Tag: 2014

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on golf clubs of differences in VAT rules applying to propriety-owned and member-owned golf clubs; and if he will meet the hon. Member for Upper Bann to discuss this matter.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the hon. Member to the HMRC briefing paper (25/14) of June 2014.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to bring forward housing development on brownfield land.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have introduced a package of measures designed to accelerate the development of brownfield land and deliver more homes. We expect local authorities to be proactive in bringing forward housing on brownfield land and to ensure they have local development orders in place, granting planning permission for new homes on over 90 per cent of brownfield land suitable for housing by 2020. This reflects the priority given to re-using brownfield in the National Planning Policy Framework. In particular:

    • We have reformed the planning system to ensure that it supports the delivery of housing, including homes on brownfield land. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning should encourage the effective use of land by re-using brownfield sites, provided they are not of high environmental value and that local councils can set locally appropriate targets for using brownfield land.
    • We have amended planning practice guidance to stress the importance of bringing brownfield land back into use
    • Local authorities have been invited to bid for funding from a £4.4million incentive fund to support up to 100 local development orders.
    • We are currently consulting on measures to underpin the Government’s programme.
    • We are developing a support package, including local development order templates, to help authorities develop local development orders on smaller sites.
    • Included powers in the Infrastructure Act which will enable the Mayor of London to produce Mayoral Development Orders that will remove planning obstacles to help deliver more housing in London.
    • We are providing £400 million of recoverable investment funding to create Housing Zones to support development on brownfield land. 9 housing zones have already been announced in London.
    • We have changed the Community Infrastructure Levy rules to provide an increased incentive for brownfield development, and extended exemptions for empty buildings being brought back into use.
    • We have also introduced changes to national policy to lift Section 106 burdens on vacant buildings being returned to use or demolished for re-development and made it easier to convert empty buildings into homes.
    • We have introduced a new national Starter Homes exception site planning policy to make it easier to secure planning permission for Starter Homes on underused or unviable commercial and industrial land which is not currently identified for housing – to be offered exclusively to young first time buyers at a 20% discount
    • We have provided tax relief where brownfield land suffers from contamination
    • We have provided access to funding for developers through initiatives such as the Local Infrastructure Fund, Get Britain Building investment fund and the Growing Places Fund
    • We have secured the release of enough unused public sector land to build over 103,000 new homes and announced the establishment of a London Land Commission, based at the Greater London Authority, which will be tasked with identifying public sector brownfield land that is no longer needed in London.

    We have also, as outlined in Question UIN 227326 of 17 March, implemented a package of proposals to get empty homes back into use.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in which countries rabbit meat sold in the UK in each of the five most recent years for which data is available was produced.

    George Eustice

    Rabbit meat was imported into the UK from the following countries. We have no data on whether this meat was then sold in the UK.

    Country

    Volume and Value

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    Jan to Nov 2014

    Belgium

    Tonnes

    19

    38

    42

    137

    108

    £000s

    77

    160

    160

    556

    428

    France

    Tonnes

    237

    232

    225

    475

    334

    £000s

    905

    848

    838

    1,221

    794

    Germany

    Tonnes

    1

    0

    £000s

    4

    6

    Irish Republic

    Tonnes

    1

    22

    72

    87

    £000s

    3

    67

    227

    301

    Italy

    Tonnes

    6

    11

    14

    14

    9

    £000s

    22

    41

    41

    40

    26

    Netherlands

    Tonnes

    2

    75

    170

    84

    £000s

    5

    119

    984

    817

    Poland

    Tonnes

    0

    £000s

    1

    Portugal

    Tonnes

    5

    4

    6

    9

    8

    £000s

    24

    15

    21

    22

    26

    Spain

    Tonnes

    12

    75

    54

    £000s

    43

    284

    191

    Crown Copyright

    Source: HM Revenue and Customs

    “

  • Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the US administration on strengthening diplomatic ties between the US and UK.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We place great importance on the strength of the diplomatic relationship we hold with the US. We have regular discussions with the US administration on a range of key foreign policy issues, including most recently during the visit of the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) to the US on 15 and 16 January. In a joint press conference with President Obama, the Prime Minister stated that “For almost two centuries, …, America and Britain have stood as kindred spirits in defending our freedoms and advancing our shared prosperity”. The President acknowledged the UK as “one of my closest and most trusted partners in the world”.

