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Tag: 2016

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Questions 33531 and 33450, what total budget has been set aside by the Government to promote its position on the EU Referendum; how much of that budget has been spent; and how much future spending is planned until 23 June 2016.

    John Penrose

    The Government published details of the cost of the production, distribution and publication of its EU Referendum leaflet and associated website on 6th April 2016. The Government continues to take forward its policy on the full range of European business, including the Referendum, as part of the normal work of Departments. Departments will account for expenditure in the normal way, through Annual Report and Accounts.

  • Baroness Young of Hornsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Young of Hornsey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Hornsey on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the barriers to amending taxation requirements so that the permanent branding on corporate uniforms could be replaced with non-permanent branding.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    There is an income tax deduction available where an employer provides corporate uniforms, or where an employee must purchase such clothing. To be considered a uniform clothing must meet certain criteria. The clothing must be: specialised, recognisable as a uniform and intended to identify its wearer as having a particular occupation. These requirements ensure that the tax deduction is used as intended.

    No assessment has been made of how many corporate uniforms in the UK could be diverted from landfill or incineration if these tax rules were changed. No assessment has been made of the financial implications of changing these taxation requirements.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to require local authorities to prioritise homeless people in the allocation of social housing.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We have maintained the protection provided by the statutory reasonable preference criteria which ensure that overall priority for allocation of social housing continues to be given to those in the greatest housing need. The reasonable preference categories include people who are homeless and those owed certain duties under the homelessness legislation.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) senior officials and (b) Ministers of his Department are over the age of 45.

    Harriett Baldwin

    A total of 235 of the 315 Senior Civil Servants (SCS), including those in equivalent posts and SCS personnel in DE&S Trading Entity employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were aged 46 or above as at 1 July 2016. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. All MOD Ministers are over the age of 45.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times in the last year the Access to Work scheme has contributed to funding (1) the installation of a disabled toilet in a workplace, and (2) the adaptation of an existing workplace toilet into one suitable for disabled people.

    Baroness Altmann

    This information is not readily available.

    In all cases where adaptations to premises are required, advisers will look to see what reasonable adjustment has first been made in accordance with employers obligations under the Equality Act.

    Dependent on the size of the business, an employer contribution may also be sought.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, at which offices the 4,000 staff of HM Revenue and Customs who are expected to live outside the reasonable travel to work area after the Building Our Future reorganisation work.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.

    HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff live within Reasonable Daily Travel of a regional centre. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26614, on children in care: housing, how many young people he expects to be on the Positive Pathway Framework in 2016.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Positive Pathway is a framework to support local authorities and their partners to design their services to prevent homelessness and meet the housing and support needs of vulnerable young people rather than a service to individual young people.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible role of the contraceptive chemical E22, which is resistant to water purification techniques, in the increase in number of freshwater and coastal water fish bearing both male and female sexual organs.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    In the UK, environmental regulators, scientific experts and the water industry have been researching the link between the synthetic steroid, 17α-ethinyloestradiol (EE2, used in human oral contraception) and fish populations to understand the role of endocrine disrupting chemicals on the reproductive physiology of fish. Most work has focused on EE2 which has been measured in some of our rivers and downstream of sewage treatment works (STWs); this matches findings in other countries.

    Based on scientific evidence from the UK and in Europe, there is reasonable certainty that very low concentrations of EE2 can cause feminisation (intersex condition) in male fish. The incidence of intersex seems to relate to the size of the STWs and the dilution ability of receiving waters. In the UK, fish inhabit comparatively small-sized rivers where limited dilution of EE2 occurs. Conventional STWs can remove EE2 from sewage, but not to the very low levels of less than one nanogramme per litre (ng/L) where no endocrine disrupting effects are predicted. In some cases the impact on fish populations remains unclear, and some affected populations appear to be self-sustaining.

    In 2014, EE2 was included on the European Commission’s ‘watch list’ under the Water Framework Directive to gather information on its occurrence in surface waters across the European Union. Data will be reported by the UK and other Member States, and reviewed by the Commission throughout 2017 to assess whether this pharmaceutical is to be prioritised for monitoring and control and is to be included in future versions of the Directive.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what communication his Department had with the EU Commission when developing the rules of the revised community amateur sports club scheme (a) in general and (b) on the implications of the Commission’s view as expressed in State Aid SA.38208 (2014/NN) that tax relief to member-owned golf clubs does not constitute state aid.

    Damian Hinds

    The new regulations for CASCs were introduced on 1 April 2015. All the changes made were necessary to reinforce the original spirit of the scheme requiring clubs to be open to the whole community, with the promotion of participation in sport as their main purpose.

    The Government consulted widely with the sector on all the changes to the scheme. It was aware that there was confusion about the meaning of participation prior to the consultation period for the new regulations. Responses to the consultation were mostly supportive of the 12 times a year rule for participation.

    The scheme does not permit clubs to impose fees which are a significant obstacle to membership. The vast majority of CASCs charge less than £520 for annual membership. To make membership more accessible, clubs with higher costs associated with membership are required to make provisions for those who can’t afford to pay more than £520 a year. If no suitable arrangements are made this club is not able to be a CASC because it is not considered to be open to the whole community.

    During the development of the new CASC regulations the Government was aware of State aid complaint SA.38208 (2014/NN). At the time, the Government was only asked to provide a response to the complaint. The Government provided this response, explaining why the CASC scheme was not State aid. The Commission’s subsequent ruling confirmed this view.

    Since the introduction of the new regulations all CASCs were given a 12-month period of grace to make any necessary changes to remain in the scheme. The Government wrote to all registered CASCs explaining the new regulations and asked clubs to complete a self-assessment checklist on income, membership and participation levels. They were also asked to contact HMRC if they did not meet the new requirements.

    From 1 April 2016, 500 clubs have been deregistered as CASCs, affecting some 35 different types of sport.

    Since 2010 there has been a steady increase in the numbers of CASCs registered in the scheme. Although the Government does not yet have figures for clubs registered as at 5 April 2016, the breakdown of figures since 2010 is:

    5630 – 5 April 2010

    5976 – 5 April 2011

    6165 – 5 April 2012

    6334 – 5 April 2013

    6571 – 5 April 2014

    6715 – 5 April 2015.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Clean Growth have discussed the fifth carbon budget since November 2015; and which departments have been involved in those meetings.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    I chair an inter-ministerial group on Clean Growth, which considers issues relating to air quality and de-carbonisation, where these have a cross-departmental aspect. The group meets as and when required and its members include ministers and officials from the relevant departments, including Defra, DECC, DfT, DCLG and BIS.

    To protect the integrity of the policy-making progress, we do not comment on the specific timing or agendas of cabinet committees or inter-ministerial groups.