1 10 47 Rochester and Strood HM Treasury 2014-01-15 To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate by country of residence of the child he has made of the number of migrants residing in the UK who claimed benefits on behalf of children living abroad during 2013. 14 191453 2014-05-14T12:00:00.00Z Nicky Morgan false Biography information for Baroness Morgan of Cotes <p>HMRC are not able to provide the information in the manner requested. HMRC do not record the nationality of the claimant receiving Child Benefit for children living in another member state.</p><p> </p><p>Published Child Benefit statistics provide annual estimates of the number of families and children claiming. The latest available (August 2012) show that there were 7.92 million families, responsible for 13.77 million children and qualifying young people receiving Child Benefit.</p><p>The main purpose of Child Benefit is to support families in the UK. Consequently, the rules generally do not provide for them to be paid in respect of children who live abroad.</p><p> </p><p>Nevertheless, Child Benefit is a family benefit under EC Regulation 883/2004. This regulation protects the social security rights of nationals of all member states of the European economic area, including the UK, and Switzerland when they exercise their rights of free movement under EU law.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC holds information on the number of Child Benefit awards under EC Regulation 883/2004. As at 31 December 2013, there were 20,400 ongoing Child Benefit awards under the EC Regulation in respect of 34.268 children living in another member state.</p><p> </p><p>This is a fall of 3,682 (15.3%) awards in respect of 5,903 (14.7%) fewer children since 31 December 2012.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown by member state is as follows:</p><p> </p><p>*We have withheld the number where it is fewer than 5, as there is risk that the information could be attributed to an identifiable person, which would prejudice their right to privacy and would therefore be a breach of Principle 1 of the Data Protection Act.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Child Benefit</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Country of residence of children</p></td><td><p>Number of awards</p></td><td><p>Number of children</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Austria</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Belgium</p></td><td><p>75</p></td><td><p>140</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bulgaria</p></td><td><p>186</p></td><td><p>245</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Croatia</p></td><td><p>*5</p></td><td><p>*5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cyprus</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Czech Republic</p></td><td><p>124</p></td><td><p>203</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Denmark</p></td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Estonia</p></td><td><p>45</p></td><td><p>65</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Finland</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>France</p></td><td><p>789</p></td><td><p>1429</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Germany</p></td><td><p>283</p></td><td><p>495</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Greece</p></td><td><p>44</p></td><td><p>69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hungary</p></td><td><p>136</p></td><td><p>196</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Iceland</p></td><td><p>*5</p></td><td><p>*5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Italy</p></td><td><p>156</p></td><td><p>273</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Latvia</p></td><td><p>797</p></td><td><p>1091</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Liechtenstein</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lithuania</p></td><td><p>1215</p></td><td><p>1712</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Luxembourg</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Malta</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Norway</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Poland</p></td><td><p>13174</p></td><td><p>22093</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portugal</p></td><td><p>202</p></td><td><p>309</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Republic of Ireland</p></td><td><p>1231</p></td><td><p>2505</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Romania</p></td><td><p>230</p></td><td><p>392</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Slovakia</p></td><td><p>692</p></td><td><p>1232</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Slovenia</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Spain</p></td><td><p>600</p></td><td><p>1019</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sweden</p></td><td><p>49</p></td><td><p>95</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Switzerland</p></td><td><p>77</p></td><td><p>150</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Netherlands</p></td><td><p>142</p></td><td><p>288</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Totals</p></td><td><p>20400</p></td><td><p>34268</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As announced in the 2014 Budget, to prevent EEA migrants claiming benefits they are not entitled to, the Government will increase compliance checks to establish whether EEA migrants meet the entitlement conditions to receive Child Benefit</p><p> </p><p>Under domestic law, in order to claim Child Benefit EEA Migrants must be present in the UK, ordinarily resident and have a right to reside in the UK and their children must live in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The recent changes to migrants' access to benefits announced by the Government sends a strong message that the UK benefit system is not open to abuse, as well as deterring those who may seek residence in the UK primarily to claim benefits.