The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics plans to include in quarterly migration figures the number of Syrian refugees resettled in the UK under the Government’s relocation scheme.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the distribution of nitrogen and phosphates in the English river system since recent flooding; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect of that distribution on the natural environment.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency records the concentrations of nitrates and phosphates at thousands of locations across England. It monitors on either a monthly or quarterly basis over the course of the year. The January data should soon be ready for compilation. Many of the December samples were taken before the heavy rain so analysis of the data is still being carried out.
Heavy rainfall events, such as those experienced in the recent floods, generally cause an initial flush of nutrients from agricultural land and urban drainage systems to rivers.This causes an increase in river nutrient concentrations which then falls away due to dilution by high river flows.During floods, large amounts of nutrients are washed down rivers into coastal waters. If this occurs in summer it can trigger algal blooms, feeding on the nutrients. In winter, the effects are not generally significant as the reduced sunlight and colder water temperatures mean that algae do not grow.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to facilitate full statistical recording of the employment (a) rate and (b) gap for people with disabilities.
Priti Patel
The employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people are monitored quarterly, based on the Labour Force Survey which is conducted by the Office for National Statistics.
The disability employment gap can be derived by subtracting the employment rate of disabled people from the employment rate of non-disabled people.
The publicly available source used to monitor disability employment is part of the National Statistics and can be found here:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/january-2016/table-a08.xls
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for bereavement allowance have been made for each of the last five years; and what proportion of such claims covered (a) the full eligible 52 weeks and (b) less than the full 52 weeks.
Priti Patel
Information about Bereavement Benefits is widely available through GOV.UK. We also work closely with third party organisations who the bereaved traditionally contact such as registrars, hospitals, funeral directors and voluntary groups ensuring that they have the correct information available to signpost the bereaved to the DWP Bereavement Service.
Upon contacting the DWP Bereavement Service our staff will ensure that any benefits and pensions arrears are claimed and will also initiate a claim for Social Fund Funeral Payments and Bereavement Benefits if appropriate.
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We continue to look for opportunities to improve the availability of advice about these particular benefits and as a result we have improved the information available on GOV.UK, and are currently exploring ways in which to to join up the Tell Us Once and Bereavement Service offers.
Tell Us Once is a cross-government service delivered through Local Authorities whereby notification of the death is cascaded out to other agencies, thus reducing the number of contacts an individual has to make.
The time limit for claiming Bereavement Allowance is three months from the date of death, which is consistent with the time limit for other welfare entitlements. We are currently developing the new Bereavement Support Payment due to be implemented for new claims from April 2017, and we will assess the merits of further flexibilities on backdating as part of this work.
Information available on the number of people in receipt of Bereavement Allowance by duration of current claim can be found at:
http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to findings presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress on Lutathera, what assessment he has made of the reported benefits of that drug on treating patients with neuroendocrine tumours.
George Freeman
The clinical research findings on Lutathera, presented to the European Cancer Congress, have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked to develop technology appraisal guidance on lutetium-177 dotatate for the treatment of unresectable, somatostatin receptor-positive, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. NICE’s guidance is based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and is developed through wide consultation with stakeholders.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in what circumstances he plans to exercise his power to issue a directive to a local government pension scheme on the investment of their funds.
Mr Marcus Jones
The draft regulations published for consultation in November proposed that the power of intervention may be exercised in cases where, on the basis of evidence and after consultation with relevant bodies, we believe that an administering authority is failing to act in accordance with any guidance issued under the draft regulations. For example, the power could be used where an administering authority did not follow the guidance and criteria on pooling of assets, also published in November.
No final decision has been taken on the draft regulations. The Govenrment’s response to the consultation will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in tackling international tax avoidance.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is committed to countering tax avoidance to ensure all tax payers pay their fair share. The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which had the objective of ensuring profits are taxed where economic activities are performed.
The first phase of the BEPS project was delivered in 2014, and the UK was the first adopter of the 2014 recommendations, by legislating for the internationally agreed country-by-country reporting template; and consulting on implementing the OECD agreed rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements.
In line with the objectives of the BEPS project, the Government also introduced the Diverted Profits Tax to target contrived arrangements used by large multinational companies to divert profits away from the UK.
The final BEPS project reports were published on 5 October 2015. The UK will give full consideration to the outputs of the BEPS project and will engage with the OECD’s work on developing a framework for monitoring implementation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to incentivise the use of hedges, field margins and ditches in farmed uplands in order to facilitate flood water retention.
George Eustice
The management of hedges, field margins and ditches is already incentivised in England (including the farmed uplands) by payments under agri-environment schemes, such as Environmental Stewardship. The new Countryside Stewardship scheme, launched last year, is targeted to include those areas that can provide joint benefits for biodiversity, water quality and natural flood management.
The retention of hedgerows and field margins is also incentivised through Pillar 1 of the Common Agricultural Policy where they will be eligible as Environmental Focus Areas within the Greening requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-02-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Government has made on the implementation of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting programme; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that programme on the collection of corporation tax in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which was completed in 2015.
The UK has committed to introducing country-by-country reporting from 1 January 2016 and rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements from 1 January 2017. As set out in Autumn Statement 2014, these measures are estimated to yield around £45 million and £260 million respectively over the next five years. The policy costings were certified by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
The Government has also consulted on the OECD recommendations on the design of rules to prevent groups from gaining excessive tax deductions for interest expense, and how the OECD report on the definition of substantial activities in the context of preferential intellectual property regimes impacts the UK Patent Box.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the qualifying period applicants can apply for and claim bereavement allowance after the death of a partner.
Priti Patel
Information about Bereavement Benefits is widely available through GOV.UK. We also work closely with third party organisations who the bereaved traditionally contact such as registrars, hospitals, funeral directors and voluntary groups ensuring that they have the correct information available to signpost the bereaved to the DWP Bereavement Service.
Upon contacting the DWP Bereavement Service our staff will ensure that any benefits and pensions arrears are claimed and will also initiate a claim for Social Fund Funeral Payments and Bereavement Benefits if appropriate.
.
We continue to look for opportunities to improve the availability of advice about these particular benefits and as a result we have improved the information available on GOV.UK, and are currently exploring ways in which to to join up the Tell Us Once and Bereavement Service offers.
Tell Us Once is a cross-government service delivered through Local Authorities whereby notification of the death is cascaded out to other agencies, thus reducing the number of contacts an individual has to make.
The time limit for claiming Bereavement Allowance is three months from the date of death, which is consistent with the time limit for other welfare entitlements. We are currently developing the new Bereavement Support Payment due to be implemented for new claims from April 2017, and we will assess the merits of further flexibilities on backdating as part of this work.
Information available on the number of people in receipt of Bereavement Allowance by duration of current claim can be found at:
http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance
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