Tag: Baroness Walmsley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of clinical commissioning groups have added pulse checks to existing GP and pharmacy enhanced services for people over 65.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not held by the Department or NHS England, as general practitioner (GP) and pharmacy contracts do not mandate pulse checks as part of the existing GP and pharmacy enhanced services for people over 65.

However, in England all local authorities are required to offer the NHS Health Check programme, with the large majority commissioning general practice to provide them on their behalf. Between 2014 and 2018 more than 15 million people aged 40-74 will be eligible for an NHS Health Check. The programme’s best practice guidance recommends that a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading, and those individuals who are found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred for further investigation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what calculation they have made of how much (1) UK tax has been paid by PFI investors on profits and equity gains, and (2) corporation tax has been collected from PFI companies, in each tax year since the inception of PFI contracts for health service projects.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Treasury does not collect or publish taxation information for any Private Finance company including those within the health sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether in assessing the benefits of PFI against conventional procurement they take account of the amount of UK tax paid by PFI investors, as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee in its report of 2011 Lessons from PFI and other projects.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

In its response to the Public Accounts Committee report, the Government made clear that it did not agree with the Committee’s conclusion and recommendation.

As set out in the response, HM Treasury stated that the initial appraisal of a project takes into account the additional tax receipts that arise from the use of a privately funded project, compared to a publicly funded project.

Managing Public Money directs procuring authorities to ensure that procurement decisions do not rely on any tax advantage that a particular bid may enjoy because of the tax status of the proposed contactor. Any privately financed option will only be pursued if it is better value for money than the publicly funded alternative.

The Treasury’s full response can be found on the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have introduced arrangements for sharing gains on the sale of PFI equity shares in new PFI projects, as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee in its report of 2011 Lessons from PFI and other projects.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

In its response to the Public Accounts Committee’s report, the Government has made clear that it does not agree that it would be desirable to seek a share of gains arising from the sale of shares in existing contracts. There would be a significant negative impact on the confidence of investors, particularly foreign investors, in the UK market and new investment in UK infrastructure would be discouraged.

The Treasury’s full response can be found at on the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define commercial confidentiality” and “exceptional circumstances” in relation to restrictions on FOI requests relating to private companies that provide public services.”

Lord Bridges of Headley

Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are considered on a case by case basis. Section 43 of the Act sets out the circumstances in which information is exempt from disclosure on grounds of commercial interests.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timetable for implementing the comprehensive legislative reform of health professional regulation to which they have committed.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reviewing the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals.

The Law Commissions made 125 recommendations to reform the existing complex and burdensome regulatory system. The joint four United Kingdom country response to the Law Commissions was published on 29 January 2015 which accepted wholly or in part the vast majority of its recommendations. A copy of the response is attached.

The Department is currently reviewing how best to take forward the work of the Law Commissions. We hope to be able to provide an update on this work soon.