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1105281

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms to ensure legal compliance of car manufacturers with emissions targets.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	237073
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2019 answer text <p>Since 2015, the Department has more than quadrupled its resource investment in this area. It is continuing to build both its capacity and capability to test a wide selection of vehicles in order to ensure their continuing compliance with emissions standards.</p><p>In 2016, the Department established the Market Surveillance Unit (MSU), within the Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA). The MSU works closely with the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) to check that new road vehicles placed on the UK market comply with the relevant legal obligations. The MSU publishes a yearly report of its findings, and its most recent report is at:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/691601/vehicle-market-surveillance-unit-programme-results-2017.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/691601/vehicle-market-surveillance-unit-programme-results-2017.pdf</a></p><p>New regulations were introduced in 2018 which make it an offence for a manufacturer to supply a vehicle to the UK market which contains a prohibited defeat device. The fines can be up to £50,000 per offence.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 29/03/2019 12:43:18 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1077662

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2019
	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: Drugs
	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 his oral Answer of 19 February 2019, Official Report, column 1315, on Leaving the EU: Contingency Planning, how his Department calculated the estimated cost of NHS no-deal contingency plans.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	226083
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2019 answer text <p>The £11 million (approximate) figure quoted by my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, refers to the costs of the contracts the Department has signed with warehouse providers to provide storage facilities to stockpile medicines in case of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal on 29 March 2019.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 06/03/2019 10:59:22 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1055083

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Blaenau Gwent
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2019 to Question 204471 on Personal Independence Payment: Blaenau Gwent, what information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) value of hardship payments made to claimants from Blaenau Gwent while awaiting payment for arrears as a result of a successful Tribunal decision.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	217042
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>We aim to pay arrears on overturned cases as soon as we can, providing we have all the required information to do so, for example, up to date claimant bank details.</p><p> </p><p>Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not an income replacement benefit; it can be received in or out of work therefore hardship payments are not made in these circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions administers a wide range of benefits and allowances for which there are a range of conditions for entitlement. Some of these benefits may be of help, including Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 13/02/2019 15:31:41 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1055086

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Volkswagen
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 207177 on Volkswagen: Exhaust Emissions, what investigations his Department conducted to determine that no wrongdoing has taken place within the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	217045
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2019 answer text <p>The relevant engines were designed, developed, manufactured and presented for type approval (either by the UK Vehicle Certification Agency or other EU type approval authorities) outside the UK. The Government has not aware of any evidence that representatives of VW UK were aware of the wrongdoing.</p><p> </p><p>Evidence on this matter is likely to flow, if at all, from the investigation now being undertaken in Germany. In these circumstances it would not be appropriate for the UK to carry out a separate parallel investigation, and there would be significant difficulties in obtaining evidence. However, the Government has reserved its position on this matter and continues to monitor the German investigation with interest.</p><p> </p><p>Given that the German investigation remains under way, the Secretary of State has had no further recent discussions with his German counterpart.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 217046 question first answered 12/02/2019 15:57:47 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1055087

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Volkswagen
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 207177 on Volkswagen: Exhaust Emissions, what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart on criminal proceedings against executives of Volkswagen.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	217046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2019 answer text <p>The relevant engines were designed, developed, manufactured and presented for type approval (either by the UK Vehicle Certification Agency or other EU type approval authorities) outside the UK. The Government has not aware of any evidence that representatives of VW UK were aware of the wrongdoing.</p><p> </p><p>Evidence on this matter is likely to flow, if at all, from the investigation now being undertaken in Germany. In these circumstances it would not be appropriate for the UK to carry out a separate parallel investigation, and there would be significant difficulties in obtaining evidence. However, the Government has reserved its position on this matter and continues to monitor the German investigation with interest.</p><p> </p><p>Given that the German investigation remains under way, the Secretary of State has had no further recent discussions with his German counterpart.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 217045 question first answered 12/02/2019 15:57:47 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1052504

