Tag: 2015

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2015 to Question 8192, how many public complaints were made about failures to comply with the Overseas Companies Regulations 2009 in each year since they came in to force.

    Anna Soubry

    Companies House received the following number of complaints about the possible failure to register the opening of a UK establishment of an overseas company, which is a breach of the Overseas Regulations 2009, for each year since 2010. Companies House will act upon the receipt of a public complaint about a possible failure to comply with the Overseas Companies Regulations 2009 ("the Regulations"). It will carry out an initial investigation and then, if it considers that an offence may have been committed, it will refer the case to BIS solicitors to consider whether a prosecution is justified under the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The principal aim is to achieve compliance with the Regulations; therefore, prosecution action is considered a last resort.

    Year

    Number of Complaints

    2010 (from 1 October

    2

    2011

    4

    2012

    14

    2013

    36

    2014

    26

    2015 (to date)

    8
  • Guto Bebb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Guto Bebb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Guto Bebb on 2015-10-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential benefits of increasing the turnover threshold at which it becomes necessary to adopt the general rate for VAT for the tourism industry.

    Mr David Gauke

    No such assessment has been made. The Government has chosen to maintain the highest VAT registration threshold in the EU. EU law allows us to increase the threshold in line with inflation, and it has therefore increased to £82,000 with effect from 1 April 2015.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the loan guarantee facility offered to Chinese nuclear companies in his announcement in Beijing on 21 September 2015 remains within the scope of the European Commission’s state aid decision of 8 October 2014 concerning the Hinkley Point C project; and when the Government informed the Commission of that new loan guarantee.

    Greg Hands

    The Chancellor’s announcement on 21 September 2015 set out that the government and the Hinkley Point C project company had agreed the terms of a £2 billion guarantee through the UK Guarantees Scheme. This guarantee is the first tranche of debt guarantees that was approved as part of the European Commission’s approval of the wider support package for Hinkley Point C. The government is satisfied that the guarantee remains within the terms set out by the EU Commission.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what meetings his Department has had with representatives of (a) the Taxpayers’ Alliance, (b) the Confederation of British Industry, (c) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) the Adam Smith Institute, (e) the Freedom Association, (f) the Politics and Economic Research Trust and (g) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 calendar months.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries meetings with external organisations are published up to 31 March 2015 and can be accessed on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

    Further publications of Ministerial and Permanent Secretaries meetings will be published in due course.

    “

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings his Department has had with representatives of the (a) Taxpayers’ Alliance, (b) Confederation of British Industry, (c) Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) Adam Smith Institute, (e) Freedom Association, (f) Politics and Economics Research Trust and (g) Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 calendar months.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Details of Ministers’ andPermanentSecretaries meetings with external organisations are published up to 31March 2015 and can be accessed on Gov.uk at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

    Further publications of Ministerial and Permanent Secretaries meetings will be published in due course.

    “

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel of his Department working directly with the Trident programme at HM Naval Base Clyde are based permanently within (a) Argyll and Bute constituency, (b) West Dunbartonshire, (c) other parts of Scotland and (d) other parts of the UK.

    Mark Lancaster

    Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde is one of the largest employment sites in Scotland, with around 6,800 military and civilian jobs now, increasing to around 8,200 by 2022.

    Civilian and Service personnel are not assigned to positions easily identified as supporting the Trident Programme. The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions on the levels of religious diversity in free schools and new academies; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

    The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

    Numbers of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year

    Academic year of opening

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Total

    Free Schools and New Provision Academies

    0

    7

    12

    22

    15

    12

    68

    “

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the UK’s progress towards meeting its 2020 carbon emission targets.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Each year we publish Energy and Emissions Projections which allow us to monitor progress towards meeting the UK’s carbon targets.

    The last projections (published in September 2014) showed that we are on track to achieve the second and third carbon budgets, covering the period to 2022. Our projected performance over the third carbon budget equates to a 37% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the consistency of its policies on subsidies for renewable energy and for fossil fuels with current and proposed international climate change targets.

    Andrea Leadsom

    This Government remains committed to meeting the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%, on 1990 levels, by 2050. This remains in line with our contribution to the international effort to limit global warming to below 2 degrees.

    We, also, continue to make progress towards our EU 2020 Renewable Target with provisional figures showing that 7.0% of final energy consumption was met from renewable sources in 2014. We are also on track to meet our EU 2020 energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

    We continue to support the deployment of renewable energy in our future energy mix:

    • Electricity: The introduction of Contracts for Difference will give companies long term revenue certainty whilst driving down the cost for consumers through competition.
    • Heat: Under existing renewable heat schemes, the Government has supported around 40,000 homes and 12,000 businesses, schools, farms and other organisations with new renewable heating systems.
    • Transport: The Government is investing £500million over the next 5 years in making ultra-low emission vehicles more accessible to families and businesses across the country.

    It is vital to ensure security of supply and that the lights stay on, therefore fossil fuels will continue to play an important part in our future energy mix. The 2012 Carbon Plan noted that we will still need significant oil and gas supplies while we decarbonise our economy and transition to a low carbon economy, with projections showing that in 2030 oil and gas will remain a vital part of the energy mix, providing around 70% of the UK’s primary energy requirements.

    The Government is seeking an ambitious, legally binding,global climate change deal in Paris in December that keeps the goal of limiting average global emissions to limit global warming to below 2 degrees within reach.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to issue the public consultation on the 2010 Greyhound Regulations.

    George Eustice

    Defra plans to consult on the initial findings of the Review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 this autumn. The Greyhound Forum and members of the Forum have contributed to the initial findings exercise and, as part of the initial stages of the Review.

    Defra officials have also had discussions with UKAS.