The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications to buy privately-owned land for residential development were made in each year since 2009.
Brandon Lewis
The information requested is not collected by the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many family-friendly tenancies have been taken up in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.
Brandon Lewis
The Government does not hold this data.
We are progressing longer tenancies by promoting a model tenancy with bodies representing landlords, tenants, letting agents, mortgage lenders, and local authorities. Recent figures in the English Housing Survey, Households 2013-14 show that tenancy lengths in the private rented sector have increased to an average of 3.5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase the licensing enforcement powers available to local authorities to ensure that pubs do not act as clubs without permission.
Karen Bradley
Licensing authorities and the police already have a range of enforcement powers under the Licensing Act 2003. These are sufficient to prevent pubs operating without relevant permissions. These include powers which licensing authorities have to impose conditions on a premises licence or revoke a premises licence where appropriate. They are responsible for making decisions based on what is appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives. These are the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; and the protection of children from harm.
Licensable activities include not only the sale of alcohol but also regulated entertainment such as a performance of live music and any playing of recorded music among other entertainments. While the rules on regulated entertainment on licensed premises were recently relaxed so that permission is only required for such events when they occur outside the hours of 08.00 and 23.00 or when there are more than 500 people in attendance, an applicant for a premises licence should set out in an operating schedule the licensable activities they intend to hold on the premises.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to update planning guidance on using money from Section 106 agreements to fund flood prevention projects.
Brandon Lewis
The Government is investing in flood protection at record levels, with an unprecedented 6-year commitment of £2.3 billion in more than 1,500 projects to better protect an additional 300,000 homes by 2021.
National planning policy is designed to protect people and property from flooding. Local planning authorities are expected to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding by directing development away from areas at highest risk. In addition government guidance is clear that policies for seeking section 106 planning obligations should be set out in Local Plans or neighbourhood plans to enable fair and open testing of the policies at examination.
Mitigation measures to make development acceptable in flood risk areas can be made a requirement of any planning consent. All local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in national planning policy and guidance. Where these tests are not met, national policy is very clear that new development should not be allowed.
The Government’s preferred approach for enabling developer contributions to infrastructure is the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is faster and more transparent than individually negotiated section 106 agreements. The Levy can fund infrastructure requirements where they are most needed across an area. Legislation and Government guidance specifies that flood defences form part of the infrastructure that can be funded in this way. More than 100 authorities currently charge the Levy and well over 100 more have made substantive progress towards doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-12.
To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what grants the Church Commissioners have given to churches in (a) Devon and (b) Cornwall from the Roof Repair Fund in each of the last five years.
Mrs Caroline Spelman
The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund grants are distributed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, on behalf of the Government. There has been one round of grants to date, announced in March 2015,
(a) 22 churches in Devon were offered grants totalling £1,199,700
(b) 7 churches in Cornwall were offered grants totalling £492,700.
A second round to distribute a further £25 million allocated by the Treasury is currently open, with applications closing on Friday, 26 February.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to introduce a one-month time limit on engagements for (a) small business and (b) other limited company contractors before they are treated as employees for tax purposes.
Mr David Gauke
Where people would have been employees if they were providing their services directly, the intermediaries legislation (known as IR35) requires that they pay broadly the same tax and National Insurance as other employees.
The Government estimates that currently only around 10% of people who should pay tax on at least part of their company’s income under these rules do so. This non-compliance is both unfair and estimated to cost over £400 million a year. The Government is therefore looking to improve the legislation in a way that protects the Exchequer and improves fairness. However, it is not the Government’s intention to widen the scope of the rules.
The Government published a discussion document on 17 July 2015 that set out the issues in more detail and invited views on options for reform. The discussion period closed on 30 September and the Government will announce next steps in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of companies issued fines for underpayment of the minimum wage in each of the last five years; what the total value of such fines issued is; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.
Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker. A further increase in penalties will come into force in April 2016 and will increase the penalty percentage from 100% to 200% of the underpayments owed to each worker, up to the existing maximum.
I refer the honourable member to the answers provided at UIN 18487 and UIN 205613 for the information on penalties charged on employers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the future funding of illegal money lending teams.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is exploring a number of options to ensure that the England and Wales Illegal Money Lending Teams have the funding they need to ensure that consumers continue to be protected from illegal loan sharks and is confident of transitional arrangements being agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the letter of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on making tax digital, dated 11 January 2016, for what reasons the increased revenue from a more accurate digital tax return system has been estimated at £600 million per annum given that the current tax gap due to errors made by small businesses has been estimated in that letter at £6.5 billion.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs remains committed to narrowing the overall tax gap. The policy costings for Making Tax Digital can be found in the publication Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015: policy costings.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-01-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how much will accrue to the Exchequer as a result of the Carbon Price Support legislation in each year until 2020.
Damian Hinds
The most recent forecast of receipts from the Carbon Price Floor was published by the OBR in their ‘Economic and fiscal outlook supplementary fiscal tables – November 2015’, available at http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-november-2015/.
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