The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to increase awareness amongst small retailers of EU directive 2014/40/EU, section 14, regulating packet sizes for cigarettes.
Jane Ellison
The Government is developing guidance on the implementation of Article 14 of the revised Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) and is considering how best to raise awareness of the changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010, when he expects to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access TTIP consolidated texts.
Anna Soubry
The reading room for classified documents, including consolidated texts, relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is not yet open. Members of both Houses will be informed of the process and details of how to access the room shortly, once these have been finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is planned that tribunal hearings convened under the Investor State Dispute Settlements (ISDS) under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will sit in public; and what Government policy is on public sittings for ISDS tribunals.
Anna Soubry
The negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are ongoing and the question of investment protection provisions in the agreement is still under consideration. The European Commission has however published its proposal for investment protections in TTIP. This builds on the reforms already introduced in the EU-Canada and EU-Singapore trade and investment agreements, including that arbitral tribunal hearings will typically be open to the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times the former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the former hon. Member for Twickenham, held individual meetings with trade envoys in each year between September 2012 and May 2015.
Anna Soubry
It is an established convention that Minsters of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17357, when in 2016 he plans to introduce the new reporting requirement to report on payment practices and performance.
Anna Soubry
The reporting requirement will come into force later this year. Further information on timings will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Smith Commission’s recommendation that there should be no detriment as a result of UK Government or Scottish Government policy decisions after devolution would be breached if the Scottish Government repeatedly spent monies passed to them for NHS services in accordance with the Barnett formula on other unrelated services.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether repeated underspending year on year by the Scottish Government of monies passed to them for NHS services under the Barnett formula could be subject (1) to challenge under the Dispute Resolution procedure as set out in paragraphs 98–104 of the agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments on the Scottish fiscal framework or (2) a 2021 review as set out in paragraphs 111–113 of that agreement.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of paragraph 16 of the agreement between the Scottish and UK governments on the Scottish fiscal framework, whether there is any obligation on the Scottish Government (1) to spend all or a certain proportion of the money passed to them for NHS services under the Barnett formula on those services; or (2) to account to the Scottish Parliament for not doing so.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been passed to the Scottish Government under the Barnett formula for NHS Services in each year since that Government was established; and what proportion of that money was actually spent on NHS services by the Scottish Parliament in each of those years.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will refer to any non-commercial criteria in calculating the economic rent to be charged to HM Treasury, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Cabinet Office, for their occupation of historic buildings in Whitehall.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
HM Treasury does not pay an economic rent for its occupation of 1 Horse Guards Road and therefore non-commercial criteria are not applied. HM Treasury’s occupation of the building is financed via a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, let on the commercial market, essentially a commercial leaseback arrangement for 35 years.
No information is held by HM Treasury regarding the occupation of historic buildings in Whitehall by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Cabinet Office.