Tag: 2016

  • Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s policies to tackle bank fraud and scams; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government takes all types of fraud, including those targeted at banks’ customers, extremely seriously.

    The Home Office is the lead Government department on crime, including fraud, and crime prevention overall. In February 2016, the Home Secretary announced a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce is a collaboration of banks, law enforcement and Government. This is the first time these organisations have come together to tackle fraud, and particularly to focus on those issues that have been considered too difficult for a single organisation to manage alone. The Taskforce seeks to identify the issues that will make the biggest difference to our collective fight against fraud.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to become a founding donor of the Education Cannot Wait fund for education in emergencies at its launch at the World Humanitarian Summit, and how much they intend to donate in 2016.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has played a leading role in the development of the Education Cannot Wait fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, which was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit on 23rd May. The UK has committed to provide £30 million in support over two years to the new fund as a founding donor, which was announced by the International Development Secretary at the fund’s launch event at the World Humanitarian Summit.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with credit card companies on steps to support people who have large credit card debts related to shopping.

    Simon Kirby

    The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

    The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. The market study is investigating three areas, one of which is the extent of unaffordable credit card debt. On 3 November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers. However, the FCA expressed concern about the scale of potentially problematic debt in this sector, and the incentives for firms to manage this.

    The interim report also included the FCA’s early thinking on potential remedies which include measures to give consumers more control over their credit limits, measures to encourage customers to pay off debt quicker when they can afford to, and proposals that firms do more to identify earlier those consumers who may be struggling to repay and take action to help them manage their repayments. The FCA is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.

    The Government is looking forward to the final report in Q3 2016, and would encourage interested parties to give their views to the FCA to assist it in addressing the issues it has identified.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department expects an updated Strategic Noise Map for Edinburgh Airport to be available.

    Mr John Hayes

    As noise is a devolved matter, the UK Government is not able to answer questions on noise mapping for Scottish airports. This is the responsibility of the Scottish Government and they will be able to advise on this matter.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Jonathan Edwards – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on Tata Steel’s recent announcement on job losses.

    Stephen Crabb

    The recent announcement of job losses at Port Talbot is another hammer blow to the industry and the wider South Wales economy.

    I have had regular contact with the Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Science and Transport since the announcement. With the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, I have offered the UK Government’s full commitment to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government.

    My Ministerial colleague, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, has also accepted an invitation from the Welsh Government to be part of a High Level Task Force charged with supporting everyone affected by the job losses at Port Talbot.

    Our immediate priority is to support those who have suffered job losses and to ensure the industry has a sustainable future in Wales.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the salaries are of the directors of each clinical commissioning group in Leicestershire.

    Alistair Burt

    Information about the salaries of the directors of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is published in each CCG’s annual report, which are available on the CCGs’ websites.

    East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG’s annual report can be found at:

    https://eastleicestershireandrutlandccg.nhs.uk/about-us/publications/reports-and-plans/

    West Leicestershire CCG’s annual report can be found at:

    http://www.westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk/page/corporate-documents

    Leicester City CCG’s annual report can be found at:

    https://www.leicestercityccg.nhs.uk/about-us/strategies-and-reports/

    “

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis have their first specialist appointment within the three weeks recommended by NICE.

    Jane Ellison

    National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Audits help drive improvement by providing local trusts with individual benchmarked reports on their performance against a range of measures, feeding back comparative findings to help participants identify necessary improvements for patients

    The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:

    www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory

    To help clinicians to identify the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and make prompt referrals to specialists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in 2009. This best practice guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and emphasises the need for early diagnosis with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of RA. For those diagnosed with the condition, the guidance also recommends they should be offered the opportunity to take part in educational activities, including self-management programmes.

    The NICE RA quality standard (QS), published in 2013, is based on the NICE guideline, and one of the seven quality statements recommends that people with suspected RA are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral. However, whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to these standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

    Regarding the establishment of early arthritis clinics, the configuration of services, including decisions to such arthritis clinics, is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that, as of November 2015, there were 563 full time equivalent rheumatology consultants employed in the NHS. This is an increase of 119 (26.8%) since May 2010. The recruitment and retention of staff is matter for local NHS services.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Local Growth Fund has been earmarked for (a) housing loan finance and (b) flexible grant funding.

    James Wharton

    The £12 billion Local Growth Fund includes £2 billion for housing loan finance and up to £7.1 billion of flexible grant funding.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential effect of reductions in capital gains tax rates announced in the Budget 2016 on (a) the prevalence of converting income into capital gains and (b) income tax receipts.

    Mr David Gauke

    Budget 2016 announced reductions in the basic rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to 10% and the main rate to 20%, excluding gains on residential property and carried interest. The purpose of these changes is to encourage individuals to invest in companies, helping them to access the capital they need to expand and create jobs.

    The estimated cost of this measure was published at Budget 2016 and provided in the table below:

    Table 1: Total estimated Exchequer impact of Budget 2016 CGT basic and main rate reductions

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    £m

    -105

    -630

    -605

    -670

    -735

    The costing in Table 1 includes an estimate of the impacts on CGT, Income Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax receipts. The total estimated Exchequer cost accounts for behavioural responses, including greater realisation of gains, and increased incentive to take capital gains relative to income. This can include a wide range of behavioural changes. The impact on Income Tax is only one aspect of this costing.

    No separate estimate was made of the impact on CGT receipts of converting income into capital gains. Finance Bill 2016 contains provisions to strengthen anti-avoidance rules to prevent opportunities for people to shift income to capital in order to gain a tax advantage, through making changes to the Transactions in Securities Rules and introducing a new Targeted Anti Avoidance Rule.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with representatives of gyms on ensuring that the fitness levels of new members is assessed before they use such gyms.

    Tracey Crouch

    I meet regularly with ukactive, an organisation with members and partners across the UK active lifestyle sector, and others in the gym and physical activity sector. Whilst arrangements made for new members are for leisure providers to determine, our Sport Strategy, Sporting Future, published last December, highlighted the importance of giving those getting involved in sport, particularly for the first time, the best possible experience.

    In addition, ukactive’s Code of Practice – which is designed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of health and fitness operators and customers – also stipulates that providers must offer all facility users an exercise induction, and many physical activity, fitness and leisure operators require all new members to sign a ‘Health Commitment Statement’.