The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that legacy funding from the Government for the Great Exhibition of the North is spent effectively.
Mr Edward Vaizey
I refer the Honourable member to my response to PQ 39132, answered on the 9th June.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS England is able to meet its aim of extending waiting time standards for mental health.
Nicola Blackwood
The National Health Service is already meeting standards on access to psychological therapies and we have introduced waiting time standards for early intervention in psychosis.
NHS England published an Implementation Plan in July 2016 setting out the actions required to deliver their Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, including developing the right pathways and access and waiting time standards for the treatment of mental health conditions. We are working with NHS England and health delivery partners to ensure that these actions are delivered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of changing levels of funding for non-conflicting affected states on the level of stability in those countries.
Rory Stewart
DFID uses a range of criteria to determine allocations to countries, including the need of those countries for development assistance, how effective our assistance is likely to be in those countries, and the strategic fit with UK government priorities.
The 50% commitment is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do for Britain’s national interest. The commitment ensures that we improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. Poverty is increasingly concentrated in fragile states and regions, and conflict is one of the major challenges to development. Over half of the world’s poor live in fragile states.
Our work in fragile states and regions will help to build stability, prevent conflict and support economic growth in the world’s poorest countries and regions. Without stability, our gains on poverty reduction risk being reversed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department gives to NHS trusts on hiring temporary doctors and nurses.
Ben Gummer
The Department has not issued specific guidance to National Health Service trusts on hiring temporary doctors and nurses. It has, however, commissioned NHS Employers to offer advice, guidance and good practice. The NHS Employers’ guides on sourcing temporary staffing can be found at
http://www.nhsemployers.org/search-results?q=sourcing+temporary+staffing+exterrnally
The Department also encourages NHS trusts requiring temporary staff to use the Crown Commercial Services’ Framework agreements wherever possible. Agencies on these Framework agreements are required to support trusts improve their commissioning of temporary staffing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the hon. Member for East Devon, of 22 October 2015, Official Report, column 1264, what training was provided to the election observers supported by Government funding referred to in that contribution.
Mr Hugo Swire
The United Kingdom funded the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in training and deploying some 5000 Burmese civil society observers throughout the country. These national observers were trained to evaluate the quality of the electoral process at polling stations and to rapidly report incidents on the day. The presence of national and international observers was a key part of the United Kingdom’s strategy for deterring fraud in Burma’s elections on 8 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effects on the tax revenue of developing countries of tax treaties with the UK.
Mr Nick Hurd
HMRC actively engages with developing countries and has recently agreed treaties with Senegal and Zambia. Tax treaties encourage the appropriate tax treatment of cross-border economic activity, promote international trade and investment and ultimately lead to sustainable tax revenues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that public country-by-country reporting of corporation tax benefits developing countries.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a framework for CbC reporting to tax authorities as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This important initiative will enhance transparency between business and tax authorities, including those of developing countries.
DFID funds the Global Forum and the World Bank to provide technical assistance to improve exchange of tax information in developing countries which will allow tax authorities to gain access to information such as country-by-country reports. We also support the OECD in helping developing countries tackle multinational practices such as transfer pricing and have provided HMRC tax auditors to Tax Inspectors Without Borders, which puts expert tax auditors in the field working on complex multinational audit cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the introduction of measures for country-by-country reporting of profits for UK-listed companies.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID Ministers and officials have regular discussions with other Government Departments on a wide range of issues relating to international development, including tax.
The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a framework for CbC reporting to tax authorities as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. This important initiative will enhance transparency between business and tax authorities, including those of developing countries.
The UK leads international efforts to help developing countries tackle tax evasion and avoidance. DFID funds the Global Forum and the World Bank to provide technical assistance to improve exchange of tax information in developing countries which will allow tax authorities to gain access to information such as country-by-country reports. We also support the OECD in helping developing countries tackle multinational practices such as transfer pricing and have provided HMRC tax auditors to Tax Inspectors Without Borders, which puts expert tax auditors in the field working on complex multinational audit cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of pharmacies which will potentially be affected financially by planned changes to funding in the Bradford District Care Trust area.
Alistair Burt
The proposals on which we are consulting will apply to all community pharmacies providing National Health Service pharmaceutical services in England.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. The Government believes these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.
We have been consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mental health crisis care concordat in improving cooperation between mental health services, non-mental health NHS services and other government services.
Nicola Blackwood
MIND, which has been supporting implementation of the national Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, commissioned an evaluation of the work being undertaken to implement the national statement. This included an assessment of how local partners were working together to improve the experience of people in mental health crisis.
The evaluation report, which was published in January 2016, can be found at the following link:
http://www.crisiscareconcordat.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CCC-Evaluation_Report.pdf
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