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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chloe Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chloe Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chloe Smith on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to give pensioners more control over their savings.

    Mr David Gauke

    Budget 14 announced the most radical change to the way people take their pensions for nearly a century. From April 2015, individuals aged 55 or over with defined contribution savings will have much greater flexibility over access to their pension savings, which they will be able to withdraw subject only to their marginal rate of income tax and their scheme rules. We have also made changes to allow more people to access greater flexibility.

    In addition, ISAs, popular with over 24 million UK savers, are to be reformed from 1 July 2014 into a more flexible product. The New ISA will leave savers free to choose how to split their increased £15,000 annual allowance between cash and stocks and shares ISAs and to transfer funds in any direction between accounts.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, column 789-90W, on special educational needs, what support his Department is providing to Nasen.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education is providing funding of £918,000 to Nasen over two years to develop a special educational needs (SEN) gateway. This will provide professionals with access to free high-quality SEN resources and training materials to support children with SEN and disabilities.

    The gateway will be designed primarily for educational professionals in schools, colleges and other educational settings rather than for parents, although they will be able access the gateway. It is due to be launched in May 2014.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people who are paid at a rate below the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in Bolton North East constituency.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help workers in the oil industry to seek employment in the Falkland Islands.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Honourable Member will understand that employment in the oil industry is primarily a commercial matter for the companies involved. However, the UK Government offers advice and support to those people and companies who wish to avail themselves of the varied economic opportunities in the Falkland Islands.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the savings to the public purse of reductions in carbon emissions leading to a low carbon economy.

    Gregory Barker

    I have been asked to reply.

    The Climate Change Act (2008) commits the UK to reducing emissions of GHGs and the accompanying Impact Assessment sets out that within the context of global efforts to limit climate change the benefits to the UK will be greater than the costs. However, the department has not made specific estimates of the savings to the public purse from a move to a low carbon economy as the precise fiscal impact of carbon emission reductions will depend on the mix of policies used.

    For this reason individual assessments of the fiscal impacts of policies have been made and published where appropriate. In addition, it is worth noting that in the Coalition Agreement, the Government committed to increase the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by environmental taxes.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the budgets for criminal justice and emergency services will be devolved to Police and Crime Commissioners; and what the total budget is that Police and Crime Commissioners will inherit.

    Damian Green

    There are no current plans to transfer responsibility, and the budgets, for the criminal justice system or the emergency services to Police and Crime Commissioners.

    The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act contains a duty to cooperate for Police and Crime Commissioners and criminal justice partners which – although broad – sets the framework for Commissioners to play a substantial local leadership role. Commissioners are taking a prominent role in local justice matters and are, for example, taking seats (sometimes even as Chair) at their local criminal justice boards.

    The Government is further extending the remit of PCCs who will assume responsibility for commissioning local victims’ services in October 2014 – complementing their other responsibilities to respond to local views and needs when drawing up plans to cut crime.

    The Government is also driving collaboration between local emergency services to deliver more effective services and better value for money for the public. We are providing funding through the Home Office Police Innovation Fund and DCLG’s Transformation Challenge Award and Fire Transformation Fund to support emergency services collaboration projects.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Dorset and East Devon coast continues to enjoy World Heritage status and remains in compliance with Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site continues to enjoy World Heritage status and it is not currently under threat. The UK Government takes its responsibilities to conserve World Heritage Sites very seriously. The planning systems in place provide robust processes for assessing the potential impact of proposals on heritage assets and dealing appropriately with them.

  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that there will not be delays in the delivery of court reports to magistrates’ courts in Wales and England following the introduction of the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda.

    Jeremy Wright

    We are engaging with the magistracy and sentencers to ensure they are fully informed of the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms and associated implications. The new National Probation Service (NPS) will be responsible for advice to courts and, prior to sentence, the NPS will advise courts on sentencing options for cases as part of a pre-sentence report (in accordance with the reserved function of giving assistance to any court in determining the appropriate sentence to pass, under Section 4 of the Offender Management Act 2007).

    As now, the three categories of pre-sentence report, Standard Delivery (SDR), Fast Delivery (FDR), and Same Day (or Oral) reports will allow Courts the flexibility to deliver sentencing decisions in the appropriate timeframe, depending on each individual case, reducing the number of adjournments and expediting the criminal justice process. The new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the NPS and complements the pre-sentence report process. The RSR will be straightforward to use and aims to reduce bureaucracy in the report writing process. We will ensure through the contracting process that CRCs work closely with the NPS so that cases where the offender is under CRC supervision are brought before the courts speedily and effectively.

  • James Gray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    James Gray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Gray on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for further funding of Combined Cadet Forces; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    We have set a target of expanding the number of Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) in state schools.

    We are moving towards a model for all CCFs which will involve schools making a small contribution towards the running costs of their units, irrespective of which sector the school is in. We are working with schools to establish the best way forward and our current plan is that funding changes will happen in a phased manner over a four-year period from September 2015.

    The Secretary of State for Defence has not had discussions with the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA), although officials are in regular contact. The CCFA is represented on relevant Government cadet committees, and has been briefed on the planned changes.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 107W, to question 194746, on large goods vehicles: taxation, how many HGVs 94 per cent of UK HGVs paying the HGV user levy represents.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We have estimated that around 259,000 UK HGVs will pay the road user levy. Of these, we estimated that around 94%, or 243,000, will pay no more than now, taking into account the reductions in Vehicle Excise Duty that happened at the same time.