Tag: Louise Haigh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to permit private equity-backed companies to offer tax-advantaged all employee share plans; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The tax-advantaged Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) limits were significantly increased from April 2014. The increases the Government have made are reasonable, given the average monthly SAYE savings and the value of awards currently made to employees under SIP, and they represent the best use of resources. The Government will continue to keep the SAYE and SIP limits under review.

In addition to increasing the SAYE and SIP limits, the rules of the schemes were substantially reviewed and simplified following the recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification in March 2012. Last year, the requirement that these schemes must be approved by HM Revenue and Customs to qualify for favourable tax treatment was replaced by self-certification. Coupled with other changes to simplify some technical aspects of the rules, this will make these schemes more attractive to businesses and employees.

No data is collected and no estimates are made of the income levels of the participants in SAYE schemes.

Permitting private equity backed companies to offer all-employee tax advantaged schemes would be likely to involve significant changes to the rules of the schemes, and there would be a number of other factors to consider carefully, including the increased cost and complexity of any extension.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what average time her Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Cabinet Office on proposals in the Higher Education White Paper on removing HEFCE-funded providers from the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Joseph Johnson

The content of the Higher Education Green Paper ‘Fulfilling Our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice’ was discussed across Government. Our overall aim is to see a level playing field between higher education providers and, where possible to reduce burdens and deregulate. The Green Paper also makes clear that there may be a case for an exception to this general approach if it is in the interests of students or the wider public. We recognise the importance of the Freedom of Information Act and welcome views on its application to the higher education sector as part of the consultation on the Green Paper.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of adults with learning disabilities using day centres which are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

Alistair Burt

The Department does not collect information about the number of complaints received or the number of adults with learning disabilities using day centres. Day centres are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson

The actual Departmental cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in each of the last 5 years is:

Financial Year	Cost (£)
2010/11	3,944
2011/12	0
2012/13 ¹	394,511
2013/14 ¹	362,616
2014/15 ¹	141,232

¹ Includes Child Maintenance Group expenditure which joined DWP in August 2012.

Data excludes NDPBs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.

Mr Edward Vaizey

None.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the scale of the change of his Department’s workforce arising from the departmental settlement announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

As set out in Table 1.B of the Spending Review document, the Department’s Spending Review settlement includes a real terms reduction to its administration budget of 12%. The Department’s workforce will need to reduce broadly in line with this settlement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral statement of the Prime Minister of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1495, whether the estimate of 70,000 moderate Sunnis includes (a) the Islamic Front and (b) Ahrar-al-Sham.

Michael Fallon

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Julian Lewis) on 1 December 2015 to Question 18014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to provide aid to people in (a) Madaya and (b) other cities under attack by armed forces of the government of President Assad.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We also co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places. We are working to bring about an inclusive political solution to end the conflict in Syria through our engagement in the International Syria Support Group, with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and with the Syrian Opposition.

The UK has provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya.

On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Two further convoys have been given permission. The convoy is expected to meet survival needs of the 40,000 persons inside Madaya, and 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoy with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits.

The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.

In February 2016, the UK will invite world leaders to London for a Conference to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the overall cost was of residential training for civil servants in each of the last three years.

Matthew Hancock

This information is not held centrally.