The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Economic Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland dated 12 November 2015.
Harriett Baldwin
I have replied to the hon. Member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the need for a new concert hall in London.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In February 2015 the Chancellor announced that the government would fund the Barbican in the City of London to consider the feasibility of a creating a new world class concert hall in London.
As part of the Spending Review, the Chancellor agreed to provide a further £5.5million over the next 18 months for more detail business case work, which fully explore the costs and benefits of options for this project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-05.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what double taxation treaties the Government expects to sign in the next 12 months.
Mr David Gauke
Negotiating double taxation treaties involves a number of stages including the requirement for ministerial and parliamentary approval in both countries. Even once the substantive provisions have been agreed, finalising certain technical issues is an unpredictable process over which the United Kingdom is not fully in control. It is therefore not possible to say which treaties will be ready for signature in the next 12 months. However, HM Revenue and Customs does publish the programme of tax treaty negotiations and news of signed treaties at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/double-taxation-agreements-developments-and-planned-negotiations.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many housing providers made representations to his Department about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.
Justin Tomlinson
So far representations have been made by 93 individuals and 16 housing providers about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.
DWP Ministers and officials will continue to have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of women who are entitled to a state pension based on married women’s reduced rate national insurance contributions.
Justin Tomlinson
The information is not available. Married women’s reduced-rate National Insurance contributions do not count for the purposes of entitlement to state pension. Instead, women who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and who had paid reduced-rate National Insurance contributions may be entitled to a state pension based on the National Insurance contributions of their spouse.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in updating tax treaties between the UK and (a) Malawi, (b) Lesotho and (c) Ghana.
Mr David Gauke
The UK is not currently involved in active treaty discussions with Tanzania.
Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty began some years ago, and substantive agreement has been reached at official level. The Government of Malawi have stated that they hope to be in a position to sign the new treaty in the near future.
The UK has negotiated a treaty with Lesotho and are currently seeking to arrange signature.
The UK is currently involved in negotiations with Ghana in agreeing a new tax treaty.
Nepal has approached the UK to begin negotiation of a tax treaty. We are seeking suitable dates for discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government’s legal costs have been to date in connection with the legal case brought by Mishcon de Reya in respect of Article 50 of the Treaty of European Union.
Mr David Davis
The government does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish the latest proposals on the Trade in Services Agreement.
Greg Hands
Information on the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) can be found on the European Commission’s dedicated TiSA website. In a bid to encourage transparency, the European Commission has published a large number of documents including its revised TiSA offer from May 2016, the EU proposals for institutional provisions and state-to-state dispute settlement, position papers and factsheets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arms and security-related sales and services the UK is (a) contracted to provide and (b) planning to provide in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.
Harriett Baldwin
The UK does not have commercial contracts with other countries for arms and security related sales and services. Through bilateral government-to-government arrangements the UK works closely with its international partners and allies to support the development of their defence and security capabilities across a broad range of areas.
To produce the information would involve collecting data from all branches and services involved in international defence engagement activity which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether it is his policy to apply to join the EEA (a) before or (b) after the UK leaves the EU.
Mr Robin Walker
We have been clear that we will pursue a solution that works for the unique circumstances of the UK. Ministers are considering the UK’s future customs and trading relations with the EU and work continues to analyse the options to ensure we have the best possible outcome for the UK.