Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Turner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Turner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to support businesses with five or fewer staff.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government’s long term economic plan is backing small businesses as they set up and grow. As part of this plan we are cutting taxes and reducing red tape to help businesses. In particular, the Employment Allowance was introduced in April 2014, and allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to deduct up to £2,000 off their employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill each year. Over 60% of the total benefit of the policy is expected to go to businesses with fewer than 10 employees, and a business employing three people on the median full-time private sector wage of £25,800 in 2014-15 will see their typical NICs bill cut by over 25 per cent.

    In addition, Autumn Statement 2013 announced the extension of the Small Business Rate Relief until April 2015, taking 350,000 small businesses out of business rates.

    The British Business Bank was launched in October 2013 to make finance markets work better for small firms, allowing them to prosper, grow and support the UK economy. Over the next five years, the Bank aims to unlock up to £10 billion of financing for viable smaller businesses. Business Bank programmes facilitated a total of £782m of new lending and investment in the fiscal year 2013/14, to over 30,000 businesses. This represents more than a doubling of activity on the previous year. The Business Bank also supported £100m of new Venture Capital investment in 2013/14. StartUp Loans is a £322m scheme to help individuals to access finance and support to start a business. Over 18,000 loans totalling more than £90m have been made since the launch in April 2012.

    These measures are all part of our economic plan that is building a stronger, more competitive economy.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance has been (a) requested from or (b) offered by his Department to South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils following the fire at their offices in Crowmarsh Gifford.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Following the fire at the council offices on 15 January local business continuity arrangements were immediately put into place. Telephone calls were made to Councillor John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, and Councillor Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, on the day to offer support and no central government assistance was requested. I would like to pay tribute to Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, and to neighbouring fire and rescue services that supported them, for their response to this incident, and to council officials who have maintained essential council services. Officials from Fire, Resilience and Emergencies Directorate have been in contact with Oxfordshire’s Chief Fire Officer, Dave Etheridge.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to page 45 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2012-13, what proportion of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s budget was spent on decommissioning and cleaning up nuclear plants in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

    Matthew Hancock

    As defined for the purposes of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Annual Report and Accounts, the proportion of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s expenditure through its Site Licence Companies that was used for decommissioning was 35% in both 2012-13 and 2013-14. The remainder of this budget was spent on waste and nuclear materials management, commercial operations and support costs.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether it remains her policy that the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the most appropriate place where all allegations surrounding Kincora should be examined.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    It remains my view that the Inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the best forum to consider the allegations surrounding Kincora.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what conclusions about effective approaches to universal credit in work conditionality he has drawn from the labour market trials which started between May 2013 and January 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Esther McVey

    The purpose of the initial Jobcentre Plus-led trials tested within Jobcentre Plus were to help inform and shape the design of larger-scale Randomised Controlled Trials that we plan to run in Universal Credit from April 2015, from which conclusions about effective in-work support will start to be drawn.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emma Reynolds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 217181, tabled on 4 December 2014 by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East.

    Brandon Lewis

    Question 217181 was answered on 23 February 2015.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of cases in which two or more babies born to the same mother were put into kinship care.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The information requested is not collected.

  • Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Russian government about (a) human rights in general and (b) LGBT rights in that country.

    Mr David Lidington

    (a) We remain deeply concerned about deteriorating human rights in Russia and regularly make this clear in bilateral interactions at all levels. I discussed human rights with the Russian Ambassador in London at our last meeting on 18 December. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable and noble friend Baroness Anelay, discussed human rights with the Russian Ambassador on 25 November. The British Embassy in Moscow regularly raises our concerns about human rights with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most recently with Foreign Minister Lavrov on 13 January.

    (b) We have raised concerns about LGBT rights in Russia bilaterally at a number of levels since the law banning the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations among minors was passed in June 2013. I raised concerns about the protection of LGBT people in Russia with the Russian Ambassador at our last meeting on 18 December. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also discussed the safety of participants at LGBT events with the Russian authorities in November, and they regularly meet with LGBT activists and attend LGBT events to provide support.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that recipients of social care are able to access complaints advocacy, equivalent to the measures for health complaints advocacy established under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

    Norman Lamb

    There are no current legislative proposals to ensure that recipients of social care are able to access complaints advocacy.

    There is a duty to provide statutory advocacy support in adult social care in relation to some of the most vulnerable people using social care services – people who lack capacity to make decisions themselves. They have the right to statutory advocacy in relation to care planning and also in some cases for care reviews and safeguarding, under certain circumstances.

    The Care Act 2014, which comes into force in April this year, introduces a new statutory duty on local authorities to provide access to independent advocacy. This has been introduced to support people’s involvement in care and support needs assessments, carers’ needs assessments, care planning, review and adult safeguarding boards. It extends the availability of independent advocacy to those who are judged to have substantial difficultly in being fully involved in these processes, where there is no one appropriate, such as a carer, relative or friend, who can support their involvement.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners had reached the state pension age (a) on the latest date and (b) during the most recent year for which information is available.

    Andrew Selous

    The number of prisoners of state pensionable age on 30 September 2014 was 2221. In the year to 30 September 2014, 262 prisoners reached state pensionable age.

    Further information can be found in the National Offender Management Service Offender Equalities Annual Report 2013/14 the link to which is below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/380129/noms-offender-equalities-annual-report-2013-14.pdf

    “