The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Future of News report published by the BBC on 28 January.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
No formal assessment has been made of the report, but we welcome the BBC’s insight into the future of news.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the consequences for the UK economy of a Greek exit from the Eurozone.
Andrea Leadsom
As the Chancellor stated on 2 February “…it is clear that the stand-off between Greece and the euro zone is the greatest risk to the global economy”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department provides tax relief to encourage multinational mining corporations to maintain their headquarters in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
Since 2010 the Government has delivered a range of reforms to encourage investment in the UK, including the establishment of headquarter operations by multinational companies. The Government has cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 21% and it will fall further to 20% this April, the lowest rate in the G20. In addition, the Government has introduced the Patent Box, increased the generosity of Research & Development tax credits and modernised the UK’s Controlled Foreign Company regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any former officials of his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The FCO does not hold details of employment taken up by former officials unless they have been subject to the business appointment rules. Records kept under the business appointment rules covering the last 3 years (2012 – 2014) show that no former members of staff have left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to join Rio Tinto plc.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted into the effect on public health of alcohol advertising in each of the last three financial years.
Jane Ellison
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR). The SPHR is conducting a programme of research from June 2013 to March 2017 on reducing alcohol-related health harms in an English context. This includes research on aspects of the impact of alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption. Details of the research programme are available on the SPHR website at:
http://sphr.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/NIHR-SPHR-Alcohol-programme-summary-Nov-2014.pdf
Researchers supported by the SPHR have contributed to research on industry-driven marketing influences on young people’s drinking behaviour. Findings were published in the journal Addiction in 2014.
The Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU) at the University of Cambridge is part-funded by the Department. The BHRU has contributed to research on exposure of children and adolescents to alcohol marketing on social media websites. Findings were published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism in 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of clinical radiologists specialising in mammography and diagnostic breast cancer procedures employed by NHS trusts.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The latest monthly workforce statistics, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), provides information on the numbers of clinical radiologists working in the National Health Service in England, however it is not possible to break this data down into sub specialties.
There are currently 3,789 (full-time equivalent) doctors with a specialty of clinical radiology working in the NHS, an increase of 15% (497 full-time equivalent) since May 2010.
It is for local employers to determine the workforce based on the needs of their local community and they are best placed to do so.
Health Education England’s Workforce plan confirms an increase in Clinical Radiology training posts by 16 in 2015-16. This continues to build on the 14 additional posts commissioned in 2014-15.
The Society of Radiographers may be able to supply more information on radiographers. Their website is available at: www.sor.org/
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission issues on the sale of electoral registration details of electors who (a) are on the open register and (b) have opted not to be included on the central register.
Mr Gary Streeter
Electoral legislation prescribes in what circumstances and to whom electors’ details on the full and open electoral registers can be sold.
The ‘full’ electoral register includes the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote. Access to, and use of, the full electoral register is carefully controlled. It is only available for sale to certain government departments and other bodies, as well as to credit reference agencies, and may only be used for the purposes for which it has been supplied (for example, credit reference agencies may only use it for credit reference purposes).
The open register is an extract of the electoral register, which electors can opt out of. The open register can be bought by any person, company or organisation.
The Electoral Commission’s guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) summarises what they are required to do by law. The guidance makes clear the difference between the open and the full registers, and sets out who can have access to them and the prescribed fees for supply.
Individuals applying to register to vote are provided with information on the open and full registers, including what they are used for and who can be provided with data from them.
As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, EROs wrote to all existing electors who had been automatically transferred to the new registers. This letter included information on both the open and full register. The Commission’s report on the first phase of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, published in October 2014, noted that when EROs began sending these confirmation letters it became clear from the response that many people who were on the open register were not aware of that fact, and were unhappy about how their information was being used.
The Commission remains of the view that the open register should no longer be compiled or made available for sale. The Commission has also recommended that, should the open register be retained, electors should be asked whether they wish to opt in, rather than opt out.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to enforce prompt payments to small and medium-sized enterprises by large companies.
Matthew Hancock
The Government is taking forward a suite of measures to tackle prompt payment.
Through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, currently before Parliament, we will introduce measures to improve transparency on payment practices and policies. Increased transparency, through a tough and transparent new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies, will help take significant steps to addressing the current imbalance in economic power between small and large contracting parties. Our consultation on draft secondary regulations to underpin these measures closed on 2 February. We will publish a summary of responses shortly.
The Government is currently seeking views on how to best give representative bodies wider powers to be able to challenge grossly unfair payment practices on behalf of members. The discussion paper is available online and is open until 9 March.
The Government is also working to strengthen the impact of the Prompt Payment Code. We are currently considering proposals, including introducing a maximum payment term for Code signatories, more rigorous monitoring of signatory behaviour, and the enforcement of tougher sanctions on bad payers. We will announce our proposals in Spring.
These measures will drive forward a shift in payment culture that will make it unacceptable for large companies in positions of extreme bargaining imbalances to exploit smaller suppliers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many young people living in Preston entered higher education in each of the last 20 years.
Greg Clark
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) publishes young participation rates by parliamentary constituency. These show the proportion of young people in each parliamentary constituency who entered higher education by the age of 19, for each cohort of 18 year olds between 1998 and 2011. These can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/yp/trendsyp/pment/
The statistics will be updated to include the 2012 cohort of 18 year olds in the summer.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2015-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals to increase the island fuel rebate.
Priti Patel
The Government keeps all elements of the island rural fuel rebate scheme under review. In 2013, the Government published a report which found the rebate to be effectively reducing prices for motorists.
The UK required EU approval to introduce the scheme. The EU permission for the island scheme is in place until 2017. Ahead of the scheme’s expiry in 2017, the Government will consider the case for applying to the EU for renewal, along with the case for altering aspects of the scheme.