The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) health and (b) economic effects of the UK withdrawing from the European Medicines Agency.
David Mowat
The Government is undertaking work to understand in full the impacts of withdrawing from the European Union including on public health. This is ongoing and will inform the Government’s approach to future negotiations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to hold discussions with the Canadian government on future Royal Canadian Air Force procurement policy.
Mr Philip Dunne
I and my Ministerial colleagues expect to continue to have periodic discussions with the Canadian Defence Minister, once appointed, and relevant colleagues and officials on a range of issues including future Royal Canadian Air Force procurement policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Work and Pensions of 23 November 2015, Official Report, column 467HL, what the evidential basis is for her statement that most of the women affected by state pension equalisation have accepted this.
Justin Tomlinson
My noble friend, the Minister for Pensions, engages regularly with older workers, employers and other stakeholders. The Minister for Pensions was summarising from her frequent discussions with these groups.
All women affected by faster equalisation will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record.
Equalisation of the State Pension age was necessary under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in welfare provision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-12-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Concentrix was agreed.
Mr David Gauke
Reducing tax credits fraud and error is a top priority for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The contract with Concentrix offers additional capacity to help build on HMRC’s own work, which has reduced tax credits fraud and error to the lowest ever level. Using a private company provides a cost-effective way to reach additional claims that need checking.
The checks are to ensure that people are paid the correct amount of money to prevent them from getting into debt which they may find difficult to repay and protect losses to taxpayers.
Concentrix operate under the same powers and processes as HMRC. Concentrix select cases to be checked using information provided by HMRC. Concentrix decide how best to achieve the expected benefits, including the number and type of cases and number of staff employed. HMRC closely monitors their performance.
The contract uses a payment by results model, which means Concentrix is only paid based on the money it saves the Exchequer as a result of correcting claims that are incorrect. They will not be paid if the decisions they make about claimants’ awards are incorrect.
The contract was signed on 6 May 2014. The contract was awarded to Synnex-Concentrix UK Ltd in April 2014, following a procurement exercise advertised under the open procedure. Information about the contract value and contract award is already in the public domain.
https://www.deltaesourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=97910033
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the sustainable development goals on the UK’s aid spending on health initiatives; and if her Department will issue a guidance note on that spending.
Mr Nick Hurd
The UK played a key role in creating a set of Global Goals that are universal and inclusive and is committed to championing the goals. Delivering Global Goal 3, to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all”, will instruct the health support we provide, with priority given to ensuring that poorer, harder to reach populations achieve better access to good quality essential services. DFID’s ongoing Bilateral Aid Review (BAR) and Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) will ensure we allocate our budget in the right places and in the right way, based on solid evidence, to contribute to the delivery of the Global Goals and to achieve our manifesto commitments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.41 of the Government’s paper, The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union, published in February 2016, what contribution he expects UK environmental and energy safety regulators to make to the annual survey referred to.
Anna Soubry
The European Commission’s Annual Burden Survey will support the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness (REFIT) Programme of withdrawals, repeals and reviews of existing EU legislation.
Anyone, including UK environmental and energy safety regulators, can now submit comments about any area of EU legislation to the Commission’s ‘Lighten the Load – Have Your Say!’ website*. Suggestions received will be analysed by the Commission and may subsequently be put forward for action via the REFIT Programme. The Government will use the REFIT Programme and the Annual Burden Survey to ensure that the EU meets its commitments to simplify legislation, avoid over-regulation and reduce burdens on business.
* http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/democratic-change/better-regulation/feedback/index_en.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of funding from the new measures announced in paragraph 1.205 of Budget 2016 she plans to allocate for flood defences on the River Medway and its tributaries.
Rory Stewart
Of the additional £700 million announced at the Budget to be spent on flood defences and resilience, £150m has been allocated to new schemes in Yorkshire and Cumbria. The £40m per year increase in floods maintenance will be spent nationwide according to need. The remaining funding will be allocated following the outcome of the National Flood Resilience Review in the summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what value of contracts has been awarded through the Small Business Research Initiative in each year for which records are available.
Joseph Johnson
The value of contracts awarded through the Small Business Research Initiative in each year for which records are available is as follows:
|
Financial Year |
2009/10 |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
2015/16 |
|
Total contract value (£’000) |
£29,672 |
£13,029 |
£23,490 |
£44,413 |
£77,495 |
£83,097 |
£62,031 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of settlement visas using the priority visa service were processed in Islamabad, Pakistan within (a) 10, (b) 15, (c) 30, (d) 60, (e) 90 and (f) 120 days.
James Brokenshire
There were five priority settlement applications processed in Islamabad, Pakistan between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015. All of these cases were resolved within 15 days.
This data is taken from provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what key priorities have been agreed by the National Autism Programme Board on improving data and information collected on autism to support the effective commissioning of services for autistic people.
David Mowat
Since the meeting of the cross government Autism Programme Board on 16 June 2016, discussions with NHS England have focused on taking forward the actions agreed to improve diagnostic waiting times and outcomes for people with autism. The National Autistic Society and the report of the Westminster Commission on Autism have both suggested that NHS England create a new role of National Clinical Director for autism, and this is a matter for NHS England to consider.
The Autism Programme Board at its last meeting also considered current and possible future sources of autism data. The Board asked that further consideration be given to this issue and for the Department to report back to them before their autumn meeting. This work is on-going.