Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he plans to use the next Spending Review to reduce economic inequalities between the north and south of England.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Since 2010, over 60% of jobs have been created outside of London and the South East, and all regions of the North of England have seen faster nominal productivity growth over that time period than London and the South East. The Government is continuing to support the Northern Powerhouse, for example, the £2.5bn Transforming Cities Fund as well as Devolution deals for Manchester, Liverpool and North of Tyne. We will continue to support this growth through the Spending Review later this year and other policies such as a refreshed Northern Powerhouse Strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the next Spending Review will include plans to review the level of investment in health research received by northern institutions.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Spending Review will consider all public investments in the round.
Research funding, including Medical Research Council funding, is allocated following nation-wide competitive and academic peer review processes, where scientific excellence is the core assessment criteria.
Since 2016, Government has committed an additional £7bn for R&D by 2021-22 – the largest increase for 40 years, which supports the government target of increasing economy-wide R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. To support innovation-led growth across the whole of the UK, Autumn Budget 2018 backed local initiatives to nurture R&D strengths by doubling the Strength in Places Fund to £235m.
Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have been employed by HM Revenue and Customs in each month since June 2016.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Headcount of staff employed each month by HMRC from June 2016 is in the table below:
Month | HMRC Head Count |
Jun-16 | 67,450 |
Jul-16 | 67,645 |
Aug-16 | 67,654 |
Sep-16 | 68,041 |
Oct-16 | 68,736 |
Nov-16 | 69,013 |
Dec-16 | 69,280 |
Jan-17 | 69,280 |
Feb-17 | 69,518 |
Mar-17 | 69,879 |
Apr-17 | 69,599 |
May-17 | 69,888 |
Jun-17 | 70,015 |
Jul-17 | 69,771 |
Aug-17 | 68,376 |
Sep-17 | 68,424 |
Oct-17 | 68,076 |
Nov-17 | 67,849 |
Dec-17 | 67,088 |
Jan-18 | 66,566 |
Feb-18 | 66,162 |
Mar-18 | 65,720 |
Apr-18 | 65,287 |
Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which consultancy firms HMRC has commissioned to model future customs arrangements with the EU; and what the value of those contracts was.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC awarded a contract to McKinsey in January 2018 to model future customs arrangements. Details of the contract are available on Contracts Finder on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which consultancy firms his Department has commissioned to model future customs arrangements with the EU; and what the value of those contracts was.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Treasury has not commissioned any consultancy firms to model future customs arrangements with the European Union.
Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that parents are aware of his proposals on the introduction of tax-free childcare.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The Government will publicise the scheme in good time ahead of its introduction through a range of digital and non-digital channels.
HM Revenue and Customs will also work with the childcare industry and representative groups who interact regularly with parents to raise awareness of the scheme.