Tag: 2016

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent disruption due to flooding in Northern England on railway passengers.

    Andrew Jones

    The impact of the recent storms on the rail network across the North of England has clearly created difficulties for passengers, businesses and communities. Operators and Network Rail have worked together to implement and operate services so as to cause the minimum of disruption to customers.

    I pay tribute to the efforts of Network Rail’s teams which are still working to repair the damage, and thank passengers for their patience while these works are going on. The Rt Hon Member will have noted that the line between Newcastle and Carlisle has now reopened, following repair of the serious damage between Prudhoe and Hexham.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value of performance payments his Department has withheld from Capita since March 2012 as a result of it not meeting the recruitment targets required by the Recruitment Partnership Programme contract.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    I am witholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of e-cigarette users who have (a) resumed smoking and (b) purchased vaping supplies from black market sources.

    Jane Ellison

    The best thing a smoker can do to improve their health is to quit smoking for good.

    The Department recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) can help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes.

    This Government has committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan to further reduce the prevalence of smoking in England. The development of this plan is underway and will be published later this year. The new strategy will consider the role of e-cigarettes in further reducing the prevalence of smoking in England. To help inform this element of the strategy the Department has been engaging with e-cigarette experts to ensure that local authorities and Stop Smoking Services are provided with up to date, evidenced based advice on e-cigarettes.

    Whilst the Department has not made a formal assessment of the number of e-cigarette users who have resumed smoking, the evidence suggests that in the short-term, relapse rates are lower in those using e-cigarettes to quit.

    The Department has not made an assessment of the number of e-cigarette users who have purchased vaping supplies from black market sources.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK corporate tax rules do not incentivise companies to avoid tax in developing countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to making sure multinational enterprises pay their share of tax. The UK has been at the forefront of multilateral action through the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to reform the international tax rules.

    We used our Presidency of the G8 in 2013 to successfully initiate the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The final recommendations were published by the OECD in October 2015, and endorsed by the G20 leaders in November 2015.

    The BEPS project represents major and unprecedented efforts. The international project involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, to work together on an equal footing to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.

    The UK has been a leader on implementing the BEPS outputs – we have adopted the OECD country-by-country reporting template; and, at Budget 2016, the UK announced that it would be the first country to act on the OECD recommended rules on interest deductibility.

    The UK will continue to participate in international efforts to address BEPS by participating in the OECD’s inclusive framework to monitor implementation, which also involves developing countries, and in work to develop toolkits to assist developing countries implementing the BEPS outcomes.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to ensure widespread access to reasonably priced accommodation for students in London and other metropoles.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government recognises the need for a diverse housing stock, providing students with a choice of accommodation to suit their individual needs. Our national planning guidance encourages local authorities to plan for sufficient student accommodation whether it consists of communal halls of residence or self-contained dwellings, and whether or not it is on campus.

    The key to improving affordability is to build more homes. We are working to increase supply by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including our £1 billion build to rent fund and the £3.5 billion private rented sector debt guarantee scheme.

  • Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which (1) NHS Foundation Trusts, and (2) NHS Trusts, have an accumulated surplus of (a) up to £1 million, (b) £1–5 million, (c) £5–10 million, (d) £10–20 million, (e) £20–30 million, (f) £30–50 million, and (g) over £50 million.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    ‘Accumulated surplus’ has been interpreted to mean the closing balance of a trust’s retained earnings reserve at 31 March 2016. This represents the accumulated balance of annual surpluses and deficits, adjusted for any amounts offset against other reserves, such as the revaluation reserve. As this is an accumulated balance, it will differ from the annual surplus or deficit reported in the trust’s Statement of Comprehensive Income, which forms part of figures published for the provider sector by NHS Improvement.

    Trusts with accumulated surpluses in the bands specified are detailed in the attached document.

    All other trusts reported an accumulated deficit overall at 31 March 2016.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency received from charges for accessing records in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15; and how many such requests were processed in each such year.

    Andrew Jones

    The total income received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from charges for requests for vehicle and driver information in each year from 2009/10 to 2014/15 is shown below:

    2009/10

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    £9,414,000

    £9,412,000

    £10,354,000

    £11,180,000

    £12,878,000

    £15,021,000

    The table below shows the number of chargeable requests made to the DVLA for vehicle and driver information in each year from 2009/10 to 2014/15:

    2009/10

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2,861,752

    3,248,100

    4,251,234

    4,624,887

    5,362,290

    6,315,160

    It is important to note that although the DVLA is permitted to charge a fee for the release of information, it is not permitted to profit from it. Fees are set to recover the related administrative costs for the different types of requests for information and the fee levels are regularly reviewed as the cost base changes over time. This means that it is the applicant and not the taxpayer who funds this activity.

    There are a range of organisations outside of Government that legitimately request data from the DVLA. These range from insurance companies and finance companies to toll chargers. The DVLA also supply anonymised data to companies providing vehicle check services to improve road safety, consumer protection and deter vehicle crime.

    The number of requests for data have increased during this period for a number of reasons including changes to car park management and the introduction of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 which prohibited wheelclamping without lawful authority. Employers also need to check employee driving entitlement.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what average wage was earned by civilians employed by (a) the Ministry of Defence and its trading bodies and (b) contractors at (i) AWE Aldermaston, (ii) AWE Burghfield, (iii) BAE Systems Maritime-Submarines at Barrow-in-Furness, (iv) Babcock at Devonport and (v) Rolls-Royce at Raynesway, Derby in the last 12 months.

    Michael Fallon

    The number and average wage of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at the listed sites is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    MOD does not hold figures relating to the employees of contractors by site. The number of civilians employed by the consortium AWE Management Ltd is 155.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Cafcass in (a) domestic abuse cases and (b) other private law cases.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government has made no specific assessment of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service’s (Cafcass) performance in cases where domestic violence or abuse is alleged or admitted. However, in 2014, Ofsted inspected Cafcass as a national organisation. It judged that as a minimum all children, young people and families receive a service where the quality and effectiveness of Cafcass private law practice is ‘good’. The protective measures of a non-molestation order or occupation order available from the family court for an adult party in cases of domestic violence or abuse do not involve Cafcass.

    In relation to other private law cases involving children, Cafcass is most often involved in proceedings for a child arrangements order where parents are in dispute. In every case where a child arrangements order is sought, Cafcass undertakes safeguarding checks with the police and local authority. Relevant matters are communicated to the court prior to the first hearing via a safeguarding letter. In this way, Cafcass provides judges with the information they need to ensure that any decisions made are safe for the child and adult parties.

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure provision of sustainable and long-term funding for (a) children’s hospice sector and (b) other voluntary sector end-of-life care services.

    Ben Gummer

    A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

    Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

    Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

    It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.