Ofgem is the British energy regulator and so this remains a reserved matter. The Chair and non-executive members of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority are appointed by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Ofgem is the British energy regulator and so this remains a reserved matter. The Chair and non-executive members of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority are appointed by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Engagement on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement is taking place with all parts of the UK at all levels. Officials from the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive regular updates from the negotiation team, on top of being involved in technical policy discussions.

The Department for International Trade has created engagement structures at all levels to ensure a constructive approach to working with the Devolved Administrations. These include the quarterly Ministerial Forum for Trade, regular bilateral Ministerial meetings, the six-weekly Senior Officials Group, Chief Negotiator calls running parallel to negotiation rounds, six-weekly chapter-specific policy roundtables, and regular working level engagement throughout the sprint. The programme of engagement totals hundreds of hours at official level and dozens at Ministerial level.

In the negotiations, the Government is acting on behalf of the whole UK family and the overall principle is to ensure all parts of the UK benefit from any deal - including Northern Ireland, which could benefit from tariff liberalisation on specialised machinery, for example. The Government has engaged extensively with the Devolved Administrations on all trade policy issues, including the formulation of trade negotiation positions.

The Trade and Agriculture Commission will act as an advisory board to the Secretary of State for International Trade. At the end of its six month term it will submit an advisory report which will be presented to Parliament by my Department.

Discussions will be supported by robust analytical and empirical data and will take place on a confidential basis.

The Chair and Members of the Commission were appointed by the Secretary of State for International Trade. They were selected for their breadth of knowledge and expertise on the issues to be considered by the Commission. Appointments are made for 6 months.

The Trade and Agriculture Commission will be supported by a Secretariat run by the Department for International Trade. The Secretariat will be responsible for sharing updates from Trade and Agriculture Commission meetings with other Government Departments and the Devolved Administrations. There are representatives from devolved administrations, notably the different National Farmers Unions, in the Commission.

The devolved administrations will have a direct interest in our future trade policy and we will continue to work closely with them to deliver an approach that works for the whole of the UK.

Working in close collaboration with Defra, DIT engages the devolved administrations regularly to discuss trade and agriculture.

Through the White Paper - 'Preparing for our future UK trade policy' - DIT committed to a transparent and inclusive approach, whereby Parliament, the devolved administrations, the devolved legislatures, local government, business, trade unions, civil society, and the public from every part of the UK has the opportunity to engage with and contribute to future trade policy.

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade met with Scottish and Welsh Government Ministers between publication of the Trade White Paper and introduction of the Trade Bill, and senior officials met their counterparts in Northern Ireland departments.

DIT officials also spoke with each of the devolved administrations and shared draft clauses and explanatory notes prior to publication of the Bill.

As EU powers return to the UK, our guiding principle will be to ensure that no new barriers to living and doing business within our own Union are created. We will maintain the necessary standards and frameworks to empower the UK as an open, trading nation to strike the best deals around the world.

On the basis of these principles, we will work with the devolved administrations on an approach to returning powers from the EU that works for the whole of the UK and reflects the interests of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In due course, Britain will be leaving the EU. This offers us an opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world: to negotiate, in time, our own trade agreements and to be a positive and powerful force for free trade. The Prime Minister has established the Department for International Trade to promote British trade across the world and ensure the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy. We will engage fully with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments and with a broad range of stakeholders over the coming weeks and months as we prepare for negotiations with our international partners.

The Wales Bill being introduced later today will leave Wales with a vastly inferior fiscal settlement to those for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Why cannot Wales have full income tax powers like Scotland, corporation tax powers like Northern Ireland and air passenger duty powers like both those countries?

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) applies HM Treasury’s long term discount rate to calculate the carrying value of English student loans shown in the BIS financial statements.

Loans issued by devolved administrations are shown in their respective financial statements. The accounting treatment and discount rates applied are a matter for them.

HM Treasury is always open to discussion with the devolved administrations about such matters.

The government will work with Greater Manchester to establish a Life Chances Investment Fund from April 2017. This will bring together into a single pot funding from the Troubled Families programme, the Working Well pilot, the Cabinet Office Life Chances Fund and Greater Manchester’s own resources. The precise size of the Fund will be agreed over the coming months. Further detail on the government and Greater Manchester’s plans for this Fund can be found in the document on further devolution to Greater Manchester agreed alongside the Budget. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/devolution-to-the-greater-manchester-combined-authority-and-transition-to-a-directly-elected-mayor.