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2019
	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: Drugs
	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 January 2019 to Question 205244 on Drugs: Refrigerators, how many refrigerators his Department has purchased as part of contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU to date.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	215569
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2019 answer text <p>As part of the Department’s ‘no deal’ European Union exit contingency planning contract agreements have been signed for the provision of storage. The contracts include capacity for 5,000 pallets of refrigerated warehouse storage.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 08/02/2019 12:50:15 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1045494

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	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: Drugs
	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 January 2019 to Question 205247 on Drugs: refrigerators, what proportion of the (a) ambient storage pallets, (b) refrigerated storage pallets and (c) controlled drug storage pallets purchased as part of the Department's contingency planning in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal were manufactured in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	210498
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s contingency planning is to ask industry to stockpile an additional six weeks’ supply of prescription-only and pharmacy medicines which come to the United Kingdom from or via the European Union/European Economic Area, over and above usual buffer stocks. No medicines or pallets have been purchased as part of the contingency planning.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 29/01/2019 17:12:16 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1038936

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on the financial circumstances of universal credit claimants who receive their wages on a fixed day each month and therefore have multiple pay days during an assessment period; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	207176
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit payments reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income falls, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.</p><p> </p><p>Some claimants receive earnings from work multiple times within an assessment period if they are paid via four-weekly, fortnightly, or weekly patterns. This in turn may reduce, or in some cases, nil the Universal Credit award the claimant receives that month. Claimants can always discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant’s Universal Credit claim is closed due to this, claimants can re-claim the following month via a more simplified process than for an initial claim. We have produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles. This is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles</a></p><p> </p><p>The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have recently updated guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/01/2019 15:22:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1038944

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Volkswagen
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that legal action is pursued against Volkswagen executives regarding that company's emissions scandal.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	207177
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>Volkswagen's behaviour in installing defeat devices in its vehicles has been entirely unacceptable. Taking criminal action against Volkswagen is complex given that in legal terms the wrongdoing appears to have taken place outside the UK. It is for the German Government in the first instance to prosecute.</p><p> </p><p>For this reason, it would be inappropriate to carry out a separate parallel UK criminal investigation. The Department reserves the option to do so, however, based on the evidence from any German prosecution.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 16/01/2019 14:33:38 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1035219

	registered interest
	date	04/01/2019
	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: Drugs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the locations at which the refrigerators purchased by his Department for the preservation of medicines as part of contingency planning in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal will be stored.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	205242
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2019 answer text <p>As part of the Department’s ‘no deal’ European Union exit contingency planning, a tender process to procure additional warehouse space built in the mainland United Kingdom to store stockpiled medicines, including ambient, refrigerated and controlled drug storage, was undertaken in October 2018. Contract agreements for storage have recently been signed or will be signed imminently. This is expected to cost the Government in the low tens of millions of pounds with the refrigerated storage expected to cost circa £1 million.</p><p> </p><p>The contracts will cover additional capacity including 53,000 pallets of ambient storage, 5,000 pallets of refrigerated storage and 850 pallets of controlled drug storage. We have agreed funding on the condition that the additional medicine warehousing capacity is in place in time to accommodate stockpiled medicines by the beginning of February 2019, lasting for a period of between 12 and 18 months. For security reasons the locations of the additional warehouse capacity will not be published.</p><p> </p><p>The Department’s funding for additional warehouse capacity is on the condition that it is exclusively for the storage of additional stockpiles of prescription only and pharmacy medicines that come into the UK from or via the EU. The Department recognises that through our ‘no deal’ EU exit medicines contingency programme. We are requesting sensitive commercial information from pharmaceutical suppliers. To reassure participating companies, we have committed to treating all information received confidentially, securely and to using it only for the purposes of the Department’s programme. That means not introducing information about specific medicines into the public domain.</p><p> </p><p>As with many contracts involving capital investment, the Department will be liable for some capital costs already incurred by the contractors in the event of a deal being approved by parliament. In that scenario, warehouse providers are required to decommission the additional capacity. The Department has also put in place measures to minimise pre-committed expenditure in the event of a deal being achieved.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond grouped question UIN 205243 205244 205245 205246 205247 205248 205249 205250 question first answered 11/01/2019 12:13:04 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith