The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the report of the Mental Health Taskforce commissioned by NHS England.
Alistair Burt
The report of the independent Mental Health Taskforce is due to be published by NHS England by the end of the calendar year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average accommodation and travel costs relating to training at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne (d) MOD Crickhowell were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Mark Lancaster
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2015-12-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the EU directives on asylum into which they have opted, and what are those from which they have opted out.
Lord Bates
Between 1999 and 2005, several measures harmonising common minimum standards for asylum were adopted. The six measures were the Dublin II Regulation, the EURODAC Regulation, the Temporary Protection Directive, the Reception Conditions Directive, the Qualification Directive and the Asylum Procedures Directive. The UK opted into all of these Directives.
The Reception Conditions Directive, the Qualifications Directive and the Asylum Procedures Directives were later revised but the UK did not opt into the revised versions and remains bound by the original Directives.
The Dublin II Regulation and EURODAC Regulation were also revised and the UK opted into the revised versions.
The Temporary Protection Directive has not been revised and the UK remains bound by the original Directive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has an insurance policy in place for civilian residents on the land around RAF Northolt to cover possible damage to their properties.
Mark Lancaster
The Ministry of Defence does not purchase insurance policies in the UK but accepts its own risks and acts as its own insurer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which court the commitment in point 7 of Section A of the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council on 18 and 19 February 2016, to incorporate the substance of the section into the EU Treaties is enforceable.
Mr David Lidington
The decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union, is legally binding. The Government is confident that all the commitments in the Decision will be implemented by the Member States and EU Institutions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-03-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse is of (a) access by HM Revenue and Customs to the Codentify system to pilot its use for tobacco product authentication, (b) staff time to use that system and (c) other costs incurred through use of that system.
Damian Hinds
Tobacco products classified as ‘illicit’ in the UK include anything on which duty has not been paid but should have been paid. This includes counterfeit products, brands manufactured legally overseas but not legally sold in the UK, and genuine products originating in the UK and overseas but diverted from legitimate supply chains by criminals. Because of this, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers use a variety of ways to identify illicit product. Testing product authenticity is one mechanism.
To test product authenticity, HMRC uses identifiers required by legislation, for example, Fiscal Marks which manufacturers are required to print on specified tobacco products to show they are UK duty paid, as well as voluntary tools used by the manufacturers. One such voluntary tool is Codentify.
Codentify was developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. HMRC took a policy decision, in line with the commitment to tackle illicit tobacco, to examine whether these existing codes could provide a useful additional tool to help officers authenticate product in the field.
The trial is concerned only with the use of Codentify for product authentication, and no other aspect of the system is being used or evaluated. Codentify requires no specialist equipment or training. Officers are provided with basic guidance and access to an online system. No charge is made for use of the system and, as no procurement was needed, there was no requirement for HMRC to run a tender exercise. As this is a trial only, no Ministerial approval was required or has been sought.
A number of HMRC officers have been given access to the system and trained by HMRC colleagues. The time spent on this activity is minimal and is estimated to be less than one staff year in total.
HMRC has explained the use of Codentify as a potential product authentication tool to colleagues in Border Force and Trading Standards. However, they have not provided training to any officers in those organisations.
The EU Tobacco Products Directive introduces a requirement for a pan European security feature and track and trace systems. The European Commission, working with Member States, is considering proposals and have yet to determine any technical specifications,
HMRC is aware of a wide range of potential track and trace and security feature solutions on the market. They are not evaluating, and, given the current position on the Directive, could not evaluate any products against its requirements. The aspects of Codentify being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.
In accordance with regulatory requirements, when technical specifications are determined, HMRC will ensure that any evaluation against them ensures no unfair competitive advantage or obstacles to competition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in his Department are working on research relating to the EU Referendum; and what estimate he has made of the total (a) number of man-hours and (b) cost of that work up to 23 June 2016.
John Penrose
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex on 13 January 2016 to UIN: 21072.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for settlement visas using the priority visa service.
James Brokenshire
The average processing time for settlement applications made using priority visa services between 01-Jan-2015 and 31-Dec 2015 is 7.41 days.
This is a provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s evaluation of the autism awareness project, what measures his Department plans to use to demonstrate (a) how many more people understand autism as a result of that project and (b) its overall value for money.
David Mowat
After a public tendering process, the Autism Alliance UK were successful in receiving funding from the Department for their Connect to Autism project. This project has focused on improving awareness and understanding of autism in the general population by working with local and national providers of services in the private, public and voluntary sectors. A tendering process to evaluate the project will be undertaken shortly, with the evaluation aiming to identify, amongst other outcomes, how many people the awareness project has reached and its overall value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to upgrade the (a) rail and (b) underground connectivity to (i) Heathrow and (ii) Gatwick Airport.
Mr John Hayes
Current investment plans include a number of improvements to rail and underground services to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
The Elizabeth line will significantly improve links between Heathrow and a number of central London destinations. From May 2018, four trains an hour will run between Paddington and Heathrow Airport replacing the existing 2 train per hour Heathrow Connect service. From December 2019, Elizabeth line trains will run from the airport directly to central London destinations including Bond Street, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf.
London Underground is planning new trains and signalling for the Piccadilly line, which serves Heathrow. Work on signalling will begin as early as 2019 and the first new trains will be in service from the early 2020s. The new trains will provide 60% more capacity (the equivalent of up to 21,000 customers per hour).
Network Rail is developing a rail link from the Great Western Main Line to London Heathrow Terminal 5. This proposed Western Rail Link to Heathrow will allow passengers to travel directly to the airport from Reading and Slough. Network Rail is expected to seek planning powers for this scheme in 2017.
Gatwick airport is benefiting from the investment that is underway through the Thameslink programme which is delivering more frequent services and state of the art new trains on the line between Brighton, Gatwick Airport and London, the first of which entered service earlier this year. By 2018, these trains will start operating on two new direct services connecting Gatwick to Peterborough and Cambridge.