Tag: William Wragg

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from 10 Downing Street circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what he estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

John Penrose

Copies of the Government’s published documents on the Referendum are available in the Libraries of both Houses. It is not normal practice to publish letters to members of the public and stakeholders. Costs relating to the Referendum will be accounted for in the usual way in Annual Report and Accounts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the HM Treasury analysis: the long term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives did not include an assessment of the potential effect on the UK economy of a potential reduction in GDP in the EU.

Mr David Gauke

The main estimates in the HM Treasury analysis are based on the EU as it is today, without further reform. The total cost of leaving is likely to be higher. If the economic benefits of reform are realised this could increase UK GDP by up to a further 4% – which equates to £2,800 for every household in the UK. With the UK outside the EU these economic reforms would be less likely to happen. So the cost of exit in terms of the potential loss of GDP would be correspondingly greater.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses in historic sex abuse cases.

Dr Phillip Lee

Victims of specific sexual offences, including historical sex abuse cases, are automatically provided with lifetime anonymity, by way of reporting restrictions, from the point of complaint. Anonymity is granted in recognition of the nature of the offence against them and to encourage other victims to come forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what provisions his Department has put in place to improve rolling stock as part of the rail franchise package for the North West.

Andrew Jones

The new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises commenced on the 1^st April. By the end of 2019, they will have introduced significant improvements in Rolling Stock.

The Northern franchise will deliver:-

• 281 new carriages including 55 new Diesel and 43 new Electric trains – the first ever new trains specified for the Northern franchise
• Additional diesel units cascaded from other franchises – refurbished to ‘as new’ standard
• Removal of all Pacer trains by October 2019
• All retained trains will be refurbished as new including Wi-Fi, media servers, passenger information systems, CCTV and accessible toilets with baby-change facilities

This means that 30% of this expanded fleet will be new and will operate 2000 more services per week –a 12% increase. The additional trains will provide a 37% increase in morning peak capacity into the North’s 5 major cities by December 2019.

The TransPennine franchise will deliver:-

• 220 new carriages
• All existing trains will be refurbished as new including Wi-Fi, additional power sockets, and real-time passenger information systems

This means that 70% of fleet is new, the fleet size increases by two-thirds, provides 13million more seats, an 80% increase in morning peak seats by the end of 2019.

These delivery plans as bid by the two operators during the Invitation to Tender process have been contracted within the franchise agreements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage corporate sponsorship of the arts at a local level.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government believes that a thriving arts sector is vital for the cultural landscape of this country. We highlighted in the recent Culture White Paper that we would like to see a rejuvenated approach to corporate sponsorship of the arts. We are working with Arts Council England and other partners on this agenda, including looking at local level partnerships.

Arts Council have already commissioned a new Private Investment Survey and is currently inviting all arts and cultural organisations in England to take part by April 29^th. The new survey will be published in the autumn and will provide an updated overview of private investment in England’s cultural sectors, including at the local level. It will also bridge the gap in terms of data on how the sector has developed since the last survey was published covering data for 2011/12, which recorded business investment in the arts as £113 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish details of all the correspondence between his Department and the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign since 1 September 2015.

John Penrose

It will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from his Department circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what he estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

David Mundell

I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (John Penrose) UIN 38825.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake an assessment of the potential effect on the UK economy of a reduction of (a) 0.1, (b) 0.2, (c) 0.3, (d) 0.4, (e) 0.5, (f) one, (g) two, (h) three, (i) four and (j) five per cent in the (i) GDP of each EU member state, (ii) average GDP across the Eurozone and (iii) average GDP across the EU.

Mr David Gauke

HM Treasury has not produced estimates of the impact of the economic performance of the euro area or other EU Member States on the UK economy. The Treasury continuously monitors global economic developments as part of the normal process of domestic policy development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the result of the EU referendum.

David Mundell

Following the EU Referendum, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Lord Dunlop, and I have met with Scottish Government Ministers on a number of occasions, including with the new Scottish Government Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mr Michael Russell.

We will continue to work with the Scottish Government as we form our negotiating strategy, working closely to get the best possible deal for all parts of the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the Government plans to publish its response to Lawrence Tomlinson’s report on the lending practices of banks to small businesses.

Anna Soubry

The matter is being taken forward by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which has appointed firms to conduct an independent “skilled persons” review of RBS’s treatment of business customers in financial difficulty and the allegations of poor practice set out in Lawrence Tomlinson’s report. The review is complex and is still ongoing. The FCA expects to make an announcement about the outcome of the review later this year.