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  • Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to quantify the overall impact on independent retailers of the tobacco control measures introduced in the last Parliament.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments specifically look at the impacts on small and micro businesses including retailers. All of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.

  • Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 17 November (HL3227), what discussion HMRC has had with Trading Standards about VAT fraud among online traders operating from abroad; on what dates they held those discussions; by what medium; and with what outcome.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is engaging with Trading Standards, both bi-laterally and through cross-government groups, to establish a coordinated response to VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad. Additionally, HMRC has on-going policy and operational exchanges with Trading Standards via various media including face-to-face meeting, e-mail and telephone, sharing information and intelligence in line with established information gateways.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of respondents supported each of the proposals in the consultation Reforming support for failed asylum seekers and other illegal migrants.

    Lord Bates

    The consultation response published on 5 November 2015 provides an overview of the responses, including by category of respondent, and summarises the responses to the proposals and questions set out in the consultation document. The individual responses varied in scope, detail and the extent to which they directly addressed those proposals and questions and it is not possible therefore to quantify the responses in the manner sought.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of those responding to the 2012 consultation Measuring Child Poverty supported the exclusion of any income measure; and whether they will name those organisations that supported the exclusion.

    Lord Freud

    The Government’s response to the consultation on new measures of child poverty can be found in Annex E of the attached document. The analysis of the results in 2013 recorded that two respondents to the consultation said income should not be included in a measure of child poverty.

    We cannot give the names of the respondents due to Data Protection Act requirements. However, one was from an academic organisation and the other was from a frontline service.

    The Government wants to focus future effort on tackling the root causes of child poverty. That is why the life chances provisions in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill will introduce new measures of worklessness and educational attainment, and why we have committed ourselves to introducing a set of non-statutory indicators including ones on family breakdown, problem debt and addiction. These measures will focus action on the areas which the evidence indicates will make a sustainable difference to children’s lives – now and in the future.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible advantages and disadvantages of licensing bicyclists.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We consider that the costs of a formal testing and licensing system for cyclists would significantly outweigh the benefits cycling has to the country’s economy, health and environment. Evidence suggests that increased cycling could create significant savings for the NHS, less pollution and congestion, and a happier and healthier population. It is likely that a licensing system will discourage many existing and potential cyclists, leading to a dramatic fall in the numbers of people cycling.

    Around 80% of adult cyclists also hold driving licenses, meaning that the majority of cyclists on the road have already been tested on operating safely in different road and traffic conditions. Furthermore, the safety case for a testing/licensing system is not as strong as that for drivers since, by contrast with motorised vehicles, bicycles involved in collisions on the highway are highly unlikely to cause serious injury to other road users.

    Cyclists as well as all road users must obey the Highway Code, and the Government has provided funding for training schemes such as Bikeability which provides practical training and teaches the Highway Code to the next generation of cyclists. The Bikeability programme currently trains approximately 50% of primary schoolchildren in England and more than 1.5million children have received training since the programme’s inception.

    The recent Spending Review committed £300m to cycling investment between 2015-16 and 2020-21, this includes delivering in full the £114 million Cycle Ambition City scheme, with construction of segregated cycle lanes including 115 kilometres in Birmingham and 56 kilometres in Manchester.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of all audits undertaken or commissioned by the Department of Health into Action on Smoking and Health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In financial year 2012/13, the Department grant awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) (under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968) was included in a sample of grants that was reviewed in an internal audit of the grant management arrangements of the Department. The audit included visits to the charities that formed part of the sample to test the information they provided to the Department and to garner their views on how the Department engaged with them. ASH was included in the work because its grant fulfilled the sample criteria.

    The internal audit was not a review of the organisation and the way that it operated, its focus was on the Department grant management. It found that, at the time, there were satisfactory arrangements in place in the Department. The audit report did not raise any adverse comments about ASH or include any recommendations in relation to them. It is not normal practice to place copies of Internal Audit reports in the Library.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health who sit on internal or external working or steering groups with representatives from Action on Smoking and Health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Acting Deputy Director and Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) attended a dinner, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to celebrate the Luther. L. Terry award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry which was presented to the UK on 19 March at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH). Representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), as past recipients of an award in 2012, were also present.

    The Acting Deputy Director presented at the WCTOH in March 2015 and the Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) presented at the E-cigarette Summit in November. Representatives of ASH also presented at these independent events.

    The Deputy Director for Tobacco Control is a member of Public Health England’s Tobacco Control Implementation Board, which also includes a representative from ASH in its membership.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health who have appeared on a shared public platform or conference agenda alongside representatives from Action on Smoking and Health in the last year, and at what events.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Acting Deputy Director and Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) attended a dinner, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to celebrate the Luther. L. Terry award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry which was presented to the UK on 19 March at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH). Representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), as past recipients of an award in 2012, were also present.

    The Acting Deputy Director presented at the WCTOH in March 2015 and the Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) presented at the E-cigarette Summit in November. Representatives of ASH also presented at these independent events.

    The Deputy Director for Tobacco Control is a member of Public Health England’s Tobacco Control Implementation Board, which also includes a representative from ASH in its membership.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether representatives from Action on Smoking and Health were present at any meals that officials from the Department of Health had during the World Conference on Tobacco or Health between 16 and 21 March, and if so, which representatives and officials were present at each occasion.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Acting Deputy Director and Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) attended a dinner, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to celebrate the Luther. L. Terry award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry which was presented to the UK on 19 March at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH). Representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), as past recipients of an award in 2012, were also present.

    The Acting Deputy Director presented at the WCTOH in March 2015 and the Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) presented at the E-cigarette Summit in November. Representatives of ASH also presented at these independent events.

    The Deputy Director for Tobacco Control is a member of Public Health England’s Tobacco Control Implementation Board, which also includes a representative from ASH in its membership.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health currently assessing the application for grant funding made by Action on Smoking and Health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The assessment of the grant application for funding from Action on Smoking and Health is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team.