Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received about the proposal from North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group to end the provision of NHS hearing aids.
Answered by Norman Lamb
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database identified 66 written representations received between 27 June 2014 and 2 September 2014 about North Staffordshire clinical commissioning group’s (CCG) proposals to decommission the funding of hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate age-related hearing loss.
The provision of hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss is a matter for local commissioners and is based on the needs of the local population.
As such the Department has made no representations to North Staffordshire CCG about this matter.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has made to North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group about its proposal to end the provision of NHS hearing aids.
Answered by Norman Lamb
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database identified 66 written representations received between 27 June 2014 and 2 September 2014 about North Staffordshire clinical commissioning group’s (CCG) proposals to decommission the funding of hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate age-related hearing loss.
The provision of hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss is a matter for local commissioners and is based on the needs of the local population.
As such the Department has made no representations to North Staffordshire CCG about this matter.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department allocated to local nature partnerships in 2013-14 and to which projects.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra did not allocate any funding to Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs) in 2013/14. In 2011-13 Defra, together with Natural England, provided a one-off £1 million capacity building fund for LNPs. Ongoing funding was not part of the envisaged model for LNPs. In 2013/14 the Environment Agency funded a small number of LNPs, the details of which are listed in the attached table. The Environment Agency has also contributed to other partnership projects where the LNP is a partner but not the direct recipient of its funding. These are not included in the attached table.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 113W, on unemployment benefits, what differentiation is made between paid part-time work and registered and declared voluntary work when assessing eligibility for out of work benefits.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
For most benefits, any earnings received are deducted from entitlement, subject to a disregard. This disregard may vary depending on the claimant’s circumstances, the type of occupation and the benefit in payment. Claimants are usually excluded from benefit if they work more than 16 hours per week.
Voluntary work is defined for social security purposes as work for which the claimant receives no payment other than in respect of expenses reasonably incurred by the volunteer. It must be reasonable for the claimant to be providing services without pay. Voluntary work does not affect entitlement to benefit and any expenses paid are disregarded.
Whether working part-time or doing voluntary work, the claimant must continue to meet other relevant benefit conditions. For example, in order to be entitled to Jobseeker’s Allowance they must be available for and actively seeking full-time work.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons his Department does not distinguish between those in paid and those in unpaid work when assessing their eligibility for out-of-work benefits; if he will revise his Department's policy in this area; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There are a number of working age benefits and each has slightly different rules. Working age benefits are usually affected by earnings and, depending which benefit is in payment, the amount payable may be affected. If work is unpaid because it is voluntary work, this would, in most cases, not affect the benefit award. If work is unpaid and it is not reasonable for it to be unpaid, the income related benefit rules allow an amount of notional earnings to be assumed.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made in reducing levels of tax avoidance in the UK's Overseas Territories.
Answered by David Gauke
The UK Government is at the forefront of the global response to international aggressive tax planning and cross-border evasion, driving the international tax, transparency and trade agenda forward under the UK's G8 presidency in 2013, and fully backing the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project.
Under the Prime Minister's leadership of the G8, the UK has led a global leap forward in international tax transparency, meaning there are fewer places to hide. We are imposing tough new sanctions for those who do not come forward under HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) offshore disclosure facilities. There will be serious consequences for those who continue to believe they can hide wealth offshore, when later on this year HMRC will consult on a new strict liability criminal offence that could mean jail for those who do not declare taxable offshore income. HMRC will also consult on tougher civil sanctions. In addition, last year the Government entered into a series of Intergovernmental Agreements with the overseas territories which will ensure that from September 2016 HMRC will receive details of UK residents who have bank accounts and other investments in the overseas territories.
HMRC co-operates with tax authorities in other countries, in areas such as exchange of information and recovery of tax. Following the commitments made at the G8, all of the UK's Overseas Territories with financial centres and the Crown Dependencies have taken significant steps forward on tax transparency putting them at the forefront of this agenda globally. In addition to signing agreements with the UK for the automatic exchange of tax information, they have also agreed to be early adopters of the new global standard for automatic exchange of tax information, committing to an ambitious timetable of implementation as members of a group of 44 countries and jurisdictions.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects to complete the loan guarantee arrangement for the proposed nuclear power station investments.
Answered by Baroness Morgan of Cotes
Completion of the loan guarantee arrangements for the proposed nuclear power station for Hinkley Point C will coincide with the European Commission's closing decision on the government's state aid notification in relation to the project. This is expected by the end of 2014.
If a guarantee is signed it will be reported to Parliament as required by the legislation, Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012, underpinning the scheme.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which UN peacekeeping missions established since 1990 do not have a human rights mandate.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
21 out of 51 peacekeeping missions established since 1990 did not include a human rights mandate to monitor and intervene. Of these 21, only the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is still in operation.
Human rights mandates or components in peacekeeping missions vary depending on the context, and are common in newer peacekeeping missions. The UK Government has supported these human rights mandates wherever possible. This is part of our broader efforts to mainstream human rights into the UN's peace and security work.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the West Midlands Ambulance Service's system's indicators performance in 2012-13; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in that level of performance.
Answered by Jane Ellison
A copy of West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (FT) system indicators performance data for 2012-13 has been placed in the Library.
The Department is aware that West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS FT met all three response time targets for the full year in 2012-13; despite a challenging winter period; a 6.9% rise in emergency calls; and a delay to the launch of the 111 system by NHS Direct in the West Midlands.
Asked by: Joan Walley (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the effects of delays in the organisation of the referendum in Western Sahara on the security situation in that region.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
We receive reports on the security situation in the region including in Western Sahara from a number of sources. The UN mission, MINURSO reports each year to the UN Security Council, most recently in document S/2014/258 dated April 2014.