The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the possible long-term exchange rate fluctuations resulting from the outcome of the EU referendum on the viability of the IceLink project; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
The UK Government is not considering the Ice Link project.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to maintain the level of UK and EU funding for the fishing industry and communities as part of the UK’s negotiations on leaving the EU.
George Eustice
The Chancellor has set out that the guarantee for European Structural and Investment Fund projects announced in August will be extended to the point at which the UK departs the EU. This guarantee includes the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and provides further certainty to those fishers, seafood businesses and other organisations seeking support. Where projects secure EMFF funding before we exit, payments will be guaranteed even after the UK has left the EU.
Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with relevant industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care Quality during Oral Questions on 17 November 2015 on the establishment of a working party to examine issues regarding the availability of off-patent, repurposed drugs, when the working party was established; what the working party’s scope and terms of reference are; which organisations and individuals have been invited to join the working party; and when the next meeting of the working party will be convened.
George Freeman
The Government has not established a working party in relation to the Off-Patent Drugs Bill. We did hold a roundtable event in February 2015 with key stakeholders including charities and agreed several follow up actions. We have now agreed additional further actions:
– arrange a further roundtable event specifically for those charities who would like to explore the Bill in more detail;
– input in to the work of the Off-Patent Drugs Bill All Party Parliamentary Group; and
– hold a Ministerial drop-in session on 30 November, for those who would like to discuss the Bill further. This will be hosted by myself.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of (a) the level of funding required to cover local authority spending on social care in the period to 2020 and (b) how much the proposed two per cent increase in council tax intended for the social care levy will have raised in funding by 2020 if every authority implements that proposal to the full.
Mr Marcus Jones
Ahead of the Spending Review, the Local Government Association estimated the gap in adult social care funding to be £2.9 billion – arising from a growing elderly population and introduction of the National Living Wage.
At Spending Review the Government outlined a package of support worth up to £3.5 billion to ensure councils are able to support some of their older and most vulnerable residents. That included giving authorities with social care responsibilities the flexibility to raise council tax in their area by up to 2% above the referendum threshold for each year between 2016-17 and 2019-20, to fund adult social care services. It is also providing £1500 million additional funding for local authorities to spend on adult social care by 2019-20, to be included in an improved Better Care Fund. Taken together, these measures provide significant resources to address the demographic pressures facing the social care system.
In terms of what the social care flexibility could raise, I refer the hon. Member to information accompanying the provisional local government finance settlement 2016-17, which my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark), announced to the House on 17 December 2015, Official Report, Column 1722. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-in-2016-to-2017 and https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486708/Core_spending_power_supporting_information.xlsx
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Tornado and (b) Typhoon aircraft have been temporarily taken out of service as a result of weather damage sustained during (i) combat operations and (ii) training exercises in each of the last six years.
Mr Philip Dunne
Data on weather damage to Typhoon and Tornado aircraft is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy that his Department’s changes to security of tenure for council tenants will apply to (a) the tenancies of existing tenants and (b) existing tenants when they transfer to a new local authority property; and when he plans that those changes will come into effect.
Brandon Lewis
The changes will not apply to existing lifetime tenants who remain in their own home.
If tenants are required to move home by their landlord, for example to allow demolition and regeneration work to take place, they will be granted a tenancy with no less security in their new home.
Where existing lifetime tenants seek to transfer, local authorities will retain a discretion to offer the tenant a further lifetime tenancy in their new home. We will set out the circumstances in which local authorities may exercise this discretion in regulations. We expect these will include where tenants downsize into a smaller home or move for work.
We expect that the provisions will come into force early next year, subject to passage of the Bill and implementation of the regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-03-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 10 March (HL6471), whether the Secretary of State for Health or any other Minister was made aware of NHS England’s plan to introduce a sugar tax on its premises by 2020 before it was made public; if so, which Ministers were made aware; when they were made aware; and what was the reasoning for the Secretary of State or Minister being informed.
Lord Prior of Brampton
We have a range of conversations about key issues at Ministerial and official level with NHS England. NHS England is independent and the decision on a sugar levy on the National Health Service estate is a matter for them operationally. We are interested to see the results of their consultation on a sugar levy.
The Childhood Obesity Strategy will be published in the summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions in the last five years HM Revenue and Customs officials have raised concerns internally that UK taxpayers who are customers of the (a) High Net Worth Unit and (b) Large Business Unit have received preferential or inappropriate tax treatment as a result of their position.
Mr David Gauke
HMRC has a Whistleblowing and Raising a Concern Policy. Since April 2014 concerns raised under this policy have been captured centrally but the data has been captured at a high level and does not have sufficient detail to enable HMRC to reliably identify concerns relating to customers of the High Net Worth Unit and Large Business Unit over the last 5 years.
HMRC does not offer preferential treatment to any tax payer or group. HMRC is even handed in its treatment of all customers, and manages different customers by allocating its resources to those groups which need more support or present higher risks of not meeting their tax obligations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will take steps to end the cross-examination of self-representing survivors of domestic abuse by their abusers in family court proceedings.
Caroline Dinenage
The family courts take the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. The Child Arrangement Programme and Practice Direction 12J sets out a strong and clear framework for judges to apply to the management of difficult court room situations, to ensure they are handled sensitively for alleged victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable witnesses. All judges receive specific training on this framework and they can intervene to prevent inappropriate questions or have questions relayed. Practical protections, for example, protective screens, video links, separate waiting rooms and separate entrances are available where appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has for parliamentary scrutiny of the work of the UK’s representatives on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; and if he will list the (a) dates and (b) means by which its decisions have been reported to Parliament during 2016.
Alok Sharma
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance was established in 1988 as a result of the Stockholm Declaration, which represents a political commitment between signatories, rather than a legal one. Its decisions are not legally binding and have no direct impact on UK legislation, policy or resources. As such there is no formal requirement for parliamentary scrutiny of its
decisions. All its activities and decisions are reported in full on its website.