The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to provide better support for ex-servicemen and women and their families.
Mark Lancaster
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 November 2015 to Questions 15830 and 15831.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2015-12-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the delay in the introduction of Flood Re on those houses recently flooded in Cumbria and elsewhere.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Until Flood Re becomes operational, the insurance industry is continuing to make insurance available to those policy holders at high flood risk, as agreed to in the Statement of Principles.
Flood Re has submitted a comprehensive application for authorisation to the financial regulators, and is engaging with them. Flood Re is continuing to build and implement the systems necessary to support the operational launch of the scheme in April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Northbourne on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define family income and household income, and whether family income includes the father’s income whether or not he is living with his children and their mother.
Lord Freud
The Government does not have a single standard definition of family or household income. The definition used will vary depending on the particular circumstances under consideration.
The definition of household income in the National Statistics publication Households Below Average Income, which analyses the income distribution, is:
Total income from all sources of all household members including dependants.
This definition includes any income received by a household member from an absent parent or former partner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken in response to the findings set out in the 2014-15 Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HM Prison Belmarsh on the prison’s online and telephone booking system.
Andrew Selous
We had already recognised the issues highlighted in the 2014-15 Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HM Prison Belmarsh. I am pleased to inform the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead that we will be increasing the number of social visit slots that are available per session and we have added an additional booking telephone line. There are also plans to introduce an automated system to increase our capacity to manage visit calls.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his speech of 15 March 2016 to the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism Conference, what legal changes he has made following a campaign led by Jewish Human Rights Watch.
Dominic Raab
On 3 October 2015, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the Government’s position on boycott, divestment and sanctions, including legal changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Chief Executive of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust has made a request to (a) the military and (b) the Cabinet Office to fully cover the 24 hour accident and emergency service at Chorley and South Ribble Accident & Emergency unit.
Ben Gummer
These are operational matters for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and we have written to Stuart Heys, Chair of the Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s questions. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on supply teachers of new restrictions on tax relief for travel and subsistence expenses for workers engaged through an employment intermediary.
Mr David Gauke
The changes to tax relief for travel and subsistence only affect those who work through an employment intermediary. The planned changes will put supply teachers employed through an intermediary on the same terms as other supply teachers, either contracted directly, or through an agency contract.
The Government’s general assessment of the effects of the measure can be found in the Tax Information and Impact Note: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-employment-intermediaries-and-relief-for-travel-and-subsistence/income-tax-employment-intermediaries-and-relief-for-travel-and-subsistence
The Government undertook detailed consultation on these proposals. Further assessment can be found in the summary of responses to the consultation document published on this change: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483389/Employment_Intermediaries_and_Tax_Relief_for_Travel_and_Subsistence_-_Summary_of_Responses__M7057_.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the NHS has to ensure that clinicians are able to maintain clinical expertise in procedures offered through the Commissioning through Evaluation programme in the event that patient access is withdrawn during the analysis phase of that programme.
David Mowat
Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) is an innovative £25 million programme introduced by NHS England in 2013. It specifically aims to generate valuable new evaluation data in promising areas of specialised care where the current evidence base of cost and clinical effectiveness is insufficient to support routine National Health Service commissioning, and where further formal research trials are thought to be less likely.
Each scheme – put forward by senior clinicians and other stakeholders – is funded on a time limited basis in a small number of selected centres, and then evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Once the planned number of patients has been recruited across the participating centres, each scheme closes to new patients and analysis begins. This means that the funding identified for each scheme can then be reinvested into the evaluation of additional potentially life changing specialised treatments to maximise the value and impact of the overall evaluation fund for patients. As an example, routinely funding Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy contrary to the currently published clinical commissioning policy and in advance of a formal review of any new evidence would mean that between £2 million and £4 million per year (covering the surgical costs and immediate follow up only) would then be unavailable to support the evaluation of other promising treatments.
The analysis phase for each CtE scheme will typically take between one and two years depending on how long we need to follow up patients after their treatment to identify its effectiveness. The three cardiology based CtE schemes are currently scheduled for a 15 month analysis and reporting phase, after which the data can be used by NHS England to support policy review.
However, CtE is only one form of data that might be put forward in considering a new (or revision to an existing) policy and clinicians do not need to await the final report from CtE schemes if they feel that other new substantive data becomes available more quickly.
NHS England’s published clinical commissioning policies (which set out eligibility for NHS funded specialised care on the basis of the available evidence) can be reviewed at any time where there is thought to be substantive new evidence available, and around 100 such proposals were developed and considered by NHS England during 2016/17.
The policy development process is subject to both informal stakeholder testing and formal public consultation, including the opportunity for patients, clinicians and industry representatives to review and comment on the evidence base considered and the assessed impact on patients, existing services and cost.
Where a new service is routinely commissioned as a result of a policy review, NHS England works with commissioned providers to ensure that sufficient clinical expertise and supporting infrastructure is in place to provide a safe service to patients in line with nationally set requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate has been made of the (a) coastguard and (b) lifeguard capacity on UK (i) beaches and (ii) coastal waters.
Mr John Hayes
Her Majesty’s Coastguard’s Volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams are appropriately trained and so can be deployed for any incident on beaches or at the coast. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency continually monitors the local provision of this capability.
Safety at public beaches, and specifically the provision of lifeguarding services, is generally the responsibility of the local authority, who carry out risk assessments to determine appropriate safety measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which government agency has overall responsibility for the control and monitoring of the movement of horses and their importation and exportation.
George Eustice
The Tri-Partite Agreement (TPA) implements a derogation from the animal health conditions that normally apply when horses are moved between EU member states. In recognition of an increased, but still low risk of disease being spread through such movements, a new TPA with France and Ireland came into effect on 18 May 2014. The TPA does not apply to horses moving directly for slaughter, these are subject to harmonised EU certification. It also does not affect the requirement to comply with welfare legislation.
For movements between the United Kingdom and France, only horses with a higher health status can benefit from the derogation. All such movements must be pre-notified on the European Commission’s TRACES system and be accompanied by a commercial document (DOCOM) produced by an approved TPA body as well as an official identification document. The TPA is generally restricted to thoroughbreds and non-thoroughbreds involved in racing, training and breeding plus horses participating in events regulated by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI).
As part of the conditions of their approval, TPA bodies have had to demonstrate to Defra that they can deliver good traceability and that they comply with the relevant welfare legislation as part of their normal governance arrangements.
The Chief Veterinary Officer has met several times with his French and Irish counterparts and with representatives of the equine sector to review the operation of the new TPA. This has included discussions on the arrangements for auditing the agreement to ensure that there is a consistent approach between the three countries. The TPA will be audited by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in Great Britain.
Local authorities are designated as enforcement bodies under the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011, the Horse Passport Regulations 2009 and the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and corresponding legislation in Wales and Scotland.