Stay published on 9 March confirmed that a taper will be applied above the minimum income thresholds. This will mean that rental increases will be lower for those households close to the income thresholds. And I would reiterate that if tenants on incomes well above the threshold wish to take up rental opportunities in the private sector then this should be encouraged to free up social housing for those most in need.

  • Barbara Keeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Barbara Keeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number and proportion of councils which have decided to levy the social care precept in 2016-17.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The number of local authorities which have decided to set a precept in 2016-17 for adult social care will be published with the Department’s annual council tax statistical release; the scheduled date for publication is 31 March 2016.

  • Barbara Keeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Barbara Keeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing the national living wage into social care from April 2016.

    Greg Hands

    At the time of the Summer Budget 2015 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated the costs of the National Living Wage to employers across the economy would be almost £4 billion in 2020, equivalent to just over 1 per cent of corporate profits.

    It was in recognition of costs such as the NLW and growing demand for care services that the Spending Review announced we would be making additional funding available to local government for social care, worth up to £3.5 billion a year by 2019/20. This will support councils to continue to focus on core services and to increase the prices they pay for care, including to cover the costs of the National Living Wage.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26995, what steps he has taken to support people who have moved home because of flooding and are unable to sell their primary home within the 18-month eligibility period for refund of stamp duty.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has doubled the eligibility period from 18 to 36 months for refunds from the higher rates of SDLT if purchasers move home before selling their main residence. The Government believes that the longer period of time is fairer to purchasers who may, due to circumstances beyond their control, be unable to sell a previous main residence within 18 months.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) enforcement actions have been undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) involving victims of modern slavery and (b) victims of modern slavery HMRC recovered national minimum wage arrears for in each of the last five years; and how much in national minimum wage arrears HMRC has recovered for victims of modern slavery in that period.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has developed a specific training package targeting Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking which is mandatory for all visiting officers. This training advises officers on the indicators to look for and the responses to take where exploitation is suspected.

    HMRC participates in multi-agency investigations into cases of Modern Slavery where there are potential tax or National Minimum Wage (NMW) offences. Since February 2015, HMRC has opened 73 tax investigations in cases where Modern Slavery is suspected. HMRC does not collate specific data on any NMW arrears identified in cases involving Modern Slavery.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.205 of the Budget 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on insurance policy take-up of an increase in the standard rate of insurance premium tax.

    Harriett Baldwin

    As part of the costing process for all taxes, we looked at any behavioural changes.

    Where insurers pass on the rate increase, the increase may have a small impact on individuals and households purchasing insurance which is not exempt from IPT. This is not likely to lead to any significant change in take-up of insurance.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2016 to Question 24869, whether the (a) Royal Bank of Scotland, (b) Bradford and Bingley and c) Northern Rock banks have received any public funding since they were taken into public ownership.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In 2008 and 2009 HM Treasury made a number of interventions to support institutions including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock.

    Full details of the funds used and outstanding balances can be found at the Office of Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) website and at UK Financial Investments’ (UKFI) website:-

    http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/

    http://www.ukfi.co.uk/

    “

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

    The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. We regularly raise these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.