Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Bradford East constituency and (b) Bradford paid income tax in (i) 2010 and (ii) the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by David Gauke
Estimates of the number of income tax payers by borough, district or unitary authority, and Parliamentary Constituency are published in tables 3.14 and 3.15 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes Statistics’
These tables contain the following estimates of the number of taxpayers in Bradford East and Bradford for financial years 2009/10 and 2012/13. Figures are to the nearest thousand:
2009/10 | 2012/13 | |
Bradford | 206 | 197 |
Bradford East | 36 | 33 |
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to boost textile manufacturing in the UK.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
This Government is committed to strong and sustainable growth that is balanced across the economy. Manufacturing, including textile manufacturing, is a vital part of this. Textile manufacturing has received direct support from the Government; including awarding £12.8m of grant funding to the Textiles Growth Programme through the Regional Growth Fund, which is being used to support capital investment, training, and research and development in the textile industry.
Textile manufacturing, and indeed all manufacturing, in the UK is also being supported by various measures announced in the most recent Budget. This includes increasing the Annual Investment Allowance to £500,000 until 31 December 2015, raising the rate of the R&D tax credit payable to loss making SMEs to 14.5%, and the package of measures to reduce manufacturers’ energy bills and improve UK competitiveness.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) contract staff in his Department as paid the living wage or above.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
100% of permanent and temporary staff at HM Treasury are paid the Living Wage or above.
HM Treasury fully complies with EU procurement directives and awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. Nevertheless, we have encouraged contractors to commit to paying a living wage and expect all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.
The Government supports businesses that choose to pay the Living Wage however the Government's main policy on wages is the National Minimum Wage, which has continued to protect the relative wages of the low paid. This is independently set by the Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises their wages without reducing employment prospect. It is for workers and employers to decide the level of wages above the minimum wage based on current circumstances. This includes the Government as a procurer and an employer. Over 95%, around 20 million employees earn above the minimum wage and the majority of public sector workers currently earn above the Living Wage.