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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how many personal service companies are in operation in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
The information requested is obtainable from a discussion document on IR35 published by HM Revenue and Customs on 17 July which is available at the following link :
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the report of the review of the South Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company that took place in November 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Selous
The information requested is commercially sensitive and, as such, will not be released. It is normal Government practice not to release commercially sensitive information.
We hold providers rigorously to account for their performance and take action wherever they are falling short.
Following an audit by the Ministry of Justice, South Yorkshire CRC developed an action plan. We are continuing to monitor the CRC’s performance closely.
Our probation reforms are designed to make sure almost all offenders receive support on release, including, for the first time, those sentenced to less than 12 months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assistance she plans to provide for the development of tidal stream power technology.
Andrea Leadsom
That the UK has deployed the world’s first commercial scale tidal stream turbine MCT SeaGen, a 1.2MW project.
The world’s first multi-turbine tidal stream array, MeyGen 1A, received £10m in DECC innovation funding and will be deployed in the UK this year.
We are looking at what more we can do to support these developing technologies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend the UK to continue to be a member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK continues to be an active member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights. I also refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr Raab) in the House of Commons on 14 June 2016 (House of Commons Vol. 611, Column 1615), in which he said that while we cannot rule out forever withdrawal from the Convention, it is not the Government’s policy to withdraw.