The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the Bonfield Review of consumer advice, protection standards and enforcement for energy efficiency and renewable energy to be published.
Andrea Leadsom
The Bonfield Review is an independent review, being led by Peter Bonfield. We expect the review to be published in the near future and will announce the date in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what role his Department played in drafting the Government’s childhood obesity plan.
Margot James
I refer the Rt hon Member to the reply I gave to Question UIN 44973.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the value of salary sacrifice company cars to employers in the public sector for (a) recruiting and (b) retaining for staff.
Jane Ellison
The Government has recently consulted on proposals to limit the range of benefits in kind, such as company cars, that attract income tax and National Insurance Contributions advantages when they are provided as part of salary sacrifice arrangements. Responses have been received from a wide range of interested parties and the Government’s response will be published in due course.
The Government is committed to encouraging company car drivers to take-up the driving of ultra-low emissions vehicles. A separate consultation published on 10 August sets out proposals to incentivise the take up of low and ultra-low emissions company cars.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the welfare of the two Burmese students who were arrested shortly after visiting the UK on a programme designed to build representative student unions in that country.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain in contact with the four Burmese students who visited the UK in May and are monitoring the case of Zayar Lwin who was arrested on 7 July after participating in a protest rally at the end of June. Two others have been charged in absentia, but not arrested. More widely, we have called for all remaining student protestors to be released from prison and for repressive legislation still on the statute books to be amended. Our Embassy in Rangoon closely monitors the cases of political prisoners and student protestors who have been charged and remain in detention. Representatives from our Embassy in Rangoon attended the most recent trial hearing in Thuyawaddy on 13 October of the students arrested following the Letpadan protests in March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.122 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of reducing the income disregard on the household income of a tax credit claimant family with (a) two earners and two children, (b) one earner and two children, (c) two earners and one child and (d) one earner and one child whose income rose by £5,000 during the year.
Damian Hinds
Reducing the income rise disregard to £2,500 brings forward some of the benefits of Universal Credit, so that tax credit entitlement reflects claimant’s recent earnings. It makes the system fairer so claimants on similar incomes will receive similar awards. The effect of reducing the income rise disregard on a family claiming tax credits will depend on the household’s income level before it increased.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the removal of eligibility for Renewables Obligations Certificates for onshore wind on businesses which are considering developing wind farms.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government was elected with a commitment to end subsidies for new onshore wind projects. Onshore wind has made a valuable contribution to the UK energy mix in recent years but has now reached the point where there is enough capacity in the pipeline for the UK to meet its 2020 renewable commitments. Having proposed early closure of the RO to onshore wind, we conducted an engagement exercise to understand better the views of stakeholders on the proposal. To protect investor confidence a grace period was proposed in June 2015, and we subsequently amended this in response to stakeholder feedback over the summer, for example to take account of a possible investment hiatus whilst the measures pass through Parliament. We consider this will strike the right balance between consumer and industry interests.
An impact Assessment was published whilst the Bill was in the House of Lords that set out the potential impacts of our proposals. This can be viewed online at:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-007F.pdf
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers, (c) special officers and (d) police dogs were in the service of the British Transport Police on the most recent date for which figures are available.
Claire Perry
As of 9 February 2016, the British Transport Police has (a) 3,061 officers (compared to 2,901 in 2009/10), (b) 362 police community support officers (compared to 340 in 2009/10), (c) 285 special officers and (d) 38 police dogs in service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans that the implementation of Clean Air Zones in local authorities will be fully funded by central government.
Rory Stewart
The air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide we published on 17 December last year set out that we have allocated funding to help five cities in England outside London implement Clean Air Zones and meet new burdens associated with implementing the zones. We will be discussing the details of this with the relevant Local Authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the UK-China human rights dialogue to take place.
Mr Hugo Swire
The next round of the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue will take place in London. The date is still being agreed with the Chinese Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with which countries the UK has negotiated agreements on the exchange of tax information which (a) are in compliance with the OECD’s standard for such agreements and (b) provide for the automatic exchange of tax information since the OECD’s standard was released in July 2014.
Mr David Gauke
The UK has exchange of tax information agreements with 142 different jurisdictions, through Double Taxation Agreements and Tax Information Exchange Agreements, and also as party to the OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the ‘Multilateral Convention’).
A list of the international agreements the UK is party to can be found on Gov.uk under ‘Tax Treaties’, and details of which jurisdictions have entered the Multilateral Convention into force alongside the UK can be found on the OECD website.
Of the 142 international tax agreements the UK is party to, only the following 12 do not meet the international standard for exchange of information on request:
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Namibia
Oman
Papua new Guinea
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
Zimbabwe
That international standard does not apply to automatic exchange. The standard for automatic exchange the question refers to (as published by the OECD in July 2014) is the Common Reporting Standard, the globally acceptable standard on automatic exchange of information with respect of financial accounts information.
The means of ensuring this standard was through a common Competent Authority Agreement, which supplements the international tax agreement allowing for exchange of tax information, rather than being an international tax agreement itself. There is no standard for automatic exchange in international tax agreements; just whether the agreement allows for it or not.
It is the UK policy to interpret international tax agreements to allow automatic exchange even where not expressly stated, with the exception of cases where the exchange of information provision clearly uses restrictive wording that would preclude such an exchange.