The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to review the VAT threshold.
Jane Ellison
The Government keeps all tax rates and thresholds under review.
Category: Speeches
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Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for increased benefit fraud in the last financial year.
Justin Tomlinson
The 2014-2015 national statistics for fraud and error were published on 5 November 2015. We are committed to tackling fraud and error, and these figures show a reduction in total benefit fraud and error to the lowest ever level of 1.8%. There was a slight increase of 0.1% in the benefit fraud figure (from 0.7% in 2013-2014 to 0.8%).
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Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each gender had single-sided deafness in each of the last five years.
Alistair Burt
The information requested on the number of people with single-sided deafness is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of single-sided deafness in the last five years in England.
Year
2010 – 2011
2011 – 2012
2012 – 2013
2013 – 2014
2014 – 2015
Male
277
286
295
336
301
Female
299
279
310
336
332
This data may include the same person being admitted to hospital on more than one occasion and the data excludes diagnoses that were made outside of secondary care.
The Action Plan on Hearing Loss was jointly published in March 2015 by the Department and NHS England. It sets out the case for taking action on the rising prevalence and personal, social and economic costs of uncorrected hearing loss and the variation in access and quality of services experienced by people with hearing loss.
Transfer devices are available through the NHS. NHS England is developing commissioning guidance on the provision of hearing loss services, as part of its commitments in the Action Plan on Hearing Loss. The guidance will support clinical commissioning groups when making local decisions and help improve equality of access and patient experience.
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Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many SMEs have been declared bankrupt as a result of late payments in each of the last 10 years.
Anna Soubry
The Department does not hold the information required. However, BACS data shows that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.[1]
The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors.
The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a requirement for all public-sector buyers to publish annually, from 2017, their liability to debt interest payments. In central government we have gone further and faster. We will be publishing against these requirements quarterly from April this year. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.
Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.
Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.
[1] BACS Data June 2015.
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Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect all valid claims from farmers in 2015 to the Rural Payments Agency to be paid.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payment window runs between December 2015 and June 2016. As of the end of January the Rural Payments Agency had paid around 66,800 farmers approximately £1 billion. The Rural Payments Agency is focused on paying the remainder as promptly as possible.
2015 was the first year of the new complex Common Agricultural Policy. The Rural Payments Agency anticipates improvements on payment performance for the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme.
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Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) financial and (b) other assistance her Department has contributed to international support for children with microcephaly and their families.
Mr Nick Hurd
The Department for International Development (DFID) has worked with the Department for Heath (who are leading the UK government’s response), Public Health England and the Foreign Commonwealth Office to help develop the UK strategy on Zika and support the World Health Organisation (WHO) galvanise an effective international response. There are four strands of this strategy which are: (a) galvanising effective leadership and international coordination; (b) ensuring a risk-based approach to identify priority regions/countries and likely impact of further spread; (c) shaping and contributing to country and regional responses and (d) playing a lead role in the international research response.
DFID has programmes in a number of countries which will support the Zika response. To date, countries in currently affected regions of Latin America and the Caribbean have not made specific requests for financial and/or other assistance from us to support children with microcephaly. We will continue to carefully assess any requests, offer additional assistance where needed and adapt any existing programmes to the needs required. We have already committed £200,000 of bilateral aid in support of Haiti’s Ministry of Health community mobilisation activities. DFID and Wellcome Trust will contribute £10 million (DFID up to £5million) for Zika research. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, working with other government departments and WHO.
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Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the time taken to transfer women from abortion clinics to hospitals in cases of serious complications following abortions; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
In May 2014, the Department published updated requirements (Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy (Abortion)) which the providers of independent sector abortion services must agree to comply with to be approved by the Secretary of State to perform abortions. This includes the requirement to have in place procedures and protocols to deal with emergencies and the transfer to specialist services. A copy of the guidance is attached.
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Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the (a) premium income, (b) claims paid and (c) monies at risk of UK Export Finance were relating to the defence sector in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Nick Boles
The Information requested is in the table below:
Year
Net Premium Income[1]
Gross Amounts At Risk[2]
Claims Paid
2010/11
£ 2,597,418
£ 1,156,123,326
£ 0
2011/12
£ 11,832
£ 1,743,249,113
£ 0
2012/13
£ 42,664,931
£ 3,364,357,183
£ 0
2013/14
£ 27,162
£ 3,063,150,515
£ 0
2014/15
£ 3,472,656
£ 2,899,169,497
£ 0
It should be noted that premium income relates to business supported in that financial year, whereas amounts at risk will relate to all business in respect of which contingent liability still remains.
[1] Net of Premium due where reinsurance (if any) has been obtained.
[2] Inclusive of amounts reinsured (if any)
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Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue has been retained as a result of refunds for cancelled vehicle tax only being given for any full months of remaining tax since October 2014.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has always issued refunds of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for any full, unexpired months remaining. This is a legal requirement and did not change when the paper tax disc was abolished in October 2014.
In the financial year 2014/15, the DVLA collected £6 billion in VED and paid £216 million in refunds. The amount of VED refunded in the previous financial year was £197 million.
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Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many ministerial visits the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has made since 14 July 2016.
Ben Gummer
Further to the question asked by the Hon Member of 7 September 2016, Official Report, Column 321, I would add that my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Derbyshire Dales, is a Minister of the Crown and a member of the Cabinet. He will attend a number of Cabinet Committees, which will be published in due course, and has duties directly related to the Duchy of Lancaster. The List of Ministerial Responsibilities will also be published in due course. He does not receive a Ministerial salary from public funds. Details of Private Office staff will be accounted for as part of the regular transparency data on gov.uk. The Government publishes on a quarterly basis details of Ministerial visits overseas. All Ministers have access to the Government Car Service for official travel.
My Rt Hon Friend also serves as the Party Chairman of the Conservative Party. Such arrangements are no different from the likes of Charles Clarke, Ian McCartney and Hazel Blears, all of whom held the posts of Minister Without Portfolio and Labour Party Chair under the last Labour Government.
I would also observe that under the Thatcher and Major Governments, senior figures such as Norman Tebbit, Kenneth Baker and Chris Patten served as both Chairman of the Conservative Party and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.