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172147

registered interest
date	06/01/2015
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Repossession Orders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of properties repossessed in (a) Worcester, (b) Worcestershire and (c) England in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	219885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2015 answer text <p>The Council of Mortgage Lenders collects data on the number of properties that have been repossessed, and provide this to the Ministry of Justice who publish the data and it can be found at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>The data are for the United Kingdom as a whole. No further geographical breakdown is available. Data for 2005-14 is shown in the attached Table 1.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice collects and publishes mortgage and landlord possession statistics, which include mortgage and landlord possession claim actions in county courts in England and Wales. Data is available at county and local authority level and can be found at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/375809/mortgage-and-landlord-statistical-data-june-to-september-2014.zip" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/375809/mortgage-and-landlord-statistical-data-june-to-september-2014.zip</a></p><p> </p><p>Data for Worcester, Worcestershire and England, 2005-14, is shown in the attached Table 2.</p><p> </p><p>According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the number of mortgage possessions is at its lowest annual figure since 2007.</p><p> </p><p>Moreover, Bank of England statistics published on 9 December 2014 state that the number of new mortgage arrears cases is at its lowest quarterly level since the statistical series began in 2007.</p><p> </p><p>The action that this Government has taken to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration has kept interest rates down and helped reduce the number of repossessions.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 12/01/2015 15:47:54 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis attachment 1 file name 150112 tables 1and2 PQ643713 (UIN219885) Walker.docx title tables 1 and 2 for PQ UIN:219885
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

171780

registered interest
date	02/01/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Non-domestic Rates: Valuation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of removing free to use cash machines from the rating list on access to banking and money; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	219652
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2015 answer text <p>The government has reduced the burden of business rates for all ratepayers, including free to use cash machines, in 2014-15 and 2015-16. However, the rating list does not distinguish free to use cash machines and no assessment has been made of removing them.</p><p> </p><p>The availability of free cash machines across the country is at an all-time high, with 97% of all cash withdrawals made by UK cardholders in the UK charging no costs to customers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 08/01/2015 11:03:41 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

171497

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Post Offices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of post offices on financial inclusion and the social value of maintaining the network.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	219384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Post offices play an important role in communities across the UK, acting as a community hub and making sure people have access to important services.</p><p> </p><p>The role of post offices in ensuring financial inclusion is becoming increasingly important. Post office operates 2,500 free-to-use ATMs across the UK and approximately 95% current accounts are accessible across post office counters in over 11500 branches across the UK. Post office is also increasing the range of financial services it offers to customers directly.</p><p> </p><p>I believe post offices have a key role to play in ensuring financial inclusion and their contribution in this area enhances the social value of the post office network itself. That is why Government has provided nearly £2 billion since 2010 to maintain, modernise and protect the network.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 05/01/2015 14:09:14 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

171507

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Non-domestic Rates: Valuation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications of the Valuation Office Agency's decision to remove cash machines in post offices from the rating list on other retail businesses that host cash machines.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	219383
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2015 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Decisions on when sites should be assessed for business rates are made independently of Ministers by the Valuation Office Agency and are considered on a case by case basis, taking account of the particular circumstances of each occupation, in line with rating legislation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government has reduced the burden of business rates for all ratepayers, including retailers, in 2014-15 and 2015-16. It has also increased the business rates retail discount for retail properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or below from £1000 to £1500 from April 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 08/01/2015 16:22:24 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170287

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Post Offices: Worcestershire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many post offices were closed in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire (i) between 1997 and 2010 and (ii) between 2010 and 2015.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Government understands the important role that post offices play in communities across the country and since 2010 has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect a network of at least 11,500 branches that continues to meet strict access criteria that see, for example, 95% of the urban population living within one mile of a post office outlet.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has also committed that there will be no programme of Post Office closures. There are currently around 11,700 post office branches in the UK, with the Post Office network at its most stable for over two decades.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited and I understand from the company that it does not hold information in the format requested. For your reference I include historic information on the number of open Post Office branches at national level and by the West Midlands Government Office region in the tables below:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Number of open post offices in the UK</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of open Post Office branches</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 1997</p></td><td><p>19251</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 2010</p></td><td><p>11905</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of Sept 2014</p></td><td><p>11631</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Number of open post offices in West Midlands Government Office region (historic figures are only available from the year 2000)</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of open Post Office branches</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 2000</p></td><td><p>1479</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 2010</p></td><td><p>930</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of Sept 2014</p></td><td><p>904</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 05/01/2015 11:22:53 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170291

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Post Offices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many post offices have been refurbished as a result of the Government's £2 billion investment in the Post Office Network since 2010 in (a) Worcester, (b) Worcestershire and (c) England.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218797
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Government understands the important role that post offices play in communities across the country and since 2010 has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect the network. This is an historic commitment, and is designed to ensure that the Post Office has a vibrant, successful and financially sustainable long-term future where is it less reliant on an annual taxpayer funded subsidy.</p><p> </p><p>The Post Office is undertaking the largest modernisation programme in its history and network transformation is seeing subpostmasters receiving public investment to improve their branches; delivering benefits to customers including longer opening hours, more convenient access and improved branch environments. To date over 3,500 branches have converted to the new Main and Local models and nearly 290 of the Post Office’s directly owned Crown post offices have benefitted from investment.</p><p> </p><p>The following table sets out the numbers of post offices that have received investment in the areas requested:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>Number of post offices that</p><p>have received investment</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Worcester</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Worcestershire</p></td><td><p>32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands Government Office Region</p></td><td><p>302</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>3173</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 05/01/2015 14:03:59 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170292

