Tag: 2016

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make business expenditure on resource and energy efficiency measures tax deductible.

    Damian Hinds

    The government already provides support for businesses who want to invest to become more energy efficient. The annual investment allowance (AIA) lets businesses deduct up to a total of £200,000 of their investment in plant and machinery from annual profits before tax.

    In addition, enhanced capital allowances (ECAs) let businesses that invest in certain energy-saving equipment write off the total cost of the equipment against their taxable profit as a 100% first-year capital allowance.

    A review into the business energy efficiency tax landscape concluded in November. The government is considering all responses submitted to this consultation and is likely to publish its formal response at Budget 2016.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of mechanisms by which a disabled student can challenge a failure to make reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 by a higher education institution.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher Education Institutions have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled students and to monitor their compliance with their Equality Act duties. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 require institutions to publish information as to their compliance with the general public sector equality duty.

    In those cases where a student is dissatisfied with the response from their higher education institution and have completed the institution’s formal complaints procedures, they can take their complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education. The OIA is independent of Government and publishes an annual report setting out its performance in handling unresolved student complaints. In providing remedies, the OIA aims to return students to the position they were in before their complaint. In appropriate circumstances this can include financial payments.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials of his Department had an operational level (C1) examination pass in which languages in (a) 2001 and (b) 2010.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I refer my right hon. Friend to my answers of 10 February 2016 (PQs 23665 and 25484). We only record current C1 passes, valid for five years after the date of the exam, and therefore do not have pre-2010 data.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to monitor the role of institutional investors in voting their clients’ shares regarding the potential takeover of the London Stock Exchange, in order to ensure that this reflects the best interests of the clients rather than the fund manager or related parties.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The regulatory framework governing asset managers requires managers to take all reasonable steps to identify, prevent, manage and monitor conflicts of interest.

    The Financial Conduct Authority are responsible for the supervision of firms to ensure consumers are protected and treated fairly.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on increasing the number of wheelchair accessible stations from street to platform level at National Rail and London Underground stations.

    Claire Perry

    We take improving station accessibility very seriously and the Access for All programme has delivered step free access at over 150 stations with a further 68 projects in construction or development. In addition, whenever infrastructure work is carried out at stations it must meet current accessibility standards. For example, when Crossrail fully opens in 2019, all 40 stations on the route will also have step free access.

    Step free access to London Underground is a matter for Transport for London, but I understand that 66 Tube stations and 57 London Overground stations currently have step-free access, and Docklands Light Railway stations are all step-free.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been allocated in the current financial year to the married couples tax allowance; and how much he expects the Government to spend on that allowance in this financial year.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) revised the forecast for Marriage Allowance at Budget 2016. Details were published in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook in March 2016.

    The Government remains committed to recognising marriage through the tax system. Marriage Allowance could benefit eligible couples by up to £432 this year if couples also backdate their claim to 2015-16. HM Revenue and Customs is continuing to look at ways to increase take-up of Marriage Allowance, including through further advertising, to ensure all eligible couples are able to take advantage of the allowance.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) specific functions and (b) scope of the recently established International Modern Slavery Fund will be.

    Sarah Newton

    The Prime Minister has announced £33.5 million of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding over five years. The fund be will be used to prevent slavery in ODA eligible countries and bring perpetratorsto justice; helping communities to fight modern slavery. We have already announced that:

    • The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK has been funded to work with parliaments across the Commonwealth to support them in considering legislation similar to the UK’s world-leading Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    • £2.4 million has been allocated to the £3 million Child Trafficking Protection Fund.

    Some funding will be used to support innovative programmes to reduce the prevalence of modern slavery and improve the evidence base on what works. A call for proposals on the innovation fund will be issued later this year.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to help protect the pensions of long-serving employees.

    Richard Harrington

    We have a well-established regime of checks and balances in place, for example the Pension Protection Fund and the Pensions Regulator. The Government keeps this framework for pensions under constant review, and amends it when evidence demonstrates such change is needed

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who each (a) Colonel of the Regiment and (b) Colonel-in-Chief is in the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    Lists of Colonels in Chief and Regimental Colonels are shown in the attached table. Where an individual’s rank is below that of one star and their name is not already available in the public domain it cannot be released and I am withholding the information under the data protection act.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the annual cost to the to the Exchequer of all subsidies and reliefs for business in the financial years 2010 to 2015.

    Greg Hands

    Tax Reliefs

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes the Exchequer cost for around 180 reliefs in its annual publication on the cost of tax reliefs. This list includes reliefs provided to both individuals and households as well as businesses.

    The data for the years 2012-13 to 2015-16 was published on 31 December 2015 and a link is provided below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-expenditures-and-ready-reckoners

    The data for the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 were published in December 2011 and 2012 and a link is provided below:

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121103081415/http://hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/menu.htm

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130103073027/http://hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures.htm

    Public Spending Grants and Subsidies

    Information on ‘subsidies to private sector companies’ is published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. A link is provided below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-expenditure-statistical-analyses-2015

    Table 2.1 on budgetary expenditure by economic category of spend includes this category on page 40 under ‘resource budgets’. Information is published for the last five outturn years.

    “