Tag: Rob Marris

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Government expects to publish its response to the consultation on the Patent Box.

Mr David Gauke

We have reviewed all the responses to the consultation, which have fed into considerations of the detailed design of the new Patent Box rules. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders on relevant aspects of the new rules.

We expect that the government’s response to the consultation will be published later this year

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by what date NHS Improvement plan to respond to the email it received from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West on 13 May 2016, reference ZA4209, on delay.

Ben Gummer

NHS Improvement replied to the email of 13 May that it received from the hon. Member on 28 June 2016.

In April 2016 NHS Improvement brought together Monitor, NHS Trust Development Authority, NHS England’s Patient Safety team, the National Reporting and Learning System, NHS England’s Advancing Change team and its Intensive Support Teams.

NHS Improvement advise that they are strengthening their regional presence and refining their processes, including how they respond to queries. Their aim is to respond to letters and other correspondence from hon. Members within the Whitehall standard of 18 working days.

The Department has no record of having received an email from the hon. Member on 9 June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2015-12-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs plans to respond to the letter to that body from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 5 November 2015 on child tax credits, case reference ZA1426.

Damian Hinds

HMRC replied to hon. Member’s letter on 8 December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority schools have been found not to have kept records of eligibility for free school meals in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Gyimah

It is a statutory requirement for all schools to return free school meals eligibility data via the school census and the Department has a process for checking that returns are accurate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times the General Anti-Abuse Rule Advisory Panel met in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016 to date.

Mr David Gauke

The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was introduced in July 2013, and only applies to abusive tax arrangements entered into from this date.

This means that it will first apply to income tax returns for the tax year ending 5 April 2014, which must have been filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January 2015.

For cases to be tackled by the GAAR, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received, and gather all relevant facts. It is therefore still early in the process of litigation action for cases to be tackled by the GAAR.

The GAAR Advisory Panel is an external body separate to HMRC. Their independent role means that they do not report the number of meetings held to HMRC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letter to his Department from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 5 May 2016 on neighbourhood plans, reference ZA3476.

Brandon Lewis

I replied to the hon. Member on 11 July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department allocated to HM Revenue and Customs for the purpose of prosecuting employers who failed to pay the minimum wage in each financial year since 2005; and what the projected budget is for such activities in each financial year until 2020.

Nick Boles

Funding for National Minimum Wage (NMW) prosecutions is not fixed and comes out of the overall HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforcement budget, allocated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The overall budget for 2015/16 is £13.2m, a £4m increase on 2014/15. Table 1 sets out the enforcement budget for each year since 2005/06.

The Government is committed to simple, effective NMW enforcement which supports workers and businesses by deterring non-compliant employers from underpaying their workers and removing the unfair competitive advantage that underpayment can bring. For this reason the Government increased HMRC’s 2015/16 enforcement budget by £4 million in 2015/16, and will further increase the enforcement budget from April 2016. A proportion of this budget will be used to establish a new team of compliance officers in HMRC to investigate the most serious cases of employers not paying the NMW and, from April, the National Living Wage. The team will have the power to use all available sanctions, including penalties and criminal investigation.

No decision has been taken on the enforcement budget until 2020.

Table 1: HMRC NMW enforcement budget

Year	HMRC Enforcement Budget (millions)
2005/06	£5.6
2006/07	£5.8
2007/08	£6.8
2008/09	£7.6
2009/10	£8.3
2010/11	£8.1
2011/12	£8.3
2012/13	£8.3
2013/14	£8.3
2014/15	£9.2
2015/16	£13.2

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools have been found to have made irregular payments to third party suppliers without the necessary contracts in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson

The Education Funding Agency does not record information in this manner, and would only be able to gather such information at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax avoidance cases the General Anti-Abuse Rule Advisory Panel made decisions on in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016 to date.

Mr David Gauke

The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was introduced in July 2013, and only applies to abusive tax arrangements entered into from this date.

This means that it will first apply to income tax returns for the tax year ending 5 April 2014, which must have been filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January 2015.

For cases to be tackled by the GAAR, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received, and gather all relevant facts. It is therefore still early in the process of litigation action for cases to be tackled by the GAAR.

The GAAR Advisory Panel is an external body separate to HMRC. Their independent role means that they do not report the number of meetings held to HMRC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of wheelchair accessibility at sports venues.

Tracey Crouch

Our Sports Strategy recognises the need for everyone to be able to access live sport and to benefit from the experience. It makes clear that sports venues need to provide an inclusive environment that welcomes all spectators.

We want sport to be at the forefront of equality and want to see all sports venues proactively consider and put into practice ways of engaging with and attracting a wider range of spectators, including disabled fans, ensuring the offer and the environment are inclusive and accessible to all.

We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligation under the Equality Act of 2010 to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues.