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Tag: 2016

  • John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to tackle part payment in the construction industry; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    Late payment remains an important issue. The Government is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts.

    The Government promotes fair payment practices in construction through legislation (the “Construction Act”), the use of public procurement (promoting prompt payment to Tier 3 and the use of Project Bank Accounts), and by working with the industry through voluntary measures (such as the Prompt Payment Code and the Construction Leadership Council’s Payment Charter).

    The Government has legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

    The Payment Charter includes a commitment of zero retentions by 2025. To support this work, the Government recently announced a review of the practice of cash retentions under construction contracts in England.

    Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour.

    The Government believes that taken together these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of cranberries can play in reducing the frequency of prescribing antibiotics for simple infections such as urinary tract infections.

    Jane Ellison

    The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.

    The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.

    A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of Lord Bridges of Headley, of 25 February 2016, Official Report, column 396, on public bodies: Israel, what the Government’s policy is on whether the Occupied Palestinian Territories are a territory of Israel under the definition of the World Trade Organisaiton.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The World Trade Organisation does not define the territory of its members. The UK does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. We therefore do not consider the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be part of Israel.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that public country-by-country reporting of corporation tax benefits developing countries.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a framework for CbC reporting to tax authorities as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This important initiative will enhance transparency between business and tax authorities, including those of developing countries.

    DFID funds the Global Forum and the World Bank to provide technical assistance to improve exchange of tax information in developing countries which will allow tax authorities to gain access to information such as country-by-country reports. We also support the OECD in helping developing countries tackle multinational practices such as transfer pricing and have provided HMRC tax auditors to Tax Inspectors Without Borders, which puts expert tax auditors in the field working on complex multinational audit cases.

  • 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 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36401, whether the Cabinet Secretary’s involvement in the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s review of High Speed 2 was requested or authorised by a Minister; and what the membership is of the small cross-government team referred to in that Answer.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s (IPA’s) support to the HS2 Programme is part of the normal assurance process for projects of this size, as mandated by Ministers. The Cabinet Secretary’s involvement is also normal for projects on the scale of HS2.

    The IPA’s role on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio is to provide expertise in infrastructure and the financing, delivery and assurance of major projects, to support more effective management and delivery across government. The cross government assurance involves relevant experts from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, the Department for Transport, HM Treasury and HS2 Ltd.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he next plans to visit West Cumberland Hospital in an official capacity.

    Ben Gummer

    I am currently planning to visit the West Cumberland Hospital in the coming months.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to monitor and assess the progress of the roll-out of his Department’s Childhood Obesity Plan for Action in England.

    Nicola Blackwood

    We will measure progress annually through the National Child Measurement Programme and Health Survey for England. We are confident that the measures we have announced will make a real difference and estimate could reduce childhood obesity rates by about a fifth (330,000) over the next 10 years and the assessment of reformulation progress by food manufacturers will be undertaken independently by Public Health England. Moreover, if we do not see the desired progress then the Government does not rule out taking further measures.

    We will continue to work with the National Health Service, local authorities and other partners to deliver the proposals in our plan. For example, we are doubling the Primary PE and Sport Premium to £320 million from September 2017 and we will continue to fund a number of areas to support the plan’s ambitions including healthy start vouchers which gives healthy food support to the families that need it most. Alongside this, local authorities will receive over £16 billion to spend on public health over the next five years. We are confident they will want to prioritise action to tackle obesity according to local need.

  • Kit Malthouse – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kit Malthouse – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kit Malthouse on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has paid out in supplements following late payment of VAT returns in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the previous 10 years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce that amount.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not routinely publish this information.

    The Government recognises the importance to businesses of receiving VAT repayments as quickly as possible. HMRC also has a duty to ensure that incorrect or fraudulent repayments are identified and prevented. All repayment claims are subject to automated risk analysis on receipt and 94% are processed for immediate payment. Of the remainder, 50% are approved for payment within 5 days. Repayment Supplement is designed to compensate customers where HMRC fails to make a repayment within 30 days. In 2014-15, HMRC paid Repayment Supplement in 0.3% of all cases.

    In the first half of 2015-16, HMRC carried out an extensive review of its repayment process with a view to minimising delays in cases where repayments are not authorised automatically. Following the review, new processes have been introduced and HMRC expects to reduce the incidence of Repayment Supplement as a result.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5180), how they will ensure that the forecast increase in the level of podiatry commissions by 2020 will be met by the podiatry workforce; and what assessment they have made of the risks presented by the reduction in Health Education England commissioned student places in 2016–17 and the end of bursaries in August 2017.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health Education England (HEE) operates an annual comprehensive planning process to ensure their investments meet the future needs of the population. This process determines the education commissioning volumes for the following financial year.

    The HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan – 2016/17 includes a forecast increase in the available supply of podiatrists into the National Health Service workforce of 36.4% by 2020. The forecast reflects the planned commissions but also the net effect of different levels of non-retirement, leavers and joiners other than from HEE training programmes.

    HEE local teams are responsible for assessing the forecast supply and demand. The activity of gathering evidence, modelling and decision making at the local level is supported by Partnership Councils, including NHS and non-NHS service providers.

    The Department will run a consultation on how the funding reforms for nursing, midwifery and allied health education can be most successfully implemented. We currently expect to consult during March 2016. As part of this, an economic impact assessment and equality impact assessment will be published.

    HEE will continue to have a central role in the commissioning of nursing, midwifery and allied health courses which will include podiatry. They will continue to provide sufficient clinical placement funding for those places needed to meet the workforce planning needs of the NHS.

    We estimate that the reforms will allow universities to be able to offer up to 10,000 more nursing, midwifery and allied health training places over this parliament.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on the UK’s relationships with its defence partners in Europe of the UK leaving the EU.

    Michael Fallon

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 March 2016 to Question 28708 to the hon. Member for Clacton (Douglas Carswell).

    “