Asked by: Gerald Howarth (Conservative - Aldershot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that VAT should be applied to sixth form colleges in the same terms as mainstream schools with sixth forms.
Answered by David Laws
Ministers have said publicly (since December 2013) that they are sympathetic to sixth form colleges' requests for assistance towards their VAT costs, but that it is not affordable to provide this in financial years 2014-15 or 2015-16.
Asked by: Gerald Howarth (Conservative - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to whom his Department has sold Minley Manor and for what price; how many bidders there were for that site; whether those bidders were asked to improve their offers; when the sale was completed; and what covenants were put in place relating to that sale.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Minley Manor was sold to Strong Property UK Ltd in October 2014. The Minstry of Defence does not release the details of the amount received from any recent sale as to do so would prejudice commercial interests. There were nine bidders for the site, but no bidders were asked to improve their offers due to the fact the sale was by Formal Tender. A copy of the Transfer deed showing the covenants put in place relating to the sale will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Gerald Howarth (Conservative - Aldershot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department took to ensure British companies were made aware of the tendering process for the contract to return British military equipment from Afghanistan; and how many British companies tendered for that contract.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence is bound by European Union (EU) public procurement directives which demand fair and open competition across the EU for all contracts involving the expenditure of public funds.
Defence Equipment and Support is currently seeking proposals from Industry (under an existing Framework advertised in 2011) to provide an air transport service to move cargo between the UK and Afghanistan in support of Operation Herrick. Within that framework, there are seven companies, which are either UK companies or have offices within the UK, competing for this work.