The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to bring the rules regarding transparency in respect of overseas company ownership of UK property into line with those for UK registered companies’ property ownership.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
As announced, the Government is considering measures to increase the transparency of beneficial ownership of assets by foreign companies
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to meet the demands of increasing world-wide migration.
Lord Bates
The Government undertakes extensive engagement on global migration issues with international partners through multilateral and bilateral discussions. The frequency of engagement has increased since the migration crisis in summer 2015 and focuses on the root causes of the crisis and its consequences. UK participation in the Valletta Summit and the Khartoum Process are key parts of this engagement.
In order to tackle the unprecedented levels of illegal migration to the EU, we are prioritising interventions upstream in countries of origin and transit to reduce the need for migrants to leave their country of origin or move on from a safe third country. Action is being taking through regional initiatives, including Regional Development and Protection Programmes and overseas aid, including £1.12 billion of support to Syria. We are supporting work to strengthen the EU’s external border and joint action on human trafficking to crack down on those who profit from this vile trade. The Government recently announced that it will work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to resettle unaccompanied children from conflict regions. We have asked the UNHCR to make an assessment of the numbers and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK and how that process should be managed. This new initiative builds on the Government’s existing commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees during this Parliament. More than 1,000 vulnerable Syrians refugees – around half of them children – have already been resettled through the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have initiated any discussions in the past decade on global migration issues.
Lord Bates
The Government undertakes extensive engagement on global migration issues with international partners through multilateral and bilateral discussions. The frequency of engagement has increased since the migration crisis in summer 2015 and focuses on the root causes of the crisis and its consequences. UK participation in the Valletta Summit and the Khartoum Process are key parts of this engagement.
In order to tackle the unprecedented levels of illegal migration to the EU, we are prioritising interventions upstream in countries of origin and transit to reduce the need for migrants to leave their country of origin or move on from a safe third country. Action is being taking through regional initiatives, including Regional Development and Protection Programmes and overseas aid, including £1.12 billion of support to Syria. We are supporting work to strengthen the EU’s external border and joint action on human trafficking to crack down on those who profit from this vile trade. The Government recently announced that it will work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to resettle unaccompanied children from conflict regions. We have asked the UNHCR to make an assessment of the numbers and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK and how that process should be managed. This new initiative builds on the Government’s existing commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees during this Parliament. More than 1,000 vulnerable Syrians refugees – around half of them children – have already been resettled through the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure timely and effective processing of Rural Payments Agency payments to farmers in 2016.
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.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the £536 million spent by the Department for International Development on malaria in 2013–14 was disbursed, and how much of the total committed to malaria in 2014–15 has not yet been spent.
Baroness Verma
The methodology used to monitor UK malaria spend between 2008/09 and 2014/15 was published in the 2010 Framework for Results for Malaria. In 2013/14 the UK provided £536 million to help reduce malaria deaths. The UK is helping to tackle malaria through bilateral and multilateral channels. The UK’s bilateral support includes: malaria-specific bilateral programmes (36% of total malaria spend in 2013/14); support to strengthening health systems (20% of malaria spend in 2013/14); and other bilateral support including the delivery of interventions to reduce malaria in pregnancy and supporting malaria related research (10% of 2013/14 malaria spend).
The main contribution to tackling malaria through multilateral channels is the UK support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (31% of total malaria spend in 2013/14).All of the Department’s 2014/15 spend on malaria has been disbursed. The UK’s investment on malaria has contributed to saving more than six million lives over the past 15 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of social enterprises in delivering high-quality healthcare services.
Lord Prior of Brampton
It is a statutory obligation that decisions on healthcare provision should be taken independently by local commissioners. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) must decide how to use their resources in a way which is evidence based, clinically-led and cost-effective in order to provide high-quality healthcare for people in their area. CCGs must also balance both short-term need and long-term transformation in line with the NHS Five Year Forward View’s (5YFV) objectives.
However, the Government firmly believes that providers from all sectors, including social enterprises, play an important role in providing high quality, safe and efficient care to patients, as well as helping to realise the ambitions set out in the NHS 5YFV.
The NHS 5YFV partners have recently published an updated national support package for the vanguards, ‘The Forward View into action: New Care Models support for the vanguards’, which emphasises the importance of drawing on the expertise and resources of the voluntary and social enterprise sector. A copy of the updated support package document is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage GPs to undertake out-of-hours shifts in primary care.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.
Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.
The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended.
On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.
Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop the model of co-location of urgent and emergency primary care service with accident and emergency departments.
Lord Prior of Brampton
In August 2015, NHS England published Safer, faster, better: good practice in delivering urgent and emergency care. A copy is attached. This provides guidance to help frontline providers and commissioners re-design urgent and emergency care services, including considering locating urgent care centres in emergency departments.
Safer, faster, better notes that urgent care centres co-located with emergency departments provide an opportunity to stream patients with less serious illnesses and injuries to a service that is resourced to meet their needs, while reducing crowding in emergency departments. It also sets out that to preserve flow, urgent care centre staff and cubicles must wherever possible be entirely separated from the majors/admission stream and that where urgent care centres are co-located with emergency departments, there must be appropriate integration, with shared governance arrangements and clearly defined protocols for the two-way transfer of patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions the Department of Health has had with NHS England about agreeing a long-term arrangement to control the cost of medical indemnity cover for out-of-hours GPs.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.
Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.
The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended.
On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.
Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.