Tag: Seema Malhotra

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effects (a) to date and (b) in the future of the institutes of technology on UK productivity.

Greg Hands

1. This government’s Productivity Plan responds to the UK’s long-standing productivity gap compared to other some countries. The Institutes of Technology will seek to improve the UK’s performance on intermediate professional and technical skills. It will focus on the higher level skills employers demand, and will provide high-standard provision at levels 3, 4 and 5 – as part of a transformed skills system which is better able to meet local economic needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proposals he has received from local and regional government on directly electing mayors; and if hewill make a statement.

James Wharton

We have already agreed four devolution deals which will see directly elected Combined Authority Mayors introduced.

The Government is in discussions with other local areas across the country about the opportunities offered by devolution, and what new governance model may suit those areas, building on the 38 proposals received on 4 September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement of 25 November 2015, Official Report, column 1361, what the evidential basis is for the statement that an investment of £800 million to fight tax evasion will return almost 10 times that amount in additional tax.

Mr David Gauke

Spending Review 2015 confirmed the additional £800m investment in HMRC, announced at Summer Budget, to tackle evasion and non-compliance, which will deliver an extra £7.2bn over the next five years – a return in tax revenue of almost 10 times the additional funding. The individual measures that the Government has provided funding for and the revenue they raise is set out on page 73 of the Summer Budget 2015 document. The assumptions and methodologies underlying all of the costings are set out in the policy costings document published at Summer Budget 2015. Both of these documents are available on www.gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to address the level of UK household debt.

Harriett Baldwin

Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen to 144 per cent in Q2 2015, from a peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. The FPC recently re-affirmed its view that, given the actions it has taken, household indebtedness did not pose an imminent threat to financial stability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to improve access to finance for SMEs.

Anna Soubry

The Government is taking steps to improve financing opportunities for smaller businesses through the British Business Bank. The Bank is making business finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively and dynamically and is already supporting £2.4 billion of finance to over 40,000 smaller businesses, and participating in a further £3.3 billion of finance to mid-cap businesses. It aims to facilitate up to £10 billion of finance by 2019. In addition, measures in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 will require banks to refer customers who have been declined for a loan to alternative finance providers via designated platforms. This is expected to provide a significant boost to diversity and competition in business lending and is due to be implemented later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of inheritance tax relief for estates left on death.

Mr David Gauke

There are several inheritance tax (IHT) reliefs and these have different policy purposes. Transfers between spouses, including civil partners, are exempt from IHT. Taken together with the IHT nil-rate band, these exemptions are designed to allow most estates to be passed on to beneficiaries without an inheritance tax liability. More targeted exemptions and reliefs have different purposes including encouraging charitable giving, ensuring that businesses and farms do not have to be broken up to pay the liability and ensuring estates of those in the armed services and our emergency services who die in active service are exempt from inheritance tax.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-03-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.228 of Budget 2016, when he expects the new money guidance body to be established.

Harriett Baldwin

At Budget 2016, the government published its response to the Public Financial Guidance Review and launched a consultation seeking views on the government’s plans to restructure the statutory financial guidance providers – the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise. This paper, which closes on 8 June 2016, sets out a new delivery model for public financial guidance and seeks views on how, within this model, the proposed services could best be offered. The new delivery model is designed to better complement the financial guidance provided by the third sector and the industry and provide more targeted support for consumers.

The government will consider the responses to this consultation over the summer, and in parallel, work closely with the affected organisations to finalise the delivery structure. A detailed timetable will be set out with the final response, which will be published in the autumn. The government has been clear that the three affected organisations will continue to provide guidance to consumers until at least 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to implement the conclusions of Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, published in July 2015, and simplify and streamline the number of qualifications.

Nick Boles

Compared to other countries, technical and professional education in England is still too complex. The government’s ambition is for a system that provides individuals with clear, high-quality routes to employment.

Following Professor Alison Wolf’s 2011 Review of Vocational Education, the government has already removed thousands of low-quality qualifications, which were not valued by employers, from the school and college performance tables.

Building on these reforms we will introduce up to 20 specific new professional and technical routes will be created, leading up to employment or degree-level study. This will simplify the system so individuals no longer need to choose from thousands of qualifications.

To advise on these reforms, the government has appointed an Independent Panel on Technical and Professional Education, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to publish the report of the Cutting Red Tape programme.

Anna Soubry

The Cutting Red Tape programme has completed the evidence gathering stage for the six reviews launched earlier this year. The programme is now working with the responsible departments and regulators to understand the scale of potential savings, and to support them in developing next steps which respond to the findings of the reviews. The Government’s next steps will be to publish the review findings and associated responses in the New Year.

The programme is also running an open call for evidence for future reviews via its Twitter account @CutRedTapeUK and #CutRedTape, and its website https://cutting-red-tape.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which date his Department announced the creation of each enterprise zone in (a) urban and (b) rural areas of each region; and what plans he has to create new enterprise zones in what (i) rural and (ii) urban areas.

Greg Hands

26 new and extended Enterprise Zones were announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement on 25 November, details of which are available on gov.uk. The government has provided feedback to those Local Enterprise Partnerships that were unsuccessful in their applications, and where possible, will work with them to consider how the proposals could be improved.