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1683307

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
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	NHS: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2023 to Question 5383 on NHS: Standards, what steps her Department is taking to to ensure quality improvement across (a) NHS England, (b) Integrated Health and Care Boards and (c) NHS Hospital Trusts.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10452
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>NHS Improving Patient Care Together is the single improvement approach to support all National Health Service organisations, systems, and providers at every level, including NHS England, to have the skills and techniques to deliver continuous improvement. Information and resources are available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.england.nhs.uk%2Fnhsimpact%2Fabout-nhs-impact%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CFrancesca.Day%40dhsc.gov.uk%7C679a326c09594acdc07e08dbfc005597%7C61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a1c%7C1%7C0%7C638380850600125951%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=3fC5Kj0WuJz7kdclLWI9HRzV20VSjoxtP%2BMzeb3RHbk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhsimpact/about-nhs-impact/</a></p><p> </p><p>The performance of integrated care boards (ICBs) in the exercise of their functions is assessed, annually, by NHS England. The NHS Oversight Framework describes NHS England’s approach to the oversight of ICBs, and is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-oversight-framework/" target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-oversight-framework/</a></p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 23/01/2024 09:17:35 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683308

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Public Transport: Newcastle upon Tyne
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to increase access to affordable public transport options for people aged between 16 and 24 in Newcastle.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10453
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government introduced a £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London on 1 January 2023 to help all passengers save on their regular travel costs. The Government is investing nearly £600 million to deliver the scheme, including additional funding redirected from HS2 to keep the cap in place until the end of 2024. There are currently over 140 bus operators and more than 5,000 routes in the scheme, including routes in Newcastle.</p><p>The Government is also providing over £2 billion to help local transport authorities (LTAs) deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP). This includes the announcement by the Prime Minister in October 2023 that a further £1 billion would be redirected from HS2 to deliver better bus services in the North and the Midlands.</p><p>The North East has so far been allocated £175 million to deliver their BSIP, which can be used to support any bus service improvements that the local authority – working with local bus operators – know their community needs, including introducing local fares initiatives in addition to the Government’s £2 bus fare cap. Thanks to this funding, Transport North East has launched a £1 fare for the under 22s and a £3 daily ticket for under 22s offering unlimited travel on bus, Metro and Ferry throughout the region.</p><p>More widely, the North East is now eligible for the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement following their Devolution Deal and, upon election of a Mayor, we will work with them on their delivery plans to support local transport within the region. Up to £563m is available from their CRSTS 1 funding settlement (from 2022 – 2027). CRSTS 2 allocations were announced as part of Network North in October, with the North East indicatively allocated a further £1,849 billion from 2027/28 -2031/32.</p><p>Additionally, there are a range of discounts available to 16 to 24-year-olds to help with the cost of rail travel - in 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver, meaning that a 50% discount is available to children throughout their period of compulsory education and training. For those aged 16-25, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel.</p><p>In England, the majority of bus services outside London operate on a commercial basis, and decisions about offering reduced or discounted fares for commercial bus services are predominantly for operators to take. Many bus operators currently offer discounted travel cards for younger people. Our most recent set of statistics shows that at least one commercial operator in 71 out of 84 travel concession authority areas in England, outside London, offered some form of discounted travel for young people.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 23/01/2024 14:38:01 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683309

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Development Aid: Research
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what budget has been allocated to Official Development Assistance (ODA) R&D for the 2024-25 financial year; and whether the Government plans to announce funding programmes in addition to the International Science Partnerships Fund to make ODA R&D funding available to researchers.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10454
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>Continuing DSIT’s commitment to support R&amp;D for international development, the Department has invested £280 million in ODA R&amp;D for activity already live under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund over this Spending Review period; and, £218 million of ODA R&amp;D for new activity under the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF). Annual spend data will be available through the established “Statistics on International Development” (SID) process.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 23/01/2024 10:59:43 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1682875

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
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	Cystic Fibrosis: Medical Treatments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NICE’s assessment of the costs and benefits of funding a medication takes into account the size of the community affected; and what discussions NICE has had with patients on the use of Kaftrio for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not take the size of the affected community into account when making recommendation on the clinical and cost effectiveness of medicines.</p><p>In 2017, a Budget Impact Test was introduced to mitigate the affordability challenge that higher cost medicines for large patient populations can present to the National Health Service, even at a cost-effective price. If the estimated budget impact of a medicine exceeds £20 million in any of the first three years of its use, NHS England may engage in commercial discussions with the company to mitigate the impact that funding the medicine would have on the rest of the NHS.</p><p>NICE is currently developing guidance for the NHS on the clinical and cost effectiveness of Kaftrio and other cystic fibrosis medicines and is engaging with patient groups as part of the appraisal process. NICE recently consulted on its draft recommendations and is now engaging with key stakeholders to determine the most appropriate next steps. This includes exploring potential commercial solutions.</p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 23/01/2024 14:50:02 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683028

