Tag: Parliamentary Question

Rebecca Pow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of tree disease on (a) existing woodland and (b) the restoration of planted ancient woodland.

Rory Stewart

Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and our health. Defra is committed to protecting our borders from pests and building the resilience of our trees and plants.

We assess the impacts of pests and disease threats on trees and plants and take a risk-based approach to ensure that our response is directed towards priority pests and diseases and their respective pathways. We have produced a prioritised plant health risk register which is used to identify risks and agree priorities for action.

The Forestry Commission has a comprehensive monitoring and surveillance programme in place for tree pests and diseases in woodlands. Maps of the latest confirmed findings are available on its website:

www.forestry.gov.uk/pestsanddiseases

Defra has funded research to ‘Assess and address the impacts of ash dieback on UK woodlands and trees of conservation importance’. The published report includes a series of case studies on sites of ancient woodland and is available at:

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5273931279761408

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01/01/2023
Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase tourism in Cornwall from (a) domestic and (b) foreign visitors.

David Evennett

Our tourism industry supports millions of jobs and is one of the nation’s leading employers and export earners. In 2014, the sector contributed nearly £60bn to the UK economy, and at the latest spending round the Chancellor announced a new £40m Discover England to encourage international visitors to explore beyond London. In the South West, the number of domestic visitors has increased by 14% in the 12 months to December 2015, compared with the previous year; and we have been working to promote international tourism through the £5m South West Tourism Growth Fund. Full-year data for international visitors in 2015 will be released in due course.

01/01/2023
Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what monitoring his Department has undertaken of the adequacy of supply of suitable and affordable accommodation for older people who want to live independently but with some support on-site.

Brandon Lewis

Decisions on how to meet the health and social care needs of older people who need affordable and accessible homes and monitoring the supply of such accommodation are best made by local authorities. Government believes that local planning authorities remain best placed to determine the extent to which provision of more accessible housing is necessary and appropriate in their local area, and have appropriate powers to introduce development plan policies to meet these needs, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Guidance and other relevant matters.

The National Planning Policy Framework & Planning Guidance requires local authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, and the needs of different groups, including elderly people, in their area.

01/01/2023
Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make representations to her EU counterparts and the European Commission on amending provisions related to take-down notices in the Electronic Commerce Directive 2002.

Matt Hancock

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to postpone the introduction of the secondary market for annuities until 2018 to ensure adequate time for the pension industry to plan for the introduction of that market.

Simon Kirby

To date, the Government has published the following consultation documents in relation to the secondary market in annuities policy:

Creating a secondary annuity market – March 2015

Creating a secondary annuity market: response to the call for evidence – December 2015

Creating a secondary annuity market: tax framework – April 2016

Creating a secondary market for annuities – secondary legislation – April 2016

These consultations have now closed. The Government will respond shortly.

01/01/2023

David Crausby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the per capita spending was on transport projects in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) London in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones

a) Data on spend per head on transport projects is not available at the level of Greater Manchester.

However, Greater Manchester has benefitted from significant transport investment over the last five years, for example, £140.8 million of Integrated Transport Block funding, £143.2 million for Highways Maintenance (2010-11 to 2014-15), £32.5 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for the ‘Let’s Get to Work’ scheme, £32.49 million for the Manchester Cross City Bus Package (due for completion in November 2016) and £44m announced in July 2014 as part of the Local Growth Fund for 12 new light rail vehicles on Metrolink.

(b) Spend per head on transport in London for the last five available years was as follows:

Identifiable expenditure on transport in London 2009-10 to 2013-14

Type of expenditure	2009-10 outturn	2010-11 outturn	2011-12 outturn	2012-13 outturn	2013-14 outturn
Total expenditure
Per head (£)	747	660	597	479	511
Capital expenditure
Per head (£)	448	413	362	301	332
Current expenditure
Per head (£)	300	247	235	178	180

Source: HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis, 2014

Spending on London’s transport networks benefits not just London residents but commuters and others travelling into London. London is the biggest city in the UK and a global capital. 850,000 commuters come into London per working day, and there are about 4 billion passenger journeys every year.

The figures in recent years can be skewed by capital projects with uneven patterns of expenditure such as Crossrail and Thameslink (which also create jobs elsewhere).

01/01/2023

Lord Oates – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Zimbabwe about political violence and the political impartiality of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in dealing with this violence.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

I refer the noble Lord to the response given in the other place by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Mr Benn) on 27 October 2015 [12945], summarising our assessment of the political situation. There have been reports of political violence, directed against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change as well as between factions of the governing Zimbabwe African National Union party in recent months. Our Ambassador in Harare raised our concerns with the Government of Zimbabwe on 1 December. The UK remains committed to supporting the aspirations of the Zimbabwean people for a more peaceful, democratic, stable and prosperous Zimbabwe, free from political violence and repression.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on proposals made by his German counterpart that an EU-wide petrol tax be levied to fund aid for Syrian refugees; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The financing system for the EU budget for 2014-2020 was agreed in 2013, when the Prime Minister secured the UK objectives of no new own resources or EU-wide taxes to finance EU spending, and no change to the UK rebate. This House ratified that deal last summer.

The Government’s position remains unchanged. The UK retains its veto over any proposed change to the financing system for the EU budget, and over any EU tax legislation. The Government will not sign up to anything that undermines the UK’s tax sovereignty.

01/01/2023

Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s policy is on using debt collection agencies for collection of outstanding payments.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

01/01/2023

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on auditing Google’s tax returns in each of the last 10 years; and how many full-time equivalent staff worked on that task in those years.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs does not disclose details of its work on the affairs of particular taxpayers.

01/01/2023