Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people aged (1) 20–30, (2) 31–40, (3) 41–50, (4) 51–60, (5) 61–75, and (6) 76 and over, were prosecuted in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, and (c) 2023, for non-payment of their TV licences.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The requirement to hold, and pay for, a television licence is set out in the Communications Act 2003 and the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004. Under the Communications Act 2003, the BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the TV licensing system.

The Ministry of Justice currently publishes the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing outcomes for the non-payment of TV licence fees annually as part of its quarterly criminal justice statistics, which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly

The figures are not broken down in the exact age groups requested. A breakdown of people proceeded against for TV licence evasion in England and Wales broken down by the age groups provided in the Ministry of Justice’s figures is below:

21-29

2021 - 9,767

2022 - 7,498

2023 - 5,705

30-39

2021 - 18,635

2022 - 16,273

2023 - 13,139

40-49

2021 - 12,804

2022 - 11,712

2023 - 9,790

50-59

2021 - 8,337

2022 - 8,050

2023 - 6,927

60-69

2021 - 3,042

2022 - 3,071

2023 - 2,931

70+

2021 - 269

2022 - 279

2023 - 266

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to differentiating between independent schools with (1) fewer than 200 pupils, and (2) more than 200 pupils, with regard to the imposition of VAT.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ending tax breaks for private schools will secure additional funding to help the government deliver its commitments to the 94% of children who attend state schools.

The Government has published a detailed response to the consultation conducted between July and September. The Government carefully considered over 17,000 responses from a range of stakeholders including schools, school associations, and parents. This was published online and can be found on gov.uk.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to phasing in the introduction of VAT for independent schools.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ending tax breaks for private schools will secure additional funding to help the government deliver its commitments to the 94% of children who attend state schools.

As a result of the January start date, the VAT policy is forecast to raise £460 million in 2024/25.

The government will use this funding to help deliver its commitments relating to education and young people, where the government has announced at Budget a £2.3 billion increase to the core schools budget for financial year 2025/26, increasing per pupil funding in real terms.

Since the announcement on 29 July, HMRC has taken action to support private schools through the change: providing detailed guidance; and allocating additional resource to process VAT registration applications. HMRC continues to engage with schools and the organisations that represent them.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making independent schools eligible for transitional relief for business rates.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ending tax breaks on VAT and business rates for private schools will secure additional funding to help deliver the government’s commitments relating to education and young people. Where a school in England has charitable status, the government will remove their eligibility to business rates charitable rates relief from April 2025.

Transitional relief limits how much ratepayers’ bills can change each year as a result of changes to a property's rateable value and changes to the multiplier at a revaluation. As such, support provided through transitional relief is unaffected by changes in other business rates reliefs and their eligibility.

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Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government who are the Trade Envoys; to which country each Trade Envoy has been assigned; and what is the party affiliation of each Trade Envoy and the length of time in post.

Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston

There are currently 36 Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys and information as below.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Australia was appointed; and how many times they have visited that country since their appointment.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston

The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys support the UK Government’s overall strategy to drive economic growth, promote UK trade and encourage inward investment. In addition to visiting their respective markets, Trade Envoys undertake a variety of activities including meeting UK companies, hosting inward delegations, and speaking engagements. Due to travel restrictions arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic, many visits to markets were disrupted and Trade Envoys had to work virtually or through other means, strengthening the relationships to support the Government’s trade and investment agenda.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Japan was appointed; and how many times they have visited that country since their appointment.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston

The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys support the UK Government’s overall strategy to drive economic growth, promote UK trade and encourage inward investment. In addition to visiting their respective markets, Trade Envoys undertake a variety of activities including meeting UK companies, hosting inward delegations, and speaking engagements. Due to travel restrictions arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic, many visits to markets were disrupted and Trade Envoys had to work virtually or through other means, strengthening the relationships to support the Government’s trade and investment agenda.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Nigeria was appointed; and how many times they have visited that country since their appointment.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston

The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys support the UK Government’s overall strategy to drive economic growth, promote UK trade and encourage inward investment. In addition to visiting their respective markets, Trade Envoys undertake a variety of activities including meeting UK companies, hosting inward delegations, and speaking engagements. Due to travel restrictions arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic, many visits to markets were disrupted and Trade Envoys had to work virtually or through other means, strengthening the relationships to support the Government’s trade and investment agenda.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Israel was appointed; and how many times they have visited that country since their appointment.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston

The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys support the UK Government’s overall strategy to drive economic growth, promote UK trade and encourage inward investment. In addition to visiting their respective markets, Trade Envoys undertake a variety of activities including meeting UK companies, hosting inward delegations, and speaking engagements. Due to travel restrictions arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic, many visits to markets were disrupted and Trade Envoys had to work virtually or through other means, strengthening the relationships to support the Government’s trade and investment agenda.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Mongolia was appointed; and how many times they have visited that country since their appointment.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston

The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys support the UK Government’s overall strategy to drive economic growth, promote UK trade and encourage inward investment. In addition to visiting their respective markets, Trade Envoys undertake a variety of activities including meeting UK companies, hosting inward delegations, and speaking engagements. Due to travel restrictions arising from the Coronavirus Pandemic, many visits to markets were disrupted and Trade Envoys had to work virtually or through other means, strengthening the relationships to support the Government’s trade and investment agenda.

Found: 0 Helen Grant MP Nigeria November 2020 3 Lord Austin of Dudley Israel October 2020 3 Lord Botham