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Tag: 2015

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the reduction in household income arising from net tax and benefit reforms in the Summer Budget 2015 will be made up by an increase in household income arising from the new National Living Wage.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government is supporting household incomes by introducing a new National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above from April 2016. The NLW will be introduced at a level of £7.20, 50p more than the current NMW which means a £900 p.a. increase in earnings next year for a full-time worker. By 2020 the NLW is expected to be over £9 an hour, meaning a full-time worker will earn £4,800 more than today.

    By 2020 it is expected that the NLW will directly benefit 2¾m workers; while up to 6m could benefit from ripple effect. A number of large employers have already started paying wages at or above the NLW level, these include Ikea, Lidl, and Morrisons.

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Colleen Fletcher – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on insurers signing customers up to future auto-renewals without the option to opt out.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations and have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    As has been the practice adopted by previous Administrations it is not Government policy to normally release details of such meetings.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding for air ambulance services he plans to provide from Libor fines.

    Greg Hands

    In the last two financial years HM Treasury has received £1.3bn in LIBOR and FX banks fines. All LIBOR penalties received in this time period have been allocated to military or other uniformed charities. All foreign exchange penalties received in this time period have been allocated to create a fund for advanced care in GP practices and community healthcare facilities.

    Each bid for charitable funding from Libor fines is considered on its individual merits and with a clear intention that awards should benefit the widest range of military charities and good causes across the whole of the United Kingdom.

    Awards of Libor funds are usually made at the Autumn Statement or the Budget.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Armed Forces Covenant Report 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The 2015 Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report is scheduled for publication in December 2015.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what areas of policy were transferred from unanimity to qualified majority voting by the Lisbon Treaty; whether the United Kingdom has opt-outs from any of those areas; and, if so, from which areas.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    51 provisions were transferred from unanimity to qualified majority voting by the Lisbon Treaty. These were published in the Explanatory Memorandum on the Lisbon Treaty of 17 December 2007 as amended by a Written Ministerial Statement by the then Minister for Europe on 20 February 2008, Official Report, column 53WS. Of these, the following 16 provisions either did not apply to the UK due to its opt-outs or would only apply if the UK decided to exercise its justice and affairs opt-in:

    1) Provisions enabling repeal of the aspects of this article related to state aids policy and the effect of the past division of Germany
    2) Provisions enabling repeal of this Article (on transport policy as it affects areas of Germany affected by its past division)
    3) Appointment of European Central Bank (ECB) executive board (UK opt-out)
    4) Social security
    5) Use of the euro
    6) Measures relating to the Broad Economic Guidelines and excessive deficit procedure
    7) Procedure for entry into the euro
    8) Mechanism for peer review of Member States’ implementation of policies in this area
    9) Border checks
    10) Immigration and Frontier Controls
    11) Judicial co-operation in Criminal Matters
    12) Minimum rules for criminal offences and sanctions
    13) Crime prevention
    14) Eurojust
    15) Police co-operation
    16) Europol

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to prevent pub closures.

    Anna Soubry

    This Government is committed to supporting a fair and flourishing pubs sector. We have scrapped the beer duty escalator, and at Budget 2015 we cut beer duty for the third year in a row. Through the Community Right to Bid, we are giving communities in England a fairer chance to bid to buy and run their pub by listing it as an Asset of Community Value. We are introducing a statutory Pubs Code and an independent Adjudicator to govern the relationship between large pub-owning companies and the thousands of tenants that run tied pubs across England and Wales. These measures will help to ensure the pubs industry continues to thrive, to the benefit of all those who work hard to make the pub the mainstay of our communities.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of limiting (a) child tax credit and (b) the child element of universal credit on parents (i) in BME communities, (ii) who are considering fostering or adoption and (iii) who are the victims of domestic violence.

    Damian Hinds

    The government is committed to a fair tax and welfare system and wants to move from a low wage, high tax and high welfare economy to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society. The intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work and ensure work always pays.

    The government has fully assessed the impacts on equalities of the measures announced at Summer Budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty.

  • Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral Answer given on 19 October 2015, which moderate, non-Islamist groups with credible ground forces, other than Kurds, are fighting Daesh in Syria.

    Michael Fallon

    There are a number of moderate opposition forces focused on fighting the Assad regime. Many are also fighting ISIL in areas of strategic importance, for example north of Aleppo. The vast majority of these opposition groups are Islamist.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stephen Hammond – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the implementation of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation; which non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and agencies overseen by her Department will be affected by that regulation; and what estimate she has made of the potential liability of her Department, its agencies and NDPBs in connection with that proposed regulation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Negotiations on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation are still continuing and our negotiating position has taken into account the likely impact on Government Departments, NDPBs and agencies. Once the outcome of negotiations involving the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission are complete, and the Regulation has been adopted, the liabilities will be further assessed. There will then follow a maximum implementation period of two years. Between now and then, Government departments who will be affected by the Regulation are closely involved in work led by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to consider the implications of the text as it develops through the negotiating process.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many big cat sightings have been reported in each of the last five years.

    Rory Stewart

    A total of 26 sightings of big cats in the wild have been reported to Natural England since 1 January 2010. This figure is broken down as follows:

    2010 – 6

    2011 – 4

    2012 – 4

    2013 – 6

    2014 – 1

    2015 – 5 (to date)

    Please be aware that the above are only reports received and logged by Natural England. Other parties such as the Police may hold further records.