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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2015-12-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent members of staff were employed by HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2005.
Mr David Gauke
The number of full-time equivalent members of staff employed by HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 2005 is shown in the following table.
|
Year |
Full-time equivalent staff in post |
|
April 2005 |
97,073.36 |
|
April 2006 |
92,888.45 |
|
April 2007 |
88,935.55 |
|
April 2008 |
83,827.84 |
|
April 2009 |
81,159.89 |
|
April 2010 |
70,699.64 |
|
April 2011 |
66,880.89 |
|
April 2012 |
66,466.00 |
|
April 2013 |
64,476.36 |
|
April 2014 |
61,370.12 |
|
April 2015 |
57,138.24 |
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 to have made irregular payments to third party suppliers without the necessary contracts in each of the last three years.
Edward Timpson
Local authorities are responsible for the oversight of the schools they maintain and carry out their own programmes of financial monitoring.
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 considered 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 steps she is taking to ensure that public-facing staff at sports venues have disability equality awareness training.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Government will publish its response to the discussion document on Intermediaries Legislation (IR35).
Mr David Gauke
The discussion period closed on 30 September and the Government will announce next steps in due course.