Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice his Department is providing to importers on how to make customs declarations on goods arriving from EU member states after 29 March 2018 in the event that such declarations are required.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
On 23 August, HMRC published Technical Notices on Customs, Excise and VAT procedures that would apply under no deal arrangements and the implications for businesses. HMRC has also written to 145,000 traders over the VAT threshold who currently only trade with the EU to explain the changes and to encourage them to look at the existing rest of world guidance on GOV.UK. We have also published our letter to EU only traders on GOV.UK.
We know that there would be some additional smaller businesses impacted who are not currently registered for VAT. We have engaged with trade and business representative bodies who have greater knowledge and access to these businesses. We plan to communicate through these groups, so that these smaller businesses are told about any implications. We will shortly publish a partnership pack that these representative bodies can use in their own communications.
To support the customs intermediaries sector to expand ahead of March 2019 HM Treasury and HMRC have also designed a package of measures which includes a one-off investment of £8 million to support broker training and increased automation.
HMRC’s communications plans have a phased approach and later in the year they will provide more information on what people can do should they wish to make preparations.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement made by the Chief Executive of NHS England at the International Practitioner Health Summit 2018, if he has plans to extend the Practitioner Health Programme to (a) nurses, (b) midwives, (c) other NHS practitioners and (d) professionals treating NHS patients.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
There are no plans to include nurses, midwives, other NHS practitioners or professionals treating National Health Service patients in the roll out of the Practitioner Health Programme, which is a free, confidential service for doctors and dentists who have mental health and/or addiction concerns, or physical health issues that may be affecting their mental health or ability to work. More information on the announcement can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2018/10/nhs-to-prioritise-doctors-mental-health/
NHS Improvement’s health and wellbeing collaborative involves 73 trusts which will identify and roll out 10 high impact actions as part of the NHS commitment to reducing NHS staff sickness absence by 1% by 2020 and to the public services average by 2022.
Both the Framework and NHS Improvement health and wellbeing collaborative embed ‘Thriving at Work’ principles which are aimed at improving workplace mental health.
NHS England has an incentive programme running to 2019 which encourages trusts to invest in innovative new services to support their staff health and wellbeing. To trigger the incentive payments, trusts have to demonstrate a 5% improvement or 75% positive response to two of three NHS Staff Survey questions on health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) doctors and (b) dentists have died by suicide in each of the last five years; what the average age of such doctors and dentists was when they died; and whether he has plans to create a national service to help health professionals suffering from mental illnesses.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This information is not collected centrally.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does collect some data relating to the number of suicides registered in England and Wales between 2013 – 2017 where the occupation was recorded as medical practitioner or dental practitioner on the death certificate.
This information is contained in the following tables.
Number of deaths1 | ||
Registration year | England | Wales |
2013 | 20 | : |
2014 | 18 | 3 |
2015 | 14 | : |
2016 | 13 | : |
2017 | 18 | : |
Total | 83 | 6 |
Number of suicides in England and Wales for dental practitioners, deaths registered between 2013 and 2017.
Number of deaths2 | ||
Registration year | England | Wales |
2013 | 3 | : |
2014 | 3 | : |
2015 | 3 | : |
2016 | 7 | : |
2017 | 3 | : |
Total | 19 | 3 |
Notes:
1For disclosure control, any cells where the count of deaths is lower than three have been supressed and marked “:” to show this.
2Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘suicide registrations in the UK’ statistical bulletin at the following link:
Data on the average age of death by each occupation is not recorded by the ONS. Deaths registered in England and Wales between 2013 and 2017, indicate the average age of death by suicide was 45 years for medical practitioners and 49 years for dental practitioners.
Number of suicides in England and Wales for medical practitioners, deaths registered between 2013 and 2017.
Due to small numbers of deaths, ONS are unable to provide the average age of death by year for each occupation. When looking at deaths registered in England and Wales between 2013 and 2017, the average age of death was 45 years for medical practitioners and 49 years for dental practitioners. Data on occupation is restricted to those aged 20 to 64 years, those of working age; this impacts the average age of death, something that should be interpreted with caution. The average age of death does not necessarily reflect the age at which people in these professions are at highest risk of suicide, and is not comparable with statistics produced by the ONS on life expectancy in the general population.
The health and wellbeing of all our National Health Service staff is a top priority and, in July, NHS England published its NHS staff health and wellbeing framework which complements our recent announcement of quicker access to mental health services such as counselling and talking therapies for staff who need them. This will help deliver our manifesto promise to “introduce new services for employees to give them the support they need including quicker access to mental health services”.
