The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that any extra workload due to plans to require the filing of quarterly tax returns by small businesses does not reduce profits and productivity for such small businesses.
Mr David Gauke
I refer the honourable Members to my response of 11 January 2016 (with references 20876 and 21032).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings under the Belfast Agreement 1998 can be attended by members of the public.
Lord Dunlop
Meetings between the UK Government, Irish Government and Northern Ireland political parties, such as those which took place that led to the Fresh Start Agreement, are held in accordance with the three-stranded approach established by the Belfast Agreement. Such political talks are held in private but are attended by representative politicians.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 24849, how much of the budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign has been allocated to advertisements on the London Underground.
Nick Boles
£42,000 has been allocated to advertisements on the London Underground.
The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1st. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce lifetime awards for people assessed as requiring the upper personal independence payment allowance mobility component who have been diagnosed with muscle degenerative diseases or conditions.
Justin Tomlinson
Personal Independence Payment is specifically designed to ensure that the benefit is awarded to those with the greatest need and the award review process is integral to ensuring this happens. Under Disability Living Allowance over 70% of all claims had no review built-in, meaning that claimants could have been receiving too much or too little in benefit.
We take a personalised approach to setting the length of awards, varying the frequency and format of awards and reviews depending on the individual’s needs and the likelihood of their health condition or impairment changing.
Where the claimant has high levels of functional impairment which are only likely to increase or not improve, it is likely that the claimant will receive an enhanced rate of benefit and a longer term award.
We recognise that it is important to ensure that the review process is applied sensitively and appropriately. As such, it is likely that the awards of such claimants would also go through a less intensive review process which may not, if all the necessary information is held, include a face-to-face assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken is for an academy school to be re-brokered to another academy sponsor.
Edward Timpson
Where an academy is not meeting the required standard or needs a change of sponsor, the Regional Schools Commissioner strives to ensure that this change happens as quickly as possible, with minimum impact to the school. The Department does not hold a central record of the time taken for re-brokerage.
The Education and Adoption Act 2016 gives Regional Schools Commissioners powers to tackle underperformance in academies more quickly, by allowing them to terminate their funding agreement and re-broker an academy as soon as it is judged inadequate by Ofsted or identified as coasting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes to vet directors of multi-academy trusts; and if she will make a statement.
Edward Timpson
Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are responsible for appointing trustees with the right skills to deliver their functions effectively. Our model articles require MATs to ensure that both trustees and those serving on any local governing bodies at individual academies within the MAT have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. MATs’ Articles of Association also set out the circumstances by which someone is disqualified from being a trustee, including conviction of a criminal offence or bankruptcy. A trustee can be removed by the board under the Companies Act 2006.
Regional Schools Commissioners check that the trustees of a MAT have the necessary skills and expertise before the funding agreement of an academy or free school joining the MAT is signed. We may also conduct checks to make an assessment of a MAT trustee’s suitability, where deemed necessary. The Secretary of State can bar a person from taking part in the management of a MAT under the Education Act 2008.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, to what extent NICE has involved external stakeholders and charities in reviewing how well the incremental cost effectiveness ratio is working in making new cancer medicines available to patients on the NHS.
Nicola Blackwood
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it has not been asked to review how well the application of the cost effectiveness methodology is working in making new cancer medicines available to patients on the National Health Service.
NICE periodically reviews its methods and processes for the development of guidance to ensure that they remain appropriate. NICE most recently consulted on changes to its methods for the appraisal of new cancer medicines in November 2015 as part of the consultation on the new operating model for the Cancer Drugs Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones on 2016-10-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the £530 million loan to Airbus in 2000 to support production of the A380 aircraft, how many of those aircraft have been purchased by UK airlines.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The repayable investment to support the development of the A380 wing and fuel system in the UK has secured over 2,000 UK jobs since the aircraft entered service in 2007.
Airbus has received 319 orders for the A380 from airline customers world-wide and have made 195 deliveries, 12 of which have been made to British Airways (part of IAG).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the extent of differential treatment of Palestinian and Israeli child detainees by Israel and (b) whether that differential is consistent with Israelis international human rights obligations.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We remain concerned about the use of a dual court system whereby Palestinians, except East Jerusalem residents, are subject to the Israeli military court system, irrespective of the charge, whereas Israeli citizens are dealt with by the Israeli civil justice system. We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under applicable international law. We regularly discuss with the Government of Israel implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns regarding such issues as the treatment of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of NHS emergency medicine services.
Jane Ellison
NHS staff in England continue to provide quality services in the face of increasingly high-levels of demand throughout the emergency healthcare system. Front-line services are treating record numbers of patients with more than nine out of 10 patients seen within four hours in A&E departments. Ambulance services are delivering over 2800 more emergency journeys every day compared to 2010 and responding to the majority of life-threatening cases in under 8 minutes.