Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken since 23 June 2016 to promote trade and diplomatic connections between the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are committed to strengthening our trade and diplomatic relationships with Commonwealth members, with whom we already enjoy important trading partnerships. In March we announced that we would co-host with Malta the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting early next year, which will be organised by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC). The UK will also host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in early 2018, which will be a further opportunity to promote greater trade and investment within the Commonwealth.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide an update on the mission-led business review.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The mission-led business review is in progress. We are reviewing the evidence gathered through the call for evidence and regional events and working with the advisory panel in order to publish findings in due course.

  • Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses benefited from video games tax relief in 2014-15; what the cost of that relief was to his Department in that year; and what the return on investment was for the economy as a result of that relief.

    Mr David Gauke

    Video Games Tax Relief is forecast to cost the Exchequer £10m in 2014-15. The first Official Statistics on the number of claims and cost of Video Games Tax Relief will be published in Summer 2016, allowing sufficient time for claims to have been submitted for the 2014-15 tax year. No estimate of the benefit for the economy as a whole is available.

    The forecast has been certified by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and is consistent with their latest forecast of Corporation Tax receipts.

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

    James Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Gray on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where he expects the two-star headquarters of the Ultra Rapid Reaction Corps to be located.

    Penny Mordaunt

    NATO does not have an Ultra Rapid Reaction Corps. I believe the hon. Member is referring to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land element), which the UK will lead in 2017. When not deployed, its assigned one-star Headquarters, 20 Brigade, will be based in Sennelager, Germany for the duration of this rotational commitment. In response to crisis, the headquarters would move to the most appropriate location.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential savings for Government departments due to the falling price of oil over the course of this Parliament.

    Damian Hinds

    No such estimate has been made.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on Lyme disease laboratory tests in each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    As services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally information on the costs associated with laboratory testing and treatment of late stage Lyme disease is not collected centrally. Nor is information collected centrally on the average time to diagnose cases of Lyme disease.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing a clinical guideline on Lyme disease and reports progress on its website. NICE recently consulted on a draft scope for the guideline, and expects to publish final guidance in July 2018.

    Public Health England and NHS Choices publish information on their websites to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection. Given the need to maintain public awareness these or similar mechanisms are expected to continue beyond 2018. Increased awareness is likely to encourage early consultation but no information on the time taken to seek medical advice is available.

    There are no plans to set targets for diagnosis and treatment as most cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed empirically by general practitioners using their clinical judgement rather than relying on a laboratory test, thus treatment can start immediately. Diagnosis of patients with late or complicated Lyme disease can be difficult and the National Health Service will continue to provide care taking account of the existing evidence base.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the press release, PM holds major summit as part of global drive to expose, punish and drive out corruption, published on 12 May 2016, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals requiring foreign companies that own property in the UK to declare their real owners.

    Anna Soubry

    At the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London on 12 May, my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced that we will require foreign companies that own or purchase UK properties or bid on UK Government procurement contracts to provide details of their beneficial owners to a public central register. This will be the first register of its kind in the world.

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will consult with experts to develop the policy throughout the year and consult formally on the detail of the policy in due course. Implementation of the new register requirements is expected to require both primary and secondary legislation, which we intend to introduce when Parliamentary time allows.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides for people on their options for accessing safe and reliable treatments which are not offered through the NHS.

    George Freeman

    The decision to be treated privately outside the National Health Service is one for individuals and their clinicians to make, in accordance with the relevant professional and regulatory requirements.

    Guidance on NHS patients who wish to pay for additional private care was issued in 2009 and is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/404423/patients-add-priv-care.pdf

    “

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from Concentrix on the non-renewal of its contract with HM Revenue and Customs.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs, in line with procurement and contract management best practice and protocol, have appropriate dialogue with all its suppliers in relation to potential contract extension. Such discussions are of course commercially sensitive and cannot, in this instance, be disclosed.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what process the trade supplement for an RAF weapon technician was decided under Armed Forces Pay Reform.

    Penny Mordaunt

    For Other Ranks, the Ministry of Defence uses a long-standing and rigorous process of Job Evaluation (JE) to determine the pay treatment of each trade. In the current binary pay model which consists of High and Low Pay Bands, JE evidence assigns the role of the RAF Weapon Technician to the High Pay Band. In the new pay system, with its four supplements and greater flexibility, the same JE evidence assigns the Weapon Technician to Supplement 2, while other trades in the RAF’s Trade Group 1 (TG1) (Aircraft Engineering) are assigned to Supplement 3. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the Weapon Technician’s technical status or intrinsic value. It reflects the fact that the other trades in TG1 continue to score higher in the JE process and therefore continue to be treated differently in pay terms.

    No-one will take a pay cut on transition to the new model and Service personnel will continue to be eligible for any Government approved pay award. Incremental progressions will also continue to be a feature of the new pay model, though rationalised.