Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the total contribution from the public purse to Lifetime ISAs in financial year (a) 2017-18 (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is creating a new Lifetime ISA, providing savers with the flexibility to save towards a first home and retirement at the same time. From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to open and save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government, paid annually after the end of the tax year.

People can make full withdrawals from their Lifetime ISA accounts for a first home purchase (subject to a house price cap of £450,000 UK-wide) or from age 60. These withdrawals will be tax free.

An estimate of the Exchequer impact from this policy was set out in Table 2.1 of the Budget 2016 document. For further information, please see page 9 of the Budget 2016 Policy Costings document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508147/PU1912_Policy_Costings_FINAL3.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women who will be in receipt of the state pension in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson

The requested information is available from 2015/16 to 2020/21 in the table below.

Forecast number of State Pension recipients (Great Britain and Overseas) by gender: 2015/16 – 2020/21

Recipients of State Pension (thousands)

	Men	Women
2015/16	5,523.1	7,399.0
2016/17	5,648.6	7,274.3
2017/18	5,765.3	7,118.7
2018/19	5,850.8	6,956.5
2019/20	5,822.0	6,844.7
2020/21	5,804.7	6,794.1

Source: Budget 2016 medium term forecasts

Projections beyond 2020/21 will be published in due course.

These numbers include State Pension claimants living in Great Britain or Overseas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to increase take-up of government-funded adult learning courses; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

We have maintained funding for the core adult skills participation budgets in cash terms at £1.5bn and are increasing opportunities in technical and professional education by doubling the level of spending on apprenticeships by 2019-20 in 2010-11 cash terms, including income from the new apprenticeship levy.

The new Adult Education Budget (AEB), which replaces three separate funding lines will engage adults and provide the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. It will enable more tailored programmes of learning to be made available, to help those furthest from learning or the workplace.

The combination of the levy, the protection of the AEB, the extension of loans, and the introduction of the youth obligation means that by the end of the Parliament, the cash value of core adult FE funding to support participation will be at its highest ever. By 2019-20, spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5 billion and the total spending power of the FE sector to support participation will be £3.41bn, a cash terms increase of 40% compared with 2015-16 (real terms 30%).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 35419, how many taxi journeys were made by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials of his Department in each of the last five years.

Mr Mark Francois

Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in this department undertake a variety of visits to support the delivery of Government’s objectives and other departmental business. We do not hold figures for the number of taxi journeys undertaken, broken down in the format requested and this can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the financial value of pollinators to the economy; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 18 January 2016, PQ UIN 22302.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the total number of its full-time equivalent officials who are working on the consultation on the InterCity West Coast rail franchise; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

The consultation process is being run by 1 FTE who is part of the ICWC franchise team, with a team of 3-6 officials assisting with each of the planned 11 station events which are scheduled to last between two and a half to four and a half hours each with 2-3 officials assisting at multi-stakeholder regional events also for between two and a half to four and a half hours each.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent house demolitions in the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are concerned by reports that there has been a large increase in demolitions since the start of 2016, compared with the monthly average in 2015. Our Ambassador to Tel Aviv has raised our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 15 May, and urged them to provide a legal route for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the amount paid by the NHS to pharmaceutical companies for prescription drugs in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The information requested is in the table.

Year	Primary care drugs spend (1)	Secondary care drugs spend	Total drugs spend
	Outturn (£ m)	Outturn (£ m)	Outturn (£ m)
2004/05	7,376	2,595	9,971
2005/06	7,235	2,764	9,999
2006/07	7,593	2,969	10,562
2007/08	7,663	3,274	10,937
2008/09	7,749	3,647	11,397
2009/10	7,946	3,974	11,920
2010/11	8,280	4,257	12,537
2011/12	8,243	4,482	12,725
2012/13(2)	7,887	5,055	12,941
2013/14(3)	8,015	5,324	13,339
2014/15	8,206	5,897	14,103

Sources:

1. Primary care figures to 2012-13 are from Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) audited summarisation schedules. Figures from 2013-14 are from the Department’s annual report and accounts.
2. Secondary care figures are from National Health Service trusts, PCT finance returns and foundation trust year-end accounts. Finance returns were not collected after 2011/12; figures for NHS trusts in 2012/13 are estimates.
3. Secondary care figures from 2013-14 are from Monitor and NHS Trust Development Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2016 to Question 38501, when she plans to finalise the budget allocation for the Waste and Resources Action Programme for the financial years beyond 2016-17; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Defra’s funding allocation to the Waste and Resources Action Programme is agreed on an annual basis and will be considered during the business planning process in the autumn, aiming to be finalised in March for the following financial year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the largest financial contracts between the NHS and private companies were in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The Department does not hold this information, as it is not collated centrally. It is for individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to take decisions on which providers, including those from the private sector, are awarded contracts for the provision of NHS services for their respective regions.

For information on individual contracts held by individual National Health Service bodies, such as NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts, the Hon. Member may wish to contact any relevant NHS authority directly. Independent providers, both for-profit and not-for-profit have long, and through successive governments, provided care to NHS patients. Our position on who should provide services is taken to ensure patients receive the best possible services and outcomes. These decisions are taken by the local clinicians, who are best placed to act for the benefit of their patients.