Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to promote the consumption of cranberry products to prevent simple infections such as urinary tract infections.

    Jane Ellison

    The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.

    The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.

    A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of the potential effect on corporation tax receipts of changes to personal injury law and procedure prior to making his announcement of such changes in the 2015 Autumn Statement; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Ministry of Justice will launch a public consultation in due course on the details of the policy. This will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of specialist dementia (a) residential and (b) nursing home places in Kent.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information:

    Active care home locations with the Dementia Service User Band in the Kent local authority

    Type of home

    Number of beds

    Number of locations

    Nursing home

    3,663

    62

    Residential home

    4,229

    136

    Grand Total

    7,892

    198

    Source: CQC database at 11 April 2016

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the tax gap was for (a) income tax, (b) national insurance contributions and (c) capital gains tax in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs published its latest tax gap estimates on 22 October 2015 in Measuring tax gaps 2015 edition, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470540/HMRC-measuring-tax-gaps-2015-1.pdf.

    The total tax gap for Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and Capital Gains Tax for the years from 2009-10 to 2013-14 is set out in Table 1.3 (page 18).

    Separate estimates for each of these three components are not available.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the impact on Birmingham Airport of a reduction in train services to Birmingham International, including the impact on the percentage of passengers who access the airport by rail and by car respectively.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Rail services between London and the Midlands are currently provided by the West Midlands and InterCity West Coast franchises. These franchises are due be replaced when they expire in October 2017 and April 2018 respectively. The Department has completed a consultation in respect of the replacement West Midlands franchise, and commenced another in respect of InterCity West Coast in May. The outcomes of those consultations will be used to inform what we ask the operator of the new franchise to provide. This information, including the key challenges and opportunities that the Department has identified for those franchises, will be published in due course.

    Neither consultation proposed cutting train services. We expect potential bidders to plan their train services to meet the needs of passengers at the stations they serve considering how best to serve and link markets and improve service reliability. To make sure their plans best reflect the needs of the franchise we are seeking views from the public and stakeholders on the ICWC franchise on:

    • any direct journeys currently provided by ICWC that they would want to see protected at a minimum level; and
    • priorities for potential changes to train services, such as speeding up service for long-distance passengers, for example by changing stops at low-use stations or adjusting the level of service.
  • Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rebuck on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the 60 per cent of the prison population who do not have at least entry level literacy skills do so by the time they complete their prison sentence.

    Baroness Mobarik

    Prisons should be places of safety and reform. The Government is determined to make sure that it achieves better educational outcomes for all prisoners, including in literacy. This will form a key part of its safety and reform plan, which it will set out this autumn.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the accessibility of defibrillators for sports clubs.

    Tracey Crouch

    We take player safety in all sportsseriously, and it was one of the main themes of the recent sports strategy consultation.DCMS is considering the responses and the new strategy document will be published in due course.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to report on the progress of the pilot being run in conjunction with the Department for Education to give schools access to a single point of contact for mental health.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department for Education and NHS England have commissioned Ecorys to undertake an independent evaluation of the Mental Health Services and School Link Pilots. The evaluation will run from October 2015 to November 2016, covering all 22 pilot sites with Ecorys formally reporting back to the Department for Education and NHS England towards the end of 2016.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for mandatory reconsideration of a tax credits decision are awaiting determination by Concentrix.

    Mr David Gauke

    The number of requests for mandatory reconsideration of a decision about a tax credits award that Concentrix have received since the commencement of their contract with HM Revenue and Customs in November 2014 is as follows:

    Month

    Number of MRs

    November 2014

    0

    December 2014

    2

    January 2015

    6

    February 2015

    38

    March 2015

    29

    April 2015

    137

    May 2015

    100

    June 2015

    45

    July 2015

    71

    August 2015

    108

    September 2015

    1221

    October 2015

    925

    November 2015

    871

    December 2015

    2371

    The total is about 1.6% of all decisions Concentrix made in the same period.

    As of 15 January 2016, there are 566 mandatory reconsiderations in progress that have been opened and Concentrix are waiting for customers to provide further evidence. Concentrix have 30 further mandatory reconsiderations that are awaiting determination.

    The average length of time taken between Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and making a decision is 24 days. This includes the time needed for customers to provide any further evidence.

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total sum to date that has been paid in compensation to persons found guilty of terrorist-related offences in Northern Ireland whose convictions have been overturned because the activities of British agents were not disclosed to the courts; how many further such claims for compensation are pending; and whether compensation will be paid if more claims are made.

    Lord Dunlop

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny the involvement of agents of the Security and Intelligence Agencies in any specific activity in order to protect the UK’s national security. I am therefore unable to comment further.

    However, where national security sensitive information is relevant to an application for compensation for a miscarriage of justice in Northern Ireland, for example where the Court of Appeal is unable to make public its full reasons for quashing the conviction, the decision on whether compensation is payable is one for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In making that decision, she will apply the new test set out in section 133(1Z) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, namely that compensation is payable “if and only if the new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not commit the offence”.