Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2023 to Question 395 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what steps she is taking to implement the advice of the JCVI on the rollout of the autumn 2023 booster programme to people who are immunocompromised.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the autumn 2023 COVID-19 vaccination programme includes all those aged between six months and 64 years old in a clinical risk group, as defined in tables 3 and 4 of the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book. This includes those with immunosuppression.
We continue to work with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to improve immunosuppressed uptake nationally, by understanding drivers of hesitancy, improving the quality of our published data, ensuring it is easy and convenient book and access vaccinations, and by continuing a variety of campaign activities throughout the winter including UKHSA’s ‘get winter strong’ campaign. This was launched on 1 November 2023 and encourages those eligible, specifically the clinically most vulnerable, who have not yet come forward for the flu and COVID-19 vaccines to do so.
NHS England has produced and shared a range of targeted communications materials encouraging people who are immunosuppressed to take up their offer of a COVID-19 booster vaccine, including posters, display screen visuals and social media cards. There are also materials to raise awareness that those who are a household contact of an immunosuppressed person are also eligible for vaccination. These materials have been translated into 28 languages to reach people from a wide range of communities through their native languages and have helped general practices, vaccination centres, pharmacies, and other sites to promote COVID-19 and flu vaccination this autumn/winter.
The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, also wrote to the main charities representing the clinically most vulnerable patient cohorts, to publicise this autumn’s campaign, and to enable them to signpost the offer to their patient communities.
The autumn campaign remains open and all those who are eligible but who have not yet come forward are encouraged to take up their vaccination.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to support the implementation of the UN General Assembly’s resolution on the Promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK strongly supports developing countries' efforts to scale-up domestic resource mobilisation to finance sustainable development.
The UK engaged constructively in the negotiations on the UN tax resolution. However, the UK, alongside many other countries, is concerned that proceeding with a UN convention on international tax at this time would not be the most effective way to achieve these goals. An Explanation of Vote was published on GOV.UK on 22nd November. [LINK]
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for what reason the draft Order giving effect to the new parliamentary constituency boundaries was not submitted to the Privy Council within four months.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 754 on 13 November 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department's fiscal rules require (a) programme and (b) departmental comparability factors to be applied to new funding announcements made outside of a Spending Review; and, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled Bus Funding Update, HCWS1084, whether the announcement of additional funding for the bus service operators grant programme will have a 100% programme comparability factor applied for Barnett formula consequential funding for Wales.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula will continue to apply in the usual way as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy document. The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets.
The Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled 'Bus Funding Update’ did not announce additional funding for the Department of Transport. Any additional funding for the Department for Transport will be confirmed in the usual way.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled Bus Funding Update, HCWS1084, how much Barnett consequential funding the Welsh government will receive following the increase to the bus service operator grant.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula will continue to apply in the usual way as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy document. The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets.
The Written Ministerial Statement of 23 October 2023 entitled 'Bus Funding Update’ did not announce additional funding for the Department of Transport. Any additional funding for the Department for Transport will be confirmed in the usual way.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s publication entitled At the crossroads: how a new UK medicines deal can deliver for patients, the NHS and the economy, published on 1 March 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of that publication's proposals to lower the tax rebate for the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department carefully considers all evidence in the public domain on matters relating to the pricing of medicines in the United Kingdom, including the March report by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) has been agreed in principle with ABPI and is set to save the National Health Service £14 billion over 5 years in medicines costs. VPAG introduces a new mechanism to ensure sustainable spending on older medicines where competition hasn’t yet driven down prices, and is an explicitly pro-innovation and pro-competition agreement.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department's fiscal rules require (a) programme and (b) departmental comparability factors to be applied to new spending on projects included in Network North.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula will continue to apply in the usual way as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy document. The Barnett formula applies when departmental budgets change, not when departments announce how they are spending those budgets.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taxing carried interest at 45 per cent.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government believes its approach to the taxation of Carried Interest, which is consistent with that taken in comparable jurisdictions, is a balanced one.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Sixth Report of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee of Session 2019-21 on Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, HC 1346, published on 29 April 2021, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the report's recommendations on the terms and conditions of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government responded to the Committee’s report in June 2021 explaining that it was unable to agree to the Committee’s recommendations. That response is available to read here.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many miners were recipients of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in (a) Ceredigion and (b) Wales in November 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As at June 2023, there were 48 members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in Ceredigion and 13,838 in Wales as a whole. These are the most recent available figures.