The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-04-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish modelling conducted by his Department on the potential effect of the soft drinks industry levy on corporation tax receipts.
Damian Hinds
The independent Office of Budget Responsibility publishes the policy costing and forecast of the tax receipts at every fiscal event, which contain the relevant economic analysis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of cuts in the number of welfare rights officers and to legal aid, they will provide resources to Citizens Advice Bureaux, local mental health charities and disability organisations to provide support for disabled people who go to tribunal when appealing against their Personal Independence Payment assessment.
Baroness Altmann
Tribunal proceedings are designed to be straightforward and accessible to all. The tribunal panel is trained and possess special expertise to ensure that all issues which have a bearing on the outcome of an appeal are investigated irrespective of whether or not they have been raised by the parties.
DWP does not provide funding for this purpose. Individual local authorities may provide funding for these types of organisations but it would be a matter for the individual local authority to decide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to ensure that companies do not offset the costs of paying the new minimum wage by reducing rates of pay for (a) some workers and (b) night and weekend working.
Margot James
We recognise that employers will respond to the National Living Wage in a variety of ways depending on their circumstances, but the Government does not consider it acceptable for companies to use it as an excuse to cut staff benefits.
In a growing economy, the National Living Wage should represent an opportunity to invest in talented staff and improve productivity. Employers need to ensure their pay and reward packages are competitive to retain and develop the people they need for their business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the composition of the project board for Southern Rail, announced on 1 September 2016.
Paul Maynard
Further details on the composition of the project board will be available in due course. MPs have been asked to nominate a passenger representative for the Project Board. These nominations are currently being considered and an announcement will be made in the coming weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in what instances special or additional pension provision has been made for part-time military personnel in the last 20 years.
Mark Lancaster
Since the mid 1990s Reserves have had a variety of pension options to choose from when mobilised, including access to an Armed Forces pension scheme for the period of their mobilisation. However, there has been no special or additional pension provision made for part-time military personnel beyond the following statutory arrangements.
Since 1 April 2015 all members of the UK part-time Volunteer Reserves have been enrolled in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 and for the first time all their attendance-based paid service now counts as pensionable. Prior to that, from 6 April 2005 to 31 March 2015, personnel serving on an Additional Duties Commitment (ADC) were eligible to join the Reserve Forces Pension Scheme 2005 (RFPS 05). Those members of the RFPS 05 still serving on an ADC on 1 April 2015 transferred to the new scheme unless they met the criteria for transitional protection.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howe of Idlicote on 2015-12-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations in Barnardo’s recent report Locked Out: Children’s experiences of visiting a parent in prison.
Lord Faulks
The Government agrees that strong family ties are an important part of helping prisoners turn away from crime, and the recommendations from the recent Barnardo’s report are currently being considered in the context of the wider prison reforms.
All convicted prisoners have a long-standing statutory entitlement to a minimum of two visits every 28 days. In addition, prisoners may also be rewarded with additional visits for good behaviour and for engaging with their rehabilitation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether all fines issued in June 2015 by the Environment Agency to aircraft operators for failure to surrender allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System were paid by the deadline.
Andrea Leadsom
The Environment Agency did not issue any fines in June 2015 to aircraft operators for failure to surrender allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. However, the Environment Agency did publish in June 2015 the details of five civil penalties that had previously been issued to operators for failure to surrender sufficient allowances to cover reportable emissions in the 2012 scheme year. None of these civil penalties have yet been paid. The Environment Agency is taking action to recover the penalties as a civil debt, in line with UK law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24142, how many closed CSA cases with child maintenance arrears have been referred for arrears cleansing or validation in each month since 1 April 2015.
Priti Patel
The table below shows the number of cases referred for arrears cleansing in each month since April 2015.
|
Month |
Apr-2015 |
May-2015 |
Jun-2015 |
Jul-2015 |
Aug-2015 |
Sep-2015 |
Oct-2015 |
Nov-2015 |
Dec-2015 |
|
Number of cases referred for arrears cleansing |
32,640 |
33,740 |
27,320 |
33,450 |
33,450 |
31,890 |
33,600 |
7,630 |
21,660 |
Notes:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about alternative options to the M4 relief road south of Newport, including investing in additional rail services, stations and infrastructure.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Consideration of the case for alternative options to the M4 relief road south of Newport is a matter for the Welsh Government. However, we are working closely with the Welsh Government on the development of the next Rail Investment Strategy to ensure that relevant Welsh priorities for rail investment in Control Period 6 (2019-2024) are reflected. No decision on any major investment in Wales is made without taking into account the views of the Welsh Government.
The Welsh Government will gain much greater control over the development of rail services in Wales as a result of the agreement reached between the two Governments in November 2014 to devolve executive franchising rail functions in Wales, so that the Welsh Government can lead on the procurement of the next Wales and Borders franchise from 2018. Subject to agreement on final terms, I would expect the Welsh Government to be leading on the specification of future service levels in Wales in the next franchise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that regional museums and galleries are adequately funded.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Councils have almost £200 billion to spend on local services, over the lifetime of this parliament. It is for each local authority who know their area best to decide how to allocate its budget to provide museum services to its communities.
In addition, through the Arts Council England, DCMS has increased funding for 21 Major Partner Museums Networks (130 Museums in total) from £20.3m to £22.6 million over 2015-2018. Regional museums can bid for funds from ACE’s £10 million per year Resilience Fund, and for lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are also investing millions of pounds to boost local and regional museums, for example, £5 million towards a new South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum and £2.5 million to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.
As announced in our Culture White Paper, we will conduct a wide-ranging review into the museums sector that will examine local and regional museums, as well as Government-sponsored museums and the museums infrastructure nationally.