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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from transport organisations on the impairment threat of laser pens.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Ministers and Officials in the Department have received direct representations from the British Air Line Pilots’ Association (BALPA) on the threat to pilots from a laser strike.

    Further representations have been received through industry membership to the UK Laser Working Group. The Group which was established by the CAA to develop measures to reduce laser strikes to aircraft includes representatives from British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), Honourable Company of Air Pilots, various airlines and airport operators, as well as Government Departments and Agencies.

  • Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to promote research and development in the UK.

    Greg Hands

    At the Spending Review 2015 we protected the current £4.7 billion science resource funding in real terms for the rest of the Parliament and re-affirmed our long term science capital commitment of £6.9 billion between 2015-2021.

    The government also continues to support business research and development investment through R&D tax credits. In 2013-14, R&D tax credits provided £1.75bn of relief to over 18,000 companies, supporting around £14.3bn of innovative investment.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol.

    Karen Bradley

    An impact assessment of a minimum unit price for alcohol was published before a consultation on the Government’s Alcohol Strategy proposals in 2012.

    The consultation raised questions concerning possible unintended consequences of minimum unit pricing, such as the impact on responsible drinkers on low incomes. The Government continues to monitor the research being carried out by the University of Sheffield and others on the potential effects.

    The Government has also noted the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the proposed introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland and will continue to monitor the legal proceedings.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures are in place to regulate the prices of everyday drugs sold to the NHS by pharmaceutical companies.

    George Freeman

    There are arrangements in place to ensure that the prices paid by the National Health Service for medicines provide value for money for the NHS. The prices and the profits made on the sales of branded medicines to the NHS are controlled by the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. If a company chooses not to join the voluntary scheme, it falls under a statutory scheme which controls the prices of branded medicines.

    The Department does not control the price of generic medicines; instead it relies on competition to drive down prices. A report in 2010 by the National Audit Office showed that the reimbursement arrangements had delivered savings for the NHS of £1.8 billion between 2005/6 and 2008/09.

    Concerns about possible anti-competitive behaviour by pharmaceutical companies are investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Department and the CMA work closely together on such matters. The CMA is committed to investigating suspected infringements of competition law, including suspected excessive pricing in the pharmaceutical sector. The CMA has strong powers of investigation and, where it finds that a firm has breached competition law, it may impose penalties of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide turnover.

    The CMA has been asked by the Secretary of State to undertake further work to look into specific instances of excessive pricing.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children have entered the UK under the refugee family reunion rules in each of the last three years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The family reunion policy allows those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to sponsor their pre-flight family members, i.e. spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country, to reunite with them in the UK.

    Information on how many men, women and children have entered the UK under refugee family reunion provisions in the Immigration Rules is not captured in our published data and would require a manual review. This information cannot therefore be provided without exceeding proportionate costs.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average GP list size was in (a) England, (b) Cheshire and (c) Halton constituency in each year since 2010.

    David Mowat

    The information requested is in the attached document.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of references of families to the Troubled Families programme have been the result of schools expressing concerns that children are not receiving sufficient food at home since April 2015.

    Greg Clark

    My Department does not hold this information.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) social and (b) affordable housing tenants who will be affected by planned caps on housing benefit in the social sector in (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20 and (iii) 2020-21.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The introduction of Local Housing Allowance limits to social sector tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit houisng element will only apply from April 2018, where new tenancies have been taken out or renewed after April 2016.

    Tenants who take on a new tenancy or renew a tenancy will have the opportunity to consider whether they can afford to take on the property before committing to it. Because of the element of choice is it not possible to accurately estimate the number of (a) social and (b) affordable housing tenants who will be affected by this measure.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK has agreed to fund particular EU projects as a result of discussions with his EU counterparts as part of the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    No.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what total value of tax relief has been granted under the Business Premises Renovation Allowance scheme in each of the last six years.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not collate information at the aggregate level requested.

    The Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) is an incentive designed to bring derelict or unused business properties back into use, by providing 100 percent relief for renovation of vacant properties in disadvantaged areas.

    In 2012 HMRC noticed a spike in the cost of BPRA. Investigations revealed that this increase was due to marketed avoidance. HMRC challenges avoidance wherever they see it. Where taxpayers choose to press their case to litigation, HMRC wins around 80% of cases heard in court.

    In addition, legislation was introduced in Finance Act 2014 to prevent future avoidance. The NAO complimented the speed with which HMRC addressed this avoidance and tightened the legislation.

    The costs of BPRA are published annually in HMRC’s Estimated cost of minor tax allowances and structural reliefs, which can be viewed using the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487097/Dec15_minorallowances_reliefs_Fi…pdf

    Budget 2011 announced that Business Premises Renovation Allowance would be extended to 31 March 2017 for Corporation Tax and 5 April 2017 for Income Tax.

    “