Tag: Nicholas Soames

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether there are circumstances under which the Government would consider deploying armed forces in the South China Sea.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK remains concerned about the situation in the South China Sea. We call on all parties to uphold freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight, to refrain from activities that increase tension, and to pursue urgently a settlement of the maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with international law. As a major trading nation that has substantial links with all the nations bordering the South China Sea the UK has a close security interest in the maintenance of regional peace and stability. While we have a limited permanent military presence in the form of the Brunei Garrison and our contribution to the Five Powers Defence Arrangements in Malaysia and Singapore, other than planning for routine exercises and defence engagement tasks. We have made no specific assessment of the circumstances under which we would deploy Armed Forces to the region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the NATO Readiness Action Plan.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, is progressing well and it will deliver enhanced NATO Response Forces, including the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), by the time of the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016. The UK has played a leading role in the implementation of the RAP: we have committed to spending 2% of GDP on Defence, and 20% of that on new equipment; we will lead a capable and credible VJTF (Land) Brigade in 2017; we have increased our commitment to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces this year; and will continue to provide Airborne Early Warning, Air to Air Refuelling, Tornado and Typhoon aircraft to the VJTF (Air).

Considerable work on survivability, sustainability and readiness of NATO forces has been undertaken. The RAP includes a commitment to generate an enhanced NATO Response Force (eNRF) including a VJTF. To enhance survivability, the eNRF has been designed from the outset as a Joint, Multi-National force with an appropriate quantity and balance of forces needed to effectively conduct the full range of potential operations. Integral logistic structures, which include the newly created Multi-National Corps Headquarters in Poland and a Multi-National Division Headquarters in Romania, ensure the sustainability of the enhanced NRF and VJTF. Enhanced NRF forces are designed to meet the readiness timelines that are laid down in NATO’s strategic planning documents, including the Alliance’s Graduated Response Plans.

Considerable work on Interoperability has also been undertaken since the end of combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. This has built upon NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative to ensure that NATO’s Multi-National forces force are able to continue to operate together effectively beyond the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. For our lead of the VJTF (Land) in 2017, the British Army will operate alongside the armed forces from 13 contributing nations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he provides to the NHS Leadership Academy on the selection of candidates.

Ben Gummer

The Department does not provide specific guidance to the Leadership Academy on the selection of candidates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from care home operators in West Sussex about their future financial viability.

Alistair Burt

The Government continues to engage with the care sector, including care providers, to understand their concerns about their financial viability and the sustainability of services.

The trade bodies Care England and the United Kingdom Home Care Association have convened a provider Taskforce, with membership from the larger care home and home care operators and representatives from the Care Providers Alliance. Officials from the Department of Health, and other Government departments attend the taskforce meetings as observers. The most recent meeting was held on 9 May 2016, where discussions were held about risks to financial viability, local authority commissioning and the impact of the introduction of the National Living Wage.

The Department is working closely with the Local Government Association to consider targeted action to address the issues.

The Department is not aware of any specific representations from care home providers in West Sussex about their future financial viability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many bed days were lost due to delayed transfers of care in Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2015.

Alistair Burt

In 2015 there were 11,907 delayed transfers of care at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Month	Number of delayed transfers of care (days)
January 2015	1,194
February 2015	1,047
March 2015	958
April 2015	824
May 2015	916
Jun 2015	1,098
July 2015	1,139
August 2015	1,089
September 2015	861
October 2015	1,017
November 2015	975
December 2015	789
Total	11,907

Source: Delayed transfers of care, NHS England

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Minister in his Department is responsible for NHS Property Services.

Mr Philip Dunne

NHS Property Services is a limited company 100% owned by the Secretary of State for Health, to whom it is accountable. Within the Department, Ministerial responsibility for NHS Property Services is delegated to my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Prior).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was paid in compensation for train delays by Network Rail to Govia Thameslink Railway related to Southern railway in each of the last four years.

Paul Maynard

The latest information is published on Network Rail’s website – http://www.networkrail.co.uk/transparency/datasets/ – covering the years 2012-13 to 2014-15.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-10-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much income tax was paid by UK resident non-domiciled people in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what proportion of the total income tax receipt those amounts were.

Jane Ellison

The information requested is set out below :

Tax Year	Number of Non-Domiciled Individuals	Number of UK Resident Non-Domiciled Individuals	Income Tax Paid by UK Resident Non-Domiciled Individuals (£bn)	Proportion of Total UK Income Tax (%) paid by UK Resident Non-Domiciled Individuals
2010/11	115,100	80,900	6.09	4%
2011/12	113,200	80,200	6.20	4%
2012/13	116,600	81,700	6.29	4%
2013/14	118,200	83,000	6.56	4%
2014/15	118,100	83,400	6.44	4%

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of UK agricultural output was used in the production of biofuels in each year from 2000-01 to 2014-15.

George Eustice

Statistics on the proportion of UK crops used for biofuel production are only available from 2012. Figures for 2012 and 2013 are given in the attached table. 2014 data is to be published on GOV.UK this December.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the public purse received in reimbursement from each non-EEA country with reciprocal healthcare agreements with the UK for health care provided to their nationals for each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

Alistair Burt

Regarding non-European Economic Area (EEA) countries, including those with reciprocal healthcare agreements with the United Kingdom, we can confirm that no reimbursements are made from the public purse in respect of healthcare provided to UK citizens.

For non-EEA countries without a reciprocal agreement in place with the UK, it would be for the individual to pay for any healthcare needed and for that reason appropriate travel and medical insurance is highly advisable. Similarly, for those non-EEA countries with whom the UK does have a reciprocal healthcare agreement, no money changes hands between the parties to the agreement. The basis of these agreements is reciprocity – that is, necessary healthcare is provided in most cases free of charge to the visitor and the associated costs are absorbed by either side.

The information requested on the amount received in reimbursement from EEA countries in only available for the country totals of cash payment for 2007-08 to 2014-15. That information is provided in attached table. We do not hold totals for amounts before 2007-08, as the information is hot held centrally.