The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Prudential Regulatory Authority will report on details of new bank authorisations.
Andrea Leadsom
The Prudential Regulation Authority will report on details of new bank authorisations as part of the Annual Report and Accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households subject to the benefits cap in (a) each parliamentary constituency and (b) each local authority area in Scotland have received transitional support via discretionary housing payment to date.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 160W, on venture capital, what steps he has taken to support crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (a) lending to and (b) investment in small businesses; and if he will assess the value of such forms of finance to the small and medium-size sector.
Andrea Leadsom
Crowdfunding and peer to peer lending are innovative new forms of finance that support competition in the business lending sector.
The Government has taken a number of steps to support their growth, including bringing peer to peer lending within the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and announcing that the range of products that can be held in stocks and shares ISAs will be expanded to include loans made through peer to peer platforms.
The Government also operates two tax-advantaged venture capital schemes which are used by equity crowdfunding investors; the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
The Government has not made any assessment of the value of investment in small and medium sized businesses from peer to peer lending and crowdfunding platforms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when he expects the smart meter central delivery body to set out plans for assiting microbusinesses to use smart meters.
Gregory Barker
The Smart Meter Central Delivery Body intend to publish an updated Consumer Engagement Plan before the end of the year, where they will set out their plans for assisting microbusinesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission an assessment of the amount of investment in small and medium-sized enterprises from peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding platforms.
Andrea Leadsom
Crowdfunding and peer to peer lending are innovative new forms of finance that support competition in the business lending sector. The Government has taken a number of steps to support their growth.
The Government has no current plans to commission an assessment of the amount of investment in small and medium-sized enterprises from peer to peer lending and crowdfunding platforms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review his Department’s policy on issuing travel warrants to rural residents for (a) fortnightly signing-on and (b) other interviews and advisory meetings to take account of the need for such residents to travel further than average to jobcentres.
Esther McVey
Jobcentre Plus has flexibility to meet the particular needs of claimants living in rural areas.
For example postal signing can be offered and claimants attending interviews on days outside their normal day of attendance can have their travelling expenses reimbursed.
Work Coaches are also able to use the Flexible Support Fund and issue Travel Discount Cards to help claimants with travel expenses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 176W, on work capability assessment, if he will make it his policy to set a target timescale for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessments in order to monitor and reduce the waiting times for those assessments.
Mike Penning
We are committed to completing Work Capability Assessments as quickly as possible so that eligible claimants receive the appropriate rate of benefit.
However it is important to get assessments right rather than setting an artificial timescale for completion. We are working with the existing supplier to improve processing times and reduce waiting times. In addition, we are seeking a replacement supplier to undertake Work Capability Assessments.
In the meantime we continue to rigorously monitor and manage the existing contract to ensure that both quality and performance are maintained as part of our drive to improve the quality of decision making and process claims more quickly.