Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department introduced the Welsh Language Scheme; when that scheme was last updated; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that scheme.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is enthusiastically committed to the Welsh language and to providing Government services in the Welsh language where there is demand for them.
The Cabinet Office is improving the quality of service for Welsh speakers through user research, conducted jointly by the Wales Office and the Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as feedback from subject matter experts in governmental Welsh Language Units.
GDS has liaised with government departments on a user needs-based review of current Welsh-language content on GOV.UK. The content in Welsh will be more prominently promoted from the equivalent English-language pages.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on what grounds the decision was taken to refuse Crown consent for provisions within the Environment Bill currently passing through the Welsh Assembly.
Answered by Stephen Crabb
The Welsh Government has sought the consent of the Secretary of State to impose the biodiversity duty in the Environment (Wales) Bill on Ministers of the Crown. This request is the subject of ongoing discussions between the UK Government and the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Government is giving to unincorporated businesses via the taxation system.
Answered by David Gauke
The government is committed to supporting unincorporated businesses. At Budget 2015, the government announced that it would transform the tax system over the course of this Parliament by introducing digital tax accounts for everyone, removing the need for annual tax returns.
In addition, the government has introduced cash basis accounting so that the smallest businesses can report their income and expenses to HMRC in a simpler way.
Building on recommendations by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), the government will consult in autumn 2015 on abolishing Class 2 NICs and reforming Class 4 NICs. This will simplify the NICs system and reduce the administrative burden of NICs for millions of self-employed individuals.
At Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced the Annual Investment Allowance would rise to its highest ever permanent level from January 2016.
The allowance enables businesses, including unincorporated businesses, to write down 100% of all qualifying investment in plant and machinery against its taxable profits up to £200,000, providing a cash flow benefit to companies who invest.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what fiscal steps he plans to take to help unincorporated businesses with the introduction of the living wage.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government believes that the new National Living Wage is affordable given the strength of the UK economy and labour market.
The Government will publish a full impact assessment for the introduction of the National Living Wage alongside the implementing regulations. This will contain a section on the impact on small businesses which includes many unincorporated businesses.
The Government is reducing Corporation Tax to 19% from 2017-18 and then to 18% from 2020-21; setting the Annual Investment Allowance at a new permanent level of £200,000; and increasing the Employment Allowance by £1,000 to £3,000 from 2016-17. The increase in the employment allowance means a business could employ four people on the National Living Wage and pay no National Insurance Contributions.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the Government's living wage on unincorporated businesses.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government believes that the new National Living Wage is affordable given the strength of the UK economy and labour market.
The Government will publish a full impact assessment for the introduction of the National Living Wage alongside the implementing regulations. This will contain a section on the impact on small businesses which includes many unincorporated businesses.
The Government is reducing Corporation Tax to 19% from 2017-18 and then to 18% from 2020-21; setting the Annual Investment Allowance at a new permanent level of £200,000; and increasing the Employment Allowance by £1,000 to £3,000 from 2016-17. The increase in the employment allowance means a business could employ four people on the National Living Wage and pay no National Insurance Contributions.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of recent changes to immigration rules on retention and recruitment of nurses.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Following advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee, the Government introduced an annual limit on Tier 2, the skilled work route, in 2011. In 2012 the Government announced that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 migrants who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000.
The Home Office published full impact assessments on these changes when the rules were laid before Parliament. The impact assessments are available on the gov.uk website as follows:
Annual limit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-permanent-limit-tier-1-and-tier-2-impact-assessment
Settlement: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-affecting-employment-related-settlement-tier-5-and-overseas-domestic-workers
Under the annual limit, NHS trusts have been given more than 1,400 Tier 2 certificates of sponsorship for nurses since April this year but over 600 of the places allocated to them in April and May this year have been returned unused.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes to immigration rules on nurse staffing levels in the independent and private sectors.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Following advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee, the Government introduced an annual limit on Tier 2, the skilled work route, in 2011. In 2012 the Government announced that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 migrants who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000.
The Home Office published full impact assessments on these changes when the rules were laid before Parliament. The impact assessments are available on the gov.uk website as follows:
Annual limit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-permanent-limit-tier-1-and-tier-2-impact-assessment
Settlement: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-affecting-employment-related-settlement-tier-5-and-overseas-domestic-workers
Under the annual limit, NHS trusts have been given more than 1,400 Tier 2 certificates of sponsorship for nurses since April this year but over 600 of the places allocated to them in April and May this year have been returned unused.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the level of care home fees and planned changes to the national minimum wage.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government carried out an analysis of the impact of the National Living Wage, using a similar approach to that published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which considered the implications at the business, sector, regional and aggregate economy level.
The Government will publish a full impact assessment for the introduction of the National Living Wage alongside the implementing regulations. These regulations will be debated in both Houses of Parliament in time to come into force on 1 April 2016.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the minimum wage on the care sector in Wales.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government carried out an analysis of the impact of the National Living Wage, using a similar approach to that published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which considered the implications at the business, sector, regional and aggregate economy level.
The Government will publish a full impact assessment for the introduction of the National Living Wage alongside the implementing regulations. These regulations will be debated in both Houses of Parliament in time to come into force on 1 April 2016.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that debt solicitors provided through legal aid provide services bilingually in Wales.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
All solicitors acting under the legal aid scheme in Wales are contractually obliged to ensure their services are accessible to and understandable by clients whose language of choice is Welsh, in accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993 (as amended) and Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.