The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.205 of the Budget 2016, if he will publish the calculations referred to in footnote 143 on the potential costs to consumers of the rise in the standard rate of insurance premium tax.
Harriett Baldwin
We do not usually publish such calculations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Radice on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contribution the Royal Navy has made to Operation Atalanta, and what contribution it is expected to make in the future.
Earl Howe
The United Kingdom fulfils its enduring commitment through the provision of the two-star Operation Commander (Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces and Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces in rotation). The UK also contributes Operation Headquarters facilities (OHQ) at Northwood and on average 60 members of OHQ staff, approximately 40% of the total OHQ.
The Royal Navy (RN) will continue to contribute to Operation Atalanta. In addition the RN maintains a constant presence in the Gulf region. Anti-piracy and anti-terrorism measures are among a number of concurrent tasks carried out by the RN and supporting assets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalty charges have been issued for motorway middle lane offences since the legislation governing those charges came into force.
Mike Penning
The Home Office publishes data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences each year, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin. However, data are not held specifically on motorway middle lane offences. These would be captured under the broader category of careless driving offences, which also includes offences such as tailgating and aggressive driving.
The published data can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings of the CLIC Sargent report, entitled Cancer costs: financial impact of childhood cancer revealed, published on 1 September 2016, if he will carry out an immediate review of travel assistance available to young cancer patients and their parents.
David Mowat
We know that cancer can affect all areas of a person’s life, including finances – 83% of people say they are financially impacted by cancer. People require holistic support from diagnosis onwards, encompassing their physical, financial, psychosocial, and information and support needs, throughout their entire cancer journey.
Children and teenagers with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are also entitled to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (or a Personal Independence Payment if over 16). This is a tax free allowance, which contributes to the extra costs incurred by families in caring for children with additional needs and includes a mobility component. Children in receipt of DLA can receive up to £139.75 a week, and people who are terminally ill can have their claim fast tracked to access benefits sooner. Families and carers can also qualify for Carer’s Allowance and receive £62.10 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria, and some councils run Council Tax Reductions schemes for people on low incomes or who claim benefits.
We do not have any plans to review the hospital travel costs scheme – which provides financial assistance to those patients who do not have a medical need for ambulance transport, but who require assistance with their travel costs. This is part of the well-established NHS Low Income Scheme, in which patients on low incomes or receiving specific qualifying benefits or allowances can be reimbursed in part or in full for costs incurred in travelling to receive treatment at hospitals and this would include cancer treatment. It also can be claimed where the appointment has been made for a child or other dependent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what date his Department holds on the number of incidents involving (a) lorries and (b) buses that related to wheel loss.
Andrew Jones
The police-reported personal injury accident data does not include anything that specifies whether an accident resulted from wheel loss.
The closest piece of information in the statistics is the contributory factor of ‘tyres illegal, defective or under inflated’. A total of 19 heavy goods vehicles and two buses or coaches in Great Britain had this contributory factor in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to release estimates of NHS expenditure on mental health services for financial year 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
NHS England has published clinical commissioning group (CCG) level expenditure on mental health for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £8.1 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for mental health services in 2014/15.
We continue to take mental health as seriously as physical health and to hold the National Health Service to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate. In the planning requirements for 2015/16, CCGs were required to invest additionally in mental health in line with their increase in allocation. The total planned additional spend is £376 million, an increase of 4.5%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many catapult networks have been established by Innovate UK; what is the focus of each network; and how much funding they are providing to each network.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Innovate UK has established a network of 10 Catapult Centres covering a broad range of markets and technologies and Government investment will be around £557 million by 2015/16 but the future allocation between the individual catapults has not yet been finalised”. The Catapults are:
High Value Manufacturing Catapult – seven individual centres working together to bring their expertise in different and complementary areas of high value manufacturing to provide an integrated capability and embraces all forms of manufacture using metals and composites, in addition to process manufacturing technologies and bio-processing.
Cell Therapy Catapult – working to grow a viable and sustainable cell therapy industry in the UK.
Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult – focused on development of commercially viable technologies applicable to offshore wind, wave and tidal power.
Satellite Applications Catapult – helping UK businesses to develop new satellite-based products and services.
Digital Catapult – working to position UK business to lead the introduction of radically new applications and experiences across the increasing breadth of internet services.
Future Cities Catapult – helping to make cities to become smarter and more forward thinking.
Transport Systems Catapult – supporting UK industry in exploiting the massive global market for new products and services that will drive the integration of transport and its systems and help UK businesses to develop effective and sustainable solutions to transport needs for both freight and people.
Energy Systems Catapult – working to deliver economic value to Britain by making the transformation of the UK’s energy systems sector attractive to companies that are developing and growing new technology-based products and services by creating a critical mass of world class independent engineering and social science expertise in energy systems
Precision Medicine Catapult – working to simplify and accelerate precision medicine product development and implementation, building the necessary partnerships between different therapeutic, diagnostic and informatics players in the sector, supporting existing and new companies and attracting inward investment by global life science companies
Medicines Technologies Catapult – still being established, but will work on the development of new technologies that better predict the response of humans, animals and environment to chemicals (for example prescription drugs, pesticides and cosmetics).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties have been issued by HM Revenue and Customs to (a) scheme promoters and (b) their clients for non-disclosure of tax avoidance schemes in each year since 2009-10 under the (i) disclosure regime for VAT and (ii) Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes regime.
Mr David Gauke
The penalty regime for the VAT Avoidance Disclosure Regime (VADR) differs from the requirements laid under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regulations, in that it is the user of a scheme that is required to make a disclosure to HM Revenue and Customs rather than the scheme promoter.
While the provision exists for promoters to make Voluntary Notifications and receive a disclosure reference to provide to their clients, the penalty regime does not extend to disclosures made in these circumstances.
The information requested in respect of the DOTAS regime is only available at a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support objections to a school’s admissions arrangements if those objections have been upheld.
Lord Nash
The School Admissions Code exists to ensure that places in all state funded schools are allocated in a fair and transparent manner. It is particularly important that parents feel confident that their concerns are listened to and acted upon.
The Government has recently announced its intention to change its policy, to ensure that the adjudication process is focused on dealing with the concerns of those who have a direct interest in the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school. The adjudication process should not be delayed by the need to also consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area.
These changes will be subject to a full public consultation and parliamentary approval.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-02-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the FCA on its making guidance available to banks which are seeking to comply with money laundering rules in relation to domestic politically-exposed persons in a proportionate way; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is taking concerns about the Anti-Money Laundering requirements regarding Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) seriously. While addressing corrupt PEPs is an important aspect of global efforts to tackle corruption and money laundering, it is essential that this be done proportionately. Treasury ministers have regular discussions with banks and the FCA, including on ensuring that guidance is clear and appropriate.