Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Fearn on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the annual spending by inbound tourists to the UK and which countries are the 10 largest source markets from which those tourists come.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    According to the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey, inbound visitors to the UK spent £21.85 billion in 2014. The top ten inbound markets by spend last year are set out in the following table.

    Top 10 inbound markets by value 2014

    From

    Spend (£m)

    1

    USA

    £2,944

    2

    Germany

    £1,478

    3

    France

    £1,434

    4

    Australia

    £1,224

    5

    Spain

    £1,082

    6

    Italy

    £922

    7

    Irish Republic

    £870

    8

    Netherlands

    £701

    9

    Norway

    £548

    10

    Sweden

    £503

    More information can be found on the VisitBritain website –https://www.visitbritain.org/inbound-tourism-trends

    “

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom – so we get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey about attacks on the freedom of the media in the light of the number of journalists imprisoned, awaiting trial, and refused accreditation, and the number of TV channels that have been closed.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 30 December 2016 (HL4542). The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed the importance of Turkey’s reform agenda including media freedoms, with President Erdoğan when they met in Turkey on 14 January.

  • Baroness Suttie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Suttie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings they have had recently with the government of Tunisia to discuss the current travel advice for UK citizens intending to travel to Tunisia; and whether they have any plans to amend that advice.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Tunisian authorities, including on the matter of Travel Advice. The most recent discussions were in February 2016 when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met the Tunisian Ambassador in London, and the Chargé d’ Affairs in Tunis met the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Tourism and Interior.

    We keep our travel advice for Tunisia under constant review, taking into account the current terrorist threat and the Tunisian capacity to deter and respond to that threat. The safety of British nationals abroad remains our priority.

  • 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 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has for the allocation of the £70 million funding for relationship support announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016; and what the timetable will be for the distribution of that funding over the Parliament.

    Priti Patel

    The Department is developing the detail of how the funding will be allocated. For 2016/17 we are extending our programme of relationship support provision which will include supporting local authorities to improve the quality of couple or co-parenting relationships and extending the evidence base in this policy area.

    We are also exploring which interventions can maximise the important links between parenting and relationship support.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average level of funding for GPs in (a) Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group, (b) comparator clinical commissioning groups and (c) England was in each of the last 3 years.

    Alistair Burt

    Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that the funding for general practitioners (GPs) in Southampton City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was £31,892,320 in 2013/14 and £33,578,245 in 2014/15.

    The comparator CCGs fall into the area of Wessex. The average level of funding for GPs in comparator CCGs was £40,243,811 in 2013/14 and £43,300,640 in 2014/15.

    The average level of funding for GPs in England was £36,169,099 in 2013/14 and £37,868,835 in 2014/15.

    Data is not available for earlier years.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance he has given to HM Revenue and Customs on the use of powers in the Finance Act 2014 to issue accelerated payment notices for seeking retrospective tax payments.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has the power to seek upfront payment of disputed tax in certain avoidance cases.

    The legislation is not retrospective. It does not create any new tax liability; it simply alters where the tax sits while the liability is being disputed.

    The taxpayer can continue to dispute the case and will be repaid with interest should they win.

    At 31 March 2016 HMRC had issued over 46,000 accelerated payments notices, representing over £4.8bn of tax in dispute; and over £2.5bn had been received.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support he has provided to local authorities and the construction industry to encourage the promotion of self-build schemes for constructing new homes.

    Gavin Barwell

    We have a strong commitment to supporting and encouraging the growth of self- and custom build homes.

    The Government has implemented new legislation requiring most local planning authorities to hold and have regard to registers for those seeking to build their own home in a local authority area. Subject to Parliamentary processes, in the Autumn we will also introduce secondary legislation flowing from the Housing and Planning Act 2016 which will require local planning authorities to find and give permission to suitable land reflecting the demand demonstrated by the registers. We have made available £32 million in new burdens funding over the Spending Review period in order to support local planning authorities in meeting these new requirements.

    In the 2015 Spending Review, the Government also announced a £3 billion loan fund of which £1 billion is specifically earmarked for short term loans to support small and medium builders and custom build projects and is designed to provide further support for the legislation that we have introduced.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to what forms of hostel accommodation he plans to apply the housing benefit cap.

    Caroline Nokes

    The Secretary of State announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 15 September 2016 that we would be deferring the application of Local Housing Allowance Rates in the social sector for all those living in supported accommodation until 2019/20.

    At this point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents.

    The Secretary of State also announced that a formal consultation would be published shortly.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department examined international comparators when developing the policy of a reception baseline assessment; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    There are several examples, internationally, of children having some form of assessment when they start school. This helps teachers to assess where extra support is needed.

    The reception baseline assessment will formally recognise the progress that schools make with children throughout the primary years.