Tag: 2016

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the effect on the role of chief nursing officer will be of the decision to abolish the nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals policy unit.

    Ben Gummer

    As part of the DH 2020 plan, the Department is making significant changes to the way it works. The Department’s approach is to flexibly access professional advice from a wide range of sources, including arm’s length bodies, regulators and professional bodies, rather than from a fixed standing team of internal advisers.

    These changes do not affect the role of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), who as CNO of the Department already advises, and will continue to advise all Ministers and the Department on the range of nursing issues.

    All staff in the Department, including staff in the current nursing, midwifery and allied health professions policy unit are eligible to apply for new roles in the organisation or to apply for a voluntary early severance scheme.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to his Department was of each re-tendering exercise held for franchises for (a) long distance and (b) regional passenger rail services in each year since 2005-06.

    Paul Maynard

    Prior to the re-launch of the Franchising Programme in spring 2013, the costs of different franchising projects were not individually recorded.

    The cost of each re-franchising project since the re-launch is as follows:

    Franchise

    Cost (£M)

    Notes

    Essex Thameside

    4.815

    1

    Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern

    7.288

    East Coast

    8.429

    2

    Northern

    8.668 (to date)

    3

    TransPennine Express

    7.577 (to date)

    3

    East Anglia

    7.413 (to date)

    3

    These figures include adviser costs (financial, technical and legal advisers), pay costs for the project team, “non-pay” costs (such as bidder day seminars, public consultations, etc), and VAT where applicable, for the duration of the procurements.

    Note that the sums invested in each re-franchising project are dwarfed by the (Resource) Support for Passenger Rail Services benefits to the Department from the re-franchising – £200 for every £1.

    Notes

    NOTE 1: The Essex Thameside figure represents the work done after the relaunch of the Franchising Programme. There was a significant amount of work completed prior to the pausing of the programme in autumn 2012 which is not included here.

    NOTE 2: The Intercity East Coast costs were not charged to the public purse, but were covered by the Performance Bond that National Express put forward following its default of the previous East Coast contract.

    NOTE 3: The figures for Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE) and East Anglia are the latest figures (as at the end of August 2016). East Anglia is still a ‘live’ project. Whilst Northern and TPE have concluded, there are still some residual costs that may affect the final figures.

  • Andy Burnham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Burnham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people had their passports checked on entry to the UK at (a) Dover and (b) all UK airports, seaports and ferry ports in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.

    Mrs Theresa May

    The total number of passengers that underwent passport checks at all UK airports, seaports and ferry ports is set out in the table below. Figures for 2015 cover January to September only as data for October to December is not yet available.

    Year

    No of passengers’ passports checked

    2013

    111.4 million

    2014

    117.0 million

    2015

    96.0 million

    (NB. 2015 covers January –September only: October – December is not yet available).

    Passengers that enter the UK through the port of Dover undergo passport checks in advance of their boarding a ferry at the UK’s juxtaposed controls at Calais and Dunkirk; this data is not held centrally.

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has had discussions with pharmaceutical companies based outside the UK on locating functions in the UK.

    Anna Soubry

    The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has overall responsibility for ensuring that the UK is an attractive place for overseas companies to set up or expand their business. In this context, the Secretary of State has had discussions with companies from a range of sectors, including in the life sciences sector.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the foreword of the NHS Mental Health Taskforce report, The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, published in February 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that tackling poverty and inequalities are a core part of his Department’s mental health strategy.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the publication of the independent Mental Health Taskforce report and we will work with NHS England and other health bodies to embed the recommendations into our work programmes. We recognise the inequalities that may be experienced by people from lower socio-economic groups both in terms of exposure to risk factors for poor mental health and accessing mental health services and their experiences of mental health services when they do access care.

    We will be working with stakeholders to ensure we are addressing inequalities issues including those identified in the Mental Health Taskforce report.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27141, what timetable he has set for the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme.

    Alistair Burt

    We have been in discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. In parallel, we have sought views on our proposals from other pharmacy organisations and from patient groups. The details of the Pharmacy Access Scheme, including any criteria and a timetable for implementation, form part of this consultation.

    We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

    Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to increase British trade with Mexico.

    Anna Soubry

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to reduce the level of uncollected tax, and if so, to what extent, and within what timescale.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published its latest tax gap estimates on 22 October 2015 in Measuring tax gaps; 2015 edition. The overall long term trend is a reducing tax gap, from 8.4 per cent in 2005-06 to 6.4% in 2013-14. The UK’s percentage tax gap is one of the lowest in the world.

    This overall long term trend demonstrates that our approach is delivering steady and sustained progress. As set out in their Single Departmental Plan, HMRC will raise an additional £5 billion a year by 2019-20 by tackling tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning, evasion and non-compliance, and by addressing imbalances in the tax system.

  • Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what enquiries they have received regarding compensation claims arising from the delay in the opening of St Helena airport to commercial traffic, and what response they have given.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Enquiries from claimants seeking compensation is a matter for the St Helena Government. DFID has not received any claims for compensation related to the St Helena Airport.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which finds of what items were recorded by the Incident Report System in each facility in each of the last three years.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.