This builds on NHS England’s “Commissioning for Quality and Innovation” incentive scheme encouraging employers to invest in services to help staff stay physically and mentally fit and well and NHS Improvement’s ongoing work in collaboration with the NHS to improve staff health and wellbeing and reduce sickness absence.
In 2017, NHS England launched the NHS GP Health service, a nationally-funded confidential service which specialises in supporting general practitioners (GPs) and trainee GPs experiencing mental ill health and which has already helped more than 1,500 GPs.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the financial liabilities the UK would have to accept in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In the unlikely event that we leave the EU without a deal, the financial settlement, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, would be open for consideration. As the Prime Minister has clearly stated, we are a country that believes in the rule of law and therefore we would abide by our legal obligations. However, the nature of the financial settlement, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, is contingent upon us agreeing the deal as a whole.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the White Paper, The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, Cm 9593, how many staff members in the Europe Unit worked on that white paper.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The White Paper builds on the Prime Minister’s Mansion House speech and followed months of discussions across Whitehall. Preparation for the White Paper was coordinated, and led by the Department for Exiting the European Union.
Work to support the White Paper required a cross-government effort and included close collaboration with the Cabinet Office Europe Unit, involving a number of staff at all levels.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will list all the external analysis that has been commissioned by his Department since its inception; and what amount of money was spent on each such piece.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. This analysis helps define our future partnership with the EU, and informs our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would reveal our negotiating position and so the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on analytical work that is being carried out.
Costs spent on analysis directly commissioned externally by the Department for Exiting the European Union are recorded and published under the category of consultancy spending in our Annual Report and Accounts. The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2017-18 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727528/CCS207_CCS0618826768-1_DExEU_ARA_1718_PDF_Final_TEXT_v2__1_.pdf
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will list (a) all the economic qualifications held by staff in his Department's Planning and Analysis Directorate and (b) what level those qualifications are.
Answered by Robin Walker
The information you have requested is not held centrally therefore we are not in a position to provide this for particular groups of staff.
The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff. The Department continues to recruit the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector, in a range of professions, including the Government Economics Service (GES). The Department also coordinates the work of specialist economists from across the whole of Government on exit related policy. This ensures that it draws together the expertise and specific relevant knowledge required to deliver the Department’s objectives to secure the best possible deal on the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU, and build a deep and comprehensive future partnership between the UK and the EU.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when officials in the Europe Unit first had discussions with officials of the Department for Exiting the European Union on the Government's Chequers plan for leaving the EU.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The proposals discussed at Chequers and the White Paper built on the position set out by the Prime Minister at Mansion House, which was the subject of wide-ranging discussions across Whitehall.
The Cabinet Office with Europe Unit have close working relationships across Whitehall, especially DExEU. All departments are working closely together to deliver a successful departure from the European Union.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the recent statement of the Irish Prime Minister on the use of Irish airspace by UK airlines in the event of no deal being reached under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union; what advice the Government is providing to UK airlines as a result of that statement; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Grayling
The ability of UK airlines to fly through Irish airspace is not dependent upon the result of our negotiations with the EU.
Airspace use is governed and guaranteed by an international treaty – the International Air Services Transit Agreement – to which both the UK and Ireland are signatories.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what preparations he has made to support the resilience of UK companies' ability to send data across international borders in the event of no agreement being reached under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
As the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech, achieving a deal on data protection is one of the foundations that must underpin the UK-EU trading relationship. The recently published White Paper (available on gov.uk) sets out the UK’s ambition for a future EU-UK relationship on data protection, which builds on standard adequacy arrangements to provide for ongoing regulatory cooperation and joined up enforcement action between UK and EU data protection authorities. The government is ready to begin preliminary discussions on an adequacy assessment straight away to provide the earliest possible reassurance that data flows can continue.
However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached on data protection. That is exactly what we are doing across the whole of government, including on data transfer. Without an adequacy decision or new model in place, it is still possible for personal data to be transferred to third countries in some circumstances. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and Law Enforcement Directive sets out alternative methods of transfer, which companies and public authorities may use to transfer data to third countries in the absence of an adequacy decision. Further guidance on this issue is available from the ICO website.
As such, we will continue to engage with organisations that transfer personal data across borders to help them understand how they would need to operate under a range of outcomes on data protection.