Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cider and perry producers are registered as exempt from paying duty in (a) Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency, (b) Herefordshire and (c) the UK.
Answered by Priti Patel
There are currently 475 cider and perry producers in the UK who are registered as exempt from paying excise duty on their production. There is no breakdown of this figure by parliamentary constituency.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of small firms and shops likely to benefit from the planned reduction in business rates in (a) Herefordshire and (b) England in 2015-16.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My rt. hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 bills, bringing the total support of 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices to £1.4 billion. This help includes:
These measures are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including:
Central Government also now funds 50% of any local discount granted.
Table 1 (attached) shows the estimated number of properties in 2015-16 within the Herefordshire Council boundary that will benefit from business rates measures extended in this year’s autumn statement. Table 2 (attached) presents this information for England as a whole.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how an institution can become a designated institution under section 129 of the Education Reform Act 1988.
Answered by Greg Clark
Guidance on the process whereby a provider of higher education can apply to become a designated institution eligible to receive Higher Education Funding Council for England funding under section 129 of the Education Reform Act 1988 can be found at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120118171947/http:/www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2001/01_05.htm
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect the seas and fish stocks around England.
Answered by George Eustice
During negotiations on the reform of EU Common Fisheries Policy, which entered into force in 2014, the UK was successful in securing a legally binding commitment to manage fish stocks at Maximum Sustainable Yield, an end to wasteful discarding of fish and a new regional decision making process.
We are consulting on proposals for 23 Marine Conservation Zones, which add to the wide range of protected areas and other measures used to manage our seas.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people in Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency who will no longer pay income tax as a result of the increased personal allowance.
Answered by David Gauke
By April 2015, this government’s increases in the personal allowance are estimated to have taken 3.2 million individuals out of income tax.
271,000 of these individuals live in the West Midlands, which includes the Parliamentary Constituency of Hereford and South Herefordshire.
HM Revenue & Customs does not publish this information at constituency level.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which new higher education institutions designated under section 129 of the Education Reform Act 1988 received funding for (a) capital works and (b) specific designated courses in the last five years for which data are available.
Answered by Greg Clark
In the last five years two higher education providers were designated under section 129 of the Education Reform Act 1988 - The National Film and Television School and The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Both were designated in 2013.
To date neither has received funding for capital works.
In 2008 the National Film and Television School had a two year full time post graduate course specifically designated allowing eligible students to apply for disabled students’ allowance, this lapsed at the point that they became a publicly funded higher education institution.
The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine had no courses specifically designated for student support prior to them becoming a publicly funded higher education institution.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Swire
We are concerned with the increasing political tensions in the Maldives and the arrest on 22 February 2015 of former President Mohamed Nasheed on charges of terrorism. I issued a statement on 26 February urging calm across the Maldives and calling for all political parties to act with moderation and restraint. I also expressed concern at the continued detention of former President Nasheed, and that it is made clear the importance for international confidence in the Maldives that Mr Nasheed, like all other citizens, is seen to be enjoying due legal process and respect for his fundamental rights. I have also raised these concerns directly with the Maldives Foreign Minister.
The UK continues to coordinate with the US, Commonwealth, EU and others.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the combined effect of poor mobile phone signal and poor broadband provision on rural communities and businesses.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government recognises the importance of a good broadband and mobile connectivity to rural communities and businesses. We are meeting the challenge by:
- Rolling out superfast broadband to over 40,000 premises a week and investing £10m to develop options for the most remote areas;
- Tackling mobile partial not-spots through an agreement with mobile network operators that is legally binding and guarantees £5bn commercial investment by 2017. Each operator will cover 90% of the UK’s landmass, halving partial not-spots and cutting complete not-spots by almost two-thirds;
- Investing £150 million to bring mobile services to remote areas of the UK with no mobile coverage.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress has been made on reducing violence against women.
Answered by Jo Swinson
The Coalition Government ring-fenced £40m as part of our strategy to end violence against women and girls. We have criminalised forced marriage, introduced new stalking offences and announced a new offence of coercive and controlling behaviour in relation to domestic abuse. The prevalence of sexual assault against women has fallen to a new low of 2.2%, the reporting of these hidden crimes has increased and prosecutions for domestic and sexual violence are rising.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce funding for music hubs in 2016-17.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State confirmed £75 million of funding for music hubs for 2015-16 on 26 January 2015. The next spending review, covering the 2016-17 financial year, will take place after this year’s general election, and therefore no commitments can be made at this stage.