The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) ministers and (b) officials of his Department will be present at the International Aids Conference in Durban in July 2016.
Jane Ellison
Officials from Public Health England will be attending the conference and feeding back to Ministers on the issues discussed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the costs to the NHS Litigation Authority of late release of medical records where those records reveal a case to be unfounded; and if he will make a statement.
Ben Gummer
The timetable for the release of medical records in clinical negligence cases is determined by the Pre Action Protocol for clinical negligence claims. This prescribes 40 days for the release of the records, or the ability to request an extension to that time.
The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) works with National Health Service trusts to ensure prompt release of medical records and other information which will inform the outcome of a claim for compensation. Often expert evidence will be required to give conclusive evidence as to whether there was negligence and if so, whether that caused injury to the claimant. As claims are often resolved in-house by the NHSLA, any costs which arise as a result of delays in receiving medical records are not recorded separately as they will fall within overall administration costs.
46% of claims were resolved without payment of damages in 2014/15; however, as above, it is often necessary to obtain expert medical advice to determine whether compensation is due.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on reducing the number of people sleeping rough in the UK.
Mr Marcus Jones
One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative.
Homelessness is a devolved matter. I have not had any conversations with my counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive but would be happy to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the total untaxed capital gains that will accrue to the beneficiaries of the starter homes scheme by 2020, taking into account the discount and any anticipated rise in house values.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The 2015 Conservative manifesto had the clear objective to build affordable homes, including Starter Homes to support young people into home ownership. They will be sold at a minimum 20 per cent discount on open market value and for no more than the price cap of £250,000 (£450,000 in London). The amount of discount will vary according to local property prices. No separate assessment on capital gains has been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reported concerns about (1) the use of ordinary pencils for ballot papers as opposed to pens or pencils with indelible ink, and (2) ballot papers being changed, during the EU referendum ballot; and whether they are planning to ensure that polling stations are provided with special ballot pens or pencils using indelible ink.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Government has noted the Electoral Commission’s comments on this issue in its report on the EU Referendum. The rules governing the conduct of the referendum, which were based on the legislation in place for UK Parliamentary elections, did not specify the type of writing implement that electors must use to complete their ballot paper and voters were able to use the pencil provided or mark their ballot paper with a pen if they preferred. There were also specific safeguards in place to protect the integrity of the ballot.
We are not aware of any cases of ballot papers being changed at the referendum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce legislative proposals to prevent UK tax rules allowing companies to avoid paying tax in developing countries.
Mr David Gauke
The UK, like most countries, has a territorial tax system that focuses on taxing profits generate from economic activity in the UK. It is not possible to use the UK tax system to prevent companies from avoiding paying tax in other countries. Our corporate tax system is designed to protect the UK’s tax base, not those of other countries.
The key issue is ensuring that developing countries have the assistance required to develop their own rules to protect their tax bases. The UK has set up a specialist Tax Capacity Building Unit in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which deploys HMRC staff to developing countries to provide technical expertise. Earlier this year, we committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.
The UK is also at the forefront of global efforts to address tax avoidance by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Over 60 countries have been involved in this work, including developing countries.
The BEPS project was completed on 5 October, and the focus is now on implementation. The UK is chairing a group of over 90 countries, including developing countries such as Zambia, who are working together to develop a multilateral instrument (MLI) to update the global network of tax treaties in line with the BEPS project outcomes. The MLI will help developing countries whose tax treaty negotiation expertise may be more limited than in governments of developed economies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sixth form colleges provide students with a high quality education.
Nick Boles
We are introducing reforms to ensure that sixth form colleges are providing high quality academic and technical education. We are reforming A levels and technical qualifications to ensure that young people are gaining the skills and knowledge they need to progress into employment, apprenticeships or further study.
We want A levels and technical qualifications to be robust and rigorous, so that they match the best education systems in the world and keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. A levels are therefore being reviewed to ensure that the qualifications equip students for higher education and to make them linear (i.e. with the exam at the end of two years), allowing more time for teaching and learning. In addition, all technical qualifications approved for inclusion in 16-19 performance tables now meet rigorous standards and are backed by employers.
The government has recently announced an ambitious plan for reforming technical and professional education which will simplify the skills system and work with employers to ensure that young people develop the skills most needed for the economy. To deliver the reforms, the Government will work closely with an independent panel, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in reducing red tape for British business during his Department’s renegotiation of the UK relationship with the EU.
Mr David Lidington
The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for our country and secure our future. That includes cutting red tape to make Europe more competitive, so we create jobs and make British families more financially secure. We have made progress; legislative proposals under the new Commission fell by 80 percent in 2015, and more regulations were repealed in 2015 than in the whole of the previous Commission. But the burden from existing regulation is still too high and so we are working to secure a target to cut the total burden on business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of local authorities that bid for pothole funding in 2014-15 were successful.
Andrew Jones
In April 2014 English local highway authorities were invited to bid for a share of a £168 million Pothole Fund for 2014/15 to repair local roads in England as announced in the March 2014 Budget.
An announcement was made in June 2014. All local highway authorities received a share of the funding as set out in the table available at the following weblink:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what 10 Downing Street’s wellness strategy is.
Matthew Hancock
The Cabinet Office takes the well-being of its employees seriously and provides a range of support, including the recent launch of the Cabinet Office Listening Service, resourced by staff who have been trained in active listening and emotional support. The service can provide upfront support to Cabinet Office staff dealing directly or indirectly with specific issues in their personal or working life or to help them to cope with mental health issues of any kind including depression, anxiety or stress. Listeners can also signpost individuals onto other relevant services such as the external Employee Assistant Programme which offers counselling, impartial advice and access to online health and wellness related resources.
The department has established an employee led WorkWell community to further develop and implement a strategy for wellness. Progress to date includes establishing resilience training for senior leaders and their teams, signing up to the Time to Change pledge on mental health, providing access to coaching and training in skills to improve wellbeing such as mindfulness. WorkWell are also seeking to increase awareness of opportunities to improve physical wellbeing at work including provision of on-site health checks.