Tag: Julian Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will change planning procedures for local authorities to speed up the construction of new affordable homes to buy.

Brandon Lewis

The Government has committed, through the Productivity Plan, to introduce a dispute resolution mechanism to speed up section 106 negotiations to enable housing and other development to be built more quickly. We intend to do this through the Housing and Planning Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made in reducing the rate of unemployment.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he used any international systems to inform the formulation of his proposals to introduce a lifetime ISA.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is always mindful of international comparisons when developing tax policy. In the case of the Lifetime ISA, the Government will explore with the industry whether there should be the flexibility to borrow funds from the Lifetime ISA without incurring a charge if the borrowed funds are fully repaid; for example, some US retirement plans allow 50% to be borrowed up to a maximum of $50,000.

Further details about how the Lifetime ISA will work 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 2016-05-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what studies and research his Department has undertaken or commissioned on the potential benefits of equity release on retirement incomes; and if he will estimate the potential effect on the public purse of a lower take-up rate of means-tested old-age benefits resulting from greater use of equity release.

Harriett Baldwin

Figures published by the Equity Release Council, an industry body, on the extent of equity release lending are available here:

http://www.equityreleasecouncil.com/document-library/equity-release-market-report-spring-2016/

The Government has not undertaken or commissioned any recent studies on the relationship between equity release and means-tested benefits.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2016 to Question 37407, when he plans to publish the new Tobacco Control Plan.

Nicola Blackwood

The Government remains committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan and Ministers will decide on a publication date shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide exemptions from the pay to stay scheme for tenants in affordable rent-to-buy properties.

Brandon Lewis

We will consider the case carefully for exceptions from the policy and will set out the detail in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the benefit to local economies of Devolution Deals.

James Wharton

The benefits of devolution to areas that have agreed devolution deals with the Government will be significant and far-reaching. Local leaders will be given direct control over the levers of growth in their economies, with the most ambitious deals including new powers over adult skills and transport budgets, and substantial, long-term investment funds. For example, the West Midlands will receive over £1 billion of additional investment to deliver locally determined growth priorities. By providing local partners with greater control over key policies and resources, devolution deals offer places more of the tools they need to drive forward growth for the benefit of the whole local economy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the reasons for the FCA changing its policy on whether guarantor lenders should have to issue legal default notices on borrowers before collecting money from guarantors as set in PS15/23, of September 2015, to that set in GC16/2, of February 2016.

Harriett Baldwin

These are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and relate to FCA Guidance Consultation (GC16/2) issued on the interpretation of provisions in the Consumer Credit Act 1974, regarding whether a default notice should be given to a guarantor before payment is taken from them when a borrower defaults. The FCA is currently considering responses to the consultation and will publish a response after considering the complex issues raised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take in response to the leaked documents relating to the operations of Mossack Fonseca to ensure that foreign officials and politicians (a) in general and (b) from Pakistan who own property in the UK do not use such property to hide their assets.

Anna Soubry

At the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London on 12 May, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that we will require foreign companies that own or purchase UK properties or bid on UK Government procurement contracts to provide details of their beneficial owners to a public central register. This will be the first register of its kind in the world.

Additionally as of 6 April this year all UK companies have been required to hold a register of people with significant control over their company. This applies to all UK companies regardless of whether they own property.

These two registers combined will ensure that individuals will not be able to hide behind corporate structures to obscure their ownership of property or UK companies.

It is important to note that this work started before the release of the panama papers, with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister committing to create a register of people with significant control at the UK led G8 meeting in 2013, and the commitment to consider a new register of foreign companies that purchase property being made in July 2015.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will consult with experts to develop the policy throughout the year and consult formally on the detail of the policy in due course. Implementation of the new register requirements is expected to require both primary and secondary legislation, which we intend to introduce when Parliamentary time allows.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential costs and benefits of changing current UK passport types to the old blue style passport first issued in 1920.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We are considering potential changes to the UK passport after the UK has left the European Union. At this early stage we have not undertaken a detailed cost benefit analysis or made any decisions about what a future UK passport might look like.