The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the proportion of VAT revenue accruing to the Exchequer which derives from businesses with an annual turnover under (a) £150,000 and (b) £250,000.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs does not routinely publish estimates of VAT revenue accruing to the Exchequer which derives from businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many reports he has received in each of the last two financial years of HM Revenue and Customs’ electronic application portal failing to record and register data and supporting documentation submitted by applicants for child and working tax credits.
Damian Hinds
HM Revenue and Customs do not have an electronic application portal for applicants for child and working tax credits. New claims for tax credits can be submitted by post or over the telephone.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve supported accommodation for homeless young people in (a) Easington constituency, (b) County Durham, (c) the North East and (d) England.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government is committed to preventing youth homelessness and we are taking specific action across England to support young homeless people into stable accommodation, education training or employment.
We have invested £14 million to enable Crisis to support 10,000 vulnerable single people into privately rented tenancies, of which 41 projects are specifically targeted at young people.
Our £15 million Fair Chance Fund payment by results scheme is supporting 1,600 vulnerable homeless 18-25 year olds into accommodation, education training and employment. Projects for the scheme are being delivered across the country including North East areas such as Newcastle, Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Durham and Sunderland.
In addition, the Government is investing £40 million in Platform for Life, a lower rent shared accommodation programme to provide young homeless people a stable base for work and study. We have also implemented the ‘Youth Accommodation Pathway’, good practice model that supports young people to remain in the family home where it is safe to do so and offers tailored support for those who cannot. This has been disseminated across all English local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will introduce a television licence scheme based on days rather than months.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The way in which the BBC is funded, and how the licence fee works -including potential simpler systems of payment -is an important aspect of the current debate around Charter Review. There has been a range of opinions expressed, not least as part of the substantial consultation response,and I will be considering these through the Charter Review process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military, (b) non-commercial civil and (c) commercial civilian flights flew (i) into or (ii) out of RAF Northolt in (A) 2013-14 and (B) 2014-15; how many such flights are expected to take place in (1) 2015-16 and (2) 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
Take-offs and landings are not recorded separately. The figures for aircraft movements (either a take-off or a landing) are as follows:
|
Year |
Military |
Non-Commercial Civil |
Commercial Civilian (including commercial aeromed) |
London Air Ambulance |
Total Non-Military |
|
|
2013-14 |
4,068 |
14 |
9,227 |
847 |
10,088 |
|
|
2014-15 |
4,023 |
447 |
9,366 |
592 |
10,405 |
|
|
2015-16 (April to August) |
1,584 |
139 |
4,242 |
289 |
4,670 |
The maximum number of commercial aircraft movements permitted per year at RAF Northolt is 12,000. However, given the other limitations on commercial traffic at the station (for example hours of operation, daily limits, etc.), totals for the years 2015-16 and 2016-17 are expected to be broadly similar to the previous two years (i.e. 4,000 to 5,000 military, 9,000 to 10,000 commercial civilian and 14,000 to 15,000 total).
London Air Ambulance flights are recorded separately as they do not fit under any other category.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department has made on the merger of further education colleges in Nottingham; and what options are under consideration for broadening and improving the governance of that new institution.
Nick Boles
Following a city-wide review of further education provision in Nottingham by the Further Education Commissioner, the Boards of Governors of New College Nottingham and Central College Nottingham have agreed to pursue a merger of their colleges to take effect from September 2016.
Colleges are independent corporations and responsible for their own decision making, including the governance arrangements that will apply to the merged entity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children entered Key Stage 3 a year or more behind in reading level in each of the last three years.
Nick Gibb
The expected level of attainment in reading at the end of Key Stage 2 is level 4. Information on the number and percentage of children achieving different levels in reading tests at the end of Key Stage 2 is published in Table 3 of the “National curriculum assessments: key stage 2” series.[1],[2],[3],[4]
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2014-revised
[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2012-to-2013
[4] Data for 2013 and 2014 is revised and 2015 is provisional.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to enable the establishment of a market in 100 per cent sustainable timber by 2020.
Rory Stewart
Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implement the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.
The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.
Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support her Department is providing to renewable energy cooperatives.
Andrea Leadsom
This Government is proud to support the community energy sector, including renewable energy cooperatives. We have provided £2m to support over 100 community groups through the Urban and Rural Community Energy Funds. We also provided £885,000 to Bristol City Council to develop a Local Authority Best Practice Programme. In September, during Community Energy Fortnight, the DECC-funded Community Energy Hub was launched, which will help communities across the UK share knowledge and information on community energy projects.
The community energy sector is thriving and resilient. There are over 5,000 community groups active in the UK and the sector independently raised over £25m in project finance in 2014. There has also been a number of exciting initiatives recently, including the first local authority energy supply company set up by Nottingham City Council which aims to support local community groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Kennedy on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps (a) her Department and (b) the Drinking Water Inspectorate are taking to ensure that utility companies take all reasonable measures to resolve efficiently and effectively (i) water contamination issues and (ii) cryptosporidium contamination.
Rory Stewart
Water companies are required to provide safe supplies of drinking water to the public. Where contamination of a public water supply occurs, whether by cryptosporidium or by any other cause, the water company involved is expected to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the public remains safe, and that a safe supply of drinking water is restored. The DWI has a rigorous independent regulatory and inspection regime, and holds enforcement powers to ensure that the likelihood of such an event is minimised, and, when they do occur, that the measures taken to resolve any issues are in interests of the customer.
Defra is the sponsor department for the water industry and is responsible for setting the legal and policy framework for the regulatory regime as applied by Ofwat (the economic regulator) and the DWI (the drinking water quality regulator). When the DWI produces its report on the recent cryptosporidium incident in Lancashire, Defra will consider, with other stakeholders, what wider lessons can be learnt about the effectiveness of the current regime.