Tag: Kevin Brennan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of which sectors of the British economy are most at risk from foreign export dumping; and what steps he is taking to protect those sectors from that activity.

Anna Soubry

Any industry or business can potentially be affected by dumping. Companies in all goods sectors can therefore seek protection from dumping or subsidy through the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy Regulations by providing evidence direct, or through a trade association, to the European Commission.

Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions by the European Commission have been taken against a wide range of imported products. The attached table shows the sectoral pattern of investigations conducted by the European Commission during the period 2011-2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many requests to meet with hon. Members she has received from each of the political parties represented in the House since her appointment.

Nick Gibb

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education frequently meets Hon Members from across the political spectrum in the performance of her duties.

Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the level of business rates on capital investment in the UK steel industry.

Mr David Gauke

The government concluded the Business Rates Review at Budget 2016. The government consulted with stakeholders, including the steel industry.

From April 2020, business rates for all businesses, including the steel industry, will be cut through a switch in the indexation of business rates from RPI to the main measure of inflation currently CPI.

The government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the revival of the Cornish language.

James Wharton

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 12 May to Question UIN 36737.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the role of the Free Syrian Army in the conflict in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Free Syrian Army is a collective term used by a range of moderate opposition groups in Syria who are fighting the regime and ISIL. The Free Syrian Army call for a pluralistic system that respects the rights of all Syrians. They reject terrorism and terrorist tactics, and have condemned Islamic extremism. They have been fighting both the regime and ISIL in Syria for over two years with success in a number of areas, in particular in Idlib and Aleppo in Northwest Syria and in Dera’a Province in the South.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make business expenditure on resource and energy efficiency measures tax deductible.

Damian Hinds

The government already provides support for businesses who want to invest to become more energy efficient. The annual investment allowance (AIA) lets businesses deduct up to a total of £200,000 of their investment in plant and machinery from annual profits before tax.

In addition, enhanced capital allowances (ECAs) let businesses that invest in certain energy-saving equipment write off the total cost of the equipment against their taxable profit as a 100% first-year capital allowance.

A review into the business energy efficiency tax landscape concluded in November. The government is considering all responses submitted to this consultation and is likely to publish its formal response at Budget 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will remove plant and machinery from business rate calculations.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is considering the treatment of plant and machinery as part of the business rates review in England. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016. Business rates are devolved in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of (a) public and (b) private sector investment needed to fulfil Government targets for low-carbon infrastructure and supply chain investment in each year to 2025.

Andrea Leadsom

The National Infrastructure Pipeline provides annual estimates of investment in the Energy Sector. The 2015 publication of the National Infrastructure Pipeline [1] estimates £141bn worth of investment up to 2020/21 with a further £103bn post 2020/21. The figures do not distinguish between private and public investment.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-pipeline-july-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will allocate all funds raised by privatisation of the Green Investment Bank to green technologies in the UK.

Anna Soubry

The Government has put paying down our debt while investing in infrastructure at the heart of our long term economic plan. Proceeds from a sale of UK Green investment Bank plc (GIB) will help us deliver on both those objectives. Any proposal to allocate Government funding to other types of intervention to achieve green policy objectives would need to be considered individually on its merits.

GIB’s remit has always been to invest in green projects on fully commercial terms to help demonstrate green investment can be profitable and attract additional private sector investment into green sectors from mainstream finance providers. GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership. Details of the other Government policy mechanisms in place aimed at promoting investment in more high risk projects and early stage technologies are provided at paragraphs 31 – 36 of our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB which can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government’s proposals to cap public sector exit payments will explicitly exclude those workers who are retiring due to ill-health.

Greg Hands

The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.