Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve care for people suffering from asthma; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Action on chronic respiratory diseases is crucial as they are the third biggest contributor to Years of Life Lost in England. The Major Conditions Strategy will cover treatment and prevention for chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma. The Strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care, building on measures that we have already taken forward through the NHS Long Term Plan. Interventions set out in the Strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with asthma in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire; and what assessment he has made of trends in the number of people with asthma in (i) England and (ii) Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes the Interactive Health Atlas of Lung conditions in England profile that includes asthma metrics and compares local areas within England. The profile includes the prevalence of asthma, as collected by the Quality Outcomes Framework, NHS Digital.
The main findings for NHS Gloucestershire CCG and England were in 2021/22 there were 46,646 people recorded with asthma in Gloucestershire, 7.3% of the population. In England there were 3,745,077 people recorded with asthma, 6.5% of the population. The percentage of people with asthma in Gloucestershire was higher than for England as a whole. The definition of the asthma registers changed in 2020/21 and earlier years data is not directly comparable. Longer trends cannot be calculated.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on domestic pressures potentially impacting inflation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England. The Government is working closely with the Bank to ensure that monetary and fiscal policy are well coordinated, and fully supports the Bank in their mission to drive down inflation.
Consistent with monetary policy independence, the Chancellor has regular meetings with the Governor of the Bank. Open exchange of views in these meetings is critical for the Government and the Bank to understand each other’s views on the outlook for the economy and monetary and fiscal policy, to support policy making in both institutions. These meetings are therefore confidential.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the threshold for the (a) 45 per cent tax rate to £150,000 and (b) 40 per cent tax rate to £60,000 on the public purse.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government must ensure the tax system supports strong public finances and it is right that higher earning households shoulder the most burden.
The additional rate threshold of income tax is set at £125,140 for 2023-2024. This was announced at Autumn Statement 2022 and was taken as part of a number of decisions to support public finances. Only the top 2 per cent of taxpayers are affected by this change.
The higher rate threshold is high enough to protect the vast majority of people from paying the higher rate of income tax. Around 80 per cent of all income taxpayers pay at the basic rate.
The Government’s approach to delivering fiscal sustainability is underpinned by fairness, with those on the highest incomes paying a larger share.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of reducing (a) corporation tax to 15 per cent, (b) income tax to 18 per cent and (c) capital gains tax to 10 per cent on annual tax receipts.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Spring Budget 2023 delivers a package of measures that further strengthen the UK’s position as one of the most competitive major economies. The economic and fiscal impact of changes in tax policy are factored into the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts. Further detail is available in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook which is published at fiscal events.
The Government keeps the tax system under constant review and the Chancellor has signalled his intention to cut business taxes further when it is responsible to do so.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the cost to the public purse of providing free prescriptions to people aged between 60 and 66 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to make an assessment. The Department published an impact assessment in 2021 on increasing the upper age exemption for prescription charges. The impact assessment estimated that charging people aged 60 to 65 years old for prescriptions would return an additional £226 million a year. More information on this is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/996781/impact-assessment-upper-age-prescription-exemption.pdf
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage food growth in the horticulture sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An innovative, productive, and competitive agricultural sector is one of HM Government's key priorities, it is crucial to the resilience of our food system as well as an important part of our wider economy, and we are committed to supporting it.
At last month’s Farm to Fork Summit we announced a wide range of measures to support the horticulture sector, including a replacement Fruit & Vegetables Aid Scheme for England from 2026, expanding the scheme to ensure that more growers, including those involved in Controlled Environment Horticulture such as glasshouses, are able to benefit. This improved scheme will play a vital role in our farming reforms and help increase domestic horticulture production. Also announced was a review of the horticulture supply chain to help ensure farmers are paid a fair price for their produce.
Defra regularly engages with the horticulture industry to understand what support they need to continue to produce great food. Our discussions with industry representatives, help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the administration cost to the public purse of each Electronic Travel Authorisation application; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
On 6 June, I set in a Written Ministerial Statement (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-06-06/hcws821), that the proposed fee for an ETA application is £10.00. This is set at a level that will cover the costs of administering the system and is competitive compared with similar international schemes by international partners.
It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.
The estimated cost of administering each ETA application will be published when the ETA fee is formally set in the Immigration and Nationality Fees Regulations in Autumn 2023.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with National Highways on the minimum length of road allowable between two motorway junctions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I have not held any discussions with National Highways on the matter the Hon Member raises but I can assure him that National Highways follow the relevant standard for spacing and layouts of motorway junctions. Any departures from standard are considered on a case by case basis and the reasons will be unique to each location.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to maximise the benefits of the CAP1616 process in delivering airspace modernisation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys for the benefit of those who use and are affected by UK airspace. Modernisation is long overdue and is critical to ensure that UK airspace is fit for purpose in the future.
All proposals to alter flightpath arrangements must follow the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) airspace change process (CAP1616). The CAA has recently consulted on CAP1616 seeking views on various options designed to simplify its structure, make the process clearer and easier to understand, and ensure it can be proportionate and tailored to each airspace change proposal. The consultation ended on 19 March 2023 with the updates to CAP1616 expected to be in place by the end of this year.
The outputs of this consultation will allow the CAA to unlock the full benefits of the CAP1616 process and it will make a written statement on its website on this in due course.