Tag: Catherine McKinnell

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 245W, on aviation, whether the regional air connectivity fund will be available to both new domestic and new international air routes; and when he plans to publish further information and guidance on eligibility for and the operation of the funding process.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    European Union state aid guidelines stipulate that for airports handling fewer than three million passengers per year only new routes to and from Common European Aviation Area destinations can be supported by start-up aid. The guidelines also state that start-up aid towards new routes is permissible for airports handling between three million and five million passengers per year, but will require additional scrutiny to ensure provision of the aid does not have a distortive impact on the market.

    We are aiming to publish the aforementioned guidance on how the Government will interpret the EU state aid guidelines this summer.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer to the right hon. Member for West Ham of 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 100W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, what work his Department would need to undertake in order to assess the potential effects of the under-occupancy penalty on the level of child poverty in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Esther McVey

    To assess the impact the Department would need to adapt simulation models and undertake validation work to ensure consistency with published measures of child poverty. This would incur disproportionate cost.

    This Government has made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty and has recently published the 2014-17 draft child poverty strategy for consultation which outlines the actions we are taking. The latest figures from 2011-12 show that 2.3 million children (17%) are in relative income poverty-down 300,000 since 2009-10. These are the lowest levels since the mid-1980s. The number of children in workless households has fallen by more than 270,000 since 2010, which is key to driving down poverty.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 793W, on disclosure of information, when he expects the Government’s response to the Whistleblowing Framework call for evidence will be published.

    Jenny Willott

    The Government response is currently being finalised and will be published soon.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date he plans to publish the consultation referred to by the Minister of State for Health in his Department’s announcement entitled Government Response to Tobacco Standardised Packaging Review, published in April 2014.

    Jane Ellison

    The consultation could not be published in the period leading up to the European and local elections. It is now being finalised and will be published shortly.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what details parents will be required to provide for the quarterly reconfirmation process for tax-free childcare; what measures will be in place to ensure that parents are reminded about the deadline for quarterly reconfirmation; and what provisions he will put in place in the event that parents fail to provide the necessary details for (a) one quarter and (b) more than one quarter.

    Nicky Morgan

    Details on the Tax-Free Childcare reconfirmation process were included in the Government’s Consultation Response published on 18th March 2014, which set out how reconfirmation will enable a smooth customer journey whilst protecting the scheme from error and fraud.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the revised plans for the roll-out of universal credit announced on 5 December 2013, what estimate he has made of the number of families which will be eligible for support for childcare through universal credit in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18 and (d) 2018-19.

    Steve Webb

    I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the member for Wirral West (Esther McVey) to the hon. Member for Leeds West, Rachel Reeves, Official Report, 11 June 2014, column 174W.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of childcare in the UK for a child aged (a) two and under, (b) three to four and (c) five and over in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the honourable member to the answer given by the Hon. Edward Timpson MP on 17 June 2014 c538W. This points the honourable member to, amongst other sources, the Family and Childcare Trust Annual Cost Survey for 2014 and sets out the action the Government is taking to support families.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) National Savings and Investments staff will be employed administering tax-free childcare in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18 and (iv) 2018-19.

    Nicky Morgan

    On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what performance indicators he has agreed with National Savings and Investments (NS&I) on the delivery of tax-free childcare; how often NS&I will be benchmarked against such indicators; how often the results of this benchmarking will be made available; what penalties have been agreed for poor performance against these indicators; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicky Morgan

    On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was of the report entitled, Evaluating alternative market models for Tax-Free Childcare vouchers, prepared by Economic Insight for his Department; what assessment he made of this report’s findings and recommendations; and whether these recommendations informed the operation and design of his Department’s policy on tax-free childcare.

    Nicky Morgan

    Economic Insight were asked to consider whether there are any reasons why a private sector competitive market for childcare accounts might not function well. It compared it to a closed model in which there is competition to select a limited number of private sector childcare account providers. It concluded that there were no reasons why a competitive market could not function effectively as parents would be able to assess the differences between the offers and choose accordingly.

    On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.