  • David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ruffley on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions through A&E in NHS hospitals in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 2005.

    Jane Ellison

    Information is not available in the format or for the period requested.

    Information on the sum of alcohol attributable fractions of finished admission episodes for hospital providers in the east of England with an admission through accident and emergency departments from 2005-06 to 2012-13 is shown in the attached table.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for sex offenders whose original conviction was for sexual offences against children in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Andrew Selous

    The one year proven re-offending rate for offenders convicted of sexual offences against children for the 2012 period (the latest data available) was 8.5%.

    A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has established a Sex Offender Management Board to coordinate the better management of sex offenders across the system, including the provision of treatment programmes in custody.

    All high risk sex offenders and Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) cases will be managed by the public sector National Probation Service (NPS).

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will assess the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report by MIND entitled We’ve got work to do, published in December 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Mark Harper

    We are committed to helping those with mental health conditions to stay in or get back to work and ensuring we offer the best possible support. This is why, with the Department of Health, we are piloting the most promising and evidence-based approaches to supporting individuals with mental health conditions recommended in the expert report Psychological Wellbeing and Work: Improving Service Provision and Outcomes.

    These pilots will contribute to a better evidence base and will inform our thinking about next steps not only for government, but for all who have a role to play including employers, commissioners, service providers and individuals.

    The Disability Confident Campaign is working alongside others, including Mind, on events to raise awareness of Access to Work’s Mental Health Support Service. Last year over 1,400 people who had a mental health condition as their primary condition were supported by Access to Work – an almost threefold increase in the volumes supported compared to 2010/11.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Pakistan about the proposed resumption of the use of the death penalty in Pakistan; and what is their assessment of the use of the death penalty in Pakistan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have consistently pressed the Government of Pakistan on the issue of the death penalty. It is our longstanding policy to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We fully understand Pakistan’s resolve to protect society from terrorism but there is no conclusive evidence that capital punishment is an effective deterrent. The UK remains opposed to the death penalty in all cases.

  • Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when Maxwellisation” letters were sent to witnesses to the Chilcot inquiry.”

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The timing of Maxwellisation is a matter for the independent Inquiry.

  • Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2015-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many recipients of the Winter Fuel Payment are higher rate taxpayers.

    Lord Freud

    Eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments is based on female State Pension age. The latest estimates we have show that there are currently around 600,000 higher and additional rate taxpayers in Great Britain in 2014/15 who are above the female State Pension age and therefore qualify for Winter Fuel Payments1.

    We ask people who want to return their payment to do so by post so that it can be dealt with securely under existing Departmental financial processes and recorded against their Winter Fuel Payment account. We also ask for a covering letter indicating whether or not they wish us to continue to issue payments in future years.

    Returned payments should be sent to the address on the issuing letter or to the office that pays the claimant’s benefit.

    The latest estimates we have show that treating Winter Fuel Payments as taxable income would bring in around £250 million a year of additional revenue2.

    Notes:

    1. This estimate is based on the 2011/12 Survey of Personal Incomes using economic assumptions consistent with the OBR’s November 2014 economic and fiscal outlook.

    The estimate uses ONS population projections at mid year 2012 adjusted for financial years.

    The estimate is rounded to the nearest 100,000.

    2. This estimate is based on DWP modelling using HMRC taxpayer data from November 2012 and Winter Fuel Payment caseload data from Winter 2013.

    This takes into account revenue from Basic, Higher and Additional rate taxpayers.

    Winter Fuel Payment rates are assumed to be £200 per year for recipients under 80 and £300 a year for recipients aged 80 and over.