The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many migrants from (a) the EU, (b) the EEA and (c) countries outside the EU have settled in the UK since 1 January 2004 in each (i) region and (ii) local authority area where they have settled.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the proposed Universal Service Obligation for broadband will apply in Scotland.
Matt Hancock
Telecoms, including the Broadband Univeral Service Obligation (USO) is a reserved matter and applies throughout the UK. We have regular discussions with the Scottish Government on a wide range of issues, and I am grateful for their responses to the Government’s USO consultation and more recently to Ofcom’s Call for Inputs on the design of the USO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police forces in Wales are required to contribute to the UK’s Apprenticeship Levy.
Brandon Lewis
The apprenticeship levy will be introduced on 6 April 2017. The levy will be paid by an employer, in any sector, with a pay bill more than £3 million each year. This includes police forces in England and Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trends in the number of bus reliability public inquiries held by the traffic commissioners since 2010.
Andrew Jones
No assessment has been made of the trends in the number of public inquiries held by the Traffic Commissioners into bus punctuality since 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that police officers are aware of the outcome of prosecutions in which they have been involved.
Mike Penning
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, through its IT systems, passes data onto the police national computer so that records of convictions and sentences can be maintained by the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons the Government took the decision to close the Manufacturing Advisory Service.
Anna Soubry
As part of the Spending Review settlement, we decided to wind down the national delivery of the Business Growth Service (BGS) including the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).
The BGS used substantial taxpayer resources, £85 million a year, which was distributed through a network of contractors and subcontractors. When it did eventually reach businesses, businesses would have to provide half the cost of advice themselves, despite the substantial taxpayer funding being provided.
The Spending Review protected our economic security by taking the difficult decisions to live within our means and bring down our debt. The most important way we can help manufacturers is to continue to secure a strong, growing economy.
Where we do use taxpayers money, we have targeted it where it will help businesses the most.
We have extended the doubling of Small Business Rate Relief by another year, meaning 405,000 small businesses will pay no rates at all while another 200,000 small businesses will pay reduced rates. Next year we’ll be extending the Employment Allowance from £2,000 to £3,000, meaning thousands of small businesses will pay no jobs tax.
We’re providing further funding to Growth Hubs to help businesses at the local level and away from Whitehall.
We continue supporting our world leading research-led and advanced manufacturing sectors such as life sciences, defence, aerospace, automotive and chemicals to grow, export, and attract and retain inward investment. We are supporting industry with an extra £1 billion in aerospace and automotive R&D and investing £6.9 billion in the UK’s research infrastructure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with (i) arms manufacturers, (ii) tobacco manufacturers and (iii) representatives of the Israeli embassy since the period covered in the Cabinet Office’s most recent ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings data release.
Harriett Baldwin
Departments publish details of Ministers meetings’ with external organisations routinely on Gov.uk.
Details of meetings held during the period October – December 2015 will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Supreme Court’s judgment in UBS AG & Anor v Revenue and Customs [2016] UKSC 13 (9 March 2016), what steps his Department has taken against Deloitte for designing and marketing the tax avoidance scheme rejected by the court.
Mr David Gauke
It is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to provide details of any action taken in connection with these organisations.
In the March 2015 Budget, the Government challenged the accountancy and tax professional bodies to improve how they deal with their members who promote tax avoidance schemes.
The professional bodies have responded positively to this challenge and are working with HMRC to agree a new standard to which their members will need to adhere.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been paid out by his Department in statutory entitlements as a result of the collapse of Comet; how many people have been so compensated to date; and what estimate he has made of the total cost to the Exchequer of meeting all arising liabilities in this case.
Anna Soubry
The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service has paid out a total of £23,687,320.37 in statutory entitlements to 4,918 former employees of Comet Group Plc.
It is not possible at present to estimate the total cost to the Exchequer of meeting all liabilities in this case. Further payments will depend on the findings of the Employment Tribunal regarding the employees covered by the protective award judgment, and any associated costs. Consideration of this matter is ongoing and expected to be resolved this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date she plans for the National Litter Strategy to be launched.
Rory Stewart
Defra and the Department for Communities and Local Government are working on the Litter Strategy for England to improve the way we all tackle the scourge of litter. We will publish the Strategy this year and a great deal of work will be taken forward in the coming months.