Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people in England accessing HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis through private provision.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is working with local authorities, clinicians, patient representatives and Public Health England to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of providing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to at-risk groups to prevent them acquiring HIV. The PrEP clinical policy proposition is one of many going through NHS England’s 2016/17 prioritisation round.

    In July 2015 NHS England approved a significant new investment in a ‘Treatment as Prevention’ programme to help reduce transmissions from persons known to be HIV positive.

    We have made no estimates of the number of people accessing PrEP through private provision.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what risk assessment his Department has made of the effect of issues with the power system of the Type 45 Destroyer on its crew (a) when in combat and (b) otherwise; and what steps he has taken to minimise any risk before work remediating those issues takes place.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As part of the extensive training programmes undertaken by the Royal Navy, risk assessments and mitigating actions are developed against a wide range of scenarios. Such training ranges from those required under the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea through to combat effectiveness.

    In the interests of National Security I am not prepared to release information related to specific risk assessments of our operational Units as to do so would allow deductions to be made as to their operational capability and effectiveness.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England with severe mental illness are registered with a GP; and how many such people had an annual physical health check in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not available in the format requested.

    The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is published annually, and includes mental health indicators, which capture information on patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses and other patients on lithium therapy. The information captured does not relate specifically to whether patients have received an ‘annual physical health check’, but does include counts of those patients who have a record of blood pressure, alcohol consumption, or body mass index (BMI).

    The relevant indicators are available from the year 2011/12. The data in the table below are snapshots as at 31 March of the reporting year.

    Number of patients included in the QOF mental health register with records of blood pressure, BMI and alcohol consumption – England 2011/12 – 2014/15

    Year

    Register1

    BP record2

    Alcohol consumption record2

    BMI record2

    2014/15

    500,451

    350,751

    345,730

    ..

    2013/14

    483,933

    354,146

    337,603

    336,373

    2012/13

    470,971

    369,223

    356,519

    352,501

    2011/12

    452,608

    355,834

    335,922

    335,652

    Notes:

    1. For the years 2013/14 and 2014/15, ‘register’ includes all patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses and other patients on lithium therapy. For the years 2011/12 and 2012/13, ‘register’ includes all patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses.

    2. Blood pressure record, alcohol consumption record and BMI record include all those patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses who have a record of blood pressure, alcohol consumption and BMI respectively in the preceding 12 months for the years 2013/14 and 2014/15, and in the preceding 15 months for the years 2011/12 and 2012/13.

    Due to the changes in the definitions of the register and indicators, the data from 2013/14 onwards are not comparable with data prior to this time.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre do not recommend using the figures provided to calculate percentages, for the following reasons:

    ― The register for 2013/14 to 2014/15 includes ‘other patients on lithium therapy’, while the blood pressure, alcohol consumption and BMI records do not consider these patients.

    ― The indicators are published as achievement scores in QOF; the calculation of these proportions includes consideration of exclusions and exceptions as defined in the framework, which are not reflected in the numbers presented here.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential costs and benefits of introducing an import tax on coal and gas imported from outside the EU; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The UK is part of the EU Single market which has a common EU tariff policy which applies to all imports. Import tariffs are set by the EU. The UK has no legal ability to set its own import tariffs.

    EU tariffs rates form part of our World Trade Organisation (WTO) commitments and apply to all WTO member countries. Under WTO rules increases to EU tariffs above the level committed to, or ‘bound’ rate, require us to give compensation to affected countries (in the form of lower tariffs on other products). Any potential benefit of an import tariff increase may therefore harm another UK sector.

    The latest version of the EU tariff was published in Official Journal to the EU L285 on 30 October 2015 (Council implementing Regulation EU No 1101/2014 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC|) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff). Chapter 27 covers the import of fuel including coal and gas. The import of coal has a 0% import duty and the import of gas ranges from 0% to 8% depending on the type and usage.

    WTO rules, do however allow countries to impose import tariffs when goods are being “dumped” e.g. sold on our market at below manufacturing cost price. If there is evidence that imports of coal and gas are being dumped the European Commission could propose imposing anti-dumping duties.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for the future levels of bursaries and salary support for trainee child and adolescent psychotherapists.

    Ben Gummer

    Those undertaking training in child and adolescent psychotherapy are not currently eligible for NHS Bursary funding and tuition funding is determined by Health Education England (HEE) at a local level based on local need.

    For 2016/17, HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan 2016/17 which was published in December 2015. HEE’s plans for commissioning child and adolescent psychotherapist training places remain unchanged from 2015/16.

    The Government is working with HEE and other delivery organisations to ensure that the future supply of qualified healthcare professionals continues to meet the needs of the health service.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timeline he has set for all multinational companies operating in the UK to publish country-by-country reporting; and how that requirement will be enforced.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK initiated the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting by large multinationals to tax authorities. The UK was one of the first countries to commit to the OECD model of CbC reporting with legislation in Finance Act 2015, and regulations were laid on 26 February 2016 setting the details of implementation in the UK, which apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016. The UK together with 30 countries has signed the OECD Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) to exchange CbC reports.

    The Chancellor has recently pressed the case for public CbC reporting on a multilateral basis. On 12 April 2016 the European Commission published a legislative proposal for public CbC reporting by large multinationals. The UK welcomes this work as a step in the right direction towards new international rules for greater public transparency.

  • Lord Shinkwin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Shinkwin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shinkwin on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions (1) in the last tax year for which figures are available, and (2) for each of the tax years since the introduction of Gift Aid, HMRC reclaimed or recovered Gift Aid from an individual because they had mistakenly made a Gift Aid declaration to a charity or had not paid sufficient tax to cover the Gift Aid.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Around £1.3bn of Gift Aid was paid to charities in 2015/16, the highest year of Gift Aid payments since the scheme began. During 2015/16, HMRC contacted 2,580 individuals where a shortfall was identified in the tax needed to cover the donation. Individual donors are responsible for ensuring they have paid sufficient tax to cover any Gift Aid reclaimed in their donation. No statistics are available for earlier years.

  • Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consular offices remain in Italy at which UK citizens can renew their passports, and what plans they have for those that still provide this service.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    British nationals cannot renew full validity passports at consular offices in Italy. Passport applications are made online and documentation is sent to Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK. British nationals can get an Emergency Travel Document at the British Embassy in Rome or at the British Consulate General in Milan when they have an urgent need to travel and meet the necessary criteria.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether attacks by ISIL against Iraqi Yazidis constitute to genocide.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government believes that recognition of genocides should be a matter for international courts. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by international judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible international judicial process. I deplore the targeting and persecution of Yezidis and other minorities by the so called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all minority communities in Iraq, including the Yezidi. We are working in Iraq to build consensus around the importance of freedom of religion or belief; and supporting practical projects on community dialogue with civil society and faith groups. The UK is supporting the international humanitarian relief effort in Iraq by providing £79.5m to help the 3.2 million internally displaced Iraqis, including many who have fled their homes on account of ISIL’s persecution on the grounds of religion. The money is providing clean water, sanitation, essential medicines, and funding for NGOs and charities, some of which is specifically designed to protect women and children.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to paragraph 39 (e) on page 12 of the North East Devolution Agreement, what discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on Government support for joint initiatives between the North East and Scotland.

    David Mundell

    The UK Government supports opportunities for joint initiatives between the North East and Scotland. The Borderlands Initiative is a cross-border project which brings together the five local authorities of Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Carlisle City Council, Cumbria Council and Northumberland. It aims to promote economic growth and competitiveness across the Borderlands and is jointly supported by the UK and Scottish Government.