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Tag: 2014

  • Mark Durkan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Durkan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2014-06-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of cutting the rate of tourism VAT on the tourism balance of payments.

    Mr David Gauke

    No such assessment has been made. There is no single rate of tourism VAT. The VAT rate paid on goods and services bought by tourists in the UK is exactly the same as that which applies to UK residents. This means for example, that tourists can benefit from the UK’s zero rates of VAT on certain foods, children’s clothing and certain transport. But it also means they are charged VAT on things like catering services (the supply of meals, alcohol, snacks and drinks) sold by restaurants, pubs, cafes and canteens.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) location of memorials to commemorate the war dead in the (i) First World War and (ii) Second World War; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    DCMS holds no records on the number or location of memorials to commemorate the war dead. Information about war memorials throughout the UK is held by both the Imperial War Museum and the War Memorials Trust. The Imperial War Museum is working with its partners to make this information more easily accessible to the public.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.

    Anna Soubry

    This information is not yet available.

  • Bill Esterson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bill Esterson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance published by his Department on 25 March 2014, on Sure Start centres: local authority duties, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the core purpose of Sure Start children’s centres.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Sure Start children’s centres statutory guidance was published in April 2013; the web page containing it was last reviewed on 25 March 2014.

    The statutory guidance states the core purpose of Sure Start children’s centres is to improve outcomes for young children and their families, with a particular focus on those in greatest need. The Department extensively consulted on draft statutory guidance, including the core purpose, in 2012. The response was positive, with 85% of respondees (local authorities, children’s centre managers, voluntary sector bodies and others) finding the document clear on statutory duties.

    As I said to the Education Committee on 18 June, Ofsted is going to be moving to a local-authority-based inspection regime for children’s centres and I am very happy to look at the core purpose, particularly in the light of what Ofsted put out as their inspection regime, if there is a lack of clarity.

  • Dan Byles – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Dan Byles – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Byles on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 593W, on electricity, what recent discussions he has had with the Independent Renewables Generators Group on the timing of the introduction of auctioning; what assessment he has made of independent generators’ ability to raise project finance against the Offtaker of Last Resort before October 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    I met with the Independent Renewable Generators Group on 24th February 2014 and discussed the introduction of auctioning for Contracts for Difference (CfDs).

    The Offtaker of Last Resort will support independent renewable generators by providing for the worst-case route-to-market, allowing generators to raise project finance without necessarily having to enter long-term PPAs. As a result, such generators are likely only to need short-term PPAs in order to maximise their secured revenue and level of gearing. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of CfDs. CfD applicants will, therefore, have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR in advance of the first auctions.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to encourage more tourists to visit Egypt.

    Hugh Robertson

    The decision on whether to travel to Egypt, or any other country, is for each individual to make. The purpose of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Travel Advice is to help individuals make an informed decision. We advise anyone considering visiting Egypt to read the FCO Travel Advice before travelling.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many people are signed off work as a result of depression.

    Mike Penning

    The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the number of people taking sickness absence from work as a result of depression.

  • Andrew George – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew George – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew George on 2014-06-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had on proposed changes to the disabled students’ allowance.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Disability, which I attend, has discussed the proposed changes to the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). The changes should improve the effectiveness of the scheme, and ensure that there is a proper balance between the responsibility of Higher Education Institutions to make reasonable adjustments and a central scheme, the DSA, that provides funding direct to students. The purpose of these allowances is not fundamentally changing.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department allocated to City of York Council for (a) local authority supported capital expenditure in housing stock and (b) major repairs allowance in each year since 2009-10.

    Brandon Lewis

    The information requested is as follows:

    Year

    Major Repairs Allowance

    (£)

    2009-10

    5,127,440

    2010-11

    5,242,423

    2011-12

    5,185,387

    2012-13

    5,266,485

    The local authority received £1 million in Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) in both 2009-10 and 2010-11.

    Following our reform and decentralisation of the Housing Revenue Account in April 2012, the system has fundamentally changed and no longer operates in that manner outlined in the Hon Member’s question. Councils now manage their housing stock without annual payments to or from central government. They now keep their rental income and use it to fund their housing stock (called ‘self-financing’).

    In 2012, the move to self-financing included a one-off settlement payment to, or from, each council, giving each a level of debt it can support, based on a valuation of its council housing stock. Where the valuation was lower than the amount of housing debt supported through the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system, the government paid off the difference. Where the valuation was higher than the debt supported by the Housing Revenue Account subsidy, the council paid the difference to the government.

    These payments were based on a valuation of each council’s stock, using a 30-year discounted cash flow model of income and expenditure. The costs in the model assumed that councils will need to spend on average 15 per cent more on managing, maintaining and repairing their stock than was assumed under the subsidy system. The self-financing settlement took into account an assessment of local authorities’ needs, including major repairs.

    These reforms have given councils the resources, incentives and flexibility they need to manage their own housing stock for the long term and to improve quality and efficiency, and they have also provided a clearer relationship between the rent a landlord collects and the services they provide.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the pupil-teacher ratio was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in York Unitary Authority area in 2008-09 and in each year since.

    Mr David Laws

    The following table provides the pupil to teacher ratios (PTR) in publicly-funded primary and secondary schools in York local authority, in each January, 2008 to 2010 and November 2010 to 2012, which is the latest information available. 2013 figures will be available in late July 2014.

    Figures for November 2010 and later are not comparable to those in January 2010 and earlier due to the change in the data collection to the School Workforce Census .

    York

    Primary PTR[1]

    Secondary PTR1

    January

    2008

    21.4

    15.7

    2009

    21.6

    15.7

    2010

    21.8

    15.3

    November

    2010[2]

    24.6

    16.0

    2011[3]

    23.7

    15.5

    2012

    22.8

    15.0

    Source: School Workforce Census and School Census

    [1] Up to January 2010 PTRs are calculated by dividing the total full time equivalent (FTE) number of sole registered pupils on roll in schools by the total FTE number of qualified teachers regularly employed in schools. From November 2010 figures are calculated using the FTE number of sole and dual registered pupils on roll.

    [2] In the November 2010 the source of the teacher numbers upon which the PTR is calculated was changed to the School Workforce Census. The completeness of the November 2010 teacher numbers for York local authority is in question as teacher numbers fell compared with the previous January 2010 figure based on the School Census and this is reflected in the higher PTR figures for the year. Subsequent teacher numbers reported by the authority in 2012 have seen the numbers return to previous levels.

    [3] Excludes one secondary school in York which did not provide a return for inclusion in these figures.

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