Tag: John Robertson

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion as a percentage of the compulsory stock obligations for motor gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel products are currently being held physically on the UK mainland; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    Obligated companies in the UK are required to hold at least one-third of their obligation as finished products of petrol, diesel and jet-fuel. The remaining two-thirds of the obligation can be met with a wider range of oil products and crude oil, known as ‘Any Oil’, potentially including additional stocks of petrol, diesel and jet-fuel. Companies are able to hold stocks both in the UK and in facilities within the European Union.

    In April 2014 in total companies held 104% of the obligation for finished products of petrol in the UK, while for jet fuel this was 96% and diesel 78%. The higher figure for petrol is a result of stocks of this product also being held by obligated companies in the UK toward the ‘Any Oil’ obligation.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of welfare reforms since May 2010 on levels of child poverty.

    Esther McVey

    The Government has not made an assessment of the effect of welfare reforms on levels on child poverty. Given the large number of reforms and variables involved, the impact of welfare changes cannot be seen in isolation.

    However, the guiding principles of all of this Government’s welfare reforms are to get more people into work by making work pay.

    A key component of the Welfare Reform is Universal Credit. Universal Credit is expected to improve work incentives by allowing individuals to keep more of their income as they move into work, and by introducing a smoother and more transparent reduction of benefits when they increase their earnings.

    We estimate this new reform will lift around 300,000 children out of poverty.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what information he holds on the proportion of companies in (a) Glasgow North West, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland are ultimately owned by companies based in (i) Scotland, (ii) other parts of the UK, (iii) other countries in the EU and (iv) outside the EU.

    David Mundell

    According to Glasgow City Council figures (November 2013), there are approximately 18,000 businesses in Glasgow. The Scotland Office holds no information on the ownership nationality of companies located in neither Glasgow North West nor Glasgow.

    However, across the UK as a whole, over 99% of private sector businesses will be small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and ownership for these is therefore highly likely to be based locally.

    In 2013, registered private sector enterprises with ultimate ownership outside Scotland accounted for 3.1% of firms. These are disproportionately larger firms and so account for over 35% of employment. This suggests that 96.9% of businesses in Scotland have Scottish ownership, accounting for 64.8% of employment.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will estimate the revenue generated in Scotland by companies that have their headquarters (a) in Scotland and (b) outside of Scotland.

    David Mundell

    There are no estimates of the number of companies headquartered in Scotland, of the 343,105 enterprises operating in Scotland as at March 2013. Registered private sector enterprises with ultimate ownership outside Scotland accounted for 3.1% of firms, and 58.1% of turnover. This means that 41.9% of business turnover in Scotland is generated by enterprises with ownership in Scotland. These figures come from the Scottish Government publication Businesses in Scotland 2013.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the value of exports from businesses in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland to other EU member states in each of the last five years.

    Michael Fallon

    The value of goods exported by businesses in Scotland to other EU countries in each of the last five years is given in Table 1 below. Figures are not compiled for areas below Government Office Region (NUTS 1) level, such as Glasgow and Glasgow North West.

    These figures relate to exports of goods only. Regional data on exports of services is not available.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with charities on implementation of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 since that act received Royal Assent.

    Greg Clark

    The Electoral Commission is producing guidance to explain the rules on non-party campaigning. The Commission has held four roundtable discussions for charities and other campaigners across the UK and Electoral Commission officials have spoken at events hosted by charity sector umbrella bodies.

    The Commission will publish its full guidance on the new rules in the summer, in advance of the regulated period which starts on 19 September 2014.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of conclusions of the recent UN IPCC report on the effects of climate change on developing countries.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The Government welcomes the IPCC report. Climate change poses very serious consequences to human health, global food security, and can slow economic growth. Its impacts will be an extra burden for those living in poverty, and make it harder to reduce poverty in developing countries.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent estimate he has made of the level of investment in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland that resulted from EU membership in each of the last five years.

    David Mundell

    The Government does not collate figures for the level of investment in Scotland that results from UK membership of the EU.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the provision of debt advice for carers in a) Glasgow North West, b) Glasgow, c) Scotland and d) the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Money Advice Service (MAS) is responsible for the coordination of debt advice funding across the UK and has a statutory duty to improve the quality, consistency and availability of debt advice. In 2013/14 MAS funded 163,000 debt advice sessions in England and Wales. MAS also co-funds debt advice in Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Government, which in the last financial year led to more than 11,000 people receiving advice.

    MAS research shows that 4% of the clients of its funded services are carers. Research also suggests that advice over the phone can be particularly useful for carers and MAS has expanded its funded services to enable them to provide advice in this way. Carers are also able to access free debt advice over the phone from National Debtline and StepChange Debt Charity.

    In Glasgow, there are two targeted projects which meet carers’specific needs. These are:

    · Yorkhill Families Money and Debt Advice Support Project: Yorkhill hospital and Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau together provide advice to families who are financially vulnerable because of their children’s long-term health condition; and

    · Glasgow Association for Mental Health Money and Debt Project, which provides free face-to-face advice debt advice to people with mental health problems across Glasgow and their carers.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of membership of the EU on jobs in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland.

    David Mundell

    The Government does not collate figures for the number of jobs in Scotland that depend on UK membership of the EU. However, independent analysis published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March 2014 suggested that, in 2011, approximately 335,000 jobs in Scotland were associated with Scottish exports to the EU. The analysis was not broken down to the level of individual UK cities or by Parliamentary constituency