Tag: Imran Hussain

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effects on the tax revenue of developing countries of tax treaties with the UK.

Mr Nick Hurd

HMRC actively engages with developing countries and has recently agreed treaties with Senegal and Zambia. Tax treaties encourage the appropriate tax treatment of cross-border economic activity, promote international trade and investment and ultimately lead to sustainable tax revenues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that public country-by-country reporting of corporation tax benefits developing countries.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a framework for CbC reporting to tax authorities as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This important initiative will enhance transparency between business and tax authorities, including those of developing countries.

DFID funds the Global Forum and the World Bank to provide technical assistance to improve exchange of tax information in developing countries which will allow tax authorities to gain access to information such as country-by-country reports. We also support the OECD in helping developing countries tackle multinational practices such as transfer pricing and have provided HMRC tax auditors to Tax Inspectors Without Borders, which puts expert tax auditors in the field working on complex multinational audit cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the introduction of measures for country-by-country reporting of profits for UK-listed companies.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID Ministers and officials have regular discussions with other Government Departments on a wide range of issues relating to international development, including tax.

The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a framework for CbC reporting to tax authorities as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This important initiative will enhance transparency between business and tax authorities, including those of developing countries.

The UK leads international efforts to help developing countries tackle tax evasion and avoidance. DFID funds the Global Forum and the World Bank to provide technical assistance to improve exchange of tax information in developing countries which will allow tax authorities to gain access to information such as country-by-country reports. We also support the OECD in helping developing countries tackle multinational practices such as transfer pricing and have provided HMRC tax auditors to Tax Inspectors Without Borders, which puts expert tax auditors in the field working on complex multinational audit cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of pharmacies which will potentially be affected financially by planned changes to funding in the Bradford District Care Trust area.

Alistair Burt

The proposals on which we are consulting will apply to all community pharmacies providing National Health Service pharmaceutical services in England.

Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. The Government believes these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.

We have been consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mental health crisis care concordat in improving cooperation between mental health services, non-mental health NHS services and other government services.

Nicola Blackwood

MIND, which has been supporting implementation of the national Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, commissioned an evaluation of the work being undertaken to implement the national statement. This included an assessment of how local partners were working together to improve the experience of people in mental health crisis.

The evaluation report, which was published in January 2016, can be found at the following link:

http://www.crisiscareconcordat.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CCC-Evaluation_Report.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of his Department are involved in the renegotiations of the UK’s tax treaties with developing countries.

Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs’ Tax Treaty Team, which at October 2016 has 10.3 full time equivalent members of staff, is responsible for negotiating the UK’s tax treaties. The make-up of the negotiating programme will vary from year to year which means it is not possible to put an exact figure on the number of staff involved with negotiations with developing countries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to areas affected by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We are in close contact with our governmental and non-governmental partners in Afghanistan and Pakistan who are assessing and responding to the situation on the ground. Whilst we have not received any official requests for assistance at this stage, we do have multi-year humanitarian programmes in both countries which could be drawn upon if needed.

In Afghanistan, DFID is providing up to £80 million of humanitarian support over 2015-2019, including through the UN-led Common Humanitarian Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In Pakistan, our multi-year humanitarian programme could provide up to £100 million over 2014-2018 for immediate relief and early recovery, depending on the extent of emergencies which occur. In both countries we are also supporting work by local organisations to build resilience to natural disasters and increase preparedness for recurring events.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what non-financial aid her Department has provided to the African Union in the last five years.

Grant Shapps

In the last five years DFID’s non-financial support to the African Union has included the following projects at the cost of some £7m: two independent audits of international funding for the AU’s “Shared Values” Joint Programme Arrangement; technical advice to the AU Commission on developing a results based Logical Framework approach; support for the AUC Leadership Assessment Centre; technical advice on setting up the AU Institute for Statistics; technical support for AU work on Regional Trade Facilitation; capacity support to the AU Department of Political Affairs; and technical support for AU election observation missions which has received the bulk of DFID funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of equipment for UK aid projects was sourced from businesses in the UK in each of the last three years.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID does not procure goods and equipment directly, procurement agents, suppliers and partner organisations deliver this service on our behalf. DFID’s aid is untied with a focus on achieving the best value for money for the overall project aim.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people under the age of 18 displaced by the conflict in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UN reports that the number of people displaced internally in Yemen is 2.3 million; of those, the UN estimates that 21% are boys under the age of 18, and 22% are girls under the age of 18. The UN does not have age-disaggregated data for refugees who have fled from Yemen.

The UK is one of the largest donors to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and has announced a £75 million commitment. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, including for internally displaced people and children.