Tag: Nicholas Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria the Government plans to use to assess the suitability of a local authority’s capacity to provide suitable care for resettled children under the Immigration Act 2016.

James Brokenshire

The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.

It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.

We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.

The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to sell government-owned assets in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area.

Matthew Hancock

The Government is undertaking a programme to dispose of surplus Government owned land and property to improve the efficiency of the Government estate, deliver value for the taxpayer and support economic growth, in particular housing. The Government is committed to disposing of at least £5 billion of public sector land and property between 2015 and 2020 and freeing-up surplus Government owned land with capacity for at least 160,000 homes. This will involve selling surplus land and property across the country. In the Newcastle upon Tyne area for example, in the coming year, the Northumbria Probation Service Office at 6 Lansdown Terrace will be marketed for sale, and Network Rail are planning to release a former freight site at Heaton Down Yard for development. All Departments are working to accelerate the release of their surplus property and get it to market, so that it can deliver local benefits and value.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the introduction of a financial transaction tax in (a) the UK and (b) partnership with other taxation authorities.

Harriett Baldwin

The UK has a financial transaction tax. Stamp tax on shares raises significant revenue from transactions in UK equities.

The UK has no plans to introduce a financial transaction tax in partnership with other tax authorities. Such a tax would only be effective if applied globally, and there is currently no prospect of global agreement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposed changes to business rates on (a) the North East, (b) the North East Combined Authority area and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of which are the principal methods of tax evasion; and what proposals he has for tackling each such method.

Mr David Gauke

HMRC’s latest estimates of thetax gap, which covers the tax lost due to all forms of non-compliance, including evasion was published on 22 October 2015. The tax gap in the 2013 to 2014 financial year (the latest year) was estimated to be £34billion – 6.4% of the total tax that HMRC estimates was due. Tax evasion accounted for £4.4 billion of this. Tax evaders employ a wide range of methods, ranging from simply not recording taxable transactions to sophisticated sales suppression. HMRC continually reviews its approach to tackling different methods of evasion in the light of operational experience.

Since 2010 HMRC has delivered record compliance yield from tackling all forms of non-compliance, including evasion, avoidance and fraud.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost of administering the proposed safety net mechanism for local authorities which lose more than 7.5 per cent of their business rate revenue in a year; and to what budget this will fall.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what mechanism he proposes to ensure that additional business rate revenue in the North East is allocated to infrastructure investment.

Greg Hands

On 23 October the Government signed a historic devolution deal with the North East Combined Authority. As part of the deal, and subject to the passage of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill through parliament, a new directly-elected Mayor for the North East will be created. The Mayor will chair the existing North East Combined Authority. Powers and responsibilities will be devolved from central government to the Mayor and Combined Authority.

Full details of the deal are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/north-east-devolution-deal

A detailed implementation plan will be agreed over the coming months between central government and the North East Combined Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities he estimates will have a net financial (a) gain and (b) loss in revenue from the proposed changes to business rate revenue allocation.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what new mechanism he proposes to stimulate rural growth in the North East.

Greg Hands

On 23 October the Government signed a historic devolution deal with the North East Combined Authority. As part of the deal, and subject to the passage of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill through parliament, a new directly-elected Mayor for the North East will be created. The Mayor will chair the existing North East Combined Authority. Powers and responsibilities will be devolved from central government to the Mayor and Combined Authority.

Full details of the deal are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/north-east-devolution-deal

A detailed implementation plan will be agreed over the coming months between central government and the North East Combined Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what responsibilities are proposed for the (a) elected mayor, (b) North East Combined Authority and (c) North East local enterprise partnership in overseeing the adult skills budget for the North East.

Greg Hands

On 23 October the Government signed a historic devolution deal with the North East Combined Authority. As part of the deal, and subject to the passage of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill through parliament, a new directly-elected Mayor for the North East will be created. The Mayor will chair the existing North East Combined Authority. Powers and responsibilities will be devolved from central government to the Mayor and Combined Authority.

Full details of the deal are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/north-east-devolution-deal

A detailed implementation plan will be agreed over the coming months between central government and the North East Combined Authority.