Tag: Neil Coyle

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to change (a) the points awarded to individual descriptors under the personal independent payments (PIP) and (b) other elements of the PIP assessment process system.

Justin Tomlinson

As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposals for the future of community pharmacy on care for vulnerable patients.

Alistair Burt

Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service. We want to see a high quality community pharmacy service that is properly integrated into primary care and public health in line with the Five Year Forward View.

We want to make pharmacists a pivotal part of primary care for all patient groups, including the elderly and vulnerable, by increasing the number who bring their skills to general practitioner (GP) practices, care homes, urgent care and public health settings. We have consulted on how best to introduce a Pharmacy Integration Fund to help transform how pharmacists, their teams and community pharmacy will operate in the NHS, bringing clear benefits to patients and the public.

Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are 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 community pharmacy proposals for 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered in respect to the public sector equality duty, the family test and relevant duties of the Secretary of State under the NHS Act 2006.

An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to work with the Mayor of London to improve air quality in London.

Rory Stewart

The National Air Quality Plan for nitrogen dioxide, published in December last year, sets out a comprehensive approach for meeting the air quality challenges by implementing a new programme of Clean Air Zones, along with the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in London. The Plan combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles.

The Government has committed over £2 billion since 2011 to increase the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, support green transport initiatives and support local authorities to take action.

The Mayor is responsible for air quality standards in London. The Mayor provides the framework and guidance which London boroughs use to review and improve air quality within their areas. The new Mayor recently set out his plans to improve air quality in London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contribution his Department is making to the delivery and monitoring of the Preventing Suicide in England strategy with specific reference to people identified as being vulnerable due to social and economic circumstances.

Priti Patel

The Department for Health (DH) lead the Preventing Suicide in England Strategy and since 2014 have published two annual reports. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has provided information to contribute to the annual reports, to address the guidance and training it provides for staff and the DWP and DH joint work to look at improving co-ordination of mental health and employment support services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many disabled people will move into work as a result of changes to the employment and allowance work-related activity group; and what research he has conducted into the effects of those changes.

Priti Patel

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Bill on 20th July last year.

Whilst the policy is intended to provide the right incentives to help individuals back into work, it is not possible to quantify based on behavioral changes which are difficult to assess.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to universal credit on families in Wales.

Guto Bebb

Universal Credit is transforming the lives of the most disadvantaged children and families in this country.

This Government recognises that work is the best route out of poverty.

Our welfare reforms have resulted in record numbers of Welsh people going out to work – strengthening families through financial security and improving the life chances of children throughout Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee’s counter-proposal to the Government’s plans for the future of community pharmacy, published in April 2016.

Alistair Burt

We have been consulting on proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond.

Throughout the consultation period we have remained open to new ideas and suggestions both from the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and from other stakeholders.

We have welcomed the publication of PSNC’s counter proposal on 26 April 2016. This has enabled these ideas to be discussed with other key stakeholders.

The public phase of the consultation ended on 24 May 2016. The Department, supported by NHS England, will continue to discuss the proposals in confidence, with the PSNC and hold a final round of confidential discussions with other key pharmacy stakeholders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the local housing allowance cap on the capacity of housing providers to build new homes.

Brandon Lewis

The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable, including through protecting and further boosting the supported housing supply we have already.

We are continuing to work with the supported housing sector and other partners to develop a sustainable and workable future for supported housing and will announce next steps in due course.

In the meantime we have put in place a one year exemption for supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) HM Revenue and Customs on proposals to increase VAT rates on solar panels.

Andrea Leadsom

I have had no discussions with my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer or HM Revenue and Customs on the proposals to amend the application of VAT to energy saving materials. The changes stem from a legal judgement in the European Court which found that the reduced rate of VAT on energy saving products had been applied too widely. As part of the amendments, HMRC recently consulted on removing solar panels from the list of measures eligible for the reduce rate of VAT. They are currently considering the responses to that consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many disabled people will move into work as a result of changes to the employment and allowance work-related activity group; and what research he has conducted into the effects of those changes.

Priti Patel

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Bill on 20th July last year.

Whilst the policy is intended to provide the right incentives to help individuals back into work, it is not possible to quantify based on behavioral changes which are difficult to assess.