Tag: Gareth Thomas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many lorries were (a) routinely searched and (b) searched for illegal immigrants at English ports in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

This information is not held centrally.

Border Force operates a multi-layered search regime using a range of interventions to screen all freight vehicles entering the UK through the juxtaposed ports.

This includes the use of specialist technologies such as Passive Millimetre Wave Imaging devices, heartbeat monitors and carbon dioxide detectors as well as physical searches by sniffer dogs, Border Force staff and specialist search contractors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he, his Ministers or his officials have had with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Taiwan’s intention to join that bank; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

Neither I, other Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers, nor my officials have discussed Taiwan’s intention to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank with representatives of that Bank.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of employee share ownership schemes on (a) productivity levels and (b) the public purse in the last 12 months.

Mr David Gauke

Tax-advantaged employee share schemes are greatly valued by both companies and employers, and the government wants to make sure that the rules surrounding these schemes are as simple and clear as possible. Budget 2016 made a number of changes to the rules for employment-related securities and options which will make these schemes fairer and easier for taxpayers to understand, and therefore encourage businesses to use them.

An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned report conducted by Oxera considered the effect of the tax-advantaged employee share schemes on productivity. The report is available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110203095056/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/tax-advantaged-report2.pdf.

The government’s most recent assessment of the cost of the tax-advantaged employee share schemes to the Exchequer is provided in the table below.

	Forecast cost of Income Tax relief (2015-16)	Forecast cost of National Insurance relief (2015-16)
Share Incentive Plan	£220 million	£165 million
Save As You Earn	£180 million	£140 million
Enterprise Management Incentives	£70 million	£40 million
Company Share Option Plan	£70 million	£40 million

HMRC has not withdrawn the valuation checking service for the tax-advantaged employee share schemes. However, HMRC has withdrawn other checks for non-tax advantaged schemes as, in the majority of cases, acceptable valuations were submitted. Therefore, the valuation service added no value and is seen as unnecessary.

The government keeps all areas of the tax system under review and as part of that in always interested in understanding the views of all interested parties.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department had with the Royal Yacht Association on solutions to practical difficulties preventing pleasure craft from providing advance notification of arrival in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Border Force fully accepted the recommendations of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration regarding General Aviation and General Maritime and is implementing changes as quickly as practicable. Border Force is working with other government departments and partners to deliver improvement during 2016-2017 and is closely monitoring progress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to require the Financial Conduct Authority to require credit rating agencies to improve their reporting of an individual’s credit record; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin

When consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014, the Government decided that, given their central role in helping to inform responsible lending decisions, CRAs should be directly regulated by the FCA. As such, every credit reference agency’s fitness to trade is being assessed as part of the FCA’s robust authorisation process

Information on a credit report should be purely factual; for example, if arrears were incurred, those lenders who share data through the credit reference agencies will have recorded them.

A credit reference agency is able to correct factually inaccurate information. However, it is the original lender or organisation that supplies credit to a consumer that provides the agencies with the information held on a credit report. Where inaccurate information has been reported to a credit reference agency, a consumer must contact the lender in the first instance.

If a problem with inaccurate data is not resolved satisfactorily with a lender, consumers are able to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is able to investigate and take action where necessary. The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights, and it enforces the Data Protection Act.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent representations he has received on reform of the Local Government Pensions Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

We have received a large number of recent representations about the power of intervention in the investment regulations currently before the House. Under the new regulations, administering authorities are significantly more responsible and accountable for their investment decisions. They will no longer be constrained by central prescription on how their assets are invested, provided they act reasonably within the framework provided by the regulations and guidance.

The power of intervention has been included in the regulations as a backstop in order to protect around £200 billion of funds in the local government pension scheme, in the rare circumstances where it might be necessary to do so. As set out in the Government response to consultation the regulations include a number of safeguards, including full consultation with the relevant authority, to ensure that the power is used appropriately and proportionately. We have made clear that the intervention power will be used sparingly and only where fully justified.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many enterprise zones there are in each (a) region and (b) local authority area in England; how long each zone has been in existence; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy

There are currently 36 Enterprise Zones in England. The attached table provides a breakdown by region, local authority area and when each Enterprise Zone was established.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

There are no EU directives relating to policy areas for which the Department for Education has lead responsibility that are awaiting transposition into UK law.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many letters his Department received from the Mayor of London between May 2010 and April 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department is not able to confirm the total number of letters received by the Department from the Mayor of London since 2010 as this would incur disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities can access cross-border, transnational and inter-regional co-operation funds from EU cohesion funding after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy

The Chancellor’s statement of 3 October 2016 set out guarantees for local authorities’ funding for cross-border, transnational and inter-regional cooperation projects subject to certain conditions. The Treasury will guarantee funding for those projects which are signed after the Autumn Statement, but before the UK leaves the EU, provided that they provide strong value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. This guarantee will apply even where those projects continue after the UK has left the EU. The Chancellor’s statement has provided certainty for local authorities and other UK participants in European Territorial Cooperation programmes.

Leaving the EU means that we can decide how to deliver the policy priorities currently delivered by EU funding programmes. We will consult closely with stakeholders, including local authorities, to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any on-going funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate investor certainty.