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	UK Trade and Investment: West Midlands
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses in the West Midlands have received support from UK Trade and Investment in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218798
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>The figures below detail the number of businesses which have had interactions with UKTI West Midlands in the last 5 financial years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>West Midlands based</strong></p><p><strong>Businesses Assisted*</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2333</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2212</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2784</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2993</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2799 (to Dec 2014)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*The figures provided are the total number of unique businesses that benefited from a Service Delivery. Service Delivery is participation in either the Passport To Export or Gateway to Global Growth programme, or a ‘Significant Assist’ – which is the provision of in-depth advice and support from an International Trade Advisor.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/01/2015 16:38:13 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170327

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Churches: Worcestershire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what grants the Church Commissioners have given to churches in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire from the church roof repair fund in the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218801
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The Church Commissioners are grateful to the Treasury for making the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund available to its Cathedrals alongside extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to include repairs to church roofs and rain water guttering.</p><p>(a) The Cathedral at Worcester has received a total of £330,000 toward to costs of restoring its east window and to replace and weather-proof the ceiling &amp; roof of the cathedral’s ancient library. The Cathedral successfully entered the bids for funding in rounds 1 and 2 of the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund which has so far assisted 32 of the Church of England’s Cathedrals. There is one final round to which Cathedrals both Anglican and Catholic can enter bids before the fund closes, the Church Commissioners hope the last few Cathedrals with substantial works pending who are yet to submit a bid will consider putting applications forward.</p><p>(b) The fund which the Chancellor has made available within the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund has only been available since the 2014 Autumn Statement, no funding or grants for roof repairs have be available centrally prior to this. The Roof Repair Fund is not administered by the Church of England but by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, who will make decisions on grants given. <br> <br>The Church of England has advised all Diocesan Advisory Commissions (who assist Parishes with advice on repairs and alterations to architecture and fabric of buildings) to encourage and assist with applications to the fund which closes on the 30<sup>th</sup> January 2015. From the Diocese of Worcester the Church of England understands 24 parish churches will apply, 7 parishes are currently on the English Heritage, ‘Heritage at Risk Register’ with a further 17 parishes in urgent need. These figures is based on initial responses, rather than formal expressions of interest. Not all parishes will be successful in their bids for assistance and each case will be judged on its merits. This fund like the WW1 Cathedrals Fund will enable the parishes to invest money into their wider community helping those in greatest need rather than spending money just keeping the building watertight. <br></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Sir Tony Baldry question first answered 17/12/2014 17:05:12 answering member 93 label Biography information for Sir Tony Baldry
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170330

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Non-domestic Rates: Worcestershire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of businesses in Worcester that have received (a) small business rate relief and (b) the High Street Discount on business rates.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218800
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The Chancellor announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices in 2015-16 to £1.4 billion. Autumn Statement 2014 help includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>doubling small business rate relief for a further year. In England, this means an estimated 385,000 properties will pay no rates at all, while a further 190,000 properties will benefit from tapered relief.</li><li>a 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier. This is a continuation of the 2% cap introduced in 2014-15 as part of Autumn Statement 2013 measures;</li><li>increasing the temporary £1,000 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16, benefitting an estimated 300,000 properties in England and;</li><li>extending the existing transitional relief scheme for two years for properties with a rateable value up to and including £50,000.</li></ul><p>These policies are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including:</p><ul><li>a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops;</li><li>allowing businesses to keep their small business rate relief for a year where they take on an additional property; and</li><li>business rates relief for empty new builds.</li></ul><p>Central Government also now funds 50% of any local discount granted.</p><p>The attached table shows the number of properties in 2014-15 within the Worcester City Council boundary that have benefitted from business rates measures in the previous Autumn Statement, including those that have received small business rates relief and the high street discount on business rates.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 18/12/2014 16:26:04 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins attachment 1 file name 218800 Walker - Table.docx title Table
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170332

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Non-domestic Rates: Worcestershire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was paid in business rates in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>Details of the amount of non-domestic rates that were collected in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire in each of the last 5 years are shown in the table below. The data are the amount that was collected in the year, irrespective of the year to which it relates before the deduction of any allowances for the cost of collection or losses in collection.</p><p> </p><p>The data for Worcestershire is made up from the data for Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Wychavon, Wyre Forest and Worcester.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>Worcester</p><p>£million</p></td><td><p>Worcestershire</p><p>£million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>35.0</p></td><td><p>163.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>35.7</p></td><td><p>165.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>37.6</p></td><td><p>176.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>39.2</p></td><td><p>179.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>40.1</p></td><td><p>182.3</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Data were collected on auditor certified national non-domestic rates (NNDR3) outturn forms completed annually by all billing authorities in England.</p><p> </p><p>These figures will reflect changes to the overall size and valuation of hereditaments, new buildings and the change in the multiplier, as well as changes to different types of rate relief.</p><p> </p><p>These data are available on the gov.uk website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/national-non-domestic-rates-local-authority-level-data" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/national-non-domestic-rates-local-authority-level-data</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 18/12/2014 15:44:50 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker