Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the rise in cases of tuberculosis, whether they plan to implement nationwide tuberculosis vaccinations, instead of the current policy of vaccinating only high-risk regional areas only.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunisation to protect against tuberculosis (TB) is not routinely given as part of the National Health Service vaccination schedule. The BCG vaccine is only recommended for infants at greater risk of exposure to more serious childhood forms of the disease, and those people who are at greater risk through their work.
The BCG programme is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). In 2005 the JCVI advised that the BCG vaccine offer move from a universal school-based programme to a risk-based programme. This advice reflected the changing patterns in the epidemiology of the disease.
TB incidence in children in the United Kingdom was higher in 2005 than in 2022, when data on the incidence in children was last published. The JCVI’s advice and current Government policy does not therefore support an expansion of the current BCG programme. The JCVI keeps its advice on all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it becomes available.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Immigration Health Surcharge covers the full cost to the NHS of treatment for those required to pay it.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Immigration Health Surcharge is set at an amount equivalent to the estimated average cost of providing healthcare to migrants. The estimate is based on the average cost of healthcare per head of the general population, adjusted to reflect that migrants use the National Health Service less than the average person. The current level of the Immigrant Health Surcharge is £1,035 per person per year, which reflects our latest assessment of the average cost.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the tax lost through the continuing zero rating of VAT on children’s clothes.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estimates of the Exchequer costs of the requested VAT reliefs in 2023-24 are as follows.
The estimate of the cost of zero-rating printed matter and e-publications, which includes books, was £1,700m. The objective of this relief is to support literacy and reading by reducing the cost of books, newspapers, magazines etc. in printed and electronic form.
The estimate of the cost of zero-rating children’s clothing and protective footwear and helmets was £2,100m. The objective of this relief is to support families by reducing the cost of children’s clothing.
The estimated cost of the exemption for burial and cremation was £720m. This relief provides exemption from VAT for burial and exemption services.
These estimates, together with those for previous years, may be found in the Tax Relief Statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs on GOV.UK . The latest estimates were published in December 2023 with values for financial year 2023-24 being forecasts. Updated estimates will be published on 5 December 2024.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the tax lost through the continuing exemption from VAT for funerals.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estimates of the Exchequer costs of the requested VAT reliefs in 2023-24 are as follows.
The estimate of the cost of zero-rating printed matter and e-publications, which includes books, was £1,700m. The objective of this relief is to support literacy and reading by reducing the cost of books, newspapers, magazines etc. in printed and electronic form.
The estimate of the cost of zero-rating children’s clothing and protective footwear and helmets was £2,100m. The objective of this relief is to support families by reducing the cost of children’s clothing.
The estimated cost of the exemption for burial and cremation was £720m. This relief provides exemption from VAT for burial and exemption services.
These estimates, together with those for previous years, may be found in the Tax Relief Statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs on GOV.UK . The latest estimates were published in December 2023 with values for financial year 2023-24 being forecasts. Updated estimates will be published on 5 December 2024.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the tax lost through the continuing zero rating of VAT on books.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estimates of the Exchequer costs of the requested VAT reliefs in 2023-24 are as follows.
The estimate of the cost of zero-rating printed matter and e-publications, which includes books, was £1,700m. The objective of this relief is to support literacy and reading by reducing the cost of books, newspapers, magazines etc. in printed and electronic form.
The estimate of the cost of zero-rating children’s clothing and protective footwear and helmets was £2,100m. The objective of this relief is to support families by reducing the cost of children’s clothing.
The estimated cost of the exemption for burial and cremation was £720m. This relief provides exemption from VAT for burial and exemption services.
These estimates, together with those for previous years, may be found in the Tax Relief Statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs on GOV.UK . The latest estimates were published in December 2023 with values for financial year 2023-24 being forecasts. Updated estimates will be published on 5 December 2024.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the average levelised cost is for combined cycle gas-fired power stations, assuming current natural gas spot prices, in the last five years; and what the average levelised cost is for offshore windfarms commissioned in the same period.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department publishes its levelised costs of electricity for a generic plant in the Generation Costs Report, most recently in 2023 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections). These provide forecasts for 2025 to 2040. Gas CCGT is 114 £/MWh for 2025 and offshore wind is 44 £/MWh for 2025 (2021 price base). Levelised costs use a forecast of gas prices over the lifetime of a plant based on the latest published gas price forecasts at the time of publication (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fossil-fuel-price-assumptions-2019).
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of (a) driver hours lost to traffic delays and (b) carbon dioxide emissions caused by Just Stop Oil protests since February 2022.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
National Highways the Government’s Arm’s Length body that manages the Strategic Road Network has estimated the driver’s hours lost due to protestors as 126,894 hours.
The data for carbon dioxide emissions is currently not available due to complexity in gathering such data.
Illegal protests on our roads put the lives of drivers and road workers at risk, as well as pointlessly interfering with the lives of ordinary people. We will continue to pursue every option available to deter them.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to ban the sale of new boilers fuelled by (a) non-mains gas, (b) oil and (c) biomass.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government consulted on proposals to end the installation of heating systems using high carbon fossil fuels in homes, businesses and public buildings off the gas grid during the 2020s. The Government will publish its response to the consultations in due course.
The proposals referred to phasing out installation of coal, heating oil and non-mains gas heating systems, but not to biomass. The Government has no current plans to end the sale of new biomass boilers.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he expects the Emissions Trading Scheme Authority to publish the full Government response to the consultation on Developing the UK ETS.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has not yet announced a publication date for the UK ETS Government Response.
The Government made a wide range of proposals in the consultation and will ensure the Government Response reflects on the evidence and implications from the consultation and offers sensible final proposals and next steps.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the competitiveness of the UK's carbon taxation regime.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is our main carbon pricing scheme and promotes cost-effective decarbonisation by allowing businesses to cut carbon where it is cheapest to do so.
The Government remains committed to supporting the competitiveness of UK sectors.
This is why we protect ETS participants by allocating free allowances, with installations vulnerable to carbon leakage receiving up to 100% of their emissions allowances for free based on sector benchmarks.