Tag: 2015

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what change there has been in the productivity of the NHS in England in each of the last three years for which information is available.

    Jane Ellison

    The most comprehensive and reliable estimates of productivity for the National Health Service in England are compiled by the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York. Their published series provides data from 1998/99 onwards and the latest available data relates to 2011/12, published in January 2014.

    Total factor productivity, adjusted for quality change, was -1.25% in 2009/10, +3.21% in 2010/11 and +2.13% in 2011/12. This is the first time that the series had shown two consecutive years of positive productivity growth.

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles a similar series for the whole of the United Kingdom, on a calendar year basis. The latest ONS results were published in January 2015 and show productivity growth rates for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 as -1.3%, 0.6%, 3.5%, 0.9% respectively.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS North West London took to consult residents of Ealing local authority area whose first language is not English when drawing up its Shaping a Healthier Future plan.

    Jane Ellison

    We are advised by NHS England, that NHS in North West London, through its programme Shaping a Healthier Future, undertook a number of activities (particularly in the summer of 2012) to ensure effective consultation with residents across the area, including in Ealing, whose first language is not English.

    The engagement was conducted by a post holder who speaks Urdu and Punjabi, two of Ealing’s most common non-English languages and included: working through existing voluntary and community networks within the area, such as the voluntary services councils, health and wellbeing boards, refugee/Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups and others; developing links with individual groups and communities interested and possibly affected by the proposed changes; using local authority forums and existing meetings to engage groups and communities; and engagement through commissioning organisations.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the outcomes were of her visit to New York and Washington in February 2015 to brief US administration representatives on the progress of the Stormont House Agreement.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I updated a number of key figures in the US Administration, in Congress and in the Irish-American community on the Stormont House Agreement. It is evident from these meetings that there is strong US support for the Agreement, and ongoing interest in its implementation, including the devolution of corporation tax powers.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what discussions he has had with the Crown Prosecution Service in respect of the possibility of prosecuting HSBC Bank for conspiracy to assist some of its customers to evade paying tax.

    Mr Robert Buckland

    The Attorney General and I frequently meet representatives of the Crown Prosecution Service to discuss a variety of issues. However, as was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure policy coherence between trade policy and international poverty reduction with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Matthew Hancock

    Trade openness is a key driver of economic growth, which is essential for poverty reduction. Trade will therefore play a central role in the Means of Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are working with colleagues across Whitehall to develop an ambitious proposal for trade commitments in the Post-2015 agenda. These commitments range from securing increased market access for low income countries to ensuring that they can make the most of this access through tackling ‘behind the border’ obstacles to trade.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of employees at Eurostar International Limited who receive more than 50 days’ paid holiday per year.

    Danny Alexander

    Eurostar is run on a standalone commercial basis, as a result my department does not hold this information.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to local authorities of the proposed takeover of responsibility for LLC1 searches by the Land Registry.

    Matthew Hancock

    All costs of the conversion from the various databases held locally at the moment, whether they involve paper, microfiche or any other format to a digitised process, will be met by Land Registry.

    Whilst costs to local authorities will be taken into account by Land Registry, they have yet to be broken down into greater detail at this stage, so as not to prejudice Land Registry’s commercial interests in respect of future procurement activity.

  • Paul Murphy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Murphy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Murphy on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many family members of each of the service personnel who died in Afghanistan will be able to attend the service of commemoration at St Paul’s Cathedral on 13 March 2015.

    Anna Soubry

    Invitations have been extended to the Next of Kin and one guest.

  • Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to ban United Kingdom banks from operating branches or subsidiaries in offshore tax havens; and whether United Kingdom regulators have any regulatory responsibility for those banks, their management or those in the United Kingdom who supervise such activities.

    Lord Deighton

    The Government does not impose restrictions on where UK banks can operate overseas. However, the UK has championed international tax transparency and through our G8 Presidency has driven the agreement and early implementation of the new global standard for automatic exchange of financial information for tax purposes. To date over 90 countries have committed to exchange such information on a multilateral basis. The UK also remains committed to ensuring that there are effective anti-avoidance rules in place to protect the UK corporation tax base.

    This includes the introduction of new Controlled Foreign Company rules (effective from the beginning of 2013) which help to deter and prevent artificial diversion of profits from the UK.

    It also includes supporting the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project which is looking to address weaknesses in international tax rules which allow companies to avoid paying tax on their profits.

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are the UK financial services regulators. The role of the FCA and PRA in regulating overseas branches and subsidiaries of UK banks is dependent on the specific circumstances of an individual case.

    However, I have asked the FCA and the PRA to reply directly to the Noble Lord by letter to explain their role in this area. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Queen Elizabeth II – 2015 Christmas Broadcast

    Queen Elizabeth II – 2015 Christmas Broadcast

    The Christmas Broadcast made by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 25 December 2015.

    At this time of year, few sights evoke more feelings of cheer and goodwill than the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree.

    The popularity of a tree at Christmas is due in part to my great-great grandparents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. After this touching picture was published, many families wanted a Christmas tree of their own, and the custom soon spread.

    In 1949, I spent Christmas in Malta as a newly-married naval wife. We have returned to that island over the years, including last month for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders; and this year I met another group of leaders: The Queen’s Young Leaders, an inspirational group, each of them a symbol of hope in their own Commonwealth communities.

    Gathering round the tree gives us a chance to think about the year ahead — I am looking forward to a busy 2016, though I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice. It also allows us to reflect on the year that has passed, as we think of those who are far away or no longer with us. Many people say the first Christmas after losing a loved one is particularly hard. But it’s also a time to remember all that we have to be thankful for.

    It is true that the world has had to confront moments of darkness this year, but the Gospel of John contains a verse of great hope, often read at Christmas carol services: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

    One cause for thankfulness this summer was marking seventy years since the end of the Second World War. On VJ Day, we honoured the remaining veterans of that terrible conflict in the Far East, as well as remembering the thousands who never returned. The procession from Horse Guards Parade to Westminster Abbey must have been one of the slowest ever, because so many people wanted to say ‘thank you’ to them.

    At the end of that War, the people of Oslo began sending an annual gift of a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square. It has five hundred lightbulbs and is enjoyed not just by Christians but by people of all faiths, and of none. At the very top sits a bright star, to represent the Star of Bethlehem.

    The custom of topping a tree also goes back to Prince Albert’s time. For his family’s tree, he chose an angel, helping to remind us that the focus of the Christmas story is on one particular family.
    For Joseph and Mary, the circumstances of Jesus’s birth — in a stable – were far from ideal, but worse was to come as the family was forced to flee the country. It’s no surprise that such a human story still captures our imagination and continues to inspire all of us who are Christians, the world over.

    Despite being displaced and persecuted throughout his short life, Christ’s unchanging message was not one of revenge or violence but simply that we should love one another. Although it is not an easy message to follow, we shouldn’t be discouraged; rather, it inspires us to try harder: to be thankful for the people who bring love and happiness into our own lives, and to look for ways of spreading that love to others, whenever and wherever we can.

    One of the joys of living a long life is watching one’s children, then grandchildren, then great grandchildren, help decorate the Christmas tree. And this year my family has a new member to join in the fun!

    The customary decorations have changed little in the years since that picture of Victoria and Albert’s tree first appeared, although of course electric lights have replaced the candles.

    There’s an old saying that “it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness”.

    There are millions of people lighting candles of hope in our world today. Christmas is a good time to be thankful for them, and for all that brings light to our lives.

    I wish you a very happy Christmas.