Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a comparative assessment of levels of business rates applying to steel producers in the UK and in other EU member states.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government concluded the Business Rates Review at Budget 2016. The government consulted with stakeholders, including the steel industry.

    From April 2020, business rates for all businesses, including the steel industry, will be cut through a switch in the indexation of business rates from RPI to the main measure of inflation currently CPI.

    The government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the number of small housing applications that are declined on the basis that they are unsustainable.

    Brandon Lewis

    We do not hold information centrally on why permissions for small sites are refused. Each planning application for development is determined in line with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, taking account of the relevant planning matters and the views of the local community. Small sites play an important contribution to meeting overall housing need. In the year to March 2016, planning permission was granted for 40,000 dwellings on sites of less than 10 units, up 3% on the year to March 2015.

    The planning system has strong levers in place to support the delivery of small sites, including through strong national planning policy and extensive permitted development rights. Through the Housing and Planning Act we have introduced further proposals which will help provide greater opportunities for small-and medium-sized companies to enter the development market, promote custom build development and make effective use of developable land.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the amount in tolls, charges, penalties and fees which remain unpaid by (a) commercial and (b) domestic drivers from outside the UK in each of the last five years.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government takes recovery of non-payment of tolls, charges, penalties and fees very seriously both by UK and non UK drivers. When it is non-payment from a non UK driver a European debt recovery agency is used to support recovery of outstanding charges.

    It is not possible to identify the amount in tolls, charges, penalties and fees which remain unpaid by (a) commercial and (b) domestic drivers from outside the UK in each of the last five years without incurring disproportionate cost as this information could only be obtained by a search of all tolling, charging, penalty charging and fee systems.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the ratio of NHS employees to the UK population; and how this compares with major European countries and the USA.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This information is not collected by the Department. Health is a devolved matter across the four countries of the United Kingdom and the Department is only responsible for the health and care system in England.

    The ratio of National Health Service staff in England to the population of England is 0.019824. This is normally expressed as a ratio per 100,000 population, which in this case is 1,982.4 full-time equivalent staff per 100,000 population.

    The Department does not hold information on estimates of the number of health care staff in other countries.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers who have received (a) severance and (b) redundancy packages since May 2010 have subsequently been re-employed as prison officers.

    Andrew Selous

    Between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2015 60 prison officers left the prison service, received severance payments and have subsequently re-joined the National Offender Management Service as prison officers.

    Over the last Parliament, NOMS delivered £334m prison efficiency savings and £169m savings in prison capacity management through prison closures and the introduction of benchmarking.

    Voluntary exit was used in the last Parliament as a result of the closure of uneconomic prison places. These prison closures and benchmarking reforms have delivered savings of £300 million a year, with the average cost per prison place falling in real terms by 19% since 2009/10.

    This figure is rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures.


  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank on the level of investment it will make in the UK green economy.

    Anna Soubry

    The privatisation of the Green Investment Bank will allow the company to increase its investments in the UK green economy. It will be able to raise more capital free from being on the Government balance sheet. It will also be free from State Aid restrictions on the green investments it can make.

  • Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Hammond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the Metropolitan Police in tackling terrorism in London.

    Mr John Hayes

    We have ensured the police have the necessary powers and resources to tackle the terrorist threat, including in London, where the Metropolitan Police play a leading role in tackling terrorism across the country.

    Counter-Terrorism Policing spending will be protected over the next Spending Review period. Indeed, for 2016/17 it will be increased in real terms to £670 million for England and Wales. An additional £34 million will also be provided to enable a national uplift in armed policing capability and capacity to respond more quickly and effectively to a firearms attack.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to reinforce the Royal Navy’s operations in the Aegean Sea in order to save more lives and to arrest more traffickers.

    Earl Howe

    I refer the noble Lord to the statement I made to this House on Monday 7 March (Official Report, column 1079). The Royal Navy has deployed Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay and a Wildcat helicopter to support NATO activity in the Aegean Sea. These will work alongside three Home Office vessels: VOS Grace, which has been deployed since November; the cutter Protector, which is en route to the region; and a further cutter that is expected to start operations later this month.

    In addition to RFA Mounts Bay, there are five NATO ships on station at the moment. Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Turkey have each deployed a ship.

    NATO ships will provide information to enable Greek and Turkish civilian authorities to intercept migrant vessels and arrest traffickers. It is not an interdiction or search and rescue operation, but RFA Mounts Bay would give assistance to any vessel it found in distress, in accordance with international obligations.

    With regards to sufficiency, we note the substantial contribution being made by the UK and other members of NATO, but we always look to see what further contributions members of the Alliance can make.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received about possible revision of the seafarer’s earnings deduction incentive.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Chancellor has not recently received any specific representations about possible revisions to the seafarer’s earnings deduction.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to increase the proportion of men going to university.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or gender.

    In the last academic year we saw record numbers of applicants and entrants to higher education, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    In our recent guidance to the Director of Fair Access, we asked him to include among his areas of focus support for white working class boys who are among the groups with the lowest participation rates. Universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds – up significantly from £404 million in 2009.