Tag: Grant Shapps

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adding a five years sunset clause to the proposed Great Repeal Bill governing the expiry of EU legislation which has entered the statute book.

Mr David Jones

The Government has committed to introducing a Bill in the next parliamentary session which will repeal the European Communities Act 1972. The principle of the Bill is about creating legal certainty for the UK on exit day and we will set out its content in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the date that the first phase of High Speed 2 will be completed and open to the public.

Andrew Jones

The hybrid Bill for HS2 Phase One is proceeding through Parliament and we are aiming to achieve Royal Assent by the end of 2016, with construction starting in 2017 and the first trains running by the end of 2026.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on the waiver of the five-year British citizenship requirement for Commonwealth recruits to military support roles.

Mike Penning

On 12 May 2016, the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Penny Mordaunt) made a written ministerial statement (HCWS 726) which announced that the five year UK residency requirement was being waived to allow for 200 Commonwealth citizens per annum to be recruited to fill a limited number of roles in the Regular Armed Forces which require specialist skills. The limit and the list of roles that can be filled under these arrangements were agreed in consultation with the Home Office. Those Commonwealth citizens who do not have the required skills to fill one of the 200 specialist roles are still required to meet the five year UK residency requirement.

Since the written statement, some 9,500 applications for specialist roles have been received from Commonwealth citizens. Many applicants will be rejected for not meeting the relevant eligibility criteria, or will fail the various stages of the selection process. The numbers who are enlisted and then successfully complete the training to fill one of these roles will therefore not exceed the 200 per annum limit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any assessment has been made of the effect of driverless vehicles on future demand for extra rail capacity.

Mr John Hayes

There is currently no evidence linking driverless vehicles and future demand for rail.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing Government tax incentives in the tech start-up sector in order to reduce the number of companies potentially unable to attract private investment after tax reliefs expire.

Jane Ellison

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts scheme provide tax reliefs to encourage individuals to invest in early stage, higher risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance. The government has no plans to withdraw these tax reliefs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve on the Sport England strategy to develop physical literacy in schools during this current Parliament.

Edward Timpson

We want all pupils to be healthy and active, and have given schools the freedom to deliver a diverse and challenging PE curriculum that best suits the needs of their pupils.

PE is a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum. The programme of study sets the expectation that schools should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way that supports their health and fitness. Through the primary PE and sport premium, primary schools have already received over £450 million of ring-fenced funding to provide additional and sustainable improvements to their PE and sport provision. In an independent evaluation, 84% of schools reported an increase in pupil engagement in PE during curricular time and in the levels of participation in extra-curricular activities.

Schools can decide how best to use this funding, and may elect to bring in additional resources and technologies if they feel this would provide additional and sustainable improvements to their PE and sport provision. The Government has committed to doubling the funding to £320 million a year from September 2017 using revenue from the soft drinks industry levy.

In the new Sport Strategy, the Government has committed to support children and young people to develop the confidence and skills to take part and to be positive about sport and activity. As part of this work, we will be exploring how to further increase physical literacy standards in primary schools and considering how we can track levels of physical activity to help support children to have healthy and active lives.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will enter negotiations with her US counterpart to have the ban on British haggis imports to that country lifted once the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice

We are working with the US authorities to ensure the restrictions on British lamb are lifted as soon as possible. The US has a longstanding ban on the use of animal lungs as food, but the Scottish haggis industry is working on a US-specific recipe to allow the industry access to the US market at the earliest opportunity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to boost economic incentives for research and development in the aerospace industry.

Mr David Gauke

In recognition of the valuable contribution the aerospace industry makes to the UK economy, the Government is providing almost £2 billion for aerospace research and development, having extended support at Autumn Statement 2015 until 2025-26. This funding is matched by industry, and is helping drive world-class research in the UK. This sits alongside economy-wide R&D tax incentives, including R&D tax credits – which in 2014-15 supported £21.8 billion of R&D expenditure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether High Speed 2 will be a fully electrified railway line.

Andrew Jones

High Speed 2 will be a fully electrified railway.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the qualification for investors in the start-up sector in order to grant lower net worth individuals more freedom to invest.

Jane Ellison

The Government agrees that it is important for consumers to have access to a diverse range of investment choices and for start-ups and SMEs to have access to a wide range of funding sources.

To this end, the Government has implemented a proportionate regime for peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding that gives retail investors the opportunity to invest in start-ups and SMEs. Retail investors can also benefit from other initiatives, including Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferrable Securities, where the fund can allocate up to 10% of assets to venture capital.

The Government has no plans to review the definition of sophisticated investors as set out in the Financial Promotions Order 2005.