Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate for each of the past three years of their returns from retaining the proceeds of cashed-in Premium Bonds for up to six days before they are transferred to the holder’s bank account.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
NS&I raises cost effective finance for government from the retail savings market. It does this through offering savings products to consumers, including Premium Bonds. Funds raised by NS&I from these products, including Premium Bonds, flow to the National Loans Fund (NLF). The NLF is the government’s main borrowing and lending account, and to this end, it undertakes borrowing (primarily by issuing gilts via the Debt Management Office) and uses proceeds and other central government surplus balances, including funds from NS&I’s Premium Bonds, to manage its cash needs day-to-day.
The Exchequer’s cash needs are managed on an aggregate basis, meaning funds raised from Premium Bonds are not held in a separate account and do not receive a separate rate of return (which in any case is determined by the market as the government is ultimately a price taker). Therefore, there is not a single rate of return on NS&I proceeds and it would not be possible to provide an estimate of returns from retaining the proceeds of Premium Bonds.
When a customer divests their holdings of Premium Bonds, these repayments are also funded via the NLF’s activities and are typically processed within three working days. However, in exceptional circumstances, such as Bank Holidays, this may take longer. This process allows HM Treasury to manage Exchequer cashflows in a cost effective manner.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, in each of the past five years, of the economic costs of the effects of post-operative cancer treatments.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working jointly with NHS England and Cancer Alliances to ensure every person receives personalised care and support from cancer diagnosis onwards, including post-treatment. As outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan for cancer, where appropriate, every person diagnosed with cancer will have access to personalised care, including needs assessment, a care plan and health and wellbeing information and support. After treatment, the person will move to a follow-up pathway that suits their needs, and ensures they can get rapid access to clinical support, where they are worried that their cancer may have recurred.
Post-operative cancer treatments encompass a wide variety of care, depending on the type and stage of cancer, the treatment the patient has had, and the patient’s needs. Follow-up care often includes regular check-ups, blood tests, scans, and procedures. It may also involve further treatments to deal with late and long-term side effects, including chemotherapy or radiotherapy to reduce the risk of cancer coming back. These highly individualised treatments have varying economic costs.