The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what savings have been made as a result of the seven-year contract awarded to the Post Office by the DVLA on 1 April 2013 in each financial year.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency saved £18.5m in 2013-14 and £17.0m in 2014-15 as a result of its contract with Post Office Ltd.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the value to the economy of the technology sector.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Digital is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative sectors. It currently supports 1.4 million jobs in the UK and according to the DCMS Digital Sector Economic Estimates, published in January 2016, contributed £118.3 billion to the UK economy in 2014 – up 7.2% on the previous year – accounting for 7.3% of the UK economy. Total UK digital exports came to £43 billion in 2013, equalling 8.2 per cent of all UK exports (goods and services).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department took when devising the new model of community pharmacy to take into account both (a) rural and (b) urban deprivation.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.
The proposals were considered against the Public Sector Equality Duty and other duties. The consultation responses will inform the final impact assessment, which will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of immigration from (a) EEA member countries and (b) countries from outside the EEA on the level of demand for school places in each year from 2016 to 2030.
Edward Timpson
Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.
We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the amount of funding that will be made available to each part of the UK for science, education and research purposes through EU schemes in the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework.
Mr David Gauke
EU science, education and research schemes are awarded on the basis of excellence and are not pre-allocated. As a world leader in these sectors, the UK has a strong track record at securing these funds – in recent years around 15% of such receipts from Horizon 2020, the EU’s main research programme, have gone to the UK. The deal secured by the Government on the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) resulted in an increase of over one third in the proportion of the EU budget spent on competitiveness, research, innovation and university funding. In addition, Horizon 2020’s budget was almost 30% higher in real terms than its predecessor programme. The post-2020 MFF has not been proposed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what change there was in the amount the EU Commission proposed to make available in structural funds to Scotland for the period 2014 to 2020 from the period 2007 to 2013; and what steps his Department took to limit such change; and what estimate he has made of the level of such funding for Scotland after 2020.
David Mundell
I refer the hon Member to the information provided at HM Treasury analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives (paragraphs 1.113 – 1.126). This is available at:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when her Department plans to consult on Government proposals to increase the Small Claims Track limit to £5,000 for low value personal injury claims.
Sir Oliver Heald
We are currently looking at the whiplash proposals and will set out our plans in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions vehicle owners have been fined for failing to pay for their vehicle tax since October 2014.
Andrew Jones
Since October 2014, 916,558 fines and penalties have been issued to keepers of vehicles that have been identified as being unlicensed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has made representations to the Chinese government to secure Chinese investment in transport infrastructure in Britain.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The UK and China governments seek to encourage companies in both countries to deepen co-operation and participation in high speed rail projects. In preparation for the letting of contracts relating to HS2, there have been some official-level contacts by the Department for Transport with companies in China, as there have with companies in other jurisdictions. The HS2 programme will continue to provide a great opportunity for businesses across the UK and, with this Government also funding the biggest rail modernisation since Victorian times, and the most extensive improvements to roads since the 1970s, there are a wide range of opportunities for people and businesses across the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Government has made of the number of migrants from (a) EEA member states and (b) EEA countries projected to migrate to the UK in each year from 2016 to 2030.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.