The Autumn Statement announced that the Government will legislate to remove the need for a referendum to introduce Welsh Rates of Income Tax. This will happen through the Wales bill.

Fiscal devolution will empower the Welsh Government with further tools and levers to deliver more growth and be more accountable to the people of Wales by raising more of the money they spend.

We will continue to discuss the implementation of Welsh Rates of Income Tax – including the financial arrangements - with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Welsh Government.

The Silk Commission recommended the indexed deduction put forward in the Holtham Report, and the coalition government accepted this recommendation.

The Autumn Statement announced that the Government will legislate to remove the need for a referendum to introduce Welsh Rates of Income Tax. The Government has been clear that it will amend the draft Wales Bill to do this.

The programme of fiscal reform has been designed for a purpose: to empower the Welsh Government with further tools and levers to deliver more growth and be more accountable to the people of Wales by raising more of the money they spend.

We will continue to discuss the implementation of Welsh Rates of Income Tax – including the financial arrangements - with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Welsh Government.

The Autumn Statement announced that the Government will legislate to remove the need for a referendum to introduce Welsh Rates of Income Tax. The Government has been clear that it will amend the draft Wales Bill to do this.

The programme of fiscal reform has been designed for a purpose: to empower the Welsh Government with further tools and levers to deliver more growth and be more accountable to the people of Wales by raising more of the money they spend.

We will continue to discuss the implementation of Welsh Rates of Income Tax – including the financial arrangements - with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Welsh Government.

The Autumn Statement announced that the Government will legislate to remove the need for a referendum to introduce Welsh Rates of Income Tax. The Government has been clear that it will amend the draft Wales Bill to do this.

The programme of fiscal reform has been designed for a purpose: to empower the Welsh Government with further tools and levers to deliver more growth and be more accountable to the people of Wales by raising more of the money they spend.

We will continue to discuss the implementation of Welsh Rates of Income Tax – including the financial arrangements - with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Welsh Government.

The list of places that sent in devolution proposals was published on Friday 11th September and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-devolution-bids-submitted-from-right-across-the-country.

Proposals are developed by and belong to local areas, therefore publication is a matter for individual places. Agreed devolution deal documents are published on the gov.uk website.

The public sector exit payment cap will come into effect at a date after the Enterprise Bill has received Royal Assent. The Enterprise Bill is currently expected to receive Royal Assent by May 2016. A set of secondary regulations which will give effect to the public sector exit payment cap are currently expected to come into force during autumn 2016.

In the response to the consultation the Government stated that ‘the government would request Legislative Consent Motions from the Devolved Administrations where appropriate, however it would be for the Devolved Administrations to decide the approach they wish to take to this measure.’

On 7 December 2015 the Northern Ireland Assembly declined to agree a Legislative Consent Motion. Subsequently, no provisions relating to Northern Ireland are included in the clauses relating to exit payments.

The public sector exit payment cap will come into effect at a date after the Enterprise Bill has received Royal Assent. The Enterprise Bill is currently expected to receive Royal Assent by May 2016. A set of secondary regulations which will give effect to the public sector exit payment cap are currently expected to come into force during autumn 2016.

In the response to the consultation the Government stated that ‘the government would request Legislative Consent Motions from the Devolved Administrations where appropriate, however it would be for the Devolved Administrations to decide the approach they wish to take to this measure.’

On 7 December 2015 the Northern Ireland Assembly declined to agree a Legislative Consent Motion. Subsequently, no provisions relating to Northern Ireland are included in the clauses relating to exit payments.

The Spending Review confirmed that the Mayor of London will jointly commission employment support for the long-term unemployed and will work with government on shaping delivery and provision. The government is strongly committed to devolving powers and responsibilities to the local level and will continue to assess where appropriate the opportunities for future skills and employment support devolution.

The government is strongly committed to devolving powers and responsibilities to the local level. The Chancellor has announced details of the reform to Business Rates nationally whereby Local Government will be able to retain 100% of Business Rates. The government will set out in due course the implications of this reform for London