Tag: 2016

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the use of administrative detention in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. Officials regularly raise concerns about the treatment of administrative detainees with their Israeli counterparts.

  • 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 2016-04-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are used (1) to determine the cost-effectiveness of bat bridges before construction is undertaken, and (2) to determine the value of those constructed.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    All elements of road schemes are subject to appraisal in line with Treasury requirements and guidance. They are also subject to value management requirements throughout the project lifecycle.

    This does not include any specific measures on the cost-effectiveness of structures, such as bat bridges, as there is no accepted method for such quantatative evaluation. Instead a review is undertaken of the costs, qualitative benefits and other predicted impacts (including environmental) at key stages to ensure benefits are optimised and costs are challenged.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which applications under section 100 of the Planning Act 2008 an Examining Authority has appointed a person to act as assessor.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    There has been only one application for development consent where an assessor has been appointed by under section 100 of the Planning Act 2008. This was for the Preesall Saltfield Underground Gas Storage project.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2016 to Question 42891, on double taxation: crown dependencies, for what reasons the Government has entered negotiations for a full revision of the treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

    Jane Ellison

    Our double taxation treaties with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (the Crown Dependencies) date from the 1950s and although we have updated them in part on several occasions many of the provisions are now out of date.

    The OECD Model Tax Convention is the starting point for the UK’s tax treaties. This model has undergone many revisions in recent years, most recently in 2014, with further changes to be incorporated arising from the OECD base erosion and profit shifting project. These negotiations will give us the opportunity of incorporating many of these revisions.

    HM Revenue and Customs officials began talks with the Crown Dependencies in April this year and will be meeting again with them soon to continue discussions.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the potential income for each local authority in England from 100 per cent receipt of business rates; what effect the extension of small business rate relief and the uprating of the multiplier by the Consumer Price Index will have on that estimate; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We recently conducted a consultation on our approach to the implementation of 100% Business Rates Retention. This consultation included questions on how to take account of changes in need over time, how to manage volatility in business rates income and how to distribute funding between different tiers of government. My officials are currently considering the 454 responses we have received to this consultation and we will publish a summary of the responses and our proposed way forward in due course. In the meantime, we will continue close collaboration with the Local Government Association, other groups representative of local government, and individual local authorities, in taking this work forward.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they first learned that the Financial Conduct Authority was considering not publishing its report on banking culture examining “whether cultural change programmes in retail and wholesale banks are driving the right behaviour, in particular focusing on remuneration, appraisal and promotion decisions of middle management, as well as how concerns are reported and acted upon”, as outlined in its Business Plan 2015–16.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    No Treasury Minister or official had any discussions with the FCA before the FCA took its decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in its 2015-16 Business Plan.

    The FCA has published (in response to the Noble Lord’s Freedom of Information request) the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government customers have received reports from the Centre for Cyber Assessment.

    Matthew Hancock

    The CCA was avowed in June 2015. We do not comment on security matters.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, whether any of the Estates Commissioners saw the charge sheet on which George Bell was found guilty of child abuse on the balance of probabilities.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The language of “guilt” and “charge sheets” refers to criminal cases. The claim against Bishop Bell was a civil claim. The civil courts do not use charge sheets and as a result there has not been a charge sheet for the Estates Commissioners to see then or now.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iraq on resolving the budget impasse with the Kurdish Regional Government.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We regularly raise the importance of securing a new budget agreement between Baghdad and Erbil with senior representatives of the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

    During his visit to Iraq in March the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the issue with both Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), underlined the importance of a new agreement with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in Iraq in December 2015.

    Officials at our Embassy in Baghdad and our Consulate General in Erbil continue to highlight the benefits of a united Iraq and the benefits to both sides of agreeing a new oil sharing and budget arrangement.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the additional housing needed to provide (a) private and (b) social sector accommodation for immigrants from (i) the EU and (ii) non-EU countries in each year to 2020.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has not made estimates of the addition private and social housing needed to provide accommodation for immigrants from EU and non-EU countries.