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Tag: 2015

  • Andy McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andy McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the document, Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, published in July 2015, if he will publish his Department’s analysis linking changes to tax credits with increased productivity.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Paper, “Fixing the Foundations: creating a more prosperous economy” focuses not on the link between welfare reforms and productivity but instead on how ‘a productive economy must make the most of its labour force and effectively mobilise people into jobs’.

    This governments tax and welfare policies are supporting this end.

  • Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether employers that have offshored their company payroll will be required to pay the apprenticeship levy.

    Greg Hands

    Further details of how the Apprenticeship Levy will operate will be set out in the Finance Bill and draft clauses will be published early in 2016.

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that public opinion is taken into account in its input to the BBC Charter review.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    A public consultation which began on Thursday 16 July and closed on 8 October received in excess of 190,000 responses. We are now in the process of analysing these responses.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to increase the level of home ownership relative to other EU countries.

    Brandon Lewis

    This Government is committed to increasing opportunities to help people achieve the aspiration of home ownership. Almost 270,000 people have been helped to buy a home since 2010 using government-backed schemes. In the Autumn Statement we announced that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme will be extended for five years to 2021 with £8.6 billion of additional funding. This will assist the sale of up to 145,000 more new-build homes. We will also launch London Help to Buy in early 2016, increasing the equity loan in London from up to 20% to up to 40%, in recognition of the specific affordability issues resulting from higher house prices in the capital.

    The Autumn Statement also confirmed a total of £8 billion for over 400,000 affordable homes, including £4.1 billion for 135,000 new Shared Ownership homes. This also includes delivery of 200,000 Starter Homes at a 20% discount for young first time buyers, with £2.3 billion committed to supporting these. As well as reinvigorating the Right to Buy in 2012, we have secured a historic deal with housing associations to give their tenants the opportunity to buy their home with an equivalent discount to the Right to Buy.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to embed the Family Test into its policy making.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 November 2015 (PQ 15345).

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of communities of 5,000 people or more in England where there is no bank branch within a radius of three miles.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government does not hold the information requested.

    Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy. Decisions on the opening and closing of individual branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

    The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch, including the preparation of meaningful local impact assessments. There is a commitment to a review of the operation of the protocol after one year, and the Government looks forward to its conclusions.

    The availability of alternative locations for accessing basic banking services is also important. The ongoing negotiation between the banks and the Post Office to agree a standard set of services – to be made available to personal and small business banking customers at Post Office counters across the country – remains vital. The Government is clear that completion of these negotiations should be a priority.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether there are any vanguards in rural areas.

    George Freeman

    There are now 50 vanguards across England, the majority of which are in localities that span both rural and urban areas. These include Dorset, Northumbria, Cheshire, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, West Yorkshire and Devon.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many homes in Northern Ireland do not have broadband coverage.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Ofcom connected Nations report published in December 2015 reported 100% broadband coverage for all UK premises, including in Northern Ireland.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason a representative of Northern Ireland was not present at the COBR meeting on 15 November 2015.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    As is the case with information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, detailed information about attendance at COBR meetings is not disclosed. As a general principle, where an emergency directly affects areas of competence of a Devolved Administration, then they will either be invited to attend or advised on significant developments.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with internet service providers on preventing sexual abuse, cyber bullying and social media abuse of young people on the internet; and whether that industry adheres to a code of good practice on such matters.

    Edward Timpson

    I co-chair the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), along with from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Home Office and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Internet Safety and Security. UKCCIS is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia, and charity sectors that work in partnership to help keep children safe online. The four main internet service providers are executive members of the UKCCIS Board and the Board regularly discuss the best ways to prevent all forms of online abuse.

    Under the UKCCIS, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, is leading a working group to develop best practice guidance for providers of social media for emerging social media platforms to encourage responsible practice from industry, and ensure children using their services are able to do so in a safe and protected way. This guidance will be delivered shortly. All the key players are round the table in this important collaborative project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.

    The government will continue to work closely with social media companies to make sure they are committed to protecting children who use their platforms.