Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

We are deeply concerned about the constraints that have been placed on the Gazan economy that prevent it from creating the wealth and prosperity that would put it in a position to support public services without foreign assistance. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that there will be a Westminster Hall debate on this matter tomorrow evening. I am sure that he will want to debate it more fully with the Minister of State.

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

6. What steps she is taking to increase the capacity of developing countries to collect tax.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

Tax collection is an essential element of any poor country’s development. Last month, DFID announced £6 million of funding for international projects to help poor countries with revenue collection and to combat tax evasion and avoidance.

[Stephen Gilbert]

It might surprise the House that the British overseas territories and Crown dependencies receive more foreign direct investment than Brazil, Russia, India and China combined. What more can we do to ensure that the former jurisdictions are not helping international companies to avoid paying tax to less developed nations?

[Mr Duncan]

At the Lough Erne summit, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey agreed automatically to exchange tax information on the basis of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. All the overseas territories have said that they will conclude similar agreements with the UK. A pilot in the EU is developing the practice further. If accounts are more open and less hidden, poor countries will be in a much better position to raise their own taxes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Gilbert Excerpts

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay) (LD)]

The Prime Minister will no doubt be aware that my constituency has suffered from severe flooding overnight. Many hundreds of people are affected and there has been significant damage and disruption in central Cornwall. Will he join me in commending the professionalism of the emergency services and their response to the incident and will he further commit the Government to doing all they can to help support the affected communities in the coming weeks and months?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly do that. I have just spoken to Alec Robertson, the leader of Cornwall council, about the situation in Cornwall. There was a very difficult night in central and south-east Cornwall. The emergency services—the police, the coastguard, the fire services and search and rescue—have been working around the clock and they have done a fantastic job, and I am happy to send that message loud and clear from this House. There are no reports of casualties yet, but there have been some medical evacuations. The train line is still blocked and the A38 is still closed, but I know that everyone is working around the clock to try to get this sorted. We have said that we stand ready to help in any way we can and what the hon. Gentleman says is important—we have to remember that when the flood waters start to recede, many of the biggest problems arise with insurance and getting people back into their homes. We must ensure that we help people in every way we can.