Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to help strengthen the economy of Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government’s long term economic plan to strengthen the economy is delivering for the UK and for Northern Ireland.

    By cutting the deficit, reducing business taxes and encouraging investment in enterprise and innovation we are making Northern Ireland a more competitive and attractive place to do business.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of regulatory frameworks related to algorithms for (i) Facebook, (ii) Google and (iii) other online platforms.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government Office for Science published an evaluation report on Distributed Ledger Technology: beyond block chain on 19 January 2016, which provides an assessment. In addition, the report recommends 8 actions for government to maximise the opportunities and reduce the risks of this new technology. A copy of the report is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492972/gs-16-1-distributed-ledger-technology.pdf

    Consumers’ rights with regard to the collection, processing and disclosure of their personal data are governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The DPA provides rights for individuals in respect of their personal data, including rights in relation to automated decision-making, the right of subject access, the right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress compensation for failure to comply with certain of the Act’s requirements, and the right to have data rectified, blocked, erased or otherwise destroyed in certain circumstances.

    There have been significant advances in digital technology since the DPA came into force nearly 20 years ago. The Government is reviewing the current regulatory framework to ensure it is fit for purpose for the digital age.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the proportion of new build properties excluding flats that has been sold as leasehold in each of the last here years.

    Gavin Barwell

    The department does not hold this information. The department published an estimate of the number of leasehold dwellings in 2014. As Table 1 (see link below) shows, in 2012-13 there were approximately 1.3 million leasehold properties that were not flats. The remaining 2.8 million leasehold dwellings were flats.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/342628/Residential_Leasehold_dwellings_in_England.pdf

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government is taking steps to recover underpaid vehicle tax in respect of vehicles with higher emissions than certified by emission test data.

    Damian Hinds

    Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates are based on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The “defeat devices” recently found in some VW diesel cars affect nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions. There is therefore currently no evidence that this issue has resulted in an artificial reduction in VED revenues.

    UK taxpayers will not incur higher VED if their existing vehicles are found to be fitted with illegal software that manipulates emissions tests. Following VW’s admission of using ‘defeat devices’ in diesel cars there is an ongoing UK government investigation.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what strategic environmental impact assessment was conducted of the measures in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

    Michael Fallon

    It will be the responsibility of each Government department to carry out strategic environmental impact assessments as the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is implemented, as included in section 7.4 of the SDSR.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cycle to work scheme on the number of non-cyclists taking up cycling.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Cycle to Work Scheme is an employee benefit covered by an exemption and therefore employers do not have to make an annual tax return regarding the benefit.

    The Cycle to Work Alliance (made up of Cyclescheme, Cycle Solutions, Evans Cycles and Halfords) have provided figures of the take up from Jan –September 2015 141,454 people participated in the scheme.

    A recent survey by the Alliance showed that 62% of participants in the scheme were either non-cyclists, novice cyclists (cycling less than once a month) or occasional cyclists (cycling once or twice a month) before joining the scheme. Having joined the scheme 79% of respondents described themselves as enthusiastic cyclists.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to the hon. Member for Bolton South East to Question 16740, to what extent his Department uses US contractors for the training of UK Reaper operators and support personnel.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The United States Air Force makes use of contractors in order to deliver Reaper training to both UK and their own Reaper crews (pilots and sensor operators). Contractors deliver the majority of Ground School and Simulator training, with a smaller proportion involved in Flying training. I can confirm that no support personnel are trained by US contractors.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of email MA/DGMAA to Min(DPWV) private office 3 Dec 13 16:32.

    Mark Lancaster

    I have placed the requested documents in the Library of the House.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the budget made concessions available on capital gains to non-domiciled residents of the UK that are not available to standard UK tax payers.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Summer Budget reforms to the domicile tax regime are the most significant since the rules were introduced. They are forecast to raise £1.2 billion this Parliament. The transitional provisions announced at Budget 2016 are necessary for a reform of this scale as they help to ensure that non-doms remain here and continue to pay UK tax on their income and gains within the new domicile tax regime. In April 2017, over 3,000 non-doms will still become subject to UK taxation on their worldwide income and gains.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of victims rescued by the Forced Marriages Unit in each year since 2005 have been under 18 years old.

    Karen Bradley

    The jointly led Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leads on the Government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. Figures on the number of cases reported to the FMU via its public helpline and email inbox are published annually and are available on GOV.uk. The figures include a breakdown of cases by age range. The FMU acts in an advisory capacity, and information on the number of cases which resulted in prosecutions is therefore not collated centrally.

    We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to send a clear message that this brutal practice will not be tolerated in the UK. We are encouraged by the first conviction in June 2015, and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent report shows that the volume of referrals from the police to the CPS has risen from 67 in 2013-14 to 82 in 2014-15. But there is still work to be done, and we will continue to work with partners to lead efforts to tackle this abhorrent crime.