Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2014 to Question 209508, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We aim to publish the Government's response in due course.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he discussed with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government the local welfare provision review, published by his Department on 5 November 2014, prior to the publication of that review.
Answered by Steve Webb
Ministers and officials from my Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government hold regular discussions about a number of issues. These include local welfare provision and my department’s review.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many responses were submitted to his Department's consultation on local welfare provision in 2015-16 (a) in total and (b) from local authorities.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Government received more than 5,000 responses to the consultation which are being considered alongside the review by the Department for Work and Pensions into existing provision. The Government will make a decision based on this analysis in time for the provisional local government finance settlement in December 2014.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of local welfare assistance schemes on preventing and reducing homelessness.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
The Department has not made any assessment of the performance of local welfare assistance schemes which are administered by local authorities. The Department for Work and Pensions published a wide ranging review into existing local welfare provision on 5 November.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will wait until the Government publishes its response to the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector before taking forward the Deregulation Bill.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government has stated its clear intent to use the Deregulation Bill to help reform the outdated provisions of section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973.
Londoners who want to rent out their homes for less than 90 consecutive days, such as through a service like Airbnb, technically still have to pay to apply for planning permission from their council – something that does not apply anywhere else in the country. These provisions caused controversy during the 2012 Olympics, and are irregularly enforced by different London boroughs leading to confusion.
We want to change this archaic system by giving Londoners the freedom to rent out their homes on a temporary basis, such as when they are on holiday, without having to deal with unnecessary red tape and the bureaucracy of paying of a municipal permit. The internet is changing the way we work and live, and the law needs to catch up.
The measure will not allow homes to be turned into hotels or hostels – this would still require ‘change of use’ planning permission, and measures will be put in place to prevent abuse of such reforms or the permanent loss of residential accommodation.
Such reforms will benefit London’s strong tourism industry by expanding the pool of competitively priced accommodation, and allow families to earn some extra cash when they themselves go away on holiday.
Such reforms would follow changes introduced last year to make it easier for residents to rent out an unused home parking space to earn extra money, helping expand the availability of parking options for commuters and visitors.
Consultation with interested parties will help inform the detail of secondary legislation to implement these reforms fully. We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation on the Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector later this year.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps Ofcom is taking to encourage new entrants in the market for mobile and fixed wireless services in the London area.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Ensuring high quality of service and choice are priority areas for Ofcom. While Ofcom cannot compel providers to invest in particular areas, it has taken a number of steps to ensure that the regulatory regime supports competition and commercial rollout.
In 2010, Ofcom introduced requirements to allow competing providers to use infrastructure from Openreach, the wholesale provider which manages BT’s telecoms network, to deliver superfast services. Ofcom has been reviewing competition in the wholesale broadband market over the past year. In addition, it is also undertaking a review of business connectivity, which is looking at how well competition is working in the provision of dedicated connections known as leased lines.
In addition, in auctioning the spectrum suitable for 4G mobile broadband services, Ofcom put in place requirements to ensure spectrum was reserved for a fourth competitor. Alternative providers are now offering superfast services using 4G mobile broadband and a combination of wireless technologies in London.
Finally, Ofcom has granted an extension to a wireless spectrum licence held by UK Broadband Ltd. The company intends to deploy a national wireless broadband network focusing on major urban areas and reaching an estimated 45% of the UK’s population. It has already rolled out fixed wireless services to parts of London.
Asked by: Mark Field (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse was of tax evasion cases brought on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many such cases resulted in a guilty verdict; and how much has been recovered following successful prosecution of those cases.
Answered by David Gauke
HMRC does not calculate the cost of individual tax evasion cases. The majority of such cases are dealt with using cost-effective civil settlement procedures. HMRC also has the power to investigate criminally those that seek to defraud the Exchequer, and it publishes its policy around when it will use this power.
HMRC is not a prosecuting authority. Where cases do proceed to the criminal courts the prosecution is carried out by the relevant independent prosecuting authority. This is the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in Scotland, and the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI).
Details of the total number of individuals convicted for tax offences are set out in the following table. These include offences in relation to both direct and indirect tax, excise duties and tax credits.
Convictions for tax offences | |
2010/11 | 280 |
2011/12 | 401 |
2012/13 | 522 |
2013/14 | 682 |
HMRC does not calculate how much has been recovered following successful prosecution. Individual cases are passed back for recovery action of tax evaded to compliance and debt teams. Additionally, fines, compensation orders and confiscation orders may in relevant circumstances be imposed by the courts. No central record is kept of all monies subsequently recovered in relation to specific convictions and therefore this information would be available only through manual intervention at disproportionate cost.