Thursday 5 March 2015

The Petition of residents of the Plymouth Moor View constituency and others,

Declares that the Petitioners would like the Government to provide additional powers to the Information Commissioner to stop the scourge of nuisance texts and phone calls; further declares that these calls are unsolicited but can result in the recipient being inconvenienced and charged when abroad.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to review the current law on cold and marketing calls and texts.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Alison Seabeck, Official Report, 16 December 2014; Vol. 589, c. 1375 .]

[P001413]

Observations from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport:

Tackling nuisance calls is a priority for the Government. We have taken steps to tackle the problem through publication of the first ever Nuisance Calls Action Plan on 30 March 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuisance-calls-action-plan-unveiled. This set out in detail our achievements to date, work underway and proposed actions for the future, which included both legislative and non-legislative measures.

This includes consulting between 25 October and 6 December 2014 on our proposal to lower or remove the legal threshold to improve the ability of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to take more enforcement action, including issuing monetary penalties. The Government’s Response to this consultation was published on 25 February confirming we would be removing the legal threshold to make it effective for 6 April 2015.

Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003, the ICO has responsibility for considering complaints about unsolicited direct marketing nuisance calls and text messages and can issue a substantive monetary penalty of up to £500,000 to any organisation for breaching the regulations. Since January 2012, the ICO has taken enforcement action against nine companies with monetary penalties totalling £815,000 being issued for calls and text messages and further monetary penalties are likely to be issued after we lower or remove the legal threshold for the ICO. Further details about the enforcement action taken to date by the ICO can be viewed at: http://ico.org.uk/enforcement/action/texts. The ICO’s approach to regulation is to follow good regulatory principles taking a proportionate approach using strong enforcement action coupled with effective education and engagement with organisations that breach the regulations.

Additionally, the Government have responded to the six Which? led Taskforce recommendations for Government that were set out in their report of 8 December 2014. The Taskforce considered consent and lead generation issues within the direct marketing industry and started its work in late May holding six meetings. Its membership included Ofcom, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Direct Marketing Association, Call Credit, Barclaycard, the Customer Contact Association, the Ministry of Justice and the Communications Consumer Panel.

The Government will also be consulting on bringing forward secondary legislation to amend the PECR and require marketing callers to provide their Calling Line Identification (CLI). This will enable consumers to determine who is calling them and therefore allow such calls to be reported more easily.

We will continue in our efforts to combat this menace by working with regulators, industry and consumer groups including through my roundtable meetings.

The Petition of Dr Christopher Turner, Mrs Gillian Turner, Mr Peter Styles, Mrs Julia Styles, Mr Peter Skoulding, Mrs Julie Skoulding, Miss Lucy Skoulding and others.

Declare that the most common cause of meningitis in the UK is bacterial meningitis caused by a meningococcal group B infection; further that the Petitioners believe meningitis and meningococcal disease are greatly feared by both doctors and parents; further that the disease strikes without warning, can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages, and can lead to at worst death of a child/ or teenager within 24 hours from the onset of mild symptoms or severe disabilities including loss of limbs, deafness, blindness and mental changes in survivors; further that in addition to hospitalisation costs to the NHS involving intensive care sometimes for extended periods of time, it is estimated that the cost for care of each survivor is £3 million pounds during their remaining lifetime; further that in addition, litigation claims to the NHS for clinical negligence in respect of meningitis B run into millions of pounds annually; further that the introduction into the Childhood Immunisation Programme of Haemophilus influenzae B, meningococcal C, and pneumococcal vaccines has been highly successful in almost eradicating these causes of meningitis; further that in contrast, the Meningitis B vaccine (Bexcero) received its licence in January 2013 but has been denied by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for NHS patients; further that it is available for those parents wealthy enough to pay privately at a cost of £75 to £125 per injection; further that two injections are normally required; further that the vaccine manufacturer has offered significantly reduced, but unspecified, prices to the NHS; further that whilst the number of cases of meningitis B vary from year to year, it is reported that in 2010 there were 1870 cases, that is five families affected each day; further that the death rate ranges from 5 to 10 per cent of cases; further that disabilities are reported to occur in 20 to 30 per cent of survivors; further that the sum of this failure to implement meningitis B vaccination on the NHS is a significant burden on taxpayers and the national exchequer in both the short and long term, notwithstanding the effects on individual families and the cost to them both in monetary and psychological terms and further that taking a median figure of 25 per cent with residual disability at £3 million pounds each, the cost to the Exchequer reaches £140 million pounds per annum and this is likely to be an underestimate when family factors are taken into consideration.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Department of Health to introduce meningitis B vaccine for all on the NHS.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Official Report, 7 July 2014; Vol. 584, c. 1P .]

