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  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the European Commission about introduction of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base.

    Mr David Gauke

    Tax policy is a matter for national governments and direct tax files are subject to a unanimous vote in the Council. The Government has made it very clear to the European Commission that the UK will not sign up to the CCCTB, or any other measure that would undermine our tax sovereignty or risk harming the competitiveness and growth prospects of the Single Market.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the judgment in Schofield v HM Revenue and Customs [2012] EWCA Civ 927 (11 July 2012), what steps his Department has taken against PricewaterhouseCoopers for designing and marketing the tax avoidance scheme rejected by the court.

    Mr David Gauke

    It is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to provide details of any action taken in connection with these organisations.

    In the March 2015 Budget, the Government challenged the accountancy and tax professional bodies to improve how they deal with their members who promote tax avoidance schemes.

    The professional bodies have responded positively to this challenge and are working with HMRC to agree a new standard to which their members will need to adhere.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 3 February 2016 to Question 24298 and 8 March 2016 to Question 28866, on Revenue and Customs: Greater Manchester, whether any value for money review was undertaken on the decision to relocate staff from Phoenix House, Oldham to Manchester.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs has not undertaken a separate value for money review on the decision to relocate staff from Phoenix House, Oldham to Manchester. I refer you to my answer of 8 March.

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  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were registered with HM Revenue and Customs as self-employed (a) wholly and (b) partly for the purposes of tax and national insurance in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency in each of the last 24 months.

    Mr David Gauke

    The latest available data for the numbers of individual taxpayers with self-employment income, by constituency level, is for 2012-13. There were estimated to be 4,000 individuals with self-employment income in Cardiff South and Penarth out of 48,000 with income from any source.

    These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes and are taken from table 3.15 of the HM Revenue and Customs Personal Income statistics publication. The estimate for 2013-14 is due to be published on the 31st March 2016.

    No information on the purpose for individuals registering for Self Assessment is collected.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 68, Prevention of debt crisis in developing countries.

    Greg Hands

    The Government agrees that the maintenance of sustainable debt levels is a critical factor for achieving poverty reduction. The UK has provided more than £5 billion in debt relief since 1996 under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives, and will continue to promote debt sustainability internationally.

    The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to access their domestic tax revenues through our efforts in driving the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and our commitment to funding tax capacity building in developing countries bilaterally and multilaterally – including through the direct provision of technical assistance by the UK to tackle tax avoidance.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support the licensed hospitality sector to mitigate the effects of (a) wage rate inflation and (b) reduced demand for drink and food-led outlets.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to supporting pubs and other licensed hospitality firms. The sector will benefit from the changes announced at Budget 2016. These include cutting business rates for all properties in England with Barnett consequentials for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to introduce equivalent measures if they so wish.

    Reforms to stamp duty land tax on non-residential property transactions will cut the tax for many small businesses purchasing property. Budget 2016 also announced the corporation tax rate will be cut to 17% in 2020 and that the duty rates on beer, spirits and most ciders will be frozen this year.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 75 of the Budget, how much of the £130 million announced for repairs of roads and bridges he plans will be spent in Calderdale; and when he expects Calderdale council to be in receipt of such funds.

    Andrew Jones

    From the total funding of £180 million the Department for Transport has made available to assist local highway authorities affected by this winter storms, including £130 million as announced in the Budget 2016, we have agreed to allocate a total of £25 million to Calderdale Council to help repair damage to the local highway infrastructure for which they are responsible. This includes the £5.5 million announced in January 2016 to help replace Elland Bridge.

    This funding is in addition to the funding of £‎20.5 million we are providing to the council for local highways maintenance funding to 2020/21.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) domestically produced and (b) imported steel that was procured by each government department in each year since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    This information is not held centrally.

    All departments are now required to implement the new guidelines, published on 30 October last year, which set out how government buyers should source steel for major projects so that the true value of UK steel is taken into account in major procurement decisions.

  • Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government’s policy is on contingency planning for potential major industrial accidents.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    A robust statutory framework exists for contingency arrangements in the event of a major industrial accident. This focuses on both accident prevention and multi-agency contingency planning delivered through the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and legislation addressing specific industrial hazards, including the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015, the Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR) 1996, and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (PEPPIR) 2001. The CCA requires multi-agency partnerships to assess the risks associated with industrial accidents and to undertake suitable specific or generic contingency planning. COMAH, PSR and REPPIR require site operators, local authorities and others to ensure effective arrangements are in place to respond to the onsite and offsite consequences of major accidents and provide for warning and informing those who might be affected.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the diversity of (a) public appointments and (b) staffing in his Department.

    Matthew Hancock

    All public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s Code of Practice. The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments. The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office supports departments on all issues relating to the diversity of public appointments. Steps we are taking to increase diversity include streamlining the application process, placing an emphasis on ability over previous experience​ and increasing awareness of opportunities by using a central website, social media and engaging with a variety of diversity networks and groups.

    The Cabinet Office recruits staff in line with the Civil Service Commissioners Principles which ensures that candidates are selected based on fair and open competition and on merit. To reduce bias in selection, the Cabinet Office will be implementing name-blind recruitment methods from 1st April. In addition, recruitment and selection training, which has a core focus on raising awareness of unconscious bias, is also offered to all Chairs of recruitment panels.

    On 24 March, we published our 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups. It also sets out how we will increase social mobility in the Civil Service. The 2016 Talent Action Plan is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success

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