Tag: 2014

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to work with affected hauliers to avoid the increased cost caused by the reduction in Vehicle Excise Duty introduced as part of the Heavy Goods Vehicle User Levy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We have worked closely with the UK road freight sector throughout the development of the Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) Road User Levy to ensure that the cost to UK business as a result of paying a combined charge for Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and HGV levy from 1st April 2014 is minimised, whilst working within the minimum levels of Vehicle Excise Duty set out in the Eurovignette Directive. Furthermore, to keep the administrative burden to UK operators to a minimum, the Levy will be paid at the same time as VED and in a single transaction.

    Where costs do rise as a result of the combined Levy and VED payment, hauliers have the option to lower the plated weight of the vehicle and thereby reduce the VED they need to pay.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of divorced and separated parents who will have to decide which of them should own a tax-free childcare account; how HM Revenue and Customs plans to resolve disputes over such decisions; and what additional resources will be committed for this purpose.

    Nicky Morgan

    It is estimated that of the families that will directly benefit from the Tax-Free Childcare scheme around 95% are couples and 5% are lone parents. Based on the best available data, we estimate that around half of these lone parents will be either divorced or separated.

    Working lone parents are more likely to have lower income levels than working couples. More lone parents will therefore receive support for childcare through Tax Credits and then subsequently Universal Credit which is generally more generous than Tax-Free Childcare.

    On the 18 March the Government published its response to the consultation on design and operation of Tax-Free Childcare which sets out that where adults in a family are unable to reach agreement about which of them should claim, HMRC will consider the facts of the case and make a decision.

    The resource requirements of the scheme will be settled once the scheme’s details have been finalised.

  • Mike Crockart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mike Crockart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Crockart on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the payment of armed forces pensions in the event of Scottish independence.

    Anna Soubry

    Armed Forces pensions are currently uprated annually in April using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure from the previous September. These are occupational pensions and are therefore paid, including any CPI increase, to scheme members wherever they reside in the world.

    The UK Government is confident that the people of Scotland will continue to support remaining within the UK. There have, therefore, been no discussions with the Scottish Government about this matter.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that newly built residential properties have access to telephone and internet services.

    Nick Boles

    Developers and internet providers recognise the importance of telephone and internet provision in new builds and that customers’ expectation is these services will be available on the day they move in. My Department, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is working with house builders and providers of telephone and internet services to ensure newly built residential properties have access to telephone and internet services.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households have seen their income from benefits reduced by (a) 10, (b) 20 to 49 and (c) 50 per cent or more as a result of benefit changes since May 2010.

    Esther McVey

    The requested information is not available.

  • Bill Wiggin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Bill Wiggin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the process was by which Arqiva arrived at its decision not to proceed with the proposed Fownhope mast.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    DCMS officials provided Arqiva with the latest data on notspots, updated by Ofcom for 2014 with information from the Mobile Network Operators. This shows that coverage has improved in Fownhope since the inception of the project. The Mobile Infrastructure Project can intervene in areas where there is no mobile coverage from any operator, and where the cost of the build of a mast, considered alongside the numbers of premises that would benefit from the additional coverage, provides value for money. Unfortunately this is no longer the case for the proposed mast location in Fownhope, and Arqiva made a recommendation to officials to not proceed.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote ethnic minority recruitment to the police.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    Improved diversity in policing is absolutely necessary to cut crime in a modern, diverse society, while building the trust and confidence of local
    communities. It is important police forces reflect the communities they serve. While progress has been made to increase diversity of the workforce, the Government has said that there is still more for forces to do.

    This Government’s reforms have already made improvements, for example we set up the College of Policing which has embarked on a major programme to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers. Locally Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure that the public’s priorities on crime and community safety are acted upon.

    The Home Office is actively engaged with the College and forces to ensure that this work is given appropriate priority and that learning, best practice and opportunities are identified and shared.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ships from the Royal Navy were present in the recent joint manoeuvres with the Ukrainian navy.

    Mr Mark Francois

    None.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 March (WA 16) on women’s rights in Afghanistan, what are the details of the funding already being allocated to tackling violence against women in Afghanistan; and what proportion it constitutes of the total budget for work in Afghanistan by the Department for International Development.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Two programmes directly address violence: £3M towards a joint programme with Australia to improve the implementation of laws designed to protect women and girls affected by violence; and £19.9M DFID support to the Tawanmandi programme with grants to Civil Society Organisations, where at least £2M of grants from 2014 will go to organisations primarily focused on the elimination of violence against women and girls.

    Violence is also indirectly addressed through a long term approach of promoting women’s rights, empowerment and education. DFID has a wide range of programmes supporting this agenda, e.g. £4.5M nation-wide support to women’s political participation and the £47M Girls Education Challenge fund improving access to education for 250,000 marginalised girls.

  • Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Williams on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much beef was imported into the UK from (a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) the rest of the EU and (c) non-EU countries in each of the last 18 months.

    George Eustice

    The following tables provide details of UK imports of beef and veal as recorded in the Official Overseas Trade Statistics for the period January 2012 – April 2014.

    Thousand Tonnes

    Thousand Tonnes

    Imports from

    Month

    2012

    2013

    2014

    Imports from

    Month

    2012

    2013

    2014

    Irish Republic

    January

    12.3

    12.1

    13.3

    Non EU

    January

    1.6

    2.6

    2.2

    February

    13.7

    10.8

    12.2

    February

    1.3

    1.7

    1.5

    March

    14.9

    13.0

    16.2

    March

    1.2

    1.4

    1.5

    April

    12.9

    11.9

    13.5

    April

    1.4

    2.3

    2.1

    May

    12.5

    12.4

    May

    2.1

    2.6

    June

    11.8

    14.9

    June

    3.1

    3.5

    July

    11.3

    12.2

    July

    2.2

    3.5

    August

    12.4

    11.7

    August

    2.2

    3.1

    September

    13.8

    14.9

    September

    1.9

    2.8

    October

    15.0

    15.6

    October

    2.2

    3.5

    November

    14.0

    15.1

    November

    2.0

    2.5

    December

    15.1

    16.4

    December

    1.7

    2.0

    Irish Republic annual total

    159.7

    161.0

    Non EU annual total

    23.0

    31.7

    Rest of EU

    January

    3.8

    3.9

    3.4

    February

    4.1

    3.2

    3.4

    Ó Crown Copyright

    March

    4.4

    2.9

    3.3

    Source: HM Revenue and Customs

    April

    4.4

    3.5

    4.1

    2013 & 2014 data is subject to amendments

    May

    5.3

    3.9

    June

    4.3

    3.3

    EU data based on EU 28

    July

    4.8

    4.1

    August

    4.7

    3.7

    September

    4.2

    3.9

    October

    5.1

    4.4

    November

    4.4

    4.6

    December

    3.8

    4.2

    Rest of EU annual total

    53.4

    45.6

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