Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of how much of the government receipt from business rates forecast for 2014-15 will be contributed by businesses with a rateable value lower than £18,000.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:
This package will benefit all businesses but particularly those with a lower rateable
value. Local authority forecasts of business rates are not available split by rateable
value threshold or business sector.
As at 31 March 2013, 89% of hereditaments had a rateable value of £50,000 or
lower. As at 31 March 2013, large properties (those with a rateable value equal to
or greater than £50,000) account for 72% of rateable value. These data are taken
from the Valuation Office Agency’s disclosure log, available at the following link:
http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/About/Policy/disclosureLogResponses2013.html
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of how much of the government receipt from business rates forecast for 2014-15 will be contributed by food and drink business with a rateable value lower than £50,000.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:
This package will benefit all businesses but particularly those with a lower rateable
value. Local authority forecasts of business rates are not available split by rateable
value threshold or business sector.
As at 31 March 2013, 89% of hereditaments had a rateable value of £50,000 or
lower. As at 31 March 2013, large properties (those with a rateable value equal to
or greater than £50,000) account for 72% of rateable value. These data are taken
from the Valuation Office Agency’s disclosure log, available at the following link:
http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/About/Policy/disclosureLogResponses2013.html
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of how much of the government receipt from business rates forecast for 2014-15 will be contributed by businesses with a rateable value lower than £50,000.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:
This package will benefit all businesses but particularly those with a lower rateable
value. Local authority forecasts of business rates are not available split by rateable
value threshold or business sector.
As at 31 March 2013, 89% of hereditaments had a rateable value of £50,000 or
lower. As at 31 March 2013, large properties (those with a rateable value equal to
or greater than £50,000) account for 72% of rateable value. These data are taken
from the Valuation Office Agency’s disclosure log, available at the following link:
http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/About/Policy/disclosureLogResponses2013.html
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of premises on the rating list have a rateable value of less than £50,000.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:
This package will benefit all businesses but particularly those with a lower rateable
value. Local authority forecasts of business rates are not available split by rateable
value threshold or business sector.
As at 31 March 2013, 89% of hereditaments had a rateable value of £50,000 or
lower. As at 31 March 2013, large properties (those with a rateable value equal to
or greater than £50,000) account for 72% of rateable value. These data are taken
from the Valuation Office Agency’s disclosure log, available at the following link:
http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/About/Policy/disclosureLogResponses2013.html
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to de-escalate the situation in Gaza.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has spoken to Israeli and Palestinian counterparts as well as key international partners about the present crisis in Gaza on numerous occasions in recent weeks, urging an end to violence, a durable ceasefire and successful negotiations in Cairo which lead to a sustainable solution to the current crisis, tackling its underlying causes. He has visited Ramallah, Jerusalem and Cairo for talks and attended the Foreign Affairs Council on 15 August. He most recently spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister about the ceasefire talks on 20 August.
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent talks Ministers in his Department have had with (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian leaders on the current situation in Gaza.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 20 July.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke with Palestinian President Abbas on 19 July and Israeli Foreign Minister Liebermann on 18 July.
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours per week prisoners in HM Prison (a) Albany, (b) Ashfield, (c) Ashwell, (d) Askham Grange and (e) Buckley Hall spent in (i) cells and (ii) working in each of the last three years; and what proportion of prisoners in each such prison were classed as unemployed on the most recent date for which data is available.
Answered by Jeremy Wright - Shadow Attorney General
Up until the end of 2011-12 information was collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners were unlocked. By subtracting the average hours unlocked from the 24 hours in a day it is possible to estimate hours spent locked in cell. Figures for each prison establishment for the three years from 2009-10 to 2011-12 have been placed in the library of the House.
It should be noted that time in cell includes hours when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.
Figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Figures for time in cell for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully whilst they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending.
The number of prisoners working in industrial activity across public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 13.1 million hours. Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported that they delivered over 1½ million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops in 2012-13 which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners.
In addition there are substantial numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.
Figures for public sector prisons are published in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf
The establishment-level breakdown of weekly hours worked is not available centrally for 2011-12 and 2012-13 and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Information on hours worked during 2013-14 is scheduled for publication on 31 July.
Information on the proportion of prisoners classed as unemployed is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Our reforms to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework came into effect in adult prisons on 1 November 2013. Prisoners will be expected to engage in purposeful activity, as well as demonstrate a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will request that the Office of Fair Trading investigates the level of competition in the car insurance industry.
Answered by Jo Swinson
The competition powers of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) passed to the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on 1 April 2014. Like the OFT, the CMA is an independent authority, and therefore has complete discretion to investigate those cases, which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.
In the case of the private motor insurance industry, the CMA is already conducting a market investigation, and on 12 June set out for consultation its proposed changes to the market. These include a cap on the charges to the insurer of an at-fault driver in an accident for the cost of providing a replacement vehicle to the non-fault driver; better information for consumers; and a ban on price parity agreements between price comparison websites and insurers. Further details are available via this link to the CMA press release:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-sets-out-changes-for-private-motor-insurance
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Bangladeshi counterpart on allegations of human rights abuses in that country since January 2014.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
We take human rights very seriously and follow the situation in Bangladesh closely, raising concerns where there are credible allegations. We welcome the Bangladesh government's assurances that they are committed to protecting human rights and recognise the positive progress that has been made across a range of social development indicators.
However, allegations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and human rights abuses are deeply concerning. We regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Bangladesh government. The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi last raised reports of extrajudicial killings and disappearances with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 13 May. During Bangladesh's 2nd Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council last year we also recommended that the Government of Bangladesh thoroughly and impartially investigate and, if credible evidence emerges, prosecute all allegations of human rights violations.
Asked by: Simon Danczuk (Independent - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the operation and impartiality of the ongoing International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
We are clear that the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) must improve the way it operates. We have concerns that the ICT process does not adequately meet international fair trials standards. This is a message that we give consistently, both publicly and privately. We have also made clear that we are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances in all countries.
During Bangladesh's 2nd Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council on 29 April 2013, the UK urged the government of Bangladesh to ensure that the International Crimes Tribunal meet international legal standards.