The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Leader of the House, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North, dated 8 August 2016, on the renewal and restoration of the Commons building; and what the reason is for no reply having yet been sent.
Mr David Lidington
I regret that the hon. Member’s letter of 8 August was never received. I have now received a copy of the letter and responded on 7 September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of refugees from Syria who are Palestinian in origin.
Lord Bates
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates that 110,000 Palestinian refugees have fled Syria since the onset of the conflict; 42,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria are estimated to be in Lebanon and 17,000 in Jordan, with the remainder in Egypt, Turkey and Europe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimates he has made of expenditure on the state pension for people in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Justin Tomlinson
Due to the geographical level of information requested it has been assumed that the question refers to benefit expenditure.
The information on requested is shown in the table below.
Tables show expenditure for Great Britain, not the UK, as expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive.
| State Pension Expenditure £ million | 2014/15 |
| Great Britain | 86,515.8 |
| Scotland | 7,323.8 |
| Glasgow (City) | 615.4 |
| Glasgow East (constituency) | 104.5 |
Benefit expenditure information is published and can be found using the following URL:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 2010 PhD study by Susan Michaelis Health and flight safety implications from exposure to contaminated air in aircraft showing that 63 per cent of studied pilots experienced short-term effects from cabin air contamination, and 13 per cent were no longer able to maintain their pilot medical certification because of chronic ill health which bore a close temporal relationship to cabin air contamination; and what support is offered to pilots, crew and passengers who are affected by fume events.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government has not made any assessment of the study referred to. However, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has reviewed a number of earlier reports by the author when conducting its own research into cabin fume events, which has informed the Government’s assessments.
Support for those concerned that their health has been impacted by air travel is offered through the National Health Service. The Government would encourage any pilots, crew or passengers with health concerns relating to fume events in the first instance to contact their GP, who can assess their case and refer on to specialist services where appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department spent on museums and galleries in (a) 2005, (b) 2010 and (c) 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of such spending in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Thanks to an excellent Spending Review settlement in November 2015 – the Government is honouring its manifesto commitment to keep entry to the permanent collections of our national museums free.
Through the Arts Council England, DCMS is increasing funding for major partner museums to £22.6 million to enable greater regional spending. In addition to this, regional museums can bid for funds from ACE’s £10 million per year Resilience Fund. We are also investing millions of pounds to boost local and regional museums – for example, £5 million towards a new South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum and £2.5 million to the Manchester Museum of Science andIndustry.
Spend on DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries was £389.7 million in 2014/15. In 2005 spend was £397.4 million and in 2010 it was £474.7 million. The Heritage Lottery Fund is also a major source of support to museums. To date, HLF has supported a total of 38,000 projects with £6.6 billion across the UK with around one third of this being allocated to museums, including support for capital projects, acquisitions and skills development.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England to agree a long-term arrangement to control the cost of medical indemnity cover for out-of-hours GPs.
Alistair Burt
The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.
Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.
The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended.
On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.
Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to maintain funding for a Driving Test Centre in Wrexham.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) plans to maintain its funding obligations in relation to Wrexham Driving Test Centre.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2016-03-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30533, for what reasons a separate breakdown for revenue accrued from financial spread betting and other general betting duties is not available; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
Published information on General Betting Duty receipts is not split down into constituent types of bets (such as financial or other types of spread bets).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage clinical commissioning groups to develop a commissioning policy for requests for cough assist machines for patients with muscle-wasting conditions.
Ben Gummer
The provision of cough assist machines is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Clinically led CCGs have independence and autonomy to make commissioning decisions for local populations, taking into account the available evidence and individual circumstances, as appropriate.
The evidence base to demonstrate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the use of cough assist machines in muscle-wasting conditions is not well established. In order to improve the evidence base, the National Institute for Health Research, which is funded through the Department, is seeking to commission research on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of mechanical cough assist devices compared to other methods of sputum clearance. The deadline for outline proposals was 21 January 2016 with full proposals expected for consideration in July.
NHS England has been working with Muscular Dystrophy UK through the Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which is the provision of cough assist machines. The establishment of Bridging the Gap was supported with just under £600,000 awarded by the Department through its Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund. Through this work, a number of CCGs have now developed commissioning policies which set out the circumstances in which to consider these devices based on one developed by Walsall CCG, which has been shared nationally as an example of good practice by Muscular Dystrophy UK.
On 26 April 2016, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, met with Muscular Dystrophy UK and a number of patient representatives specifically to hear their concerns about the provision of cough assist machines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 24 May 2016 to Question 37689, if he will indicate where in that document details are provided on the (a) potential effect on the triple lock pension policy and (b) value of state pensions for people who retire before 6 April 2016 of a potential reduction in economic growth in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.
Mr David Gauke
The document entitled HM Treasury analysis: the immediate economic impact of leaving the EU provides more detail on the impact that leaving the EU would have on GDP, CPI inflation and on average real wages, in Section 2, Part 3 of the document.
In addition, the Treasury has published further analysis of the impact that leaving the EU would have on pensioner incomes in Effects on pensioners from leaving the EU. Details on the effect on the value of State Pension and the triple lock are included in the section entitled Effects on pensioner incomes on pages 2-3.