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Research: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs' definition of a competent professional is applied consistently when assessing research and development tax relief claims.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10118
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2024 answer text <p>A competent professional is someone suitably qualified or experienced in the field. Having worked in a field or having an intelligent interest alone, does not make a person a competent professional. They must have enough knowledge and experience relevant to the qualifying project.</p><p> </p><p>The opinion of a competent professional should set out:</p><ul><li>the depth of the competent professional’s knowledge and experience in the relevant field</li></ul><ul><li>the current state of relevant knowledge in the field</li><li>what the advance in science or technology being sought is</li></ul><ul><li>why what is being sought is an advance in the field</li><li>how the advance relates to knowledge, capability, or a mixture of the two.</li></ul><p>HMRC will give due weight to an opinion offered by the company’s competent professional but further enquiry may still be needed, especially where the opinion omits the required information, as set out above.</p><p>HMRC are committed to adhering to the values set out in the HMRC Charter and have a quality assurance programme to ensure consistency when applying guidance.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 22/01/2024 17:16:24 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683029

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Research: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure consistency in the processing of claims for (a) Research and Development Expenditure Credit and (b) research and development tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprise; and what training is received by HMRC staff working on such claims.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10119
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>All R&amp;D claims go through a risk screening process before the payment process. Where risks are identified, HMRC opens enquires into those claims following the HMRC Enquiry manual, a detailed guidance framework on conducting compliance checks.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 23/01/2024 12:11:19 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683030

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Research: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's policy paper entitled Merger of current small or medium enterprise (SME) and Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) schemes, updated on 23 November 2023, whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of the proposed merger on individual sectors.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10120
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>R&amp;D tax relief will continue to be available to all sectors following the merger of the small or medium enterprise (SME) and Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) schemes.</p><p>The government will monitor the impact on claimants of R&amp;D relief policy changes, including on sectors, through information collected from claims and claim notifications.</p><p>HMRC publish annual statistics on the sectoral distribution of R&amp;D tax credit claims <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-development-tax-credit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-development-tax-credit</a></p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 23/01/2024 12:13:09 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683031

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Research: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) Research and Development Expenditure Credit and (b) Research and Development tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises claims were disallowed in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the most common reason was for a claim being disallowed in each of those years.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10121
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2024 answer text <p>HMRC do not publish the proportion of R&amp;D claims disallowed and the reasons for disallowing them.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC publish the estimated amount of R&amp;D tax relief claimed and the estimated number of claims. The latest figures for 2021-2022 are published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-development-tax-credit/research-and-development-tax-credits-statistics-september-2023#:~:text=The%20total%20number%20of%20R%26D,Credit%20(%20RDEC%20)%20scheme%20claims" target="_blank">Research and Development Tax Credit Statistics September 2023</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 22/01/2024 17:11:52 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683032

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Research: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claimants have been sanctioned for falsely claiming for (a) R&D expenditure credit and (b) small and medium-sized enterprise R&D tax relief.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10122
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2024 answer text HM Revenue and Customs conducts both civil and criminal investigations into R&D claimants it suspects have made false claims. HM Revenue and Customs does not centrally store data regarding penalties imposed due to falsely claimed R&D. It should be noted that in both civil and criminal operations, R&D (and any related penalty) may be one part of the investigation and form an element of the subsequent penalty and/or sentence. answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 22/01/2024 17:56:11 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1683033

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Research: Tax Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with insurance companies on recent trends in the level of the availability of insurance premiums that insure against (a) Research and Development Expenditure Credit and (b) Research and Development tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises claims being disallowed.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	10123
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2024 answer text <p>Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis.</p><p>Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms of cover they offer, including for tax liabilities, based on their assessment on the likelihood of a claim being made. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to making Research &amp; Development (R&amp;D) claims as straightforward as possible. His Majesty’s Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC), are responsible for delivering the checks and compliance activity for R&amp;D claims, in line with their professional standards for compliance.</p> answering member constituency Hitchin and Harpenden answering member printed Bim Afolami question first answered 22/01/2024 18:30:39 answering member 4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah