Tag: Jim McMahon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will commission an assessment of the potential economic impact on Oldham of the reduction in Oldham’s public estate.

Matthew Hancock

The Government Property Unit is working closely with Oldham Council and others across Greater Manchester on future plans across the public sector estate. Oldham Council is part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority Partnership on the One Public Estate Programme. The programme, delivered by Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association, aims to maximise local economic growth from better use of public assets. 108 councils have recently joined a third phase of the programme. Together, they expect to generate £172 million capital receipts, reduce running costs by £65 million, and create 30,000 new homes and 43,000 new jobs over the next 5 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which electoral wards in England have exceeded a one in 200 saturation level for asylum placements; and by what percentage each such ward has exceeded that level.

James Brokenshire

As part of the regional dispersal policy for asylum seekers established in 2000, the advisory cluster limit of 1 asylum seeker for every 200 of the settled population, applies to local authority area level only. Data on the numbers of asylum seekers in local authority areas is published and can be found at (Asylum Vol 4. Table 16q). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015/asylum.

Data is not collated at ward or constituency level and to do so would incur disproportionate costs, it may also be precluded by the provisions of the Data Protection Act, given that individuals could reasonably be identified through the release of such data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much small businesses with a rateable value of less than £30,000 paid in business rates in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department does not hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Government capital projects (a) have been carried out in the last and (b) are planned over the next five years in Greater Manchester; and what the (i) cost and (ii) location was and will be for each such project.

Greg Hands

The government has supported a wide range of capital projects in Manchester. This includes: £533m committed to Greater Manchester through the Local Growth Fund, which will support projects such as the new Ashton town centre interchange; a £900m gainshare agreement as part of the Devolution Deal, which will support projects such as the Trafford Metrolink extension; £199m as part of the city deal over ten years for local major transport schemes; £78m for the Factory theatre and arts venue at Spending Review 2015; and £235m for the Sir Henry Royce Institute for advanced materials research at the 2014 Autumn Statement. Greater Manchester will also benefit from the North of England Rail Infrastructure programme, which is worth over £1bn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what formula was used to calculate the Government’s proposed living wage.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government has asked the Low Pay Commission to increase the National Living Wage to 60% of median earnings by 2020. This is a level consistent with the recommendations of leading experts in the Bain Report. Our target is for the National Living Wage to reach £9 by 2020.

On this basis, we have set the initial rate at £7.20 from April 2016. This marks the first step towards our target and represents a £900 a year increase in earnings for a full-time worker on the National Minimum Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2016 to Question 26660, on housing: construction, if he will place in the Library any value for money review and impact assessment carried out on the decision made by the previous Government.

Brandon Lewis

An overview of all published evaluations of Housing Market Renewal, both pre- and post-cessation, are included in a briefing note that is already in the Library of the House, and which can be accessed online at:

http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05953/SN05953.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of private landlords who will be affected by the tax relief change to higher rate taxpayers announced in the Summer Budget 2015.

Jane Ellison

HMRC estimate that 1 in 5 landlords will pay more tax as a result of this measure.

Given that only a small proportion of the housing market is affected by this change, the Government does not expect these changes to have a large impact on rent levels or house prices. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) also expects the impact on the housing market will be small.

The Government will double the housing budget from 2018-19 and has set out the most ambitious affordable housing plan since the 1970s to support working people in their aim to own their own home, together the measures in the plan amount to over £20 billion of investment in housing between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

The level of housing benefits is dependent on a number of factors such as, household and individual circumstances in regards to employment and household income, inflation and rents. The Government does not expect a large impact on rent levels from this policy, and any impact would be dampened in the short term due to other policy decisions. Therefore, the government does not anticipate changes to the overall level of housing benefits as a result. Nevertheless, the government will continue to monitor rental levels charged in the private rented sector.

Landlords are required to maintain their properties to a legal minimum standard. The reform to the wear and tear allowance means that all landlords will now be able to offset the costs of replacing furnishings in their properties removing the previous disincentive to do so. The Government therefore does not think that the changes to the tax rules will reduce standards for tenants.

Some landlords may face difficult decisions regarding their properties. This is why the Government has chosen to act in a proportionate and gradual way. Basic rate income tax relief will still be available on a landlord’s finance costs, the restriction will not be introduced until April 2017 and then it will be phased in over 4 years. This gives landlords time to plan ahead of the changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the value for money review of the relocation of Oldham HM Revenue and Customs Office to Manchester city centre.

Mr David Gauke

The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office at Phoenix House, Oldham was announced for closure in February 2008 as part of HMRC’s earlier Regional Review Programme, and was partially vacated in November 2009 with the majority of staff relocating to Manchester and finally closed in May 2014.

HMRC has not undertaken a separate value for money review on the closure of the office in Oldham. The Change Programme, of which the Regional Review Programme formed part, has been reviewed by the National Audit Office as part of its role to scrutinise public spending for Parliament to assess value for money. The NAO carried out a specific review on cost reduction within HMRC in 2013. The report can be found on the attached link. https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/HMRC-reducing-cost-full-report.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will bring forward proposals to review the needs-based formula for local government.

Mr Marcus Jones

By the end of this Parliament, local authorities will fund local services from their local taxes, including £26 billion raised from business rates.

We have announced that we will conduct a review of what the needs assessment formula should be in a world in which all local government spending is funded by local resources not central grant, and use it to determine the transition to 100% business rates retention. We will develop this approach in partnership with local government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children’s social worker vacancies remained unfilled in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

Edward Timpson

Information on the number of children’s social work vacancies in English local authorities is collected annually.

The most recent data, from 30 September 2015, was published by the Department for Education on 25 February 2016 and can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-work-workforce-2015

More data is also found on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-work-workforce-2013-to-2014

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