Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the annual £210 million ring-fenced funding for adult community education is to be continued; and if not, what level of funding such community education will receive in future.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We have protected the core adult skills participation budget in cash terms, at £1.5 billion. Further details on what the settlement means for the Further Education sector is set out in the Skills Funding Letter.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Ofwat concerning the profits made by water companies between 2010 and 2015.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government has regular discussions with Ofwat about its strategic priorities and objectives for regulation of the water sector.

    Ofwat sets price controls independently of Government. This independence is crucial to ensure stable economic regulation which keeps investment costs down and customer bills low.

    In 2009, Ofwat set price controls for the period from 2010 to 2015. During this period water companies benefited from several factors outside their control, including low taxation and low borrowing costs. In March 2013, Ofwat challenged companies to share gains with their customers. The then Secretary of State wrote to companies in November 2013 in support of Ofwat’s drive. As a result, companies absorbed costs and provided water bill discounts worth £435 million over this period.

    In 2014, Ofwat delivered a tough price review which means that bills will fall by around 5% in real terms from 2015 to 2020.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the performance of the Education Funding Agency on the case of Harperbury Free School; and what the cost to the public purse of that school has been to date.

    Edward Timpson

    I have every confidence in the performance of the Education Funding Agency on this project.

    The combined capital and revenue cost of the project to date is £1,919,000.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the minimum number of hours off-duty is that his Department uses to define a day off for a junior doctor.

    Ben Gummer

    Neither the current contract nor the new contract define a day off. Both define a minimum rest period between shifts of 11 hours and a minimum break between defined periods of prolonged work of 48 hours. Further minimum rest periods, as set out in the existing Working Time Regulations, will also apply. The new contract will reduce the number of consecutive night shifts after which a 48 hour break must be taken from seven to four, the number of consecutive long day shifts from seven to five, the number of consecutive late evening shifts from 12 to four and the number of consecutive shorter shifts from 12 to eight. The improvements are part of the around 90% of the new contract that was agreed with the British Medical Association and that make the new contract much safer than the current one.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the UK-China human rights dialogue to take place.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The next round of the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue will take place in London. The date is still being agreed with the Chinese Government.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with which countries the UK has negotiated agreements on the exchange of tax information which (a) are in compliance with the OECD’s standard for such agreements and (b) provide for the automatic exchange of tax information since the OECD’s standard was released in July 2014.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK has exchange of tax information agreements with 142 different jurisdictions, through Double Taxation Agreements and Tax Information Exchange Agreements, and also as party to the OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the ‘Multilateral Convention’).

    A list of the international agreements the UK is party to can be found on Gov.uk under ‘Tax Treaties’, and details of which jurisdictions have entered the Multilateral Convention into force alongside the UK can be found on the OECD website.

    Of the 142 international tax agreements the UK is party to, only the following 12 do not meet the international standard for exchange of information on request:

    1. Egypt

    2. Fiji

    3. Gambia

    4. Israel

    5. Jamaica

    6. Kenya

    7. Namibia

    8. Oman

    9. Papua new Guinea

    10. Sri Lanka

    11. Swaziland

    12. Zimbabwe

      That international standard does not apply to automatic exchange. The standard for automatic exchange the question refers to (as published by the OECD in July 2014) is the Common Reporting Standard, the globally acceptable standard on automatic exchange of information with respect of financial accounts information.

      The means of ensuring this standard was through a common Competent Authority Agreement, which supplements the international tax agreement allowing for exchange of tax information, rather than being an international tax agreement itself. There is no standard for automatic exchange in international tax agreements; just whether the agreement allows for it or not.

      It is the UK policy to interpret international tax agreements to allow automatic exchange even where not expressly stated, with the exception of cases where the exchange of information provision clearly uses restrictive wording that would preclude such an exchange.

  • Crispin Blunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Crispin Blunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 10 of NHS England’s Strategic Framework for Specialised Services board paper, published in May 2016, what plans his Department has to issue directions to NICE regarding the adoption of its guidance by NHS England for treatments recommended through (a) the technology appraisal programme and (b) the highly specialised treatment evaluation programme.

    George Freeman

    The Department has no plans to issue any such directions to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

    NHS England and clinical commissioning groups are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies guidance issued by the NICE, normally within three months of the publication of the NICE’s guidance.

    Following NHS England’s review of its specialised commissioning processes and the publication in the summer of the final report from the Accelerated Access Review, we anticipate the NICE will want to look at its processes and methods for the assessment of drugs and treatments used in specialised commissioning.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when he plans for the UK to initiate Article 50; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Prime Minister has made it clear that we will not be triggering Article 50 before the end of 2016. She has said that we won’t be triggering Article 50 until we have a UK approach and clear objectives for negotiations. It is in everyone’s interest that we establish this before we trigger Article 50.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to distribute money awarded by the European Solidarity Fund to flood-affected communities in the event that funds are awarded.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government will determine how best to use any additional benefit received from the European Union Solidarity Fund once the amount of any award is known.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test; and if he will make a statement.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and whenever appropriate the Law Officers’ Departments would follow that guidance.