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1688310

registered interest
date	07/02/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the past 12 months for which data are available, how much money was (1) credited to NHS Healthy Start cards, (2) used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items, and (3) not used.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2024 answer text <p>Under the Healthy Start scheme, pregnant women and children aged under four years old and over one years old, each receive £4.25 every week, and children under one years old each receive £8.50 every week. Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen or tinned fruits and vegetables, fresh, dried and tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. The money is loaded onto a pre-paid payment card. Beneficiaries are not required to spend the money each week and it can be accumulated and put towards more expensive Healthy Start items, such as infant formula. The legislation states that only after 16 consecutive weeks of the pre-paid payment card not being used can the card be cancelled.</p><p>This flexibility in how and when the money can be used means that the total amount spent in any one month can exceed the amount added in that month, if beneficiaries have accumulated funds in previous months. The following table shows the latest data for how much was added onto Healthy Start cards and spent, per month, during 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Total added</p></td><td><p>Total spent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£7,859,474.75</p></td><td><p>£8,353,475.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£7,435,669.76</p></td><td><p>£7,320,424.91</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£10,626,362.86</p></td><td><p>£8,971,140.57</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£11,665,242.36</p></td><td><p>£10,012,024.12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£8,137,362.11</p></td><td><p>£8,218,389.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£7,805,625.26</p></td><td><p>£7,873,571.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£9,171,390.95</p></td><td><p>£8,021,060.44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£8,535,237.75</p></td><td><p>£7,985,449.52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£7,549,456.50</p></td><td><p>£7,887,565.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£8,289,498.25</p></td><td><p>£7,715,832.34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£7,954,638.13</p></td><td><p>£7,131,207.48</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£7,750,004.57</p></td><td><p>£7,013,663.46</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This flexibility also means that from month to month some of the money may remain on the payment cards without being used. During 2023 the average outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards was £12.6 million. This equates to around £37 per household. If a card was unused for 16 weeks as permitted in the legislation, it would accumulate £68 for a pregnant woman or a family with a child over one and under four, or £136 for a family with twins under one years old. The average balance of £37 per household is less than 16 weeks’ entitlement, although these are aggregate figures and there will be variation across households. The following table shows the total outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards, per month, during 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Total outstanding balance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£11,876,537.16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£11,456,639.28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£11,444,727.51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£12,465,403.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£12,238,144.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£12,123,823.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£12,777,017.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£13,193,581.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£13,677,365.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£13,066,802.63</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£13,418,231.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£13,850,960.26</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL2281 question first answered 20/02/2024 15:55:51 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1183447

registered interest
date	09/03/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	4G: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparison they have made of 4G signal strength and reliability between rural areas in (1) England, and (2) France.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2350
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 HL2282 HL2283 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

1183186

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	4G
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of England is covered by 4G.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 HL2282 HL2283 HL2350 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

1183187

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	4G
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of 4G coverage in the UK in comparison to such coverage in France.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2280 HL2281 HL2282 HL2283 HL2350 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

1183188

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	4G: Greater London
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of London has reliable 4G coverage; and how that percentage compares to the reliability of such coverage in Paris.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2281 HL2282 HL2283 HL2350 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

1183190

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Mobile Broadband: Infrastructure
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invest in (1) 4G, and (2) 5G, infrastructure over the next four years; what reception improvements are expected as a result of such investment; and when they estimate reception will improve.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2282
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 HL2283 HL2350 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

1183191

registered interest
date	05/03/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	4G
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reliability of 4G in the UK compared to EU countries.
tabling member printed	Lord Mawson
uin	HL2283
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.</p><p>Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.</p><p>While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.</p><p>The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.</p><p>We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi</a> suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.</p><p>While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 HL2282 HL2350 question first answered 16/03/2020 16:31:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3830 label Biography information for Lord Mawson

419209

registered interest
date	16/09/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	NHS: Drugs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of comments by the NHS National Clinical Director for Specialised Services in July stating that the NHS was unlikely to be able to afford increasing costs for specialised drugs, whether they plan to investigate why NHS England Specialised Services have not received any additional funding to spend on new products through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, and where those available funds have been spent within NHS England.
tabling member printed	Lord Willis of Knaresborough
uin	HL2282
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2015 answer text <p>The following table includes information on aggregate payments received by the Department since the beginning of the Pharmaceutical Scheme 2014. The Department publishes quarterly information on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) sales and payments on the Government’s website at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pprs-quarterly-net-sales-and-payment-information</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year and Quarter (Q)</p></td><td><p>Aggregate Payments Received by the Department of Health</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014 Q1</p></td><td><p>£74 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014 Q2</p></td><td><p>£76 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014 Q3</p></td><td><p>£79 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014 Q4</p></td><td><p>£81 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015 Q1</p></td><td><p>£208 million</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015 Q2</p></td><td><p>£209 million</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department ensures that all the income it receives from PPRS payments in England is reinvested in the National Health Service for patients’ benefit. The Department includes the expected PPRS payments in setting the NHS England allocations in advance of each year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As a statutory organisation, it is for NHS England to ensure that its actions are in line with its statutory duties. NHS England is responsible for allocating its overall budget (which includes expected income from PPRS payments in England) across commissioning areas, including specialised commissioning and clinical commissioning groups. Following normal Government accounting rules, there is no separately identified or ring-fenced funding stream associated with the PPRS payments.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government believes that NHS commissioners and providers are best placed to decide how to allocate their budgets to deliver improvements in the outcomes for patients. The PPRS includes a number of commitments for improving patient outcomes by improving access to clinically and cost effective medicines.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Prior of Brampton grouped question UIN HL2281 question first answered 22/09/2015 10:32:21 answering member 127 label Biography information for Lord Prior of Brampton
tabling member	4151 label Biography information for Lord Willis of Knaresborough

100071

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the effectiveness of the combination of the Azure payment card and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in enabling refused asylum seekers to meet their basic needs.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:54 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100072

registered interest
date	21/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to abolish the Azure payment card and amend legislation to enable the provision of cash support for all refused asylum seekers until they are either given status in the United Kingdom or return to their country of origin.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2277 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:55 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno