Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to introduce price controls for food and other consumer products.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government has no plans to introduce price controls for food.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many senior civil servants are based for work outside London and the South East and, of those, how many (1) transferred from London and the South East and (2) were recruited locally.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

As at December 2022, the number of Senior Civil Servants (SCS) based outside London and the South East is 2,130 (33.7%) on a full-time equivalent basis (FTE), including around 50 SCS who work overseas in a variety of roles. This data is provisional and subject to routine revisions over time.

Through the Places for Growth Programme, we aim to have 50% of UK-based SCS roles based outside of London by 2030. There have been 316 SCS roles relocated since March 2020, bringing more opportunities for civil servants to progress their careers in the regions and nations of the UK.

We do not hold a breakdown of SCS that have relocated from London and the South East or those that have been recruited into SCS roles locally.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of The Mortgage Crunch report, published by the Resolution Foundation on 17 June; and what plans they have, if any, to assist mortgage holders affected by rising mortgage costs.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The Government does not set mortgage or interest rates. The Bank Rate - which is one factor that lenders use to set mortgage and retail interest rates - is set by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England, which is independent of Government. Commercial Banks and Building Societies also make other commercial judgements that influence the degree of pass‐through from changes in Bank Rate into mortgage and retail interest rates. The Government does not seek to intervene in these commercial decisions.

However, we recognise this will be a concerning time for mortgage holders, particularly those who are due to come to the end of their existing deal in the immediate future. The Prime Minister has been clear, the best and most important way that we can keep costs and interest rates down for people is to halve inflation, and then return it to the 2% target.

On Friday 23 June the Chancellor met with mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the FCA to discuss a new package of support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. These commitments include an agreement permitting customers to switch to an interest only mortgage, or extend their mortgage term, for 6 months, after which they can switch back without a new affordability check or it affecting their credit score. Lenders also agreed borrowers won’t have their home repossessed within 12 months from a first missed payment without their consent or unless in exceptional circumstances.

If mortgage holders are concerned about making their mortgage repayment, they must speak to their lender as soon as possible. Contacting them will not affect their credit score.

The Government has also already taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current target for expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises, directly and indirectly through procurement; and whether they expect to meet it.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Department will be updating our SME Action Plan later this year and it will set an ambition for future spending aligned with our procurement strategy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure there is a sufficient and reliable supply of medicines to help patients suffering from ADHD.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, which should largