Tag: 2015

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the deficit in trade with the EU in 2014 in (1) goods, and (2) overall in goods and services; and how that deficit is financed.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The UK’s trade in goods deficit with the EU was £78.9bn in 2014. The overall trade in goods and services deficit with the EU was £61.7bn.

    The UK’s total trade deficit is financed by a net inflow of investment in the financial account, for which data is not available on a geographical basis. The UK’s financial account surplus was £89.4bn in 2014.

    Source: ONS Pink Book 2015

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the devolved assemblies on best practice on insulation of historic and other older properties.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has regular discussions with its counterparts in the devolved administrations in order to ensure the sharing of best practice and ideas between all parts of the UK.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of Crown Prosecution Service expenditure on (a) victim liaison units and (b) witness care units in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

    Robert Buckland

    It is not possible to provide the actual expenditure on Witness Care Units (WCUs) and Victim Liaison Units (VLUs) without incurring a disproportionate cost since this information is not separately captured by the CPS. However, the total budget allocated for the administration of WCUs and VLUs in each year since 2010-11 is detailed in the following table;

    WCUs

    VLU’s

    2010-11

    £5,500,000

    –

    2011-12

    £4,000,000

    –

    2012-13

    £4,000,000

    –

    2013-14

    £4,000,000

    –

    2014-15

    £2,500,000

    £1,500,000

    In each of the last four years the CPS has allocated £2.5 million of its Voted expenditure to WCUs. The remainder of the total CPS allocation was funded by income from the Ministry of Justice, via the Victims Surcharge up to and including 2013-14.

    Witness attendance rates (which are used as a proxy for satisfaction) have remained above 80%.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the obesity rate is for (a) adults and (b) children under the age of 16; and what forecast the Government has made of such rates in 2020.

    Jane Ellison

    Data published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in December 2014 showed that in England in 2013 24.9% of adults and 15.2% of children aged from two to 15 years were obese. New data will be published later this month.

    The UK Health Forum modelled adult obesity prevalence, ‘Risk factor based modelling for Public Health England’ (2014), and estimated 30% of adults aged 18-100 would be obese by 2020. This was based on Health Survey for England data from 2000 to 2010 and assumes trends continue.

    No assessment has been carried out on the likely level of child obesity in 2020 specifically. However, predictions for rates up to 2050 were modelled for both adults and children in the Government’s Foresight report: “Tackling Obesities: Future Choices” (2007) using data from 1994-2004. This modelling suggested that by 2025, 21% of boys aged 6-10 years and 11% of boys aged 11-15 years were predicted to be obese. For girls 6-10 years and 11-15 years, 14% and 22% respectively were predicted to be obese. These predictions assumed that the 1994-2004 trends continued and that no interventions successfully changed the direction of these trends.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

    Anna Soubry

    The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance, published by DWP –

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf.

    “

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

    Karen Bradley

    As has been the case under successive Administrations, civil servants, including special advisers, may routinely accompany their Ministers on official visits.

    Information relating to Ministers’ overseas visits are published on www.gov.uk, as part of the Government’s wider transparency agenda.

    All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 13786, what (a) arrears, (b) compensation and (c) other remedies have been issued to victims of modern slavery in relation to the 60 cases opened since February 2015.

    Mr David Gauke

    None of the investigations opened in February 2015 have yet concluded. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) cannot comment on on-going investigations.

    HMRC’s role in these investigations is to ensure that the correct tax is paid and any employees who are entitled to the National Minimum Wage receive it.

  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the purchase of buy-to-let property by a person whose current residence derives only from their job will be deemed as a second home for tax purposes under the new Rules on Stamp Duty coming into force in April 2016.

    Mr David Gauke

    The new higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will apply to the purchase of additional residential properties and will come into force on 1 April 2016. Work-related accommodation which is provided and owned by an employer does not count when considering whether an individual is purchasing an additional property or not. The Government will shortly consult on the policy design, including on the treatment of particularly difficult cases, to ensure the change to SDLT is implemented in a fair way.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase the number of housing co-operatives; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government continues to demonstrate its support for the community-led housing sector and we have encouraged community-led groups, including housing co-operatives, to apply for funding from the current Affordable Homes Programme. We also strongly encourage local authorities and larger providers to identify new community-based partnership members who may be able to bring additional capacity to a bid.

    The Homes and Communities Agency is operating a process of continuous market engagement which offers all providers ongoing access to bid for grant. This should specifically help smaller community-led organisations such as housing co-operatives to prepare good bids and access funding.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is satisfied by the proportion of Connaught Fund investors who received the full level of compensation awarded to them.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.