The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the Childhood Obesity Strategy.
Lord Prior of Brampton
We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the proposal from the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee for an extended definition of a tax haven, with sanctions for countries defined as tax havens and companies using them to avoid taxes; and if he will press for the introduction of such a definition with other EU member states in the Council.
Mr David Gauke
The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has a keen interest in tax, and hence put forward certain proposals. However, the Commission has the sole power of initiative in relation to legislative measures. Tax files are to be agreed by unanimity at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The European Parliament’s role in this process in not formal, and purely consultative.
The term tax haven is often used as shorthand for low or zero tax jurisdictions. However, low tax rates are not by themselves harmful and the UK supports fair tax competition. The UK is working with other Member States in the EU Code of Conduct Group to identify harmful tax regimes and will continue to take strong action against aggressive avoidance and evasion.
The UK and other Member States have not yet seen any proposals from the European Commission or the European Parliament on public country-by-country reporting (CbCR). The Commission is due to publish an Impact Assessment on public CbCR shortly, and we are interested in the results of their analysis. The UK will carefully consider any proposals put forward by the Commission.
The UK played a leading role in encouraging other countries and jurisdictions to sign up to international tax transparency agreements during its G8 presidency in 2013. Thanks in large part to the UK’s continuing leadership on this agenda, over 90 countries have now committed to exchange information on offshore accounts, beginning in 2017 or 2018. The UK also initiated the international work on CbCR and was the first country to formally commit to implementing the OECD model for CbCR, with legislation in the Finance Act 2015. We support the proposal to amend the Directive on Administrative Co-operation to require all EU Member States to adopt and exchange the OECD CbCR template.
The European Commission intends to publish a revised proposal for a mandatory Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) later this year. The Government will wait to see the detail of the Commission’s proposal, including a robust impact assessment, before finalising its position. However, we have stated that the UK will not sign up to anything that undermines our tax sovereignty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether juvenile victims of incestuous sexual abuse are eligible to claim criminal injury compensation; and what limitations apply to that eligibility.
Mike Penning
We deeply sympathise with anyone who has been a victim of crime. Some victims of incestuous sexual abuse may be eligible for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme which awards taxpayer-funded payments to victims who are seriously injured as a result of violent crime.
From 1964 to 1979 the scheme did not allow compensation to be awarded where the offender and victim lived in the same household as members of the same family. The so called ‘same roof rule’ was part of the original scheme and was introduced to stop offenders benefiting from compensation paid to victims who lived with them. It was amended in 1979 so the restriction only applied to adults who remained living together after the incident. This was to protect payments to the most seriously injured victims of crime, while reducing the burden on the taxpayer. The changes to the ‘same roof rule’ were not applied retrospectively. This decision was consistent with the general Government approach that rule changes apply to future claimants, rather than in respect of historical claims.
The Government puts the highest emphasis on the needs of victims, which is why the Ministry of Justice has given them more rights and increased funding for specialist support to help victims of such heinous crimes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 28 January 2016, Official Report, column 426, on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, how many (a) arms export licences have been awarded to Saudi Arabia and (b) reviews of arms sales to Saudi Arabia have been conducted in 2016.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government is satisfied that extant licenses for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria. The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms exports control regimes in the world.
Information on military and dual use export licences is published as Official Statistics in the quarterly and annual reports on Strategic Export Controls which are all available to view on GOV.UK. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination (including Saudi Arabia). The statistics include the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. Information covering the period 1 October to 31 December 2015 will be published on 19 April 2016. The 1st quarter results for 2016 covering the period 1 January to 31 March 2016 will be published on 19 July 2016.
Since the outset of the conflict in Yemen, the Government has kept all extant licenses and new licensing to Saudi Arabia under continuous review, and has exercised special caution and vigilance in granting new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia, handling each on a case-by-case basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Payments Agency will receive a bonus payment this year before payments to eligible farmers have been completed.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Senior Civil Servants (SCS) who are moderated as top performers at the end of the performance management year are eligible to receive a bonus payment.
The performance management year for the SCS runs from 1 April to 31 March. Performance markings for 2015/16 will be determined by the end of May 2016. Only then will the eligibility of SCS for bonus payments be known.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-06-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of work capability assessments.