[P001365]

Observations from the Secretary of State for Health:

The Government recognise the devastating and distressing impact that meningococcal B (MenB) disease can have. In June 2013, the Secretary of State asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for a recommendation on the use of the recently licensed MenB vaccine, Bexsero® in the national immunisation programme.

On 21 March 2014, JCVI recommended that Bexsero® should be added to the infant immunisation schedule, subject to the Department of Health being able to purchase the vaccine from the manufacturer, Novartis at a cost-effective price, which is significantly lower than the published list price.

The Department of Health welcomed JCVI’s recommendation, and the Secretary of State for Health is under a statutory duty to implement it, subject to obtaining the vaccine at a cost-effective price.

The Department of Health is continuing to negotiate with the manufacturer for the supply of Bexsero®. The Department hopes that the manufacturer will offer the vaccine at a cost-effective price so that plans for the new immunisation programme can be finalised as soon as possible.

The Petition of a resident of the UK,

Declares that the closure of both the Barclays and NatWest branches in Sedbergh would leave the town without any bank branch, causing an inconvenience for small businesses, vulnerable residents and the community of Sedbergh.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage the Chief Executives of both Barclays and NatWest to retain their branches in Sedbergh.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Tim Farron, Official Report, 3 February 2015; Vol. 592, c. 245 .]

[P001424]

Observations from the Chancellor of Exchequer:

The Government thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lansdale (Tim Farron) for his petition on the closure of the Barclays and NatWest branches in Sedburgh.

The Government are sorry to hear about the disappointment that the closure of the local NatWest and Barclays bank branches has caused to residents of Sedbergh.

Improving access to banking is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan. The Government continue to engage actively with the banking industry and consumer groups on these matters. Recently, the Economic Secretary for the Treasury has chaired a series of roundtable meetings alongside the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills on access to banking. The UK’s banks and building societies have been tasked with enhancing and improving awareness of the banking services available through the Post Office.

Many bank account providers already have an arrangement with the Post Office to provide access to their bank accounts, where customers can withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at all 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

While the range of services offered by the Post Office may be more limited than that offered in a traditional bank branch, the services provided through the Post Office’s extensive network ensures that essential banking facilities remain available in as many communities as possible. This Government have committed almost £2 billion to protect and modernise the Post Office network.

Although we can understand local residents’ concern, decisions on opening and closing agencies are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis. As with other banking service providers, Barclays and NatWest need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy and the Government do not seek to intervene in these decisions.

The Petition of residents of St Agnes,

Declares that the Petitioners oppose the plans to close the St Agnes branch of Barclays Bank; further that the Petitioners feel that the branch is a vital element of their community; and further that a local Petition on this matter has been signed by 2827 individuals.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Barclays to reverse their decision to close the branch in St Agnes or to postpone the closure to enable the Petitioners to work with the bank to make it more viable for it to be kept open.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Sarah Newton, Official Report, 12 February 2015; Vol. 592, c. 1049 .]

[P001435]

Observations from the Chancellor of Exchequer:

The Government thank the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton) for her petition on the closure of the Barclays branch in St Agnes.

The Government are sorry to hear about the disappointment that the closure of the local Barclays bank branch has caused to residents of St Agnes.

Improving access to banking is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan. The Government continue to engage actively with the banking industry and consumer groups on these matters. Recently, the Economic Secretary for the Treasury has chaired a series of roundtable meetings alongside the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills on access to banking. The UK’s banks and building societies have been tasked with enhancing and improving awareness of the banking services available through the Post Office. Many bank account providers already have an arrangement with the Post Office to provide access to their bank accounts, where customers can withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at all 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

While the range of services offered by the Post Office may be more limited than that offered in a traditional bank branch, the services provided through the Post Office’s extensive network ensures that essential banking facilities remain available in as many communities as possible. The service at St Agnes Post Office will be adjusted from 6 February to enable customers to undertake Barclays manual deposits at the counter. This solution should ensure that the community of St Agnes have access to a wider range of banking services. This Government have committed almost £2 billion to protect and modernise the Post Office network.

Although we can understand local residents’ concern, decisions on opening and closing agencies are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis. As with other banking service providers, Barclays need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy and the Government do not seek to intervene in these decisions.