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  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans for eligible parents to be able to open accounts as soon as tax-free childcare is launched.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

    We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to run a pilot of tax-free childcare before that scheme is launched.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

    We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish an updated timeline for the delivery of tax-free childcare.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

    We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

  • Jenny Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jenny Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jenny Chapman on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that parents are aware of his proposals on the introduction of tax-free childcare.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government will publicise the scheme in good time ahead of its introduction through a range of digital and non-digital channels.

    HM Revenue and Customs will also work with the childcare industry and representative groups who interact regularly with parents to raise awareness of the scheme.

  • Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on reducing the Government’s stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) of the (a) decision to defer the redemption of dividend payment by and (b) recent changes in the share price of that bank.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has consistently said that disposing of our stake in RBS is the right thing to do for the taxpayer and the British economy. Returning RBS to private ownership will promote financial stability, a more competitive banking sector, and the interests of the wider economy.

    The first sale of government shares in RBS was conducted in August 2015, and raised £2.1 billion for the taxpayer. The government will continue to return RBS to private ownership and conduct further sales of RBS shares, subject to market conditions.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average yearly reduction in a household’s tax credit award was when repaying an overpayment from the previous financial year for each financial year since 2006.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether death duties apply to mineral estates; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    Mineral rights (or ‘mineral estates’) will generally be owned by the person who owns the surface land, but they can be held separately. Rights in respect of some minerals, such as mineral oil and gas, are held by the Crown, or the Coal Authority in the case of coal deposits.

    Where an individual owns mineral rights, the value of them forms part of their estate for inheritance tax purposes.

  • Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent increase in probate fees on the number of people who seek to avoid such fees by moving property into joint names to remove the need for a grant of probate.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Government published a consultation on proposals to reform fees for applications for a grant of probate on 18 February. Alongside the consultation, an impact assessment was published which included a sensitivity analysis that accounted for a range of fee avoidance behaviours. This will be reviewed again in the Government response. The consultation will run for six weeks, closing on 1 April.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on organisations commissioning academic research of his Department’s proposed regulations that would prevent recipients of government grant funding for research in using that work to call for government policy changes.

    Matthew Hancock

    The new clause is about ensuring taxpayers money is only used for the intended purposes. The use or otherwise of research findings is already set out in grant agreements. There should, therefore, be no effect on organisations, which are free to use other funding to lobby, but not to spend taxpayers’ hard-earned cash on lobbying.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has met officials of the Cabinet Office to discuss improving diversity in the Senior Civil Service in the last six months.

    Matthew Hancock

    Promoting diversity in the Senior Civil Service is a ministerial responsibility of the Minister for the Cabinet Office. Details of my Ministers meetings with external organisations are published routinely and can be found on Gov.uk. Details of internal meetings are not disclosed.