Tag: Baroness Quin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to hold meetings with representatives of the audio-visual industry about the effects of the UK leaving the EU; and if so, which government departments will be involved in such meetings.

Lord Ashton of Hyde

The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have to support the statement in the 2012 impact assessment Housing Benefit: Under-occupation of social housing that the introduction of the under-occupancy charge would have no impact on health and well-being.

Lord Freud

Following on from the 2012 impact assessment an independent two year evaluation was commissioned that looked at the effects of this policy.

The report is due to be published by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what ways they are currently supporting the education and advancement of women in Afghanistan.

Baroness Verma

The UK has prioritised education for girls as part of its development support to Afghanistan. The UK provides £58 million through its Girls Education Challenge Fund, which supports over 180,000 girls in some of the poorest rural and hard to reach areas of Afghanistan to have better access to a quality education. In addition the UK supports the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a World-Bank managed multi-donor fund. A proportion of this is used to support education and as a result, in 2015 there were more than 3.2 million Afghan girls attending school compared to virtually none in 2001.

The UK also supports programmes to protect women from violence, promote women’s economic empowerment, and strengthen political participation – all necessary to achieve lasting and transformative change for women in Afghanistan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect all valid claims from farmers in 2015 to the Rural Payments Agency to be paid.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payment window runs between December 2015 and June 2016. As of the end of January the Rural Payments Agency had paid around 66,800 farmers approximately £1 billion. The Rural Payments Agency is focused on paying the remainder as promptly as possible.

2015 was the first year of the new complex Common Agricultural Policy. The Rural Payments Agency anticipates improvements on payment performance for the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure timely and effective processing of Rural Payments Agency payments to farmers in 2016.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payment window runs between December 2015 and June 2016. As of the end of January the Rural Payments Agency had paid around 66,800 farmers approximately £1 billion. The Rural Payments Agency is focused on paying the remainder as promptly as possible.

2015 was the first year of the new complex Common Agricultural Policy. The Rural Payments Agency anticipates improvements on payment performance for the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average waiting time is for a result to be given of a DEXA bone density scan in each NHS region in England; and what assessment they have made of the average waiting time for such results in (1) Scotland, and (2) Wales.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Genomics England has set an objective to deliver 8,000 clinical reports by the end of 2016. The precise details of the reports from the pilot and main phases will become clearer once the phenotypic data is collected and linked to the genome data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time for a result to be given of a DEXA bone density scan in each NHS region in England; and what assessment they have made of the average waiting time for such results in (1) Scotland, and (2) Wales.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Data are not collected on the average waiting time for a result to be given for a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Data are collected on the average waiting time from referral to test, and these are shown in the following table for the four NHS England commissioning regions for most recent period, which is November 2015. Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales.

Table: average median waiting times in weeks for a DEXA scan from referral by NHS England commissioning region, November 2015

Region	Number of weeks
North of England	2.1
Midlands and East of England	1.7
London	1.8
South of England	1.8
England	1.9

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations took place with the government of New Zealand prior to their decision to introduce new charges for New Zealand citizens for health and dental treatment in the UK from 6 April.

Lord Prior of Brampton

On 6 April 2015 the United Kingdom introduced an immigration health surcharge for non-European Economic Area nationals who come to the UK to temporarily reside for a period of over six months. At the time New Zealand nationals were granted a temporary exemption and we entered into a series of discussions with the New Zealand Government on the introduction of the surcharge for its nationals. The Secretary of State for Health wrote to the New Zealand High Commissioner confirming introduction of the surcharge on 17 December 2015. Introduction of the surcharge for New Zealand nationals was publicly announced by the Home Office on 4 February 2016 and subject to Parliamentary approval, it will come into effect from 6 April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the start-up and annual costs of administering the new health and dental charges for New Zealand citizens coming into force on 6 April.

Lord Bates

An Impact Assessment was published on 4 February 2016, alongside the draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2016. The draft Order will, subject to Parliamentary approval, remove the surcharge exemption for nationals of Australia and New Zealand and reduce the Youth Mobility Scheme charge from £200 to £150.

The Impact Assessment, which can be viewed at the link below, sets out the reason for these changes and estimates associated costs and benefits: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111143278/impacts

These documents are available in the following locations of the House: The Vote Office (Commons) Printed Paper Office (Lords)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proportion of people on zero-hours contracts who are seeking full-time employment with guaranteed pay and hours of work.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government has not made an assessment.

ONS statistics published on 9 March 2016, for the fourth quarter of 2015, show that for those individuals on a zero hours contract in their main job, 63 per cent were not looking for more hours or a different job.