Tag: Steve Rotheram

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the number of potential closures of and (b) the reduction in community pharmacies as a result of proposed reductions in funding to such pharmacies.

Alistair Burt

Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of inward investment in (a) Liverpool, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West.

Mark Garnier

The Department for International Trade (DIT) does not publish figures below the UK regional level. However, DIT has published regional figures for 2011/12 to 2015/16 which can be located via the link below to the relevant section on the Gov.UK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-ukti-regions-201011-to-201415/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-uk-region-201011-to-201415

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in what ways the UK’s military mission in Afghanistan is contributing to the protection of civilian Hazaras.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK’s military mission in Afghanistan, as part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, is helping train and advise the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, who are responsible for providing security for the entire population of Afghanistan including civilian Hazaras. In particular UK Armed Forces are playing a vital role in mentoring instructors at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, where the next generation of Afghan military leaders are being taught.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average annual change in tax relief for a person employed via an employment intermediary as a result of the Government’s proposed changes to income tax relief for travel and subsistence.

Mr David Gauke

I refer the honourable gentleman to the Tax Information and Impact Note published at 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.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what levels of investment have been received into the Liverpool City Region in each of the last five years.

Mark Garnier

The Department for International Trade (DIT) does not publish figures below the UK regional level. However, DIT has published regional figures for 2011/12 to 2015/16 which can be located via the link below to the relevant section on the Gov.UK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-ukti-regions-201011-to-201415/foreign-direct-investment-projects-by-uk-region-201011-to-201415

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people who are earning below the lower earnings limit and have more than one employer and do not qualify for national insurance contribution deductions.

Mr David Gauke

Estimates of the number of individuals who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance, even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold, are available to view at the following internet address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-coverage-lower-earnings-limit-and-multiple-jobs

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on levels of self-employment in the construction industry of his proposed changes to tax relief for travel and subsistence.

Mr David Gauke

The changes to tax relief for travel and subsistence only affect those who work through an employment intermediary. The Government’s 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

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 Steve Rotheram on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will produce a cost impact assessment for users of the new Mersey Gateway.

Andrew Jones

The Mersey Gateway Bridge scheme is being promoted by Halton Borough Council and it is for them to justify the costs for users of the new bridge. A range of discounts will be available for frequent users of the crossing.

In approving the scheme the Government considered the case for change, the economic case, and that the scheme is viable, affordable and achievable. In line with other estuarial crossings, and as there will be improved travel across the Mersey, users are expected to part fund the infrastructure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what level of funding his Department has provided for mental health services in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England in the last three years.

Alistair Burt

NHS England does not split the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) programme allocation across service categories. CCGs receive an annual allocation calculated by reference to the size of population they commission for, and it is up to the CCG to decide how to spend it, taking into account national policy considerations and a local assessment of need.

CCGs are required to submit their spending plans and their annual accounts to NHS England. NHS England reviews spending, including for mental health (MH), through the CCG assurance process.

NHS England has made a requirement of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the planning guidance for 2015/16, The Forward View Into Action: Planning Guidance for 2015/16, that each CCG’s spending on MH services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s overall funding allocation increase.

CCG actual and planned spend (not funding) can be split between MH and other categories of expenditure. The table below shows CCG MH spend for Liverpool CCG, for Merseyside CCGs and nationally for all CCGs. These figures are actual spend for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and planned spend for 2015/16:

	2013/14 Outturn £k	2014/15 Outturn £k	2015/16 Outturn £k
Liverpool CCG Total	76,335	85,500	89,609
Merseyside CCGTotal	181,521	209,004	217,948
EnglandCCGsTotal	7,818,924	8,289,153	8,602,990

Specialised health services, primary care and other directly commissioned services includes some spend on MH services. This direct commissioning spend on MH services is not routinely split into the different categories of expenditure and is not included in the figures in the table above.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce GP appointment waiting times.

Alistair Burt

With NHS England, we are making changes to provide more flexibility for practices to meet the needs of patients. We have invested £175 million via the GP Access Fund to commission 57 schemes across the country. In total 18 million patients in 2,500 practices have benefited from improved access to general practice.

The GP Access Fund is promoting greater innovation in how practices offer access. This could be, for example, through networks of practices offering shared clinics at evenings and weekends.

The first independent report on the national evaluation of wave one schemes looked at how schemes have provided more general practitioner appointments and expanded the type of patient appointments to improve patient and staff satisfaction. A second national evaluation report will be published soon with updated results.