The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the remit of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to cover Ombudsman Services provided by the Ombudsman Services Company.
Matthew Hancock
I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]. There are no current plans to extend the scope of the FOI Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has any plans to extend child discounts on public transport from 16 to 18 years to match the new compulsory school leaving age.
Andrew Jones
Government recognises the importance of accessible transport to all young people and, whilst there are no plans to introduce a statutory concession for young people, we are working with the sector to encourage operators to continue to improve their offers.
In the de-regulated bus market it is for operators to set their own fares. Current estimates indicate that 50% of young people aged 16 to 19 receive at least a third off standard fares.
The new Enhanced Partnership powers in the Bus Services Bill would allow local transport authorities and bus operators to agree standard ticket rules, such as eligibility for half fares across operators.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people on the autism spectrum are in full-time employment; and what steps the Government is taking to support people on the autism spectrum into stable and well-paid employment.
Priti Patel
Government does not collect data specifically on employment rates for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC).
The Government is acting to raise awareness regarding employment of people with autism and to support them to take up employment. The Government’s Autism Strategy, and the updated Statutory Guidance published in March 2015, sets out in detail how Government will support the autism agenda nationally.
The Autism Strategy can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/think-autism-an-update-to-the-government-adult-autism-strategy
The Statutory Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-autism-strategy-statutory-guidance
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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 expects to lose 7.5 per cent of their business rate revenue after the introduction of his business rate reforms.
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 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on people on the autism spectrum of removal of the additional payment in the employment and support allowance’s work related activity group.
Priti Patel
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was raised by business rates in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr Marcus Jones
In 2013-14, the total business rates income raised in Newcastle upon Tyne was £128.5 million. Based on their own estimates, the total business rates income in 2015-16 is expected to be £154.1 million
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.