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Tag: 2015

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who has been appointed to the Community Engagement Forum; what criteria were used to make those appointments; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    Individuals are not appointed to the Community Engagement Forum. Attendance at the meetings will rotate to allow ministers to hear directly from a wide range of individuals and groups taking a leading role in challenging extremism as well as sharing thier expertise and initiatives on building stronger community relationships.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to publish the results of the Government’s review of alcohol consumption.

    Jane Ellison

    The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a United Kingdom-wide review of lower-risk alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives.

    The Guidelines Development Group, a group of independent experts, was tasked with developing the lower-risk drinking guidelines for the UK CMOs to consider. The group have researched and developed a proposal on the guidelines, including a UK wide approach for guidance on alcohol and pregnancy. We will be consulting on these shortly.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to permit private equity-backed companies to offer tax-advantaged all employee share plans; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The tax-advantaged Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) limits were significantly increased from April 2014. The increases the Government have made are reasonable, given the average monthly SAYE savings and the value of awards currently made to employees under SIP, and they represent the best use of resources. The Government will continue to keep the SAYE and SIP limits under review.

    In addition to increasing the SAYE and SIP limits, the rules of the schemes were substantially reviewed and simplified following the recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification in March 2012. Last year, the requirement that these schemes must be approved by HM Revenue and Customs to qualify for favourable tax treatment was replaced by self-certification. Coupled with other changes to simplify some technical aspects of the rules, this will make these schemes more attractive to businesses and employees.

    No data is collected and no estimates are made of the income levels of the participants in SAYE schemes.

    Permitting private equity backed companies to offer all-employee tax advantaged schemes would be likely to involve significant changes to the rules of the schemes, and there would be a number of other factors to consider carefully, including the increased cost and complexity of any extension.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Leader of the House, how much of his Office’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Chris Grayling

    Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to improve the broadband speed in the Bristol West area.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Over 1,450 businesses in Bristol and the surrounding area have taken a broadband connection voucher to improve their broadband connectivity. In addition, through the Super Connected Cities Programme, my Department has provided £1.56m to Bristol City Council to install general purpose ducting which will provide broadband connectivity to businesses in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. This funding has also enabled over 70km of ducting to be made available to two commercial suppliers to provide ultra-fast broadband across the city.

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the schemes recommended for prioritisation in the report of the Rail North Electrification Task Force, published in March 2015; and if he will prioritise electrification of the Calder Valley rail line.

    Andrew Jones

    The North of England Electrification Task Force placed the Calder Valley Line in the top tier of lines it recommended for future electrification. Network Rail is currently updating its national electrification strategy, which will include the Calder Valley line, and will take the Task Force’s recommendations into account. The updated strategy will be subject to public consultation during 2016 and inform the Government’s strategy for Rail for 2019-2024.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2015 to Question 4551 and 12 October 2015 to Question 10567, if she will request that Ofgem estimates what the cost is to SSE of generating conventional hydro-electric power.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Detailed operating cost information per generation type of each energy company is not available publicly. Some information is available through supplier’s Consolidated Segmental Statements, which shows the annual operating costs of the largest suppliers generation businesses split into conventional and renewable generation.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of personal assistants who provide care to people formerly in receipt of the Independent Living Fund who will be entitled to pension scheme auto-enrolment; and what guidance his Department has issued to employers of such employees on that matter.

    Justin Tomlinson

    All personal care assistants that meet the eligibility criteria for automatic enrolment will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme by their employer. In order to be eligible, staff must be between 22 and State Pension age and must earn more than £10,000 per year (which is £192 per week).

    We are working with The Pensions Regulator to ensure that employers of personal care assistants are supported with their automatic enrolment duties. The Regulator has tailored its online Step by Step guide and offline communications specifically to employers of personal care assistants. Furthermore, the Regulator provides information that will help employers of personal care assistants to choose a pension scheme. Finally, the Regulator has a dedicated Industry Liaison team who engage with providers, employers, intermediaries, charities and user-led organisations to raise awareness and understanding of automatic enrolment.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from mental health charities on the adequacy of mental health provision in NHS services; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    Ministers and Departmental officials regularly meet with various stakeholders, including charities, to discuss how to improve mental health services in the NHS. We will continue to seek opportunities to enhance the charitable sector’s valuable role in providing support to people with mental illness and their carers and families.

    The independent Mental Health Taskforce, which is chaired by the Chief Executive of Mind, brings together health and care leaders and experts in the field, including people using services, to lead a programme of work to create a mental health Five Year Forward View for the NHS in England.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms are in place to ensure transparency of the ownership of limited partnerships; what plans he has to (a) improve such transparency and (b) ensure that such partnerships are not set up for money laundering purposes; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    To improve transparency, the Department has established a publicly accessible central register of people with significant control (PSC register) through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

    The PSC register will be an easily accessible single source of information about the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Societas Europeae. From June 2016, these corporate entities will be required to make their beneficial ownership information publically available through the UK register of companies.

    It is already a legal requirement that the name of each of the partners of limited partnerships be submitted to Companies House on registration. This information is available to the public free of charge through the new Companies House beta service. Companies House also works collaboratively with other government departments and agencies to tackle crime and fraud, including money laundering.

    We are currently considering the scope of the UK register to ensure we comply with the European Union’s Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which requires corporate and other legal entities to obtain and hold beneficial ownership information.