Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how her Department defines (a) rural and (b) urban in the context of the roll-out of superfast broadband.
Answered by Matt Hancock
BDUK's State aid clearance from the European Commission has been given on the basis that deployment will be predominantly in rural and remote areas. These areas are not defined by the Commission, although BDUK has provided information to the Commission on how interventions will be targeted using population densities
The Superfast Broadband Programme aims to maximise coverage within the framework set by the State aid regime. BDUK therefore undertakes an assessment of each project to ensure that it is consistent with the State aid requirements. Projects have not been taken forward in London or Birmingham, and the eligible areas for other projects which include cities within their scope have been assessed on the basis that coverage is targeted at rural and urban fringe areas. BDUK therefore does not measure rural and urban deployment.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the birthday date for qualification for winter fuel allowance is planned to be for (a) men and (b) women in each of the next 15 years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
To receive a winter fuel payment a claimant has to have attained women’s State Pension age in or before the qualifying week which is the week beginning on the third Monday of September in that year.
The attached link provides details of the relevant dates as women’s State Pension age increases until equalisation with men’s State Pension age in November 2018.
Following equalisation entitlement to a winter fuel payment will be determined by having reached State Pension age in or before the September qualifying week.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310231/spa-timetable.pdf.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria are used to set the birthday dates for winter fuel allowance allocation.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
To receive a winter fuel payment a claimant has to have attained women’s State Pension age in or before the qualifying week which is the week beginning on the third Monday of September in that year.
The attached link provides details of the relevant dates as women’s State Pension age increases until equalisation with men’s State Pension age in November 2018.
Following equalisation entitlement to a winter fuel payment will be determined by having reached State Pension age in or before the September qualifying week.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310231/spa-timetable.pdf.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many staff have been (a) recruited and (b) redeployed to work on the Palace of Westminster restoration and renewal programme; and in what salary bands (i) those recruited and (ii) those redeployed are employed.
Answered by Tom Brake
The Restoration and Renewal Programme currently employs 29 staff. Of these, 17 have been competitively recruited to the Programme from within the House of Commons or House of Lords Service, seven have been recruited externally, three are agency staff and two are on loan, from the Corporate Services Team and the Parliamentary Digital Service. Most Programme staff are on temporary contracts; permanent staff of the two Houses would return to their previous Teams if their contracts were not renewed or extended.
Pay band | Internal | External | Total |
SCS1A | 1 |
| 1 |
SCS1 | 3 |
| 3 |
A1 | 2 | 31 | 5 |
A2 | 3 | 72 | 10 |
A3 | 1 |
| 1 |
B1 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
B2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
C | 1 |
| 1 |
D1 | 1 |
| 1 |
TOTAL | 17 | 12 | 29 |
1Includes two agency staff
2Includes one agency staff and two staff on loan
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish draft legislation on introducing a minimum tobacco tax to tackle the growth of cheaper cigarettes and protect revenues.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Draft legislation for the Minimum Excise Tax will be published on 5 December alongside other draft Finance Bill clauses.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Wales Office and (b) Welsh Government on the devolution of income tax powers and the effect of such devolution on people receiving overseas civil service pensions who are currently exempt from double taxation.
Answered by Jane Ellison
There are regular conversations between UK Government Departments, and between the UK Government and the Welsh Government on a range of issues.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) clinical commissioning groups in England and (b) local health boards in Wales are held to account for local prescribing policy decisions which restrict patient access to drugs and borderline substances recommended for reimbursement.
Answered by David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for decisions on commissioning health services to best meet the needs of their local population and are accountable for local prescribing policy decisions. In commissioning services CCGs will reflect the needs of local people and support improvements in health and healthcare outcomes.
NHS England therefore has no plans to monitor the implementation of local prescribing policies.
Arrangements for prescribing medicines in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to implement prescribing guidelines to limit variations in the provision and quality of NHS services between (a) clinical commissioning groups in England and (b) local health boards in Wales.
Answered by David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for decisions on commissioning health services to best meet the needs of their local population and are accountable for local prescribing policy decisions. In commissioning services CCGs will reflect the needs of local people and support improvements in health and healthcare outcomes.
NHS England therefore has no plans to monitor the implementation of local prescribing policies.
Arrangements for prescribing medicines in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22080, when the Environment Agency will be consulting on the proposals to modernise the rod licence service.
Answered by George Eustice
The Environment Agency advertised its proposed changes to the rod licence structure and duties on 6 May 2016 in the London Gazette, Welsh newspapers and in the angling press. The Environment Agency also consulted stakeholders through focus groups, newsletters, publications, websites, telephone calls and their stakeholder forum, the England Fisheries Group, prior to advertising the changes in England and Wales.
Asked by: Simon Hart (Conservative - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalty charges have been issued for motorway middle lane offences since the legislation governing those charges came into force.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office publishes data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for motoring offences each year, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin. However, data are not held specifically on motorway middle lane offences. These would be captured under the broader category of careless driving offences, which also includes offences such as tailgating and aggressive driving.
The published data can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales