Tag: 2016

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to tackle global climate change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK played an important role in securing the global climate Agreement reached in Paris in December 2015. The UK has started its domestic process to enable ratification of the Paris Agreement and will complete this before the end of the year.

    The UK also played a key role in securing a major global climate deal to combat aviation emissions, reached at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization on 6 October 2016.

    We will provide at least £5.8bn from the UK aid budget between 2016 and 2020 as climate finance which will continue to support developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This should help promote green investment required to meet the well below 2 degree goal set in Paris.

    Domestically we are delivering against the Paris climate deal through our UK Climate Change Act which commits us to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050. One of the first acts of this Government was to pass the fifth carbon budget into law – it is equivalent to a 57% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-British EEA nationals with a National Insurance number who arrived in each of the last four years (a) paid National Insurance contributions, (b) paid PAYE income tax and (c) claimed benefits or tax credits in the last year.

    Mr David Gauke

    Calculating the number of individuals who were paying PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions who were citizens of the EEA when they first registered for a National Insurance Number is complex and cannot be done quickly. However, HM Revenue and Customs are planning to produce further information early in 2016 on this issue, once it has been properly collated.

  • 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 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many workers who were transferred from the public sector to the private sector under previous privatisations will be covered by the Government’s proposed changes to exit payments in the Enterprise Bill.

    Greg Hands

    The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

    The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

    The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

    The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

    Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will place in the Library a copy of the representations which Natural England made in response to the (a) proposal in the draft Christchurch local plan for housing development on green belt land at Marsh Lane, Christchurch, and (b) planning application by Dorset County Council for a two-form entry primary school on green belt land at Marsh Lane, Christchurch.

    Rory Stewart

    Natural England made two formal responses to Christchurch and East Dorset Council authority about the proposed housing at Marsh Lane which are attached

    Subsequently we provided Dorset County Council (DCC) with advice on the proposed New Christchurch Primary School in relation to the Habitats Regulations Assessment undertaken by DCC. Our response is also attached.

    Planning documents related to the New Christchurch Primary School, Marsh Lane, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 2NH (8/15/0665) can be accessed via this link: http://countyplanning.dorsetforyou.com/ePlanningOPS/.

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  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total expenditure, in the most recent year for which information is available, of the Highways Agency on keeping (1) trunk roads, and (2) motorways, clear of litter.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) Highways England is responsible for the management of litter on all England’s motorways and for a small portion of the all – purpose trunk roads. Local authorities are responsible for litter on all other roads, including the A roads within Highways England network.

    Highways England’s maintenance contracts are structured so that suppliers are paid a ‘lump sum’ for a wide range of general maintenance duties. These include sweeping, cleaning and litter clearance duties. Highways England does not disaggregate its budget and spend on these types of activities. Exact litter clearance costs cannot be extracted as the activity is performed on both a routine and ad-hoc basis to meet contractual requirements and the legal requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department plans to allocate to assist developing countries in tackling tax evasion in each of the next three years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is one of the leading international donors on tax and development and contributes considerable resources to build tax capacity in developing countries including to tackle tax evasion. Through the Addis Tax Initiative, DFID has committed to doubling its financial support for tax by 2020.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Prime Minister’s Office spent on the publications (a) Who’s Who, (b) Burke’s Peerage and (c) Debrett’s in each year since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    Spend on individual publications is not held centrally and is therefore only available at disproportionate cost.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the incidence of illegal dog fighting.

    George Eustice

    Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 animal fights, including dog fights, are prohibited. Offences include publicising a fight, providing information about an animal fight and betting on an animal fight. The maximum penalty for such offences is six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. In addition, under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 four types of dog have been prohibited that are have been identified either as being bred for fighting or that share the characteristics of dogs bred for fighting. The maximum penalty for possession of an illegal type dog is six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. Separately the independent Sentencing Council have recently consulted on changes to their guidelines to magistrates’ courts for a range of offences including animal cruelty offences. The Sentencing Council stated in June that in relation to animal cruelty, the Council wants to ensure that the most serious cases lead to prison sentences, and that these sentences are of an appropriate length.

    The Government has also worked with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG), a grouping of welfare charities and pet industry interests, who have been lobbying operators of internet sites to adopt minimum standards for the advertising of pet animals.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46424, if he will estimate the total cost of meetings held by his Department to date; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Jones

    The Department does not track the costs of individual meetings. Details about overseas visits and related expenditure for Ministers and Senior Officials will be published as transparency data on gov.uk.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to provide additional funding for local authorities to provide school crossing patrols.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government has no plans to make additional funding available specifically for school crossing patrols. The Education and Inspection Act 2006 (section 508A) puts a duty on local authorities to promote and establish a strategy for developing a sustainable transport infrastructure that meets the needs of children and young people in their area. This strategy should address such issues as enhanced child safety and security. School Crossing Patrols are one option that can contribute to the fulfilment of this duty. It is for local authorities and schools to determine if and how school crossing patrols are funded from the resources made available by central government.