Tag: Seema Malhotra

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-10-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government’s report, Fixing the Foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, Cm9098, published July 2015, what steps he has taken to increase the quantity and quality of apprenticeships in accordance with that report’s recommendations.

Greg Hands

Almost 2.4 million apprenticeship starts were delivered in the last Parliament and we will build on that success and deliver 3 million in this Parliament. We will introduce an apprenticeship levy to increase employer investment in apprenticeships. We are increasing the quality of apprenticeships through more rigorous assessment and grading at the end of the apprenticeship. The Enterprise Bill will protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ in law to prevent misuse. From next April, employers of apprentices under the age of 25 will no longer be required to pay National Insurance contributions for those employees.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to increase the access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to export.

Anna Soubry

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has established a cadre of Export Finance Advisors based around the UK so exporters can access advice locally where they are seeking finance for export transactions which they are unable to obtain from the private market.

UKEF offers products to assist SME exporters in such circumstances where the risks are acceptable, including an Export Working Capital Scheme. It is looking to enhance its products using new Statutory powers that came into force earlier in 2015. It is also planning to improve accessibility to those products delivered through banks and simplify documentation, including application forms and associated processes, where appropriate, by digital means, that should help speed-up decision-taking and response times.

The Government is currently consulting on simplifying the anti-bribery Declarations and Undertakings exporters are required to provide UKEF. UKEF liaises with the British Business Bank to ensure each other’s products are complementary and fill gaps in the provisions of support where this is unavailable from the private market.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which areas of the UK had (a) limited and (b) no mobile coverage in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Following the Government’s landmark agreement with mobile network operators in December 2014 and the 4G licence obligation on Telefonica we expect mobile coverage to improve significantly – with coverage to nearly 98% of UK landmass by 2017.In August 2015 Ofcom published an online interactive map showing areas of mobile coverage in the UK. The map is available at:http://www.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-coverage. No such map exists for coverage in 2010.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which external organisations have contributed to his Department’s review on business rates.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has held a range meetings with stakeholders and received a large number of submissions in response to the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps in the business rates review to make specific provision for the retail industry.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is considering the impact of business rates on all business sectors including energy intensive industries, manufacturing industries and the retail industry as part of the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have been subject to a diverted profits charge since its introduction.

Mr David Gauke

The Diverted Profits Tax is designed to counter contrived tax arrangements used by some multinationals to shift their profits to other countries. It is deliberately set at a higher rate than corporation tax, so it acts as a deterrent and encourages more companies to pay corporation tax.

To date no companies have been issued with a charging notice under section 95 Finance Act 2015 which brings diverted profits tax into charge. However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received notifications from eleven companies under section 92 in relation to section 86 Finance Act 2015 over the period 1 April 2015 to 31 December 2015.

For companies with accounting periods ending on or before 31 March 2016 the notification period is six months from the end of that period. HMRC is not able to disclose details of notifications relating to sections 80 and 81 of the Finance Act 2015 due to its duty to protect taxpayer confidentiality.

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 2015-10-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish his Department’s Business Tax Roadmap.

Mr David Gauke

The Government will publish a Business Tax Roadmap by April 2016, setting out plans for business taxes over the rest of the parliament. This will give businesses the certainty they need to plan long-term investment.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of increasing the provision of export finance in productivity.

Greg Hands

Trade increases UK productivity by allowing firms to specialise in sectors in which the UK has a comparative advantage, and through exposure to new ideas and international competition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK businesses that do not have access to broadband with speeds above 24Mbps.

Mr Edward Vaizey

According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report 2015, published on 1 December 2015, superfast broadband coverageis now available to 68% of small and medium businesses (SMEs) – up from 56% last year– a very substantial increase.

In addition, the £40 million government-funded Broadband Connection Voucher Schemehas benefitted well over 50,000 SMEs,who employ up to 1 million people across the UK; and we are on track to hit 95% superfast broadband coverage across the UK by 2017. In addition, the PM recently announced the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.