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, when he plans to make an announcement on Ofcom's review of the Terms of Trade.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The independent television production sector in this country is a fantastic success story, generating around £3 billion in revenue each year. I have considered carefully Ofcom’s report on the television production sector and decided that the regulations continue to be effective and play a key role in supporting a diverse and vibrant production sector. We have therefore decided to make no change.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the proposals for long-term infrastructure and marketing spending in the Money Advice Service's 2016-17 business plan to take into account the implications of the proposed new delivery model for public financial guidance.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Following the publication of the government’s Public Financial Guidance: proposal for consultation, the Money Advice Service (MAS) will publish a revised 2016-17 Business Plan in May.
As outlined in the proposal for consultation document, the government will work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority and MAS to ensure a smooth transition to the new money guidance body.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential for virtual wards to improve health care delivery.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We recognise the importance of care at home and have identified 800,000 of the most vulnerable patients as part of the Proactive Care Programme.
Virtual wards could provide one way of reducing unplanned admissions by providing the staffing, systems and routines of hospital care in the patient’s own home.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on the effective use of ICT.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office works closely with police-led governance groups that guide the use of national police ICT. In addition, together with Police and Crime Commissioners, the department has supported the creation of the Police ICT Company, which will lead on the design, purchase and delivery of local, regional and national ICT. PCCs have now committed to making the Company operational.
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 - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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.