Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Revenue and Customs policy paper, Income tax: changes to dividend taxation, published in December 2015, if he will publish the data and calculations used as the basis for the statement that 95 per cent of all taxpayers will either gain or be unaffected by changes to dividend taxes.

Mr David Gauke

The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) policy paper “Income Tax: changes to dividend taxation” sets out the estimated impacts of the reforms to dividend taxation announced in Summer Budget 2015. At Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced that the dividend tax credit will be replaced by a new £5,000 tax-free dividend allowance from April 2016 and that dividend tax rates would be amended from the same date.

The tax base comprises dividend income subject to income tax, estimated using the Survey of Personal Incomes and other HMRC administrative data, and projected in line with OBR determinants. This is used to calculate the number of affected persons.

An explanation of the methodology can be found in the Summer Budget 2015 policy costings document:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443195/Policy_costings_summer_budget_2015.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will designate NHS Improvement as a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Ben Gummer

NHS Improvement is the operational name for an organisation that brings together Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority. It is a combination of the continuing statutory functions and legal powers vested in these organisations. Both these bodies are public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, and so NHS Improvement will continue to be subject to FOI requirements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to conduct a public consultation on the commissioning of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Jane Ellison

NHS England is in the process of reconsidering its decision in relation to the commissioning of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The outcome of this decision, which is expected at the end of May, will determine whether NHS England will then conduct any form of public consultation on the commissioning of PrEP.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the proportional real terms change in the cost of travelling by (a) private car, (b) bus, (c) train and (d) aeroplane since (i) 1980, (ii) 1997, (iii) 2010 and (iv) 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport publishes statistics on travel costs, based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the Transport Statistics Great Britain compendium, table 1308.

Real terms change in cost of transport	Motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle	Bus and coach fares	Rail fares
(i) Between 1980 and 2015	-19%	+61%	+65%
(ii) Between 1997 and 2015	-16%	+30%	+25%
(iii) Between 2010 and 2015	-10%	+5%	+7%

(d) The costs of travelling by air are not available from ONS data. However estimates are available based on fare data from the Civil Aviation Authority passenger survey from 2000. The real cost of the average UK one-way air fare, including taxes and charges, covering domestic flights from 2010 to 2014 increased by 5%. Estimates for 2015 are not yet available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of what land is required in (a) the Croydon area and (b) other areas to allow for the Brighton Mainline Upgrade; and whether he plans to safeguard that land for transport purposes.

Claire Perry

As part of its work developing proposals for the upgrade of the Brighton Main Line, Network Rail has and will continue to assess land requirements. The Government will include any considerations in respect of land, including planning requirements, in any future investment decisions in the corridor.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions on people who have been granted refugee status in the UK being eligible to access disability living allowance.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There have been no recent discussions between the Home Office and Department of Work and Pensions Ministers about people who have been granted refugee status in the UK being eligible for disability living allowance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy that all employees are entitled to paternity leave from the first day of employment; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve provision for working parents . The eligibility rules for statutory paternity entitlements balance the needs of parents and the cost both to employers and to the taxpayer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with other government departments on the forthcoming Carbon Plan.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and other government departments in order to meet the shared challenge of moving to a low carbon economy. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how we will meet our carbon budgets through the 2020s (the period covering the fourth and fifth carbon budgets).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential environmental benefits of a tax on disposable coffee cups.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Major coffee chains already have a financial obligation to recover and recycle a proportion of the packaging they place on the market, including disposable coffee cups, as they are captured under the Packaging Waste Regulations. The industry is also taking further, voluntary action aimed at significantly increasing paper cup recycling rates by 2020.

We will be consulting widely on our plans for resources, waste and recycling in developing our 25 Year Environment Plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the amount of £4 to £19 billion referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015 as the total support to HPC is (a) the actual total cash amount or (b) the present value of the total cash amount of the support to be paid to EDF.

Andrea Leadsom

Total support to HPC through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) is expected to be in the range of £4bn to £19bn (real 2012 prices, discounted to 2012) depending on the level of future wholesale prices. The Department has presented discounted figures for these costs to consumers relating to support payments for Hinkley Point C based on guidance set out in The Green Book published by HM Treasury.