The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve toy safety.
Anna Soubry
Toy safety is fully addressed by the Toy Safety Regulations 2011. Officials are engaged with the associated standards developed and maintained through the British Standards Institute and monitoring of Trading Standards enforcement activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on the High Level Prosperity Partnership in Africa.
James Duddridge
In 2013 we established high level prosperity partnerships with Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania. They form the context within which the UK seeks to increase mutual prosperity and generate jobs.
The recent appointment of The Rt Hon Baroness Northover as trade envoy for Angola, my Honourable Friend, the Member for Windsor, as trade envoy for Ghana and my Honourable Friend, the Member for Newbury, as trade envoy for Mozambique will further enhance these partnerships.
Our commitment to these agreements is illustrated by regular high-level visits, totalling 14 in the last three years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-03-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent from the public purse on defending the case The Queen on the application ZAT, IAJ, KAM, AAM, MAT, MAJ and LAM v Secretary of State for the Home Department, and how much they estimate will be spent on their appeal.
Lord Bates
The Secretary of State’s legal costs currently stand at £53,747.82. It is not possible to estimate how much will be spent on the appeal at this juncture.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-04-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a self-contained annex to a house will be assessed separately from the entire residence for the purpose of calculating stamp duty at the point of sale; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
The Government recognises the concerns raised around the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) treatment of self-contained annexes and agrees that the new higher rates of SDLT should not apply to a purchase of a main residence.
The Government is amending the Finance Bill to exempt annexes from the higher rates of SDLT when purchased in the same transaction as a main residence. In this case, the transaction will be treated as only involving one dwelling and SDLT at the standard rates will apply. An annex will be defined via objective criteria. It must be within the grounds of the main home and worth no more than a third of the total transaction value.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when officials of his Department last met representatives of the devolved administrations to discuss (a) how the apprenticeship levy will operate and (b) the proportion of the apprenticeship levy that each of the devolved administrations will receive.
Nick Boles
The digital apprenticeship service will support the English apprenticeship system from April 2017 and my officials engage regularly with their devolved administration counterparts to discuss the implementation of the apprenticeship levy and the new digital service.
Apprenticeships are a devolved policy and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to determine their arrangements for supporting employers to access and pay for apprenticeships.
Discussions are continuing with the devolved administration on funding arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the changes in business rates for small solar PV systems as a result of the planned 2017 revaluation on the (a) rate of installation of new systems and (b) maintenance of existing systems.
Andrea Leadsom
Business rates are calculated based on a property’s ‘rateable value’. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for determining the rateable values in line with existing legislation and case law.
I understand that the VOA is currently consulting with the solar industry over how those rateable values will apply to solar installations from 1st April 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints his Department has received from hon. Members on the service of Concentrix in the last 12 months.
Jane Ellison
Between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, HM Revenue and Customs received 670 formal complaints in writing or via e-mail from hon. Members relating to Concentrix service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2015 to Question 15120, on Western Sahara: human rights, whether he discussed reports of intimidation, harassment and kidnapping of human rights defenders in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara during the visit of King Mohamed VI.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I discussed Western Sahara during my visit to Morocco on 11-12 November. We will continue to raise with the Moroccan authorities allegations of human rights abuses in the territory which are brought to our attention.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will estimate the number of passengers from North Wales and Cheshire who are projected to use Liverpool Airport in (a) 2015, (b) 2020 and (c) 2025.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The last aviation forecasts made by the Department for Transport were produced in January 2013. These gave the following forecasts of passengers using Liverpool Airport who began or ended their journeys in North Wales or Cheshire in the central demand case:
(a) 2015 : 0.81 million
(b) 2020 : 0.78 million
(c) 2025 : 0.82 million.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of civil service redundancies in the last 12 months on the effectiveness of departments’ work.
Matthew Hancock
To remain the best in the world, the Civil Service needs to respond to both the challenges and opportunities of our times.The Civil Service continues to require new and different skills to respond to the fiscal environment, global competition and changes in technology, whilst at the same time delivering better services more efficiently: in short, doing more for less.
The size of the Civil Service has already reduced by 20% since March 2010 and has helped save taxpayers £2.8bn over the last Parliament. Despite this reduction in numbers, employee engagement rates were higher in 2015 than in 2010 and departments have successfully maintained delivery of our public services.