The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations have been made to his Department on fraud involving the tax status of lorry drivers.
Andrew Jones
The Road Haulage Association has made my Department aware of concerns about widespread fraud involving the tax status of lorry drivers. The Road Haulage Association has raised these concerns directly with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of difficulties in recruiting embryologists in (a) England and (b) the North East.
Ben Gummer
Individual healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring that they have the right level of staffing to provide high quality care to their patients, including embryology services.
Health Education England (HEE) was established in 2012 to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead to meet future local need.
HEE will continue to work with its 13 Local Education and Training Boards and others to ensure that there are sufficient healthcare scientists, including embryologists, being trained to meet the future needs of patients.
Currently HEE has 28 reproductive scientists in training (which includes embryology) and are planning a further 11 to start in 2016/17. It takes three years to train a reproductive scientist.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have advised that it is not aware of any issues concerning the availability of embryologists in the United Kingdom.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an EEA national residing in the UK who wished to bring in a non-EU spouse into the country would, under the draft Decision by the European Council published on 2 February, have to meet the requirements for salary and the spouse the conditions for language as are required of a British citizen and are set out under part 8 of the UK Immigration Rules..
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government considers that it is important that the interests of energy consumers are represented on the SEC Panel. The current arrangements were consulted on in the Government’s Smart Energy Code Consultation in April 2012, and were concluded in the Government Responses in November 2012 and April 2013. The Government concluded that Consumer Futures, as the exclusive statutory consumer body in the energy sector, was best placed to nominate consumer representatives for the Panel. These statutory responsibilities were transferred to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland when Consumer Futures was abolished in 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what have been the full costs to date, including staff time, of HMRC’s pilot of the Codentify system.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes the restrictions in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously. These require that the development, implementation and enforcement of tobacco policies as part of public health policies should be protected from the influence of the tobacco industry.
Codentify is a system, developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. The trial HMRC is undertaking is to see whether these existing codes could help officers in the field to authenticate products and help tackle illicit tobacco. No other companies currently provide such codes.
The use of Codentify by HMRC is not part of an exercise to evaluate the wider use of potential tools available on the market. Any such exercise would be undertaken in the context of the implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive track and trace security feature requirements, which will be implemented by May 2019 for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
The European Commission is still considering, with Member States, proposals for new pan European security features and track and trace systems, and has yet to determine any technical specifications. HMRC are not evaluating Codentify as a track and trace tool or potential security feature; the aspects of the system being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.
The use of Codentify is not a formal pilot and there will not be reports or results to publish. Instead the trial will identify the strengths, weaknesses and usefulness of using Codentify to HMRC as an authentication tool in the field. HMRC will review this later in 2016. Some resource has been spent providing access to the system and training officers in the use of the tool. However, this has been minimal and has not been separately identified. The Department of Health leads on public health policy and has been consulted on this initiative. HMRC sees no conflict between its current use of the Codentify system and FCTC requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will undertake a review to establish the reasons for the Government underestimating the numbers of migrants from A2 countries when transitional controls on migration from those countries were relaxed and abolished on 1 January 2014; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
The European Commission has clearly said that the UK already meets the criteria for the implementation of the ‘emergency brake’ and the text of the agreement makes clear that, once the necessary legislation is in place, EU workers newly arriving in the UK will not have full access to our in-work benefits for up to four years.
The Home Office accepted the view of the independent Migration Advisory Committee that to produce such estimates "would not be sensible, or helpful to policymakers" and did not prepare specific forecasts of likely inflows from Romania and Bulgaria once restrictions expired on 1 January 2014. There are no plans to undertake a review of this decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of patients in the UK with undiagnosed heart valve disease in the last year for which data is available.
Jane Ellison
NHS England is working with professionals across the healthcare system to look at ways in which services and outcomes for patients with heart valve disease can be improved further, for example, by encouraging practitioners to follow clinical guidelines.
Service specifications and policy for the surgical and interventional treatment of heart valve disease are published by NHS England’s Cardiothoracic Clinical Reference Group. These define what NHS England expects to be in place in order for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. NHS England is working on the next iteration of the specifications, which will include important standards relating to mitral valve surgery.
In addition, NHS England is holding a clinical summit on 15 June 2016, which will bring together cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to examine the issues relating to heart valve disease, including variation. Outputs from discussions will be used to inform the future commissioning approach within specialised commissioning.
Information on the number of people with an undiagnosed heart valve condition is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 8 February 2016 to Questions 25834 and 25835, whether a final decision has been made on the retention of business rates generated by new nuclear development in Copeland by the billing authority.
Mr Marcus Jones
Decisions on the details of the 100% business rates retention scheme have yet to be taken. We are currently working with the Local Government Association, local authorities and business interests on the design of the scheme and will set out our proposals for consultation in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government’s policy is on members of the Service Police residing in separate living accommodation to other members of the armed forces.
Mark Lancaster
There is no Government policy concerning living accommodation for the Service Police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Resolution 11.15 adopted by the Eleventh Conference if the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in November 2014, what assessment she has made of the extent and type of poisoning risk from lead ammunition in the UK.
Rory Stewart
The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible.
The Food Standards Agency has produced advice on the consumption of lead shot game which can be accessed at https://www.food.gov.uk/science/advice-to-frequent-eaters-of-game-shot-with-lead.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding and other resources her Department has provided for Syrian refugee camps.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the Syria crisis, of which £559 million has been allocated to support refugees in the region and vulnerable host communities. The vast majority of refugees in the region live in host communities rather than camps.