Tag: 2015

Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is a requirement of the new Northern Rail franchise that the Pacer trains that will be withdrawn from service in the North of England will be scrapped or whether they can be redeployed elsewhere.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There is no such requirement in the new Northern Franchise Agreement. As the Pacers are owned by two Rolling Stock Companies, any future use is for them to decide.

January 1, 2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent incidences of pneumococcal pneumonia.

Jane Ellison

A national pneumococcal vaccination programme is in place to protect individuals for whom pneumococcal infection is likely to be more common and/or serious. Vaccination is provided to children as part of the routine childhood immunisation programme; those aged 65 years or over; and those aged between 2 and 64 years of age who are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease.

There is an increased risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia following influenza infection. Therefore people aged 65 years and older and those under 65 years of age in clinical risk groups are offered influenza vaccination each year to lower their risk of flu and also pneumococcal disease.

There has been a significant reduction in pneumococcal pneumonia in the United Kingdom, in all ages, this has mainly been the result of the impact of the UK childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccination programme.

January 1, 2023
Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Commissioners of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact receive funding to cover travel and hotel expenses ahead of visits, or whether they are reimbursed for meeting those costs personally.

Baroness Verma

The majority of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) commissioners’ air and rail journeys and hotels are booked in advance by the ICAI secretariat through DFID’s internal travel system to ensure value for money in line with DFID/ICAI guidance. These invoices are then verified and settled by the Secretariat. In the minority of cases where travel cannot be booked in advance, commissioners pay up-front and their submitted expense claims with receipts are then verified by the Head of the Secretariat and reimbursed.

January 1, 2023
Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the likely annual cost to the NHS of treating age-related macular degeneration by 2050.

Alistair Burt

From the data collected it is not possible to identify how much was spent specifically on treating patients with age-related macular degeneration.

No estimate has been made of the annual cost of treating age related macular degeneration by 2050.

January 1, 2023
Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any assessment of the cost of energy bills to people served by District Heating Networks.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

In March 2015 DECC published a report by AECOM titled ‘An Assessment of the Costs, Performance, and Characteristics of UK Heat Networks’. The report included a review of the prices charged to final customers by a representative sample of heat networks (7 in total). The average heat price was found to be 6.43p/kWh but with a wide range of 4.64 to 9.88 p/kWh reflecting differences in network design, construction, commissioning and operation. On average this is less than the modelled cost of gas central heating in flats and terraced houses when boiler ownership costs are included (7.22 to 10.24p/kWh).

The Government is aware that costs to the consumer can vary and achieving cost savings is dependent on the quality of the individual network. DECC has supported industry development of a technical code of practice for heat networks, and worked closely with industry and consumer groups on the development of Heat Trust, an independent consumer protection scheme that launched in November 2015. There are also plans to launch an on-line cost comparator tool in 2016 to allow a consumer to assess their charges against gas central heating. This greater transparency of heat charges is complemented by the billing information requirements in the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014.

January 1, 2023

Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of the grants awarded by the National Institute for Health Research have been related to mental health in each of the last five years.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) awards funding of varying durations through a wide range of research programmes, research training and career development schemes, and funding streams for research infrastructure, systems and support services.

Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR has been categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure, systems and support services where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. The following table shows NIHR spend in the ‘mental health’ category, and this spend as a proportion of total categorised spend and as a proportion of total revenue expenditure.

	NIHR spend in ‘mental health’ HRCS health category
	£ million	Proportion of total categorised NIHR spend %	Proportion of total NIHR revenue spend %
2010/11	49.8	9.0	5.4
2011/12	53.2	9.0	5.8
2012/13	70.0	9.5	7.3
2013/14	71.7	9.5	7.3
2014/15	72.6	9.0	7.4

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January 1, 2023

Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-12-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to procure the replacement for the HM Revenue and Customs IT Aspire contract; what consultation there will be with HM Revenue and Customs staff and their representatives; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is making significant progress in preparing for the end of the Aspire IT contract in 2017. In August, HMRC announced that the changes it has planned will ultimately enable the Department to make savings of up to 24 per cent on its £800m annual IT budget by 2020-21, while maintaining consistent delivery of services to customers.

Through its Building Our Future programme, HMRC is continuing to engage with its people and trade unions about the way in which it is transforming, including the way in which it is equipping operations with the modern IT services and platforms they need to run effectively. Currently, there are no plans to hold a formal consultation on the end of the Aspire contract.

January 1, 2023
Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NHS England to publish the first and second quarter figures for Cancer Drugs Fund notifications and individual Cancer Drugs Fund requests for 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The information for the first quarter of 2015-16 was published on NHS England’s website on 10 November 2015 and is available at:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

Information for the second quarter is currently being finalised and NHS England expects to publish this in the near future.

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January 1, 2023
Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle landlords who knowingly rent out unsafe and substandard accommodation.

Brandon Lewis

Through the Housing and Planning Bill we are taking measures to tackle rogue landlords who rent out sub-standard accommodation. Our proposals include a database of rogue landlords and property agents, introducing banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a tougher fit and proper person test, extending Rent Repayment Orders and introducing civil penalties for offences such as failing to comply with an improvement notice or overcrowding a property.

In addition, over the last Parliament, we made over £6.7 million available to local authorities to help them tackle rogue landlords in their areas. We have also invited 65 local authorities to bid for a share of a further £5 million funding to tackle rogue landlords and will be announcing successful schemes shortly.

January 1, 2023
Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the reduction in the number of English language testing centres on the number of international students entering the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

English language ability is a key strand of the immigration requirements for many of those coming as partners and to work, study and settle in the UK. Significant abuse within the English language testing sector was uncovered in 2013/2014, following which the Home Office commissioned an independent review. A key outcome was the need to develop new and robust business and commercial requirements for Secure English Language Testing (SELT). The Home Office has rightly responded to that abuse robustly, particularly considering that thousands of people sought to use evidence that was obtained fraudulently to enter and remain in the UK. The new, strengthened arrangements for SELT came into effect on 6th April 2015.

One of the security changes introduced was the reduction of the test centre network to mitigate the risks of oversupply and enable the Home Office to achieve greater control and ability to audit centres.

Whilst the Home Office has reduced the number of test centres, it has increased the number of countries where students could sit tests. Before the 6th April students could sit tests in 79 countries (excluding the UK), they can now sit tests in 129 countries.

The Home Office has planned the reduced test centre network to meet anticipated demand and test centres in each country are currently meeting demand.

We continue to have a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions and this is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 17 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 33 per cent since 2010.

January 1, 2023