Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether EU member states from which the UK recoups the costs of treatment provided to EU nationals by the NHS pay the full amount requested of them by the UK.

Alistair Burt

All European Economic Area countries, including the United Kingdom, have a legal obligation to pay agreed claims relating to healthcare treatment provided. Once both sides are satisfied that such claims are accurate, they are paid in full.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35490, if he will raise the issue of the demolition of the villages of Susiya and Umm al-Hiran with the Israeli government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about Susiya with the Israeli authorities on 21 January. More broadly, we regularly voice our opposition to the increase in demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli Government, most recently on 21 April. In regards to demolitions of Bedouin villages in green-line Israel such as Umm al-Hiran, we believe a solution must respect the equality of all Israel’s citizens.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to improve the transparency of the negotiation process for UK tax treaties.

Mr David Gauke

The UK regularly reviews its treaty network and actively engages with developing countries. Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty began some years ago, and substantive agreement has been reached at official level. It is hoped that the treaty will be signed shortly. Although the UK’s starting point in negotiations is based closely on the OECD model double taxation convention, the Government recognises that developing countries will sometimes have different preferences, and treaties the UK has recently signed demonstrate that we are willing to accommodate at least some of those preferences as part of a balanced agreement. But the nature of the negotiating process is that it remains confidential to the two sides until the treaty is signed.

By governing the taxation of cross-border income flows in a predictable manner and eliminating double taxation and excessive taxation, tax treaties promote international trade and investment, leading to sustainable tax revenues, which are vital in financing for development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason the decision was taken that NHS England will in future fund only one stem cell transplant for blood cancer patients; what estimate he has made of the number of patients who will be affected by that decision; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that policy change on blood cancer survival rates.

David Mowat

The provision of second stem cell transplants was considered as part of NHS England’s annual prioritisation process by the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group (SCOG). Decisions by SCOG are based on recommendations made by Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) which uses a defined process to prioritise treatments based on a combination of cost and patient benefit.

NHS England announced on 2 August that CPAG will re-run the prioritisation process to include proposals previously prioritised in levels 3, 4 and 5. The re-run of the prioritisation process is expected to take place later in the year. Until the process is completed clinicians, on behalf of their patients can continue to apply for funding for second transplant for relapsed disease where there is clinically exceptional or clinically critical need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken is for family reunification of unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

Mr Robert Goodwill

For unaccompanied refugee children accepted for transfer to the UK, transfer requests are generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has made plans to assist with additional funding or aid subsequent to the changes in refugee numbers entering into Mosul.

Rory Stewart

On 21 September, the UK announced an extra £40 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq, on top of £50 million committed earlier this year. This brings our total commitment in Iraq to £169.5 million since June 2014. This support will provide emergency life-saving assistance – such as food, shelter, medical and protection services – to support the Government of Iraq-led Mosul humanitarian response as well as continuing to provide assistance for displaced and vulnerable people across the country.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times officials in his Department responsible for procurement checked whether a contractor employed by his Department was under investigation for corruption with law enforcement agencies in the last two years.

Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely carries out checks on potential contractors prior to contract award, including on criminal activity, such as convictions for tax evasion, bribery or fraud, and a review of a company’s audited accounts. These enquiries are conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.

This process is reiterated in all competitive and single source tender documentation issued to tenderers prior to any contract award.

Any suspicion of corruption is reported to the appropriate authority. Where justified, the MOD can exclude potential suppliers who pose an unacceptable risk to public money.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46417, what assessment the Government has made of the likelihood of reaching its target of resettling 20,000 Syrians before the end of the current Parliament at current resettlement rates.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Work continues with local authorities and International Partners to deliver the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament and we are on track to do this.

Progress on resettlement will be indicated in quarterly immigration statistics. The last set of statistics, published on 25 August 2016 showed that 2,646 Syrians were relocated to the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme between October 2015 and June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of interim or emergency measures to provide access to drugs for rare cancers during the period of the accelerated access review.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is the independent body that makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, including those for rare cancers, based on thorough assessment of the best available evidence.

The Government has also established the Cancer Drugs Fund, which has helped over 72,000 cancer patients in England to access life-extending drugs that would not otherwise have been available to them.

The Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) was launched in April 2014 to support access in the United Kingdom to unlicensed or off-label medicines representing a significant advance in treatment in areas of unmet medical need. Eight EAMS Promising Innovative Medicines designations and four positive EAMS scientific opinions have been issued so far, including some for new cancer drugs.

The independent Accelerated Access Review is currently looking at how we can reduce the time, cost, and risk of drug development, develop a new range of flexible reimbursement models and consider the long term landscape for innovation adoption. The Review’s recommendations are expected in spring 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recommendations his Department has made to the government of (a) Guernsey and (b)Jersey on the definition of legitimate interest in the management of central registers of beneficial ownership.

Dominic Raab

The Prime Minister has made clear that he would like a publicly accessible central register of company beneficial ownership to be the new international standard.

The Government is in dialogue with the Crown Dependencies about UK policy in this area and progress on the wider G20 transparency agenda.

The role of my Department is to manage the constitutional relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies.We have discussed the subject of beneficial ownership with the Crown Dependencies where it impacts on that relationship but it is not my Department’s role to make specific recommendations.

The Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom. They are self-governing Dependencies of the Crown with their own legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and courts of law.