</p><p>Strengthening compliance checks will help prevent EEA migrants from claiming, and continuing to claim, benefits they are not entitled to. Checks will be applied to both new claims and existing awards.</p><p> </p> Loughborough 2014-05-14 184509 181673 1 Mark Reckless false 183448 Biography information for Mark Reckless House of Commons 54 Rochester and Strood 2014-03-31T12:00:00.00Z Ashford Damian Green false 2014-03-31 Biography information for Damian Green <p>The Government takes the issue of domestic violence very seriously and is committed to ensuring greater protection for victims of all forms of violence.</p><p> </p><p>The issue raised by the Eve's Law campaign is complex and cuts across a number of justice jurisdictions, and into many areas of a victim's interaction with the state and other agencies.</p><p> </p><p>Having considered the issues raised by the campaign this Department is not persuaded that primary legislation is the necessary and appropriate way forward. However, we are committed to taking action to improve the protection of personal information of victims and will identify opportunities in the cross-Government programmes that are tackling the priority issues of domestic and sexual abuse.</p><p> </p><p>I refer the Honourable Member to my response to questions raised in the House by Dan Jarvis MP, Honourable Member for Barnsley Central, regarding the Eve's Law campaign, on 17 December 2013, and 14 January this year (Hansard 14 Jan 2014 : Column 480W, 17 Dec 2013 : Column 607).</p><p> </p> To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the implementation of the so-called Eve's Law. Mark Reckless 1 Ministry of Justice 188752 2014-02-21 false Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kelly Tolhurst To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to purchase from UK companies which have developed products through programmes funded from the public purse. 70710 201 Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 2017-04-13 Business: Procurement false 1 Rochester and Strood Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst 2017-04-25T14:02:50.65Z Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner Mr Nick Hurd false 2017-04-25 Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd <p>The objective of Government support for business is to put the United Kingdom in a strong position for the future, promoting a diversity of businesses and industrial sectors, as well as ensuring the benefits of growth are shared across cities and regions up and down the country.</p><p>The Government regularly showcases the best that British business has to offer, for example through its GREAT Britain campaign, which aims to inspire the world and encourage people to do business with manufacturers in the UK. On 21 April we announced the winners of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise; 176 businesses from across the UK have been recognised for their contribution to international trade, innovation, sustainable development and this year’s new award, promoting opportunity. Some of these companies have previously benefitted from public funding, thus demonstrating the real benefits to businesses and society that can be derived from properly-targeted Government support.</p> HM Treasury Kelly Tolhurst 14 63006 1 Treasury Banks 2017-02-03 false 2017-02-09T14:38:20.823Z Brighton, Kemptown Simon Kirby false 2017-02-09 Biography information for Simon Kirby <p>High streets are a crucial part of our local and regional economies. The Government wants to see vibrant hubs where people live, shop, use services, and spend their leisure time.</p><p> </p><p>A new agreement between the Post Office and UK banks, announced on 24 January 2017, means that more individuals and businesses can use 11,600 local Post Office branches to access a wider range of banking services. Thanks to the new agreement, the Post Office estimates that 99% of personal bank customers and 75% of business customers will now be able to do their day to day banking at a Post Office.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the need to support local communities to adapt to changes in banking, including when bank branches close. In March 2015, the Government helped to broker an industry-wide agreement to work with customers and communities to minimise the impact of bank branch closures and put in place alternative banking services. The Government welcomed Professor Russel Griggs’ recent review of the Protocol and is pleased to see the industry commit to further improvements to protect those affected by closures.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also made a manifesto commitment to support credit unions in making financial services more accessible. Credit unions are democratic, not-for-profit, financial services providers which are owned and run by members of their community and who provide affordable, sustainable credit to their members.</p><p> </p> To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to support high street banking for local communities. CaTreasury Rochester and Strood 14 false 67039 Treasury HM Treasury VAT: Training Rochester and Strood 1 Kelly Tolhurst To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to reduce VAT on flight training and general aviation-related mechanical or engineering education programmes. CaTreasury 2017-03-08 2017-03-17T08:22:20.36Z Battersea Jane Ellison false 2017-03-17 Biography information for Jane Ellison <p>Where education is provided for no charge it is outside the scope of VAT.