Tag: James Cartlidge

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on how many residential planning permissions which were granted in England in the last five years have yet to commence building work.

Gavin Barwell

As of 1 July 2016 planning permission had been granted since 1 January 2011 for 311,000 homes on sites where work had not yet started. However, latest figures show that on these sites yet to be started, 90 per cent of the dwellings are now progressing towards a start, up from 85 per cent in July 2015.

There are a range of factors which can delay the start of work on site. We are taking forward a range of proposals to help drive up delivery post permission, including changes in legislation to tackle unnecessary planning conditions and providing additional investment in infrastructure to help unlock housing sites and we expect developers and local authorities to work together to tackle problems at a local level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that a cost impact assessment, including the potential impact assessment on the mobile seed cleaning industry, is made for any future emergency order relating to the use of neonicotinoids.

George Eustice

Any future application for authorisation of neonicotinoids for emergency use will be assessed according to the legal requirements. These cover: the risks from use; whether the use addresses a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means; and the means by which the use will be limited and controlled.

The requirement for limited and controlled use includes ensuring that the product is demonstrably targeted towards those growers with the greatest need. The applicant would need to establish an auditable supply chain to ensure this requirement was met.

The assessment of the application would be based on the case made by the applicant. If the requirements outlined above are met, the Government would have no grounds for withholding authorisation.

However, there is no clear reason why it would be necessary to exclude farm-saved seed in designing appropriate control measures for an emergency authorisation of pesticide use on oilseed rape. We have drawn this issue to the attention of potential applicants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total estimated net present value was of all outstanding equity loan advances in UK residential property held by government departments on the latest date for which information is available.

Gavin Barwell

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) operates and administers a number of current and past equity loan and equity share schemes for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The estimated fair value for all outstanding equity loans with HCA at end March 2016 is:

Help to Buy: Equity Loan £3,629,294,000

Other legacy home equity schemes £461,301,000

Total £4,090,595,000

The other legacy home equity schemes are: FirstBuy, HomeBuy Direct and First-Time Buyers’ Initiative.

This information is set out in the HCA Annual Report and Financial Statements 2015-16 (Note 21) with further information about ‘fair value’ in Notes 1 and 31.

The Ministry of Defence operated a scheme: Affordable Homes Ownership scheme (AFHOS) until March 2014. There are presently 259 live AFHOS loans with an initial value of £15.073 million. The net present value for this book is not estimated so this figure is the value of the equity at purchase.

The Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive also operate equity loan and shared schemes for home ownership, on which they can provide information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that any new Emergency Authorisations related to neonicotinoids or seed management will include a provision that both certified seed and farm-saved seed are acceptable for the distribution of the seeds that are in the order.

George Eustice

Any future application for authorisation of neonicotinoids for emergency use will be assessed according to the legal requirements. These cover: the risks from use; whether the use addresses a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means; and the means by which the use will be limited and controlled.

The requirement for limited and controlled use includes ensuring that the product is demonstrably targeted towards those growers with the greatest need. The applicant would need to establish an auditable supply chain to ensure this requirement was met.

The assessment of the application would be based on the case made by the applicant. If the requirements outlined above are met, the Government would have no grounds for withholding authorisation.

However, there is no clear reason why it would be necessary to exclude farm-saved seed in designing appropriate control measures for an emergency authorisation of pesticide use on oilseed rape. We have drawn this issue to the attention of potential applicants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total value was of all reclaimed equity loans in UK residential property where the holder was a government department in each of the last five years.

Gavin Barwell

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) operates and administers a number of current and past equity loan and equity share schemes for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The HCA has received the following funds in redemption of equity loans in each of the last five years:

2011-12 £4.020 million

2012-13 £12.141 million

2013-14 £34.731 million

2014-15 £70.952 million

2015-16 £182.916 million

They include loans from several schemes: Help to Buy: Equity Loan, FirstBuy, HomeBuy Direct and First-Time Buyers’ Initiative.

The Ministry of Defence operated a scheme: Affordable Homes Ownership scheme (AFHOS) until March 2014. AFHOS receipts to date are:

Receipts during period 2011-15: £1.457 million

Receipts during financial year 2015-16: £1.896 million

The Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive also operate equity loan and equity share schemes for home ownership, on which they can provide information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the stewardship documents for Emergency Authorisation No. 1949 and No. 1950 of 2015.

George Eustice

The stewardship documents for these emergency authorisations were considered by HSE officials to ensure the stewardship scheme was consistent with the conditions of authorisation. The documents were also disclosed by Defra to Friends of the Earth under the process for their unsuccessful application for judicial review of the decision to make these authorisations in 2015. Copies will be placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the NHS was of (a) aspirin, (b) ibuprofen and (c) equivalent medication prescribed by GPs in each of the last five years.

David Mowat

Information on the net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England is provided in the table below.

Year	Net ingredient cost2: aspirin (excluding combination medicines) £000	Net ingredient cost: ibuprofen £000	Net ingredient cost: other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs1 £000
2010	590.3	9,999.3	80,767.1
2011	443.9	9,927.1	71,045.5
2012	495.3	12,182.8	71,915.7
2013	593.0	13,788.0	63,617.2
2014	512.8	12,929.8	62,270.0
2015	499.4	12,835.7	59,922.9

Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system provided by NHS Digital

¹ All other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs included in British National Formulary section 10.1.1, using the classification system prior to edition 70.

² Net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which companies, organisations and other persons, in any capacity, were given sight of the stewardship documents either before, or after, the issuing of Emergency Authorisation No. 1949 and No. 1950 of 2015.

George Eustice

The stewardship documents for these emergency authorisations were considered by HSE officials to ensure the stewardship scheme was consistent with the conditions of authorisation. The documents were also disclosed by Defra to Friends of the Earth under the process for their unsuccessful application for judicial review of the decision to make these authorisations in 2015. Copies will be placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent in England on NHS Continuing Healthcare in each of the last five years.

David Mowat

Primary care trusts held statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare until 31 March 2013 and the cost of funding such packages was not captured specifically in their audited accounts. From 2009, the Department collected information on the total cost of NHS Continuing Healthcare packages through a financial information management system1. The annual costs (England total) from that date were as follows:

2011/12 – £2,324,655,000

2012/13 – £2,762,532,000

From 1 April 2013, statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare transferred to clinical commissioning groups and to NHS England. The annual costs from that date (England total) are as follows:

2013/14 – £2,647,176,411

2014/15 – £2,824,041,529

2015/16 – £3,062,102,151

Note:

1 This is management information and is not audited for Departmental accounts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on beak trimming of laying hens.

George Eustice

Since 2010, the use of a hot blade to routinely beak trim laying hens has been banned in the UK. In order to prevent injurious feather pecking, use of infra-red technology only is permitted on day old chicks. The Government established the Beak Trimming Action Group (BTAG), comprising representatives from industry, welfare groups, retailers, Defra, scientific and veterinary professions to look at ways birds might be managed so that even infra-red beak trimming would no longer be necessary. Having reviewed all the available evidence, BTAG has now submitted its recommendations, and the report will be placed in the House Library. I have accepted all of the Group’s recommendations.

The Group advised that the risks of introducing a ban on infra-red beak trimming are too great. It could result in outbreaks of severe feather pecking and having to employ emergency beak trimming using the hot blade method, which is a far worse outcome from an animal welfare perspective. However, the BTAG report also identified improved management techniques that could reduce feather pecking. The Government expects to see these techniques introduced across the laying hen sector.