Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what cross-Government estimates they have made in 2016–17 departmental budgets for the extra cost of agency and contract staff of HMRC’s proposals on not allowing staff employed through agencies or contractors to claim tax relief on their travel and subsistence expenses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    No cross-government estimates have been made for the extra cost of agency and contract staff in 2016-17 departmental budgets, following the restriction of tax relief on travel and subsistence for workers engaged through an employment intermediary.

    The changes are aimed at ensuring the tax system provides no individuals or business with an unfair advantage by preventing temporary workers, who are employed through employment intermediaries, and their employers, from benefiting for relief for home-to-work travel and subsistence expenses. This relief is not generally available to other workers who are employed directly or through temporary work contracts.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has taken to reduce the number of unnecessary customer calls to HMRC telephone lines.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs has deployed a Demand Management approach since 2010 to reduce unnecessary telephony demand. This approach includes reengineering business processes, improving forms and guidance to provide greater clarity for customers and introducing a “Once and Done” approach on calls, where possible.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the cost to the tourist industry in Calder Valley of recent flooding and severe weather in that area.

    David Evennett

    No assessment has been made by DCMS of the direct cost to Calder Valley’s tourism industry following the recent flooding. However, some tourism businesses in flood affected areas have reported a drop in bookings of up to 60%. We want to ensure that our tourism businesses have as much support as possible as they recover from the recent floods and that is why a new £1m PR campaign was announced by the Prime Minister in Cumbria, on the 28th January, to support businesses ready to receive visitors, and this is part of a wider package of immediate measures to help the area.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish contingency plans that have been made by his Department in the event of a UK exit from the EU.

    Mr David Gauke

    As the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have said, the civil service is working to support the Government’s position that Britain is stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU

    As required by the EU Referendum Act 2015, the Government is producing clear information, ahead of the referendum, on the outcome of renegotiation, the rights and obligations in EU law, an assessment of alternatives to membership and publishing the process for leaving.

    The Treasury will publish a comprehensive analysis of our membership of a reformed EU and the alternatives, including the long-term economic costs and benefits of EU membership and the risks associated with an exit before 23 June.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed by each agency of his Department in each location in the last year for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    The number of civil servants employed by each agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is shown in the attached table and represents the position as at 31 December 2015. The Department does not hold centrally any location data for its agencies prior to this date.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases relating to the (a) eviction of residents and (b) banning of guests in care homes have reached the High Court in each year since 2010.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the national Geological Disposal Facility to be ready.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The process to site a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) is planned to launch in 2017 and will be driven by working in partnership with willing communities. The technical work to assess the geological suitability of a site and build a credible long-term safety case is the main determinant of the length of time that it will take. The Government has therefore not set a fixed delivery timetable but the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a current planning assumption that the GDF will be available to receive the first waste in the 2040s.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to tackle traffic congestion.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has an ambitious strategy for tackling congestion in our cities and towns and improving performance on our roads. This strategy includes providing significant investment in both our strategic and local road networks, as well as encouraging more sustainable transport including buses, light rail and walking and cycling. We are providing £15.2 billion between 2015 and 2021 to invest in our strategic road network. This is the biggest upgrade to our motorways and ‘A’ roads for a generation, and it is adding capacity and tackling congestion.

    The Road Investment Strategy is providing a transformational level of investment in the strategic road network (SRN), with over 400 extra lane miles of Smart Motorways, including a ‘smart spine’ linking London, Birmingham and the North West and schemes to improve critical freight routes, such as the £1.5 billion A14 scheme in Cambridgeshire and the M6 in Cheshire.

    The drive to improve safety and reduce congestion underpins the vast majority of our schemes. Several schemes, however, are specifically focused on alleviating these problems – the two of which often go hand in hand. On the M25, upgrades to Junction 10 will create a free-flowing interchange with the A3, improving an area which has a high casualty rate. In the North, planning work will start for upgrades to two of the region’s most important interchanges: the M62/M1 Lofthouse interchange and the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island junction.

    On local roads we have the £12 billion Local Growth Fund to 2021 which has enabled local authorities through the Local Enterprise Partnerships to identify and secure funding for projects to enable among other things, local road improvements and sustainable local transport projects. This is on top of over £6 billion through to 2021 to councils in England to help maintain their local roads and repair potholes.

    This investment is set against the backdrop of a regulatory framework that is intended to provide better conditions for all road users through coordination and proactive management of the road network. The Traffic Management Act 2004 specifically places a network management duty on each local traffic authority in England to manage its road network to secure the expeditious movement of traffic on its own network and to facilitate the same on the network of other authorities. This can be achieved through traditional traffic management methods including effective enforcement of parking and management of street works but increasingly also through the deployment of technology. To support this the Department for Transport is currently inviting local authorities to bid for a share of £2m to fund demonstrator projects to test these new technologies.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2015 to Question 5604, when he expects to provide a full response to the Law Commission’s report on a statutory definition of plying for hire for the taxi and private hire industry.

    Andrew Jones

    In its comprehensive review of taxi and private hire legislation, the Law Commission considered creating a statutory definition of plying for hire. However, after careful consideration the Law Commission recommended an alternative approach that would make it unlawful for anyone other than a local taxi driver to accept a hiring ‘there and then’.

    The Government is currently considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report. The Government will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints were rejected by the Financial Ombudsman Service on grounds of jurisdiction in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 to date.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.

    The questions have been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.