Tag: 2016

Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-03-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that the Codentify system is not advantaged over other available systems in any future decision on tobacco product authentication systems to be used by his Department.

Damian Hinds

Tobacco products classified as ‘illicit’ in the UK include anything on which duty has not been paid but should have been paid. This includes counterfeit products, brands manufactured legally overseas but not legally sold in the UK, and genuine products originating in the UK and overseas but diverted from legitimate supply chains by criminals. Because of this, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers use a variety of ways to identify illicit product. Testing product authenticity is one mechanism.

To test product authenticity, HMRC uses identifiers required by legislation, for example, Fiscal Marks which manufacturers are required to print on specified tobacco products to show they are UK duty paid, as well as voluntary tools used by the manufacturers. One such voluntary tool is Codentify.

Codentify was developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. HMRC took a policy decision, in line with the commitment to tackle illicit tobacco, to examine whether these existing codes could provide a useful additional tool to help officers authenticate product in the field.

The trial is concerned only with the use of Codentify for product authentication, and no other aspect of the system is being used or evaluated. Codentify requires no specialist equipment or training. Officers are provided with basic guidance and access to an online system. No charge is made for use of the system and, as no procurement was needed, there was no requirement for HMRC to run a tender exercise. As this is a trial only, no Ministerial approval was required or has been sought.

A number of HMRC officers have been given access to the system and trained by HMRC colleagues. The time spent on this activity is minimal and is estimated to be less than one staff year in total.

HMRC has explained the use of Codentify as a potential product authentication tool to colleagues in Border Force and Trading Standards. However, they have not provided training to any officers in those organisations.

The EU Tobacco Products Directive introduces a requirement for a pan European security feature and track and trace systems. The European Commission, working with Member States, is considering proposals and have yet to determine any technical specifications,

HMRC is aware of a wide range of potential track and trace and security feature solutions on the market. They are not evaluating, and, given the current position on the Directive, could not evaluate any products against its requirements. The aspects of Codentify being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.

In accordance with regulatory requirements, when technical specifications are determined, HMRC will ensure that any evaluation against them ensures no unfair competitive advantage or obstacles to competition.

01/01/2023
Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations his Department has received on the potential effect on universities and university research of the proposed ban on public funds being used to lobby Government.

Matthew Hancock

As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are continuing to consider the comments of all interested parties, ahead of the introduction into grant agreements of the clause aimed at protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation, pending a review of the representations made, and to give further time to consider any necessary adjustments to the wording of the clause, or the policy on its implementation, to help to deliver this policy in the best possible way for all involved.

01/01/2023
Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department is monitoring the effectiveness of the Community Engagement Forum; how frequently that forum has met; and how many Muslims that forum has engaged.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Community Engagement Forum has met on three separate occasions and has engaged a wide range of people representing, among others, different Muslim communities. Further details on attendance were provided on 2 November 2015 in response to written Question 13090 and on 12 January 2016 to written Question 20784. The discussions at the Community Engagement Forum have informed policy development across several individual Departments, the effectiveness of which will be monitored in the usual way.

01/01/2023
Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS requires organisations bidding for out of area contracts to have been inspected and rated by the Care Quality Commission before bidding.

David Mowat

Non-primary care services must be commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) or NHS England using the NHS Standard Contract. The NHS Standard Contract requires any provider to comply with the registration requirements of Care Quality Commission (CQC) where applicable. When this is the case the production of evidence of registration with the CQC will be a precondition of the commencement of service delivery.

We would expect commissioners to require evidence of registration (if legally required) with the CQC as part of the tendering process for a new contract. In the case of delivery of services from a new premises or a newly-established provider, registration may not be in place at time the provider submits its bid, but should be before services commence.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the Government’s policy to negotiate to continue participation in the European Aviation Safety Authority after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr John Hayes

The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for the continued participation in the European Aviation Safety Agency System. Until we leave, EU law still applies, so EU rules in this area will continue to apply in the UK, alongside national rules.

01/01/2023
Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland who have been sanctioned found work within six months of that sanction being imposed.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The information that is available, on the number of sanction referrals and adverse sanction decisions, in respect of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), is published and available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

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01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what protections exist for British veterans of the Iraq War who are subject to prosecutions for alleged crimes committed while undertaking their service.

Penny Mordaunt

The Government has consistently maintained that the vast majority of Service personnel deployed on operations overseas act in accordance with the law and their training. However, there remains a legal duty to investigate credible allegations of criminal offences, and to prosecute where appropriate. The Director of Service Prosecutions applies the same test as his civilian counterpart, and Courts Martial, like civilian courts, will convict only where the case is proved beyond reasonable doubt. The Iraq Historic Allegations Team has referred two cases to the Director of Service Prosecutions to date; in both cases he has declined to prosecute.

Police investigations and other proceedings can impose a strain on the Service personnel and veterans affected, and we take very seriously our duty of care to them. Anyone who is interviewed as a suspect is entitled to free legal advice; this continues in the event that the case proceeds to prosecution. We also seek to provide pastoral support to Service personnel and veterans who are under investigation, or who are called upon to give evidence to inquests and inquiries. The Department funds independent legal advice wherever necessary in such cases.

01/01/2023

Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with severe and long-term mental health issues and whose care is coordinated through the Care Programme Approach in each year since 2010 had had a formal meeting to review their care in the previous 12 months.

Alistair Burt

Information on the number of people using National Health Service funded adult secondary mental health services, including those who spent time on the Care Programme Approach (CPA), is shown in the following table.

England	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Total People	1,287,730	1,607,153	1,590,332	1,746,698	1,835,996
People on CPA	263,935	407,370	359,368	357,732	335,727

These figures includes people who have been on CPA for a number of months or years as well as people who had only recently been assigned to CPA. These figures count each individual once, regardless of the number of times they accessed services in the year.

Because of major changes to the Mental Health Minimum Dataset and submission process, figures for these years are not directly comparable. The scope was expanded to include independent sector providers in 2011/12 and learning disability services in 2014/15. Major changes to the submission process between 2010/11 and 2011/12 also contributed to an overall increase in numbers.

A snapshot count of people on CPA at the end of 2014/15 who had been on CPA for at least 12 months and the number and proportion of these who had received a CPA review within the last 12 months is shown in the following table. It has not been possible to provide data for earlier years.

England	March 2015
People on CPA at the end of the month who had been on CPA for 12 months	126,679
People on CPA for 12 months with a review in the previous 12 months	101,592
Percentage of people on CPA for 12 months with a review	80.2%

The process of the CPA recognises that reviews should be held at least every year. However, where an individual’s needs are sufficiently complicated to require more complex care co-ordination, the frequency of review meetings will be increased.

01/01/2023

Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department has not provided substantive answers to written parliamentary questions by stating that disclosure of the information would likely prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies in this parliamentary session.

Penny Mordaunt

Since the start of the 2015-16 session of Parliament to 17 March 2016, 47 written parliamentary questions (PQs) tabled to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) were not answered because disclosure would have been likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies. This figure represents 2% of the total number of 2,318 PQs answered by the MOD during that period.

In 19 further PQs, only part of the answer was withheld so as to protect the capability, effectiveness, or security of our Armed Forces or Allies.

01/01/2023
Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether a devolution deal with Cheshire and Warrington is dependent on the introduction of an elected mayor.

James Wharton

Devolution deal proposals must be led and agreed by local partners—the Government will not impose an arrangement on any area. What we are saying, though, is that if an area wants far-reaching control over major powers and budgets, we will expect that deal to include a directly-elected mayor covering the whole area.

01/01/2023