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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the expected Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge is for student loans paid out to EU students studying in England.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge, which represents the value of the part of the loan that is not expected to be repaid, is not calculated separately by the nationality of the students. We estimate that the RAB charge for full time tuition fee and maintenance loans is between 20% and 25%.

    My Department publishes an updated estimate of the RAB charge each year, close to the time of the publication of BIS accounts. The most recent estimate of the RAB charge was published on 18 February 2016. The estimate, together with a simplified version of the model for calculating the RAB charge can be found here:

    http://tinyurl.com/stepmodel

    “

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will remove the local housing allowance cap for people living in supported housing; and if he will make a statement.

    Caroline Nokes

    The Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government expects to make an announcement on the way forward for supported housing in early autumn.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet the hon. Member for Copeland to discuss the effect of the exit payment cap on nuclear workers in Copeland constituency.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government announced in May 2015 that it intends to take forward its manifesto commitment to end six-figure exit payments for public sector workers. The Enterprise Act, which contains provisions for the £95,000 public sector exit payment cap, received Royal Assent on 4 May 2016.

    Public sector exit payments cost around £2 billion a year and it is important that they are fair, proportionate and provide value for money to the taxpayer that funds them. The proposed cap, amounting to 3.5 times the average public sector salary, will still offer a significant level of compensation and support to an employee, and will apply to only a small percentage of public sector exits. The exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics, with a small number of exceptions.

    I am aware that the hon. Member for Copeland is discussing the effect of the cap on nuclear workers in his constituency with my noble friend the Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). That is the appropriate route for these discussions as BEIS is the department responsible for the nuclear industry.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to prevent illegal timber entering Europe.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implemented the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.

    The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

    Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.

    I welcome the fact that UK companies and other bodies are making similar commitments to trade in both legal and sustainable timber by signing up to WWF’s Forest Campaign.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long it takes for the average claimant to receive a first payment of universal credit from the time they became unemployed in those areas where universal credit has been introduced.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit entitlement is assessed and paid in arrears. Payment is made on a fixed date 7 days after the end of the monthly assessment period.

    Where a claimant’s earnings or income is insufficient to meet their living costs and in order to safeguard against financial hardship before the first UC payment, an advance payment of up to 50% of their UC award may be made.

    Personal Budgeting Support advice is also available to all claimants.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will direct the armed forces to drop emergency food aid to the under siege town of Madaya in Syria.

    Penny Mordaunt

    A joint UN/Syrian Arab Red Crescent/International Committee of the Red Cross operation delivered humanitarian assistance, including food, non-food items, and medical supplies, to Madaya on 11 January. With land access available there are no plans for the RAF to deliver humanitarian assistance by air.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which projects in the North West have received European Commission funding in each of the last five years; and how much each such project received in each year.

    Anna Soubry

    A full list of all the projects funded by European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund in the North West since 2007 are provided on the GOV.UK site.

    The total value of grants awarded to organisations in the North West of England from the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) 2007-2013 was €420,441,221 (figure correct at 11/11/2015). The total value of grants awarded to organisations in the North West under the Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) programme is €66,881,642 (figure correct at 29/10/2015). The figures for both programmes include grants that were awarded under the complementary Euratom research and training activities programme.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of staffing (a) railway stations and (b) trains.

    Claire Perry

    The safety of passengers and rail users is paramount on the railway and the Department for Transport would never do anything to put passengers at risk.

    We do regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, but staffing levels beyond this are a matter for the operators as we believe that they are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support efforts to demine areas liberated from Daesh in Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government of Iraq is committed to stabilising areas which have been liberated from Daesh. This includes providing security, including through demining efforts, to enable civilians to return. The UK, along with our partners in the Global Coalition, is supporting the Government of Iraq to do this. This includes providing £2.5 million to the UN Development Programme’s stabilisation fund for Iraq, and £225,000 to the UN Mine Action Service to establish a unit to assess the problem and coordinate donor support.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ascertain the number of local staff at a foreign embassy who are liable to pay tax.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Letters are issued annually on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Diplomatic Missions in the UK (Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates) requesting staff lists providing details of all locally engaged staff and private servants.

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a specialist team (the Embassy team) in place to deal with enquiries from locally engaged staff employed at Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations in the UK as detailed in ‘The London Diplomatic List’. In December 2015 HMRC wrote to all these bodies to ensure they held full and up-to-date contact information for the team.

    Locally engaged employees and private servants are expected to contact the Embassy team to notify their employment as soon as they are engaged.

    The Embassy team determines the employee’s liability to Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions. The team also carries out risk assessment activity and where it identifies individuals who have not notified their employment to HMRC, it takes action to ensure they pay the tax that is due.