The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many responses have been received to his Department’s consultation on business rate relief for local newspapers; and if he will extend that relief to local magazine publishers.
Mr Edward Vaizey
We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation with the Department forCommunities and Local Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the potential effect of the European Commission’s Digital Single Market proposals on UK publishers; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Digital Single Market is a stated priority for the Juncker Commission, which could deliver significant gains for both consumers and businesses. As such, Ministers across Government regularly hold discussions in Europe and the UK with our European counterparts on the Digital Single Market including its potential effects on UK’s creative industries and publishers in particular.
Currently there are no Digital Single Market legislative proposals on the table, but we are encouraging the Commission to ensure that future proposals are carefully assessed to ensure that they do not damage incentives to invest in the production of creative content.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will roll out a national breathlessness campaign to follow the pilots in the North and East of England.
Jane Ellison
The regional pilot of the breathlessness campaign was carried out in the East of England 2 February – 1 March 2015. The evaluation of the campaign is ongoing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that carers are able to give each patient an appropriate amount of time on visits.
Alistair Burt
In most cases, very short visits from care workers are incompatible with high quality care. However, short visits may be appropriate in certain circumstances. For instance, checking medication has been taken.
Local authorities are responsible for the commissioning of services, not the Government but both Government and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) agree that inappropriately short home care visits are unacceptable.The Care Act sends a clear message that commissioning services without properly considering the impact on people’s wellbeing is unacceptable.
In September 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines on homecare which state that homecare visits should not normally be less than 30 minutes long. The Department published statutory guidance to the Care Act which directs local authorities when commissioning to consider national standards including NICE guidelines.
Further, the Department worked with ADASS and the Local Government Association (LGA) to produce a framework of standards, ‘Commissioning for Better Outcomes’ which explicitly states that inappropriate use of short visits is not compatible with best practice. The framework is designed to support local authorities to improve their commissioning practices using self-assessment and peer challenge through the LGA’s programme of sector-led improvement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department intends to establish or encourage national training schemes for care providers to ensure consistency in care provision across the sector.
Ben Gummer
The introduction of the Care Certificate, a recommendation of the Cavendish Review, will help to improve the consistency of training in the sector. As of 1 April 2015, all new social care support workers and healthcare assistants are expected to attain the new Care Certificate within their first twelve weeks of employment.
The Department funds Skills for Care, the partner in the sector skills council for social care, to produce a range of resources for workers to develop the knowledge to support people who use the services. This includes the apprenticeships programme which is important in growing a consistently skilled workforce providing high quality care for the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the level of existing VAT thresholds for small businesses.
Mr David Gauke
The UK has chosen to maintain a high VAT registration threshold, and it is currently the highest in the EU (at £82,000 from 1 April 2015). We believe that the UK’s current registration threshold achieves a reasonable balance between competing interests and reduces the administrative burden on the smallest businesses.
The Government may not increase this threshold further, aside from maintaining its value in line with inflation, without the consent of the European Commission and the unanimous agreement of all EU Member States.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will consider issuing guidance restricting the taking of photos and videos following the Shoreham air show crash.
James Wharton
This is not a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to support the expansion of children’s theatres across the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government believes it is important for all young people to have access to the very best arts and culture, and will continue to support children’s theatres through Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs)and Grants for theArts projects.
For example, 2012 – 2015 (year to date) NPO funding has provided over £74 million to organisations that provide support to children and young people’s theatre, while Grants for theArts has invested £4 million ofNationalLottery funds in theatre projects specifically for children and young people. TheGovernment’sTheatres Taxrelief, launched during the last Parliament,also supports new and touring theatre productions across the UK and includes children’s theatres.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent sexual exploitation of vulnerable people with special educational needs in schools.
Edward Timpson
The government’s report ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’ sets out the steps that the government is taking to protect children from sexual exploitation, including children with learning difficulties and disabilities. For example, we are exploring how personal, social, health and economic education training and resources for schools might be tailored for staff and special schools, and have provided £4.85 million for services supporting child sexual abuse survivors, including vulnerable children with learning difficulties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will bring forward proposals to allow the creation and sale of licences and franchises to provide heating using power station waste heat.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government has a range of policies in place to promote the use of Combined Heat and Power (CHP), which is a key technique capable of generating heat from power station waste heat. Environmental permitting requires developers of power plants to consider opportunities for operating CHPs, and provides them with CHP permits if these are cost effective. CHP installations that are certified by our Quality Assurance Programme are eligible for Enhanced Capital Allowances, Business Rates exemptions, a partial exemption from the Carbon Price Support tax, and Renewable Obligation Certificates and Renewable Heat Incentive payments for any heat they generate from biomass. Developing heat networks offers further opportunities for power plants to recover and supply heat.