Tag: Jim McMahon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times air quality safety levels were breached in Greater Manchester in each year since 2011.

Rory Stewart

Defra uses both monitoring and modelling to assess air quality in the UK. The Department has five monitoring stations in the Greater Manchester Urban Agglomeration, at: Bury Whitefield Roadside, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Sharston, Salford Eccles and Shaw Crompton Way. Information about the sites and the pollutants measured is available on Defra’s UK-Air website.

Nitrogen dioxide pollution from road transport is the predominant source of air pollution in the Greater Manchester area.

There have been two measured exceedances of the annual mean air pollution objective for nitrogen dioxide in the Greater Manchester Urban Agglomeration since 2011. These were recorded in the Bury Whitefield Roadside and Manchester Piccadilly monitoring sites in 2011 and 2012. However, based on both modelling and monitoring carried out for compliance purposes, the zone was reported to have exceeded the annual mean limit value for nitrogen dioxide for all years between 2011 and 2014.

Local authorities have a crucial role to play in improving air quality in their areas. They are required to review and assess air quality in their areas and to designate Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) and put in place Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs) to address air pollution issues where national air quality objectives are not being met.

The ten local authorities in the Greater Manchester area designated AQMAs between 2001 and 2007. In 2016 the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) amalgamated all AQMAs across the region into a single AQMA. The GMCA has put in place an AQAP that sets out measures aimed at promoting sustainable transport initiatives, including proposals to introduce Ultra-Low Emission Zones.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of the Housing Market Renewal Initiative.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders programme ran from 2002 to 2011 and created large-scale Whitehall targets for demolition and clearance across the Midlands and the North of England. The programme was cancelled under the last Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much central government expenditure on small and medium-sized enterprises in 2014-15 was spent in the North West.

Matthew Hancock

The Crown Commercial Service only collects regional spend data for direct spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), so the following figures, which are taken from the Governments Spend Analytical tool, Bravo, do not incorporate spend through the supply chain.

Direct spend with SMEs of £205,978,657.91 was reported in 2014-15 for the North West of England.

During the same period, the following amounts were reported as going to small businesses in the requested locations:

OL1 – £2,706,290.86

OL2 – £18,611.30

OL3 – £54,984.10

OL4 – £66,325.40

OL8 – £83,737.93

OL9 – £566,399.25

M35 – £76,074.91

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was generated from vehicle excise duty receipts in Greater Manchester in the last year for which information is available.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not hold information on the amount of vehicle excise duty revenue collected by geographical region. The total vehicle excise duty revenue collected in financial year 2014-15 was around £6 billion.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with which local authorities and combined authorities his Department is in discussions on retention of Stamp Duty income by local bodies.

Greg Hands

Proposals are developed by and belong to local areas, therefore publication of proposals is a matter for individual places. Agreed devolution deal documents are published on the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 14 December 2015, We will not stand by – failing children’s services will be taken over, how the Government plans to spend the £100 million to be invested in attracting more high-calibre graduates into social work.

Edward Timpson

This Government is investing in Step Up to Social Work and Frontline, our fast-track graduate entry programmes, to attract future high-calibre graduates into social work. We aim to train over 3,000 new social workers through fast-track schemes over the Spending Review period.

The cost for the continuation of the Frontline pilot from April 2016 – end March 2019 is estimated at around £10m.

In October 2015, Government issued a tender for a national fast-track social work programme to succeed the Frontline pilot. Funds will be allocated for delivery once the contract is confirmed. Costs will vary according to actual numbers recruited.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to (a) close or (b) change the functions of the Jobcentre Plus facility in Oldham town centre.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department is in the process of reviewing all of its estates requirements as the current contract for most of the estate comes to an end on 31 March 2018. No decision has been made on the future of Oldham Jobcentre Plus by the Department.

Commercial negotiations are underway on the entirety of our estate at this time and it is not appropriate to comment further on individual sites while negotiations are in progress.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he was made aware of HM Revenue and Customs’ original estimate of tax due by Google prior to the recent tax settlement with that company.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for the conduct of tax enquiries, and Ministers are not informed of the progress of enquiries and play no part in agreeing the amount of tax to be paid by any taxpayer.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the proposed extension of Sunday trading hours on the pay and conditions of retail workers.

Anna Soubry

In view of the will of the House, we are no longer proposing to give local authorities the ability to extend the Sunday trading hours of large shops.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what savings to the public purse he expects to be made as a result of the post-16 education and training area review in Greater Manchester.

Nick Boles

Area reviews are about ensuring post 16 institutions are in the best state possible to meet the economic and educational needs of their areas and financially resilient for the long term. Colleges will be able to invest any savings created through implementation of area review recommendations in improved front line services, including better delivery of apprenticeships and higher level skills. This is expected to be the position in Greater Manchester, which is due to conclude shortly.