Tag: Julian Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that demand for school places in Solihull is met.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them in doing so is one of this Government’s top priorities. That is why this Government is investing £23 billion in school buildings to create 600,000 new school places, open 500 new free schools and address essential maintenance needs.

Basic need funding is allocated to local authorities to help them to create new school places. Solihull has been allocated £17 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. Solihull also received £4 million between 2011 and 2015.

Information on basic need allocations can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations-2015-to-2018

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the safety of railways in the UK and other European countries.

Claire Perry

The United Kingdom currently has the safest record of any major railway network in Europe. All European Union Member States collect statistics about their safety performance including, for example, accidents and consequences, accident precursors and technical information. This material is collated by the European Railway Agency in its Annual Safety Performance Reports which are published at www.era.europa.eu/Core-Activities/Safety/Safety-Performance/Pages/Safety-Performance-Report.aspx.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to offer public financial advice on Lifetime ISAs.

Mr David Gauke

The new Lifetime ISA will provide savers with the flexibility to save towards a first home and retirement at the same time.

From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.

The Government is engaging with the industry on the detail of implementation, regulation and advice on the Lifetime ISA. Further details will be announced when the Government brings forward legislation to enact the Lifetime ISA in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons Mohammed Amir has been granted a visa to travel to the UK for the Test series between England and Pakistan.

James Brokenshire

In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to organise a high-level trade mission to Bangladesh.

Anna Soubry

Over one hundred UK companies already operate in Bangladesh and I would like to see more exporting to the country. Bangladesh has taken impressive economic strides over the past decade leading to increased opportunities for UK and Bangladeshi companies to work meaningfully together for the benefit of both economies. We are currently exploring a visit to Bangladesh in the coming months by my noble friend, Lord Maude of Horsham, including the possibility of an accompanying trade delegation

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council for local road maintenance in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Jones

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is part of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority which will receive £85.1 million in capital funding from the Department for Transport for local highways maintenance from 2015/16 to 2020/21. This funding is for all authorities within the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority except Birmingham which has an operational highway maintenance project funded through the Private Finance Initiative. The Department does not hold information on the highway maintenance funding Solihull receives from the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his Department’s policy that employees should be offered the choice of either auto-enrolment or paying into a Lifetime ISA as a means for saving for their pension, or that employees who wish to invest in a Lifetime ISA must do so in addition to auto-enrolment.

Greg Hands

The new Lifetime ISA is an additional flexible savings product which will complement pensions to give savers greater freedom and choice to save for the long-term in a way that works for them.

With automatic enrolment already helping nine million people with their pensions, the Government remains committed to supporting people who save in different ways.

Increasing the choice of savings products available, the Lifetime ISA supports the Government’s ambition to encourage a regular savings habit amongst young people and to create a culture of long-term saving by offering the right products to suit their changing circumstances at different points in their lives.

From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government. Under the new Lifetime ISA, young savers will no longer have to choose between saving for their first home purchase or for retirement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps he plans to take to encourage buy-to-let mortgage lenders to allow longer tenancies.

Gavin Barwell

My Department has worked closely with the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) to encourage longer term tenancies in properties with a buy to let mortgage, including during the development of our Model Tenancy Agreement (MTA). The MTA enables longer tenancies, and addresses lender concerns by including appropriate break clauses. The CML estimates that the majority of buy to let mortgage lenders now permit tenancies of up to two to three years. We continue to encourage lenders to actively promote the use of the MTA to their landlord customers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to carry out an impact assessment after completion of the further education area review.

Nick Boles

Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010. The reviews do not however, mandate action, and colleges are independent corporations, so it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Solihull who will pay less income tax as a result of the increase in the personal allowance announced in Budget 2016.

Mr David Gauke

The £300 increase in the personal allowance announced at Budget 16 is estimated to have reduced income tax for 28.9 million income tax payers in 2017-18. Of these individuals, 2.4 million live in the West Midlands region, which includes the Parliamentary Constituency of Solihull.

These estimates are based on the 2013-14 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2017-18 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2016 economic and fiscal outlook.

HM Treasury does not publish this information at constituency level.