The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of Gypsies and Travellers in the UK.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
In the 2011 census, 63,500 people in the United Kingdom identified their ethnic group as Gypsy or Traveller.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes his Department plans to pharmacy funding; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of those changes on small independent businesses.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services including public access to medicines. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to contribute to an international framework for the sharing of communications data; and if she will make a statement.
Mr John Hayes
The UK and United States Governments have begun considering a framework under which US-based communication service providers could disclose data directly for serious criminal and counter terrorism investigations, in response to a warrant requesting the content of communications, and with notices requiring the disclosure of communications data.
This builds on the work of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Intelligence and Law Enforcement Data Sharing; the recommendation of the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation; and the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, that the UK develop a framework for accessing data across jurisdictions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on (a) the National Adaptation Programme and (b) businesses and organisations’ climate change resilience of the withdrawal of the Climate Ready Support Service.
Rory Stewart
The first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change – we continue to deliver on these actions and make sure adaptation is integrated across government policy making. We will carefully review how we work with business and industry as part of the preparations for the next National Adaptation Programme report which is due around 2018.
The Environment Agency continues to play an important role in helping businesses adapt to climate change, in particular as part of its core role on flooding, coastal risks, water management, freshwater habitats, and as a statutory adviser in the land-use planning system. In addition, the Environment Agency will continue to provide advice to businesses and other organisations on using the UK climate projections and it will continue to contribute to a range of stakeholder groups. Over 70 online tools developed by the Climate Ready Support Service are still available for use by businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will conduct a consultation with small and medium-sized enterprises on potential steps to support and encourage the take up of employee share ownership schemes after the withdrawal of the valuation check service by HM Revenue and Customs on 31 March 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
Tax-advantaged employee share schemes are greatly valued by both companies and employers, and the government wants to make sure that the rules surrounding these schemes are as simple and clear as possible. Budget 2016 made a number of changes to the rules for employment-related securities and options which will make these schemes fairer and easier for taxpayers to understand, and therefore encourage businesses to use them.
An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned report conducted by Oxera considered the effect of the tax-advantaged employee share schemes on productivity. The report is available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110203095056/http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/tax-advantaged-report2.pdf.
The government’s most recent assessment of the cost of the tax-advantaged employee share schemes to the Exchequer is provided in the table below.
|
Forecast cost of Income Tax relief (2015-16) |
Forecast cost of National Insurance relief (2015-16) |
|
|
Share Incentive Plan |
£220 million |
£165 million |
|
Save As You Earn |
£180 million |
£140 million |
|
Enterprise Management Incentives |
£70 million |
£40 million |
|
Company Share Option Plan |
£70 million |
£40 million |
HMRC has not withdrawn the valuation checking service for the tax-advantaged employee share schemes. However, HMRC has withdrawn other checks for non-tax advantaged schemes as, in the majority of cases, acceptable valuations were submitted. Therefore, the valuation service added no value and is seen as unnecessary.
The government keeps all areas of the tax system under review and as part of that in always interested in understanding the views of all interested parties.
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to bring forward proposals for a change to legislation to further regulate the pricing of everyday drugs to the NHS by pharmaceutical companies.
George Freeman
The Department is already referring cases to the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) and to strengthen our work in this area. We are considering putting measures in place to routinely and systematically monitor significant price increases of generic medicines and take action where appropriate, including the possible referral of suspected excessive pricing to the CMA, while taking into account the potential impact of any such action on the availability of medicines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reserves recruits made it through Phase 1 of the recruitment process in the last 12 months; and whether the target for such recruitment was met.
Mark Lancaster
Information on how many members of Future Reserves 2020 have completed Phase 1 training and commenced Phase 2 training in the 12 months to 31 July 2016 is shown below:
Maritime Reserve 160
Army Reserve FR20 1,830
Royal Auxiliary Air Force 270
There is no target for completing Phase 1 training but targets exist for trained strength, new entrant inflow and ex-regular trained joiners.
Notes
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mandatory requirements are in place to ensure that care home staff are well trained.
Alistair Burt
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall.
The Fundamental Standards include a regulation on staffing which ensures that suitably qualified, competent, skilled persons must be deployed. This regulation also ensures that the person employed receives the appropriate training, professional development and have the opportunity to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform.
CQC inspections ensure that providers are meeting these Fundamental Standards and have a wide range of enforcement powers if a provider fails to meet them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how much local clinical commissioning groups spend on independent sector providers.
George Freeman
This information is already collected centrally by the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent report by Saferworld Matching needs and resources: National Police Reserve and community security in Kenya’s frontiers, and whether they have had discussions with the government of Kenya about contributing to the professionalism and accountability of the National Police Reserve.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Through our High Commission in Nairobi, the British Government has regularly discussed police accountability and professionalism with the Government of Kenya, including the Kenya Police Service. This has included discussions on the role of the Kenya National Police Reserve, though we do not currently work directly with them. The UK is working with the Government of Kenya to strengthen community security in some of Kenya’s most marginalised areas. The Conflict Security and Stability Fund is working to build capacity to ensure security forces in the region are better governed, more accountable and effective and to build community resilience to respond to security challenges through work with civil society. In addition, the Department for International Development launched the £13.7million Improving Community Security programme in 2015. This programme will work with government departments and non-governmental organisations, including Saferworld, to increase the security and safety of men, women and children in Kenya through increasing the capacity of institutions including the police and county government, to prevent and respond to violence.