The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans a full or part privatisation of the Ordnance Survey to result from the change of operating model for that organisation.
Matthew Hancock
No. The change to a Government–owned Company is operational in nature, designed to improve the performance of the organisation. There are no plans to privatise Ordnance Survey.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is his policy that the Ordnance Survey will remain the only official national mapping agency for the UK.
Matthew Hancock
As a Government-owned Company, Ordnance Survey will continue to publish and deliver a public task, and as such will continue to be the national mapping agency of Great Britain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether any former officials his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
Jo Swinson
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not hold details of the future employment arrangements of all employees leaving BIS. The Business Appointment Rules (BAR) apply to civil servants who intend to take up an appointment or employment after leaving the Civil Service. These currently apply to members of the Senior Civil Service for two years after their last day of service, and for more junior employees they apply for one year. We have no record of any applications under the BAR for employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc has been seconded to his Department in the last five years.
Jo Swinson
The Department has not seconded any employees from Rio Tinto plc.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc were seconded to his Department in the last five years.
Andrea Leadsom
No employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded into HM Treasury in the last 5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any former officials of his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
Andrea Leadsom
The Civil Service Business Appointments Rules, which are published on GOV.uk, apply to civil servants who intend to take up an appointment or employment after leaving the Civil Service and the approval process will differ depending upon the applicant’s seniority.
The destination of leavers are not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK Export Finance has provided (a) loan guarantees and (b) low interest loans to Rio Tinto plc to support any of its investments or operations overseas in the last five years.
Matthew Hancock
UK Export Finance has not provided loan guarantees or low interest loans to Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department provides tax relief to encourage multinational mining corporations to maintain their headquarters in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
Since 2010 the Government has delivered a range of reforms to encourage investment in the UK, including the establishment of headquarter operations by multinational companies. The Government has cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 21% and it will fall further to 20% this April, the lowest rate in the G20. In addition, the Government has introduced the Patent Box, increased the generosity of Research & Development tax credits and modernised the UK’s Controlled Foreign Company regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2014-04-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average cost is of recovery of £1 of debt by HM Revenue and Customs debt management staff.
Mr David Gauke
HMRC collects about £475 billion of tax revenue every year. 90% of this is collected by the due date; just 10% of it becomes overdue and a debt that HMRC has to recover/enforce.
It would be misleading to attribute the effect of enforcing tax that is not paid on time outside the context of collecting tax that is collected on time.
Accordingly, we do not routinely measure the ‘average’ cost of collecting £1 of debt.
HMRC uses a number of different methods to recover outstanding debts ranging from automated processes to more targeted enforcement tools as well as partnering initiatives with private sector companies. The application of specific interventions depends on a number of factors including customer behaviour, the economic climate, and our overall approach to maintaining the health of the tax system and tackling non-compliance.
In 2011 HMRC published the results of an international benchmarking study which compares HMRC’s operational performance to nine other international tax administrations. Results from this study showed HMRC had the lowest cost of all ten countries.
Over the long term 99% of taxes due are collected with only 1% being lost to the Exchequer, almost all of which is due to insolvency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2014-04-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the staffing levels at HM Revenue and Customs debt management collectors were in (a) debt management telephony centres, (b) field force, (c) debt collection intervention teams, (d) debt technical offices and (e) late stage intervention in each of the last three years.
Mr David Gauke
Staff numbers fluctuate throughout the year but the following numbers of staff were in post at 31 March for each of the last three years:
|
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
|
|
DMTC/DCIT |
1,276 |
1,194 |
1,336 |
|
Field Force |
631 |
601 |
531 |
|
DTO |
1,012 |
1,223 |
1,113 |
|
LAST |
242 |
277 |
|
|
Total |
2,919 |
3,260 |
3,257 |
· HMRC uses an appropriate mix of interventions to recover outstanding debt based on assessments of previous behaviour, [credit] risk and likely ability to pay. The allocation of various activities to specific debts is not mutually exclusive – some debtors may experience multiple contacts if they do not respond to initial attempts at recovery.
· The table below shows the overall annual amounts of debts which HMRC has pursued and cleared in recent years.
|
£billion |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
|
Total Debt processed |
51 |
53 |
47 |
59 |