Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with EDF on (a) the adequacy of its capital funding for the completion of the Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station and (b) China General Nuclear's payment contributions beyond their contractual cap.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HPC is not a Government project. The financing of HPC is a matter for EDF and its shareholders and has not been the subject of discussion with the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much insurance premium tax was collected from car insurance in each year since 2010.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold the information requested.
Insurance Premium Tax returns do not include a breakdown of the tax due on specific products, as this may impose an excessive administrative burden on customers.
Information on monthly Insurance Premium Tax receipts is published in the document, “HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK”, found at the link below.
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of decreasing insurance premium tax for car insurance.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
IPT is a tax on general insurance premiums charged at two rates: a standard rate at 12%, including car insurance, and a higher rate at 20%. Insurance pricing is a decision which is affected by a wide range of factors, and the taxes that insurers pay are just one part of this. It is hard to predict the impact of an IPT reduction on motor insurance pricing because this depends on how insurers react. Furthermore, revenue raised from IPT helps the Government to fund vital public services, including the NHS, education and defence. The Government currently has no plans to reduce Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) on car insurance.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports that insurance premiums for 17 to 20-year-olds have risen by more than £1,000 since last year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a variety of issues such as the cost of insurance and trends in the market.
It is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority rules.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made on the potential impact of increased insurance premiums for young drivers on (a) affordability and (b) the increased risk of uninsured drivers.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a variety of issues such as the cost of insurance and trends in the market.
It is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority rules.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with car insurance providers on the potential impact of insurance premiums on the number of new drivers on the roads.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a variety of issues such as the cost of insurance and trends in the market.
It is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority rules.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in car insurance prices in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a variety of issues such as the cost of insurance and trends in the market.
It is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority rules.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support the (a) development of and (b) private investment in marine energy technologies; and whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the announcement of Horizon Europe Programme funding for the EURO-TIDES multi-turbine tidal energy project.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government continues to support the development of marine energy technologies through research funding. This is on top of the unprecedented 94MW of tidal stream capacity that has been secured through the Contracts for Difference scheme.
The Department continues to engage with the Department for Business and Trade on maximising private investment opportunities for the marine energy sector.
The recent success of UK tidal stream developers in securing Horizon Europe funding will be of great benefit to the UK and is representative of the UK’s strength in the tidal sector.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question 8039 Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, how much and what proportion of UK aid destined for Gaza has been (a) shipped to Egypt and (b) held by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society as of 17 January 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has delivered 156 tonnes of UK aid for Gaza via Egypt. 74 tonnes were delivered on board ship RFA Lyme Bay and the remainder by air.
UK supplies have been passed on to our partners in the region and the majority are already in Gaza.
We have trebled our aid commitment for this financial year and are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to increase access.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on communications in each year since 1997.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office is resourced to deliver the communications functions expected and required of a government department in its own right and on behalf of the UK Government in Scotland with a wide range of functions. These include external affairs, marketing, digital and social media, media, internal and strategic communication.
The figures for 2022-23 reflect changes made to bring the Office into line with wider UKG departmental reporting practice which saw visits and engagement staff included in the communications division.
The Office does not hold directly comparable figures for each year since the Office was established in 1999. The Office’s Annual Reports are available online.
Expenditure on staffing costs, including employer’s pensions and national insurance contributions, but excluding any VAT where applicable, to deliver these functions for the last full financial year and available years was:
Year | Staff costs (£) |
2022-23 | 1,166,270 |
2021-22 | 944,645 |
2020-21 | 906,177 |
2019-20 | 870,159 |
2018-19 | 819, 640 |
2017-18 | 710,337 |
2016-17 | 757,868 |
2015-16 | 426,223 |
2014-15 | 348,895 |
2013-14 | 241,636 |
2012-13 | 180,954 |
2011-12 | 169,373 |
2010-11 | 108, 439 |
2009-10 | 144,084 |
2008-09 | 115,356 |
2007-08 | 113,236 |