The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications his Department has received for modifications and adapted housing in each year from 2000 to date; and whether data on such applications is available before 2000 and to what date.
Mark Lancaster
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 September 2016 to Questions 45414 and 45461.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-10-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s impact assessment on the Tax Credits (Income Threshold and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015, what the (a) income brackets are for each decile and (b) equivalent levels are for the proportions in Chart 1.
Damian Hinds
The analysis that fed into the published Impact Assessment[1] shows how the £4.4bn of savings from the tax credit changes as laid out in the publication are distributed for each income decile on the income distribution for tax credit claimants. This has clearly demonstrated that tax credit claimants on the highest incomes – on average £42,000 a year – will contribute nearly 4 times as much as the claimants on the lowest incomes to the savings from this policy.
This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.
[1] http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/Secondary-Legislation-Scrutiny-Committee/DraftTaxCreditsRegs2015-ImpactAssessment.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Docetaxel chemotherapy medication is available from the Cancer Drugs Fund.
George Freeman
Docetaxel has not been made available through the national Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) list. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended docetaxel for the treatment of hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer (where the disease becomes unresponsive to hormone treatment). Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance.
NHS England will consider Individual CDF Requests for cancer medicines not on the CDF list and not recommended by NICE to treat individuals whose clinician can demonstrate clinical exceptionality.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2015-12-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement in the Autumn Statement, what level of funding will be made available to local authorities in 2017–18 to replace the management fee currently paid for each homeless household in temporary accommodation.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Spending Review and Autumn Statement announced that funding of the Temporary Accommodation management fee will be devolved to local authorities from 2017/18, giving them more freedom and flexibility in how they use this funding. Current levels of funding will be maintained and, in addition, councils will receive £10 million a year more. The Department for Communities and Local Government will set out the precise detail of how the new funding will be distributed in 2016/17. The Department will work closely with local authorities and other partners to ensure that funding will be allocated in a way that helps councils tackle homelessness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how Academic Health Science Networks are able to contribute to the Accelerated Access Review.
George Freeman
The Academic Health Science Networks have already contributed to the Accelerated Access Review via the recent engagement exercise held by the review team. Their contribution has been incorporated in the development of the review recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have made representations to his Department about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.
Justin Tomlinson
So far representations have been made by 93 individuals and 16 housing providers about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.
DWP Ministers and officials will continue to have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2015 to Question 23840, on cancer: drugs, whether his Department plans to undertake an impact assessment of NHS England’s consultation proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund.
George Freeman
The Department has no such plans.
NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Cancer Drugs Fund. NHS England has advised that it does not, as a rule, produce impact assessments as standalone documents. Instead, it seeks to ensure that, as part of its processes to develop any policy or proposal, it considers quality, value for money, equality and accessibility issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department monitors the performance of Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group’s patient transport services.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not have responsibility for monitoring the performance of Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCGs) patient transport services.
We are advised by NHS England that the Sussex non-emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) is managed by Coperforma who sub-contract to a variety of specialist ambulance and transport providers. Coperforma is therefore held accountable for the actions of all service providers it subcontracts to, as the organisation responsible for the entirety of the PTS.
Sussex CCGs are responsible for monitoring Coperforma’s performance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the inclusion of the Northallerton to Teesport line in the rail electrification scheme.
Andrew Jones
The Transpennine Route Upgrade is an ambitious and challenging programme which is due to be delivered by December 2022. There are currently no plans within this scope to electrify the line between Northallerton and Teesport. However, this does not preclude the thinking of future electrification as a further phase following the delivery of the current scope in 2022.
I can confirm that the current assumption for services between Manchester and Middlesbrough is that these will operated by new bi-mode trains i.e. capable of diesel and electric operation. The new bi-mode will offer significant journey time savings for passengers on this route.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department consulted workers’ representatives and groups representing victims of labour exploitation during the appointment process for the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.
Margot James
The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement is being made through a formal recruitment process. A campaign was jointly launched by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) and the Home Office in June after the Immigration Act received Royal Assent in May 2016. Shortlisting took place during the summer and interviews are scheduled for early October.
My Rt hon Friends the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Home Department plan to meet appointable candidates following interviews, and will have discussions before making a joint decision. The successful candidate will be announced as soon as practicably possible.
BEIS and the Home Office are working together to implement a Labour market Enforcement programme. This followed a formal consultation, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, to which groups representing workers and victims of labour market exploitation responded.