The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on reducing medical indemnity costs for GPs.
Alistair Burt
The Department is having ongoing discussions with NHS England to review the way in which indemnity costs in primary care are funded and will bring forward proposals for discussion in July 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-06-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he or any of his Ministerial colleagues were consulted by the Competition and Markets Authority on the date upon which it plans to publish its investigation into the energy market.
Nick Boles
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is independent of Government. The timing of CMA publications is a matter for the CMA, taking into account its statutory deadlines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the result of the EU referendum on the timetable for a decision on Heathrow expansion.
Mr John Hayes
As we move into the new world beyond our membership of the European Union, it is important that we are an outward-facing nation with strong business ties around the world. It is important that we get the decision on runway capacity right. We will take that decision and move ahead with our plans, ensuring that we have the right links for the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people over the age of 16 who are not in education, employment or training have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition or identified as having autism-related needs.
Nick Boles
The Department does not hold this information.
The 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability system extends the rights that children with SEND of compulsory school age previously enjoyed to all those who are studying after the age of 16.All further education providers must now have regard to the SEND Code of Practice[1], and must endeavour to meet the needs of students with SEND, including those with autism.
In 2015-16 the Department is providing funding of £239,502 for Ambitious about Autism to extend their previous grant-funded project, Finished at School, which developed an innovative, integrated model of transition support to enable more young people with complex autism and learning disabilities to access further education and training beyond school.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants in work reported income rises of (a) more than £2,500, (b) more than £2,500 but less than £5,000 and (c) more than £5,000 in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Damian Hinds
As announced in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within the year before their tax credit award is adjusted (the income rise disregard), will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500. This makes the tax credit system fairer so claimants on similar incomes will receive similar awards. Currently two families on precisely the same earnings at the end of the year can receive significantly different awards.
A tax credit award will only be adjusted in response to a claimant earning more money. Next year there are expected to be 800,000 claimants whose income will increase by more than £2500 and who as a result will see an adjustment in their tax credit payment. None will be cash losers because their income will have increased.
The change returns the disregard back to the level it was between 2003 and 2006 – something the tax credit system is now operationally better able to cope with now that it has more up to date information on people’s earnings through Real Time Information. HMRC are also making it easier to report changes quickly online, so that people will less often receive overpayments. Claimants can contact HMRC if they are suffering financial hardship and are having difficulty paying back an overpayment.
The change will bring forward some of the benefits of Universal Credit so that the tax credit award reflects a claimant’s recent earnings and the system responds more quickly to changes in earnings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the legal effect is of registering the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council on 18 and 19 February 2016, with the UN.
Mr David Lidington
The Decision of the Heads of State or Government is a treaty between the 28 Member States. Article 102 of the UN Charter and Article 80 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provide that every treaty and every international agreement shall be registered with the UN Secretariat. Registration with the UN is a clear indicator that the document is a treaty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to address market barriers to investment in large-scale and distributed electricity storage technologies.
Andrea Leadsom
A key objective of our £20m energy storage innovation programme is to strengthen investor confidence in energy storage at all scales. Overall, more than £80m of public sector controlled support has been committed to energy storage research, development and demonstration activities since 2012. This R&D activity has helped to raise the profile of storage and to demonstrate its capabilities to potential investors. In addition, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer allocated at least £50m innovation funding to smart technologies, including storage, in the recent Budget.
The National Infrastructure Commission published a report, Smart Power, earlier in March. This included a recommendation to review the regulatory and legal status of storage and remove outdated barriers. The Department will implement this recommendation in full. We intend to publish a call for evidence on a smart systems route map, including storage, shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what conditionality in relation to governance and human rights is applied to aid to Rwanda.
Mr Nick Hurd
Decisions on aid to Rwanda are informed by judgements about the Government of Rwanda’s commitment to DFID’s partnership principles, which include respect for political and civil rights. In light of concerns in this area, DFID Ministers have agreed that the UK no longer provides General or Sector Budget Support to the Government of Rwanda. Rather, we direct funding into specific sectors, targeting particular results.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any of the successor organisations to the Money Advice Service will have a specific remit to promote financial education amongst young people.
Harriett Baldwin
The government is committed to improving financial capability among the public and recognises that increased financial capability for consumers will lead to better outcomes for both individuals and the wider economy. Helping hard-working people achieve their aspirations at every stage of their lives is at the heart of our long term plan. That is why we launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation in Budget 2016 to seek input on what role the government should play in promoting financial capability, and how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. The consultation closed on 8 June. The government is currently considering the responses and will respond in the Autumn. The government recognises the importance of giving young people the skills they need to make financial decisions, which is why financial education has been on the national secondary school curriculum in England since September 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on the waiver of the five-year British citizenship requirement for Commonwealth recruits to military support roles.
Mike Penning
On 12 May 2016, the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Penny Mordaunt) made a written ministerial statement (HCWS 726) which announced that the five year UK residency requirement was being waived to allow for 200 Commonwealth citizens per annum to be recruited to fill a limited number of roles in the Regular Armed Forces which require specialist skills. The limit and the list of roles that can be filled under these arrangements were agreed in consultation with the Home Office. Those Commonwealth citizens who do not have the required skills to fill one of the 200 specialist roles are still required to meet the five year UK residency requirement.
Since the written statement, some 9,500 applications for specialist roles have been received from Commonwealth citizens. Many applicants will be rejected for not meeting the relevant eligibility criteria, or will fail the various stages of the selection process. The numbers who are enlisted and then successfully complete the training to fill one of these roles will therefore not exceed the 200 per annum limit.