Tag: Caroline Flint

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the contribution of the hon. Member for South West Hertfordshire on 28 June 2016, HC Deb, column 161, what his policy is on whether there is a minimum number of countries that need to be signed up to public country-by-country reporting before the UK will introduce such reporting.

Jane Ellison

For public country-by-country reporting to be effective, there needs to be sufficient international agreement. There needs to be a breadth of information from UK and foreign headquartered multinationals so that the full picture of multinationals’ activities, profits and tax paid is shown to the public.

A multilateral agreement is key to the success of the OECD country-by-country reporting model, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, and the automatic exchange of company information.

These actions show that a multilateral approach to greater tax transparency is achievable and the Government will continue to discuss this with international partners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there are any circumstances in which Ministers are entitled to access corporate tax returns submitted to HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr David Gauke

No.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) aims to pay 80% of its invoices within five working days and payment performance is published on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/procurement#ministry-of-defence-payment-performance. This shows that during the first three quarters of 2015-16, the MOD paid around 97% of its invoices within five days and 99.9% within 30 days. A comprehensive breakdown of the proportion of invoice payments made to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to private companies is not held.

Information on MOD contracting with SMEs is also published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015. This shows that in 2014-15, the MOD placed around 440 new contracts directly with SMEs, with a collective value of around £320 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of her Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between her Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

Karen Bradley

a) The Home Office is not required to compile prompt payment data in respect of private companies. To calculate such a figure would incur disproportionate costs.

b) In the financial year 2014-15, 88% of the total numbers of all invoices to every type of supplier were paid within five working days of receipt. The total number of invoices paid within 30 working days of receipt of invoice was 97%.

For small and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Home Office paid 80% of invoices within five working days of receipt of invoice. And 96% of invoices from SMEs were paid within 30 working days of receipt of invoice.

i) The proportion of the number of contracts between the Home Office and SMEs is not readily available, except at disproportionate costs.

ii) In 2014-15, the Home Office have reported 19.6% spend with SMEs. This figure is made up of 7.7% (£200 million) direct spend with SMEs and 11.9% (£310 miliion) indirect spend.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP does not hold the information to answer ‘what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time.’

However, the figures below are published monthly and quarterly on Gov.UK and confirm DWP’s commitment to paying invoices within 30 days (contractual) and 5 days. We cannot disaggregate the invoices into SMEs and other private companies.

2015-16 (Financial Year)	Percentage of invoices paid within 5 days	Percentage of invoices paid within 30 days
Quarter 1	97.3%	99.8%
Quarter 2	95.5%	99.7%
Quarter 3	97.5%	99.8%

At December 2015, 2534 (9.3%) of the Department’s suppliers were SMEs.

At December 2015, SMEs accounted for 2.5% of the Department’s direct commercial spend. However, there is a substantially greater proportion of commercial spend with SMEs via prime contractors. The Department relies upon Cabinet Office survey information in order to estimate the combined total spend with SMEs. The most recent combined total estimate we have (2014/15), is 16.2% of the total or some £483 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

Brandon Lewis

The proportion of the Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by private companies and small and medium-sized enterprises cannot be reliably extrapolated from our current payment system as it doesn’t link or split payment performance in this way.

As of the last quarter, the Department paid 89% of invoices within 5 days. The Department’s prompt payment data can be accessed via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dclg-and-pins-prompt-payment-data-2015

Of the Department’s current contracts, 33% are held by small and medium-sized enterprises. The Department’s annual spend on these as a proportion of our overall spend with suppliers is 25.4%.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of her Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been completed on time in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between her Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

George Eustice

Core Defra’s prompt payment reports do not distinguish between invoices from private companies and invoices from small and medium-sized enterprises.

Information on Defra’s prompt payment performance in respect of all supplier payments in 2015-16 is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-prompt-payment-performance-report.

The latest information on the expenditure Defra bodies have with SMEs is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482524/Central_Government_Direct_and_Indirect_Spend_with_SMEs.csv/preview.

The information on the number of contracts core Defra has with SMEs could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

Mike Penning

The attached link (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/procurement#our-payment-performance) provides information on the Department’s published data on payment of invoices from 2012-13 to quarter 3 of 2015-16. It is not possible to break the payment data down by category of provider.

The proportion and value of contracts held by MoJ with SME providers is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482524/Central_Government_Direct_and_Indirect_Spend_with_SMEs.csv/preview

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to require all primary and secondary schools to become academies.

Nick Gibb

Two-thirds of secondary schools and one-third of primary schools are already academies. All schools yet to convert have six years to work with their local authority and Diocese to plan effectively for a sustainable future.

We expect many will choose to partner with other schools and form or join new, local partnerships. However, no school has to rush into an arrangement that is not right for them and they will be supported throughout this process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-07-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on his policies on pursuing country-by-country reporting through the EU of the UK voting to leave the EU.

Jane Ellison

The Government supports international efforts on public country-by-country reporting to enhance transparency. This will allow for a comprehensive, multilateral approach that applies consistently across UK multinationals and foreign multinationals.

The UK will continue to engage in the EU negotiations on the Commission’s public country-by-country reporting proposal, as well as discussions at the G20 and other international fora.