Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding from the (a) European Regional Development Fund and (b) European Social Fund he forecasts will be spent in (i) London and (ii) each London borough in each year from 2016 and 2020.

    Anna Soubry

    The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) are administered in London by the Greater London Authority and will respond to priorities set out in the European Structural and Investment Strategy prepared by the London Enterprise Panel and other local partners. The Strategy updated in February 2016 sets out the amounts to be spent in London from ERDF and ESF and can be found on the London Enterprise Panel website.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which banks are permitted by his Department to hold government funds.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The vast majority of funds is held within the exchequer at the Government Banking Service. It is not held in commercial bank accounts. Public sector organisations require permission from HM Treasury and the Crown Commercial Representative for banking, currently the Head of the Government Banking Service, to open a commercial bank account. Public sector organisations should follow guidelines set out in the banking annex of “Managing Public Money”. The key points within these guidelines are that the balances held in commercial accounts should be minimised and the commercial bank providing the banking service needs to be a member of relevant UK clearing bodies.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consultations his Department had with (a) the Scottish Prison Service, (b) Scottish Ministers and (c) the Prison Officers Association on the transfer of Prison Officers’ Pensions from Classic to the Alpha Pension Scheme.

    Matthew Hancock

    Prison Officers employed in the Scottish Prison Service are members of the Civil Service. All members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) who transitioned into the Civil Service (and Others) Pension Scheme (CSOPS, also known as alpha) were notified by letter to inform them of the change, in accordance with the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations. In addition, relevant Employers were provided with a variety of communication products to inform their staff and support those who needed to make decisions. These were also held on the Civil Service Pensions website.

    Between 2011 and 2015 Cabinet Office Ministers and officials held extensive discussions with all of the Civil Service unions, including the Prison Officers’ Association, on the detail of the pension reforms. There was also discussion with both the Scottish Prison Service and National Offender Management Service on the detail of the pension offer to operational staff in Prisons.

    The Civil Service is a Reserved Matter and this includes pensions for all Civil Servants. Representations on the pension age of Scottish Prison Officers were made to me by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice in July last year. I replied later that month.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35400, for what reasons HS2 Ltd has not undertaken any work other than desktop studies in relation to the potential effect on aquifers, canal routes, roads and other surface obstacles in respect of Phase 2b of the route.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 will undertake a more detailed assessment of environmental impacts as a part of the Hybrid Bill process following the decision of the route as done on Phase 1 and Phase 2a. It would not be appropriate to undertake detailed studies where there is no confirmation of the route.

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the next BBC Charter will include a requirement for public service notices to be broadcast over (1) BBC radio, and (2) BBC television.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There are provisions in the current BBC Framework Agreement for the broadcast of an announcement in an emergency. There are no plans to change this. The new BBC Framework Agreement will be published in due course.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has had discussions with NICE on the Afinitor form of everolimus.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Departmental officials are in regular contact with their counterparts at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of issues, including individual medicines. This includes discussions on everolimus through the established topic selection processes for NICE’s technology appraisal programme and in relation to potential patient access schemes proposed by the manufacturer.

    NICE has appraised everolimus for a number of indications and is currently appraising it for others.

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the costs to his Department associated with unmeritorious claims resulting from changes to a fixed cost recoverable scheme for clinical negligence.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is working closely with stakeholders to develop the proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs. We have undertaken a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and are planning an open public consultation shortly. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors.

    The consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published in early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances. We are working upon the assumption that there is nothing about Fixed Recoverable Costs regime which will alter the percentage of unmeritorious claims.

    Any scheme proposed will include consideration of the right incentives to support a fairer and quicker process that provides the improvements to the system whilst maintaining access to justice.

    The NHS Litigation Authority reported in their annual report for 2014/15 that it resolves over 4,000 clinical negligence cases annually for no payment of damages and in 2014/15 it saved over £1.2 billion for the National Health Service in rejecting claims which had no merit.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for implementing his Department’s policies for combatting climate change and decarbonising electricity generation of the Trade in Services Agreement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiation is ongoing. A full sustainable impact assessment is being conducted on the TISA. The terms of reference of the report include analysis of the impact of the TISA on climate change. The final inception report can be found on the EU’s website.

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not carried out any additional assessments in relation to the impact of the agreement on wider climate change policies, but works closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on the content of the Agreement to ensure it aligns with the UK’s wider policy objectives.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements are in place to enable UK citizens to submit reimbursement claims under the European Health Insurance Card regulations; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those arrangements.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In the UK, the NHS Choices website provides comprehensive information on the arrangements that are in place to enable UK citizens to submit reimbursement claims under the EU regulations. Such claims are dealt with by a dedicated team in the Department for Work and Pensions – the DWP Overseas Healthcare Team. Contact details for the DWP Overseas Healthcare Team are provided on the NHS Choices website and may also be found on the EHIC itself.

    The reimbursement processes to which all member states adhere have been in place for many years and work in much the same way across Europe. The European Commission and the member states are jointly responsible for assessing the effectiveness of the regulations on an on-going basis and where necessary the Commission will recommend any proposed changes for consideration and agreement with the member states.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the savings to the public purse of the proposed emergency brake on in-work benefits for EU citizens in employment in the UK.

    Damian Hinds

    Details of the proposals for restricting in-work benefits for EU nationals will be subject to further negotiation and we cannot speculate on these.