</p><p> </p><p>Where an eligible body such as a university or a further education college charges for supplies of vocational training, or school, higher, or further education, that supply will be exempt from VAT.</p><p> </p><p>While all taxes are kept under review, there are no plans to provide further VAT relief for flight training and general aviation-related mechanical or engineering education programmes.</p> Kelly Tolhurst CaTreasury Rochester and Strood Treasury false HM Treasury Royal Bank of Scotland 2017-04-13 14 To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, at what level of seniority his Department had discussions with (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) NatWest on their programmes for nationwide branch closures; and how many times such discussions took place. 1 70711 2017-04-24T15:45:57.187Z Brighton, Kemptown Simon Kirby false 2017-04-24 <p>Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel</a></p> Department for Communities and Local Government To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to adopt the recommendations made in the Local Plans Expert Group report, published in March 2016. false 38988 2016-06-03 Communities and Local Government Communities and Local Government 7 1 Kelly Tolhurst Rochester and Strood Local Plans 2016-06-13T15:43:12.24Z Great Yarmouth Brandon Lewis false 2016-06-13 Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis <p>The Local Plans Expert Group published their report on 16 March 2016, and this was open for representations until 27 April.</p><p>We are committed to streamlining the plan-making process and are carefully considering the report and representations received.</p> 2016-06-03 2016-06-13T15:31:23.133Z Great Yarmouth Brandon Lewis false 2016-06-13 <p>The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to identify and plan for the housing needs in their area. Planning guidance is clear that Green Belt and other constraints may restrict the ability of an individual authority to meet its need.</p><p>The Framework is clear that the supply of new homes may be delivered by larger scale development, such as new settlements or urban extensions, and the Government is supporting new locally led garden towns and villages in places where communities want them.</p><p>The Local Plans Expert Group published their report on 16 March 2016, and this was open for representations until 27 April. The report and representations are receiving careful consideration and a further statement will be made in due course.</p> Rochester and Strood To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the conclusion of the report by the Local Plans Expert Group, published in March 2016, paragraph s15, that local plans in the South East may not enable the full scale of housing need to be met. Department for Communities and Local Government Communities and Local Government Communities and Local Government false 38989 Kelly Tolhurst 7 1 Local Plans: South East Rochester and Strood 2017-03-01 7 66073 1 Communities and Local Government Kelly Tolhurst To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to deliver nature-friendly housing developments. false Housing: Environment Protection Department for Communities and Local Government Communities and Local Government 2017-03-14T16:43:04.417Z Croydon Central Gavin Barwell false 2017-03-14 Biography information for Lord Barwell <p>The National Planning Policy Framework seeks to promote sustainable development. The Government encourages and supports innovative ways to deliver the homes this country needs, while protecting and enhancing the natural environment through legislation and policy. We have no plans to exempt publicly-owned special protection and conservation areas from any future public land disposal.</p><p>We announced in the Housing White Paper, published on 7 February, a new and strategic approach to the habitat management of the great crested newt. This will not only protect a rare species and its habitat, but will safeguard development from delays, costs and uncertainty. We also announced our proposal to clarify national planning policy on ancient woodland and aged or veteran trees. This reflects the need to protect these irreplaceable habitats from harmful development.</p> 66074 2017-03-01 Rochester and Strood Communities and Local Government Kelly Tolhurst To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to exempt publicly-owned special protection and conservation areas from any future public land disposal. 7 66074 Public Sector: Land false 2017-03-14T16:43:04.37Z Croydon Central Gavin Barwell false 2017-03-14 <p>The National Planning Policy Framework seeks to promote sustainable development. The Government encourages and supports innovative ways to deliver the homes this country needs, while protecting and enhancing the natural environment through legislation and policy. We have no plans to exempt publicly-owned special protection and conservation areas from any future public land disposal.</p><p>We announced in the Housing White Paper, published on 7 February, a new and strategic approach to the habitat management of the great crested newt. This will not only protect a rare species and its habitat, but will safeguard development from delays, costs and uncertainty. We also announced our proposal to clarify national planning policy on ancient woodland and aged or veteran trees. This reflects the need to protect these irreplaceable habitats from harmful development.</p> 66073 1 Department for Communities and Local Government Communities and Local Government 0