Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been transferred from the aid budget to the defence budget.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In February this year, the Prime Minister announced that NATO qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.5% GDP by 2027-28. It will be fully funded by reducing Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% GNI by the same year. Further details of cash terms savings from reducing ODA can be found in the Spring Statement 2025 document here:
CP1298 – Spring Statement 2025
Individual departmental budgets will be confirmed at the conclusion of the spending review on 11 June.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been transferred from the international aid to the defence budget in cash terms.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In February this year, the Prime Minister announced that NATO qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.5% GDP by 2027-28. It will be fully funded by reducing Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5% to 0.3% GNI by the same year. Further details of cash terms savings from reducing ODA can be found in the Spring Statement 2025 document here:
CP1298 – Spring Statement 2025
Individual departmental budgets will be confirmed at the conclusion of the spending review on 11 June.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33646, what conditions of access have been placed by (a) Jersey and (b) the Cayman Islands on their registers of beneficial ownership.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the text of the arrangements concluded between the UK and the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and to the Oral Statement given by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) on 11 April 2016, Official Report, column 23.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beneficial-ownership-uk-overseas-territories-and-crown-dependencies
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-04-11/debates/1604111000001/PanamaPapers#contribution-1604116000104
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce tax avoidance and tax crime in the UK's overseas territories and Crown dependencies.
Answered by David Gauke
The UK initiated the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project under our G8 Presidency in 2013 to stop multinational enterprises exploiting gaps and mismatches between countries’ tax rules. We were one of the first countries to adopt the recommendations from the project.
We also called on the OECD to develop a framework for Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities. We’ve implemented the OECD framework and have pushed to go further, with the Chancellor calling for public CbC reporting in the EU and G20. The Commission’s recent proposals are a step in the right direction, and we will give full consideration to them.
In addition, as a result of our G8 Presidency in 2013, more than 90 countries have agreed to automatically exchange taxpayer financial account information under the Common Reporting Standards, and create company beneficial ownership registers. Under pressure from the UK Government, the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories have signed up to these new standards.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of current levels of investment in London's infrastructure; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Danny Alexander
The National Infrastructure Plan sets out how the UK’s future infrastructure needs in each sector will be met through a mixture of public and private investment. It shows that annual average infrastructure investment in the UK is now 15 percent higher in this parliament than it was in the previous parliament.
The National Infrastructure Plan is underpinned by an infrastructure pipeline setting out £466 billion of planned investment to 2020 and beyond. Of this, £40.6 billion is specifically regionalised to London. This does not include UK-wide projects or programmes which will have a transformative effect in individual regions in England including London.
Across both the public and private sector, the need for investment in specific projects or programmes will be assessed through individual business cases. For example, Transport for London is the public body with standalone responsibility for the majority of transport services in London.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of investment in infrastructure in (a) London and (b) England in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Danny Alexander
The government recently published the National Infrastructure Plan 2014, setting out the government’s record on delivery since 2010 and a clear plan for each of the economic infrastructure sectors. It is underpinned by a pipeline detailing £466 billion of planned public and private investment to 2020 and beyond.
The government does not hold data on the exact number of jobs associated with infrastructure projects in London, many of which will be delivered by the private sector. However, government analysis based on ONS data suggests that infrastructure investment could directly support 5,000 construction jobs for every £1bn spent, as well as many more indirect jobs.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many jobs are provided by infrastructure projects in London.
Answered by Danny Alexander
The government recently published the National Infrastructure Plan 2014, setting out the government’s record on delivery since 2010 and a clear plan for each of the economic infrastructure sectors. It is underpinned by a pipeline detailing £466 billion of planned public and private investment to 2020 and beyond.
The government does not hold data on the exact number of jobs associated with infrastructure projects in London, many of which will be delivered by the private sector. However, government analysis based on ONS data suggests that infrastructure investment could directly support 5,000 construction jobs for every £1bn spent, as well as many more indirect jobs.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to address squeezed real wages; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Real wages have been squeezed in recent years but, as the IFS have made clear, “this is a as a direct but delayed result of the 2008 recession”.
This government’s long term economic plan is working. Recent data from the ONS has shown that people working full time in the same job for more than a year have seen their pay rise by an average of 4.1%, more than twice the rate of inflation. The OBR forecasts that average earnings will grow in real terms in every year of their forecast.
Since the start of this Parliament this government has taken decisive action to support living standards. We have got 1.7m more people into work, boosting household incomes. As set out at the Autumn Statement, the personal allowance will now increase to £10,600 in April 2015, providing an income tax cut to the typical basic rate tax payer of £825 in cash terms. This government has also frozen fuel duty and Council Tax, provided additional support for childcare and cut energy bills, further supporting families budgets.