The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to Question 18949, tabled by the hon. Member for Halifax on 7 December 2015.
Mr Shailesh Vara
I can confirm that the answer to PQ 18949 was given on the 29th February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) better identify visitors to the UK from other EEA countries who are being treated in NHS hospitals and (b) ensure that such visitors’ home countries are charged for their treatment.
Alistair Burt
Since its inception in 2013, the Department of Health’s Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme has been working to design and implement key improvements to ensure that those people who should pay for National Health Service care in England are identified and charged. The Department has also been working closely with the NHS to improve rates of recovery where these healthcare costs are the responsibility of other member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), S1 and S2 mechanisms.
Achievements include:
– the revision of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations that came into force on 6 April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system;
– support of and engagement with NHS providers through meetings with senior trust employees, plus the launch of a Cost Recovery Support Team to provide bespoke assistance to trusts to support them in improving their processes for identifying chargeable patients and recovering funds owed, including those from Europe;
– the launch of the European Health Insurance Card reporting incentive on 1 October 2014. Through this, all EHIC activity correctly reported by NHS secondary providers that enables the UK to make appropriate reimbursement claims from other member states attracts an additional 25% funding of the costs of providing treatment for the benefit of the reporting organisation.
The Department has recently concluded a consultation on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England. Part of the consultation proposes to amend the residence definition for EEA nationals, by which they qualify for free NHS treatment in England. The Government will set out its response to the consultation in due course.
EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the NHS providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-04-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why people leaving the UK have their passports examined and recorded at some airports, whilst at others no examination takes place.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Border Force does not operate a uniform passport control regime against passengers departing the UK in the same way that it does for passengers who arrive in the UK. However, it does undertake targeted passport checks against selected cohorts of passengers leaving the UK for a range of law enforcement purposes.
We check the passports of all those passing through passport control on entry to the UK and we also conduct exit checks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.
Mark Lancaster
The amount spent on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much was spent by her Department on private school fees for children whose parents are stationed (a) in the UK and (b) overseas in the last financial year.
Rory Stewart
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the drop in the value of sterling in recent months reflects the markets’ view of the likely future health of the UK economy.
Lord Young of Cookham
The UK has an inflation target, not an exchange rate target, and Her Majesty’s Government does not express a view on the level of exchange rates. Instead, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly in response to economic conditions and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.
This framework means we do not need to introduce exchange rate controls.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of whether the policies outlined in her speech at the Institution of Civil Engineers on 18 November 2015 will ensure the UK meets the fourth Carbon Budget.
Andrea Leadsom
My Rt. hon Friend,the Secretary of State announced in November, this Government is committed to taking pragmatic action to meet the fourth carbon budget whilst ensuring that energy is secure and bills remain low. Measures announced in her speech – including the intention to replace unabated coal with new gas, nuclear and renewables; increased competition; concerted action on heat; and support for innovation – are all in line with this commitment.
Our new emissions reduction plan will be published towards the end of 2016 and will set out our proposals in full.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the target for new recruits to the Royal Navy Reserve has been met in each of the last 10 years.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Maritime Reserve (MR) is a vital component of the Naval Service’s capability and consists of the Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Marines Reserve.
Centrally held data for the MR recruitment targets does not go back 10 years. Since the Future Reserve 2020 Programme was established in July 2012 the MR have achieved their targets each year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target timescale is for people leaving prison from application to receipt for universal credit; and how many and what proportion of applications take longer than that timescale.
Priti Patel
Prisoners are supported and advised whilst in prison on which benefits they can claim and how to make a claim and we are developing arrangements to enable them to make advance claims to Universal Credit.
Appropriate support measures for prison leavers with mental health issues will be considered following the initial claim interview.
Universal Credit is assessed and paid calendar monthly in arrears. Prison leavers will receive payment within the timescale of 5 weeks from the date of claim.
Prison leavers who are in financial need can apply for an advance payment of up to 50% of their total Universal Credit award following their initial interview.
The information requested in relation to the timescales for applications is not readily available for publication. To quality assure this information according to the standards of the UK Statistics Authority would incur disproportionate costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 31677, what the penalties are for an employer who has issued a Certificate of Sponsorship but does not adhere to the stated job description and salary.
Mike Penning
Guidance for sponsors specifies that UKVI will revoke the licence of a sponsor who has issued a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) but has not adhered to the specified job description and/or salary. However, prior to the consideration of revocation action, UKVI will suspend the licence and allow the sponsor the opportunity to make representations against the matter(s) identified. UKVI does have residual discretion to apply a lesser sanctions depending on the severity of the matter(s) and the mitigating circumstances presented by the sponsor; these sanctions include downgrading the licence rating and issuing a time limited action plan or reducing the sponsor’s CoS allocation or setting the allocation to zero.