The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) standard and (b) higher rate for NHS-funded nursing care is for 2016-17.
Alistair Burt
Following a recent review of the rate of NHS-funded Nursing Care (NHS FNC) in England, the Department has not yet announced the standard and higher rates of NHS FNC for 2016-17. We will make an announcement in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the budget of his Department in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Jones
The new Department for Exiting the European Union is properly resourced. Detailed work is underway to establish the final budget required to fulfil the Department’s set-up and responsibilities. The budget of the Department will be set out to the House and approved as part of the supplementary estimates in the new year, as is standard practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to implement the Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs, revised in 2014, on extending the protection for the rarest and most vulnerable lowland grasslands to all sites that meet the criteria.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
Selection and notification of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) is a matter for Natural England. Natural England has published its current designations programme on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-designations-programme-for-areas-sites-and-trails) and this includes several areas that host lowland grassland habitats. Natural England will continue to implement the Guidelines for the selection of biological SSSIs, as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of halving the maximum visa refusal rate on the Highly Trusted Sponsor status given to higher education institutions in the UK.
Lord Bates
Highly Trusted Sponsor status was replaced with Tier 4 Sponsor status in April 2015.
The maximum permitted visa refusal rate for Tier 4 sponsors was reduced from 20% to 10% in November 2014 to make sure that the colleges and universities who directly benefit from student migration help prevent abuse, and to ensure that institutions are only offering places to genuine students with an appropriate level of English.
Since the new rate was introduced, visa applications from students wishing to study at the UK’s world-class universities have continued to rise. Latest figures show that visa applications from university students are now 17 per cent higher than they were in 2010, and visa applications to Russell Group universities are 33 per cent higher than in 2010.
We will continue to keep the visa refusal rate under review but we have no imminent plans to change the maximum permitted rate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what management fee was paid to each local authority in Greater Manchester for housing tenants in receipt of housing benefit in temporary accommodation in the last financial year for which information is available.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has estimated the cost to the agricultural and horticultural industry in West Lancashire of flooding in December 2015.
George Eustice
In 2014 the value of agricultural and horticultural output for the north-west of England was £1.96 billion and gross value added (contribution to economy) was £0.82 billion. In 2013, there were 12,198 commercial agricultural holdings in the north west region. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 909,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 32,000 people, 0.94% of the workforce in the region.
Within West Lancashire in 2013 there were 406 commercial agricultural holdings. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 23,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 2,300 people.
Although farmers in West Lancashire are still uncovering the full extent of the damage caused by the recent flooding, we understand some arable producers have been badly affected. Under the Farm Recovery Fund these farmers will be able to receive funding towards the cost of restoring their agricultural land to the state it was in before it was flooded. Applications for this funding should be submitted by 1 April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Minister for Disabled People’s contribution on housing benefit and supported housing of 27 January 2016, Official Report, column 326, how he defines all supported housing; when the one-year exemption referred to in that debate will begin; and if he will consider exempting supported housing permanently from the rent reduction and examine placing a moratorium on the application of the local housing allowance housing benefit reduction as part of the supported housing review.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government will put in place a year-long exception for all supported housing provided by local authorities and private registered providers from the one per cent rent reduction. Details including the timescales will be set out in Regulations following Royal Assent of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, but examples indicating the breadth of the types of accommodation intended was set out on 27 January, Official Report, column 1378.
With regards to the measure to cap social tenants housing benefit and the housing cost element of Universal credit at the appropriate local housing allowance rate, we are working closely with the supported housing sector to ensure those who are vulnerable have the appropriate protections.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on funding for Erbitux from April 2016.
George Freeman
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2016 to Question 27585.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to use the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) registry to get an accurate number of people living with IBD.
Jane Ellison
The IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) Registry provides a United Kingdom-wide repository of anonymised IBD adult and paediatric patient data for prospective audit and research purposes. Patients must consent for their data to be added to the registry. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has allocated transitional funding this year to incorporate IBD audit data collection into the IBD Registry, providing an enhanced system for data capture and quality improvement that will be available to every hospital in the UK. This will allow the entry of data locally and support service improvement. Initially the focus will be for IBD patients receiving biologic treatments, but the system will address other key aspects of IBD care in the future.
The second step of data collection will be to focus on new patients with IBD to begin to understand the incidence of IBD in the UK. This picture will build up over a number of years and be dependent on the engagement of clinicians.
No specific assessment of the potential effects on healthcare due to the introduction of a registry of patients with IBD in England has been made. However, the data provided through the register can support National Health Service services in areas such as the assessment of local IBD populations as well as in measuring incidence and outcomes with services in other parts of the UK.
Although there is no direct Department funding, HQIP have given £290,000 for a year’s transition funding to join the audit data with the registry.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what checks his Department makes on PAYE real time information data before it is forwarded to the Department for Work and Pensions to calculate universal credit.
Mr David Gauke
Data validation rules are built in to stop obvious errors at the point of filing. In addition, there are matching rules built within the system to ensure that the information matches to the correct customer. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions continually monitor the quality of Real Time Information to understand errors. HMRC uses this information to support customer education and if appropriate develop system enhancements to prevent errors occurring.