Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the status is of each prison building and site for prisons closed since May 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    Since May 2010 we have closed 18 prisons. This includes two partial closures (HMP Camp Hill, HMP Brockhill) and two former prisons (Morton Hall and The Verne) which have been re-roled into Immigration Removal Centres. The closure of these, and other uneconomic prison places, delivered £170m in savings between 2011-12 and 2014-15.

    Two former prisons, Wellingborough and Camp Hill, have been retained as a contingency measure to deal with unexpected events such as a larger than projected increase in the prison population. This allows us to have reserve capacity without the cost of keeping them fully operational.

    The status of each of the closed prisons is as follows:

    Former Prison

    Status

    HMP Ashwell

    Sold

    HMP Lancaster Castle

    Lease handed back

    HMP Latchmere House

    Sold

    HMP Wellingborough

    Reserve capacity

    HMP Bullwood Hall

    Contracts exchanged

    HMP Canterbury

    Sold

    HMP Gloucester

    Sold

    HMP Kingston

    Sold

    HMP Shepton Mallet

    Sold

    HMP Shrewsbury

    Sold

    HMP Blundeston

    Contracts exchanged

    HMP Dorchester

    Sold

    HMP Northallerton

    Sold

    HMP Camp Hill (part of HMP Isle of Wight)

    Reserve capacity

    HMP Brockhill (part of HMP Hewell)

    Sold

    HMYOI Reading

    Not yet on the market

    The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 9 November that we will sell former HMYOI Reading.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    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.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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.

  • Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    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.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    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.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    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.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    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.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    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.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    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.