Tag: Nicholas Brown

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 2015-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what screening provisions the Government has put in place to prevent people who wish to cause the UK harm from entering the UK through the Syrian refugee resettlement programme.

James Brokenshire

We take security extremely seriously in cases referred to us for resettlement, working closely with the UNHCR who have their own robust identification processes in place. When potential cases are submitted by the UNHCR for our consideration they are screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds. For reasons of national security, we cannot provide further on the details of the screening process itself.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the UK’s progress towards meeting its 2020 carbon emission targets.

Andrea Leadsom

Each year we publish Energy and Emissions Projections which allow us to monitor progress towards meeting the UK’s carbon targets.

The last projections (published in September 2014) showed that we are on track to achieve the second and third carbon budgets, covering the period to 2022. Our projected performance over the third carbon budget equates to a 37% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of Indonesia on human rights in West Papua.

Mr Hugo Swire

In January 2014, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) raised the situation in Papua and West Papua with the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegewa who made clear the determination of the Indonesian government to improve the human rights situation there.

Most recently, in June 2014, our Ambassador to Jakarta raised Papua with Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs, who reconfirmed his government’s intention to increase autonomy for the region. Our Embassy staff also visit the provinces regularly, discussing our concerns with government officials, civil society leaders and human rights defenders. We remain concerned about reports of violence and human rights abuses, including limitations on free speech and limitations on access to the region by international non-governmental organisations, foreign journalists and diplomats.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances disability living allowance is payable for a child who has dyslexia.

Mr Mark Harper

Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance is not linked to particular conditions such as dyslexia but is assessed on the extent to which an individual person has personal care needs and/or mobility difficulties as a result of their disability.