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Tag: 2016

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has received related to insolvency procedures in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) only holds information about dividends paid for each of the last two years. In 2014/15 a total of £70.6m was received. In 2015/16 the figure was £74.5m. These figures represent dividends paid after a company or individual has been made insolvent. HMRC also receives payments in response to the initiation of insolvency proceedings and these payments are sometimes sufficient to allow HMRC to withdraw the proceedings. Data is not available about the amount received by way of these payments.

  • Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the security benefits of procuring four Successor submarines.

    Michael Fallon

    The United Kingdom’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent will remain essential to our security today, and for as long as the global security situation demands.

    A four-boat fleet is the minimum needed to provide the assurance that at least one submarine will always be at sea on covert patrol.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of gas and electricity smart meters (a) that have been installed to date and (b) projected to be installed by the end of 2016.

    Jesse Norman

    As of the end of March 2016 over 3.6 million smart meters were operating under the programme. The Government publishes official statistics on the rollout of smart meters quarterly. The latest release can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-1-2016

    The Government receives estimates of forecast smart meter installations from the larger energy suppliers. Their latest projections suggest a further 2.9 million meters are expected to be installed between 1 April 2016 and 31 December 2016.

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  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what restrictions exist for local authorities in respect of charging for membership of public libraries.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 restricts local authorities in England and Wales from charging for library facilities made available by the authority unless permitted by the Library Charges (England and Wales) Regulations 1991. These regulations empower local authorities in England and Wales to make certain charges for the provision of library facilities but this does not include charging for ordinary library membership.

    The Government has no plans to amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to allow local authorities to specifically charge for ordinary membership of public libraries..

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to carry out a full ratio frequency allocation review; and whether he plans to coordinate future allocation of bandwidth with EU member states.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom, the independent regulator, regularly review what spectrum is allocated when they update the UK Frequency Allocation Table which is published on their website at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/information/uk-fat/ Ofcom takes into account allocations across Europe and the world when making decisions on spectrum allocation and represents UK at international spectrum meetings under direction by the UK Government.

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  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on Ofsted’s budget of the expansion of Ofsted’s control over early years inspectors.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Ofsted’s budget, like those of all government departments, was considered as part of the spending review in 2015. Their settlement will be published in due course.

    As Ofsted are an independent non-ministerial government department, it is accountable for its own budget and operational decisions, including how to deploy and contract inspection resources.

    It would not be appropriate for me to comment on Ofsted’s operational or commercial matters.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make it its policy to allocate revenue raised from the soft drinks industry levy to maintain the grant for summer schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Government has no plans to use the soft drink levy to maintain the grant for pupil premium summer schools. The 2016 budget statement identified that the soft drinks industry levy would be used to double the amount of funding to £320m per annum that we dedicate to sport in every primary school and to make it easier for up to a quarter of secondary schools to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, including extra sport.

    The Government has protected the pupil premium at current per pupil rates for the rest of the Parliament, providing schools with around £2.5 billion per year of additional funding to support their disadvantaged pupils. Schools have the choice to continue running summer schools and can use their pupil premium allocation to fund places for their disadvantaged pupils.

  • John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on British farming of the Plan for Public Procurement, published in July 2014.

    George Eustice

    Total spend on public sector food and catering services is around £2.4 billion. The Plan for Public Procurement launched a new approach to the way the Government and its catering providers buy food. It provides a transparent set of criteria that allow contracting parties to reach agreement about the quality and value of products and services. British farmers are well placed to meet these standards and to compete for a further £400 million of business that the Plan opens up.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department supports related to children and religious fundamentalism; and if she will make a statement.

    Justine Greening

    If there is a face of poverty, it is often a young face, and young people are at the heart of DFID’s agenda. We combat poverty, and religious fundamentalism, by investing in young people and their future, which is why our focus on education is so important.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what factors Ministers in his Department took into account when signing a memorandum of understanding with Aventa Capital in 2014.

    Greg Hands

    A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a high-level arrangement, which is not legally binding, and enables the participants to work together toward a desired outcome. Between the period April 2014 to October 2015, the Regeneration Investment Organisation (RIO) negotiated MoUs with seven companies. Only one of those MoUs remains in place.

    Aventa is a regeneration investor and comprises a regulated asset management company and a vehicle for managing early stage development and construction risk. The Regeneration Investment Organisation and Aventa Capital MoU was developed in October 2014 to support Aventa’s work in seeking to develop a regeneration fund and thereby encourage institutional investment into UK regeneration projects. The Department felt the proposal covered by the MoU was viable given Aventa’s sector and management experience.

    There was no commitment on the part of RIO to provide any capital or resource in connection with the agreement. In addition, any recommendation from Aventa would have been reviewed and subjected to due diligence by the developer as a commercial partner. The MoU was concluded, by mutual agreement, following meetings with officials during December 2014.