The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
Tracey Crouch
Both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts to discuss a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent British multinational companies avoiding tax in developing countries.
Mr David Gauke
The Government takes tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning extremely seriously, and has taken action both domestically and through working with other countries to prevent this.
The UK has led global efforts to tackle aggressive tax planning by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.
The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to collect the tax they are due. Through the G20 Development Working Group, and with the supporting of international organisations, it is working to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations.
In addition, the UK contributes considerable human and financial resources to help developing countries build robust tax administrations. Earlier this year, the Government committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what modelling her Department has undertaken of the potential effect of freezing her Department’s budget in cash terms on (a) educational outcomes and (b) pupil wellbeing.
Mr Sam Gyimah
We are protecting the schools budget in real terms, as we pledged in our manifesto. Throughout this Parliament, the amount of money for our schools will increase as pupil numbers rise. In 2015-16 we increased funding for the 69 least well-funded local authorities by £390 million, and that increased level of funding will be included in the baseline for future years. We will go further to target funding effectively, and end historic unfairness in the system, by introducing a national funding formula. We will provide every school with a fair allocation matched to need, that allows them to continue driving up educational standards and support every child to achieve to the best of their potential, whatever their background and wherever they live.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much is planned to be spent by the (a) Government and (b) Bahraini government on the building of the new British naval base in Bahrain.
Mr Julian Brazier
Currently the UK has a Maritime Component Command (MCC) HQ and collocated Fleet Support Unit (FSU), which is a warehouse,in Bahrain. These were constructed on our behalf by the United States, at a cost to the UK Government of $10million. The Government expects to pay the United States for the ongoing running costs of these facilities, the precise costs of which are yet to be determined. The Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) has no involvement in these arrangements.
The construction of the new UK Mina Salman Support Facility (MSSF) in Bahrain will consist of accommodation, life support facilities and further storage and will enhance the support to UK forces in the Gulf Region. Construction of the UK MSSF is being funded primarily by the KoB. To date in 2014 and 2015 the UK Government has expended £277,000 on engineering consultancy costs for the UK MSSF. We expect to contribute around £9 million towards the construction of the new UK MSSF. This will include costs of bespoke UK technical facilities and the additional cost of ensuring compliance with UK regulations.The balance of the costs, will fall to the KoB.
There are no running costs forecast in the current year or 2016-17, from 2017-18 the running costs for the UK MSSF are forecast to be £12 million per annum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-11-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of employees in each Department are in receipt of tax credits; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to promote Energy Efficiency Week; how her Department has worked with non-governmental organisations on such initiatives; and what the cost to the public purse was of those initiatives.
Andrea Leadsom
Big Energy Saving Week is a Great Britain wide consumer awareness raising campaign run ahead of winter in partnership with respected partner organisations Citizens Advice and the Energy Saving Trust (EST), with around £300,000 funding provided by DECC.
The campaign was delivered 26-30 October 2015 and focussed on supporting consumers to understand how they can save money by switching tariff, supplier and payment method and improving energy efficiency, through hundreds of face to face outreach events run by Citizens Advice offices and a national, regional and social media campaign delivered by EST.
The last campaign in October 2014 was a big success with over 500 events nationwide reaching an estimated 100,000 consumers face to face or through dedicated helplines with many millions more reached through a complementary media campaign.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the portrait of Oliver Porter by Sir Anthony van Dyck donated to the nation by the Duke of Northumberland is hung in Bowes Museum; and what discussions were held on hanging that portrait in a museum which is free to the public.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Individuals donating work to the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) Scheme, administered by the Arts Council, can specify which institution will receive it. In the case of the Portrait of Oliver Porter by Sir Anthony van Dyck, it was made a condition of the offer that the painting be allocated to the Bowes Museum. The painting is a significant acquisition for the North-East and will feature in the Bowes Museum’s forthcoming major exhibition, The English Rose – Feminine Beauty from Van Dyck to Sargent, which opens in May 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the amount the EU will pay farmers in the UK in 2015.
George Eustice
In 2015, the UK has been allocated a total of €4 billion in CAP funds.
In pounds sterling, based on the average European Central Bank exchange rate for September used for calculating direct payments, this equates to a total of £2.9 billion. Of this amount, £2.3 billion is allocated to Pillar 1 direct payments and £620 million to Pillar 2 rural development.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to reclaim the costs to the NHS of treatment of people from other countries who use NHS services while visiting the UK.
Alistair Burt
The Department of Health’s Visitor and Migrant National Health Service Cost Recovery Programme aims to ensure that the National Health Service receives a fair contribution for the cost of healthcare it provides to non-United Kingdom residents and improve the amount of costs recovered from them or their home countries, to ensure the NHS is sustainable.
Since the launch of its implementation plan in July 2014 the Cost Recovery Programme has achieved much progress including:
– The launch of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) reporting incentive scheme in October 2014 to improve the reporting of EHIC details of visitors and students from the European Economic Area (EEA) who access NHS care, for which the UK is entitled to reimbursement.
– Updated Charging Regulations from April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories for non-residents and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system.
– Requiring chargeable patients from outside the EEA to be charged at 150% of national tariff, in tandem with the launch of a risk sharing arrangement with commissioners, thereby encouraging providers to both identify and recover costs from these patients to access the extra funding available.
– The introduction of the health surcharge in April 2015 which now means nearly all individuals who require a visa to remain in the UK for more than six month’s pay an annual surcharge as a contribution towards their healthcare costs.
Furthermore, those with outstanding debts to the NHS of £1,000 or more and who are subject to immigration control can, since 2011, have applications for new visas or extensions of stay refused because of that debt, to encourage them to pay it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on (a) implementing the recommendations of the Second Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Extradition Law, Session 2014-15, HL Paper 126 and (b) agreeing a memorandum of understanding with the US concerning the treatment of people extradited from the UK as recommended in paragraph 53, with particular regard to transfer, pre-trial detention and bail.
James Brokenshire
A Government response to the House of Lords Select Committee on Extradition Law was published as Command Paper (9106) on 20 July 2015. The Government agreed with a number of the Select Committee’s recommendations, but in regard to a memorandum of understanding with the US found that:
“Experience has shown that the courts tend to consider issues on a case-by-case basis, and as such we do not consider that agreeing a ‘one size fits all’ Memorandum of Understanding with any country would be helpful as concerns assurances. It would not bind the courts and, in all likelihood, would only make it more difficult to obtain the individual assurances that would still be required for certain cases. As such, whilst the Government understands and sympathises with the intention behind this recommendation, it does not support it.”