Priti Patel
Strict audit and quality control measures are in place to ensure the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments delivers high-quality assessments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff are employed in his Department (a) in each region and (b) by gender; and in which Departments those staff were previously employed.
Mr Robin Walker
The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.
As a new department we do not yet hold diversity data for all of our staff but we will be collecting this in line with standard Civil Service practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Mackinlay on 2015-11-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people that will be subject to the provisions of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge as a result of Clause 24 of the Finance Bill 2015 (restriction to Landlords’ interest deductibility) in each year between 2017-18 and 2020-21.
Mr David Gauke
It is assumed that the questions refer to clause 24 of the Summer 2015 Finance Bill: relief for finance costs related to residential property businesses.
15897
The additional taxation receipts arising from restrictions to Landlords’ interest deductibility of the Summer Budget Finance Bill 2015 has been estimated and published in the “Summer Budget 2015: policy costings” page 21:
15898
The number of taxpayers who will become higher rate taxpayers as a result of Clause 24 of the plans to restrict finance cost relief for individual landlords will not be estimated. It would only be possible to provide an estimate for the specific years requested at disproportionate cost.
15899
The number of taxpayers who will become subject to Personal Allowance restrictions as a result of the plans to restrict finance cost relief for individual landlords will not be estimated. It would only be possible to provide an estimate for the specific years requested at disproportionate cost.
15895
No estimate is available of the number of people that will be subject to the provisions of the High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge as a result of Clause 24 of the Finance Bill 2015. The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much overspend against original estimates within the levy control framework has arisen from variations in (a) performance of offshore wind, (b) levels between strike price and reference price and (c) variations in allocations feed in tariff payments for solar PV installations in each of the last three years.
Andrea Leadsom
We do not break down published information on components of Levy Control Framework (LCF) spend to the level of detail requested, due to potential disclosure of commercially confidential information.
On 25 November 2015, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published LCF projected spend of just under £9bn in 2020/21 (see Tables 1 and 2 below)1. Between the projections Government published in November 20142 and this forecast, we have undertaken analysis to make changes to many assumptions, including technology-specific factors (including offshore wind), fossil fuel prices and electricity demand3. Collectively, changes in these factors have all affected overall estimates of LCF spend. However, we do not provide published estimates of how much is attributable to each individual factor. DECC will publish a further update to its projections, including the underpinning assumptions, in 2016.
Annex A
Table 1: OBR November 2015 main projections were as follows:
|
Policy (£m, nominal prices) |
2015/16 |
2016/17 |
2017/18 |
2018/19 |
2019/20 |
2020/21 |
|
RO |
3,850 |
4,615 |
5,375 |
5,855 |
6,035 |
6,230 |
|
FiTs |
1,325 |
1,515 |
1,700 |
1,880 |
2,055 |
2,220 |
|
CfDs |
15 |
225 |
545 |
1,095 |
2,225 |
2,805 |
|
Total |
5,190 |
6,355 |
7,620 |
8,830 |
10,315 |
11,255 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest five million pounds. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Table 2: OBR November 2015 main projections in 2011/12 prices:
|
£m, 2011/12 prices |
2015/16 |
2016/17 |
2017/18 |
2018/19 |
2019/20 |
2020/21 |
|
RO |
3,360 |
3,990 |
4,555 |
4,820 |
4,820 |
4,820 |
|
FiTs |
1,155 |
1,310 |
1,440 |
1,550 |
1,640 |
1,720 |
|
CfDs |
15 |
210 |
500 |
980 |
1,950 |
2,415 |
|
Total |
4,530 |
5,505 |
6,495 |
7,350 |
8,415 |
8,955 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest five million pounds. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
[1] Note that OBR publishes figures in nominal terms, as opposed to our figures which are in 2011/12 real prices. Both sets of figures are attached at Annex A
2 Annual Energy Statement, page 73, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/371388/43586_Cm_8945_print_ready.pdf
3 Data on fossil fuel prices and electricity demand assumptions have recently been published online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fossil-fuel-price-projections-2015 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2015 respectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4704), whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of the grounds for retention linked to the relevant retention instruments.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
I refer the noble Lord to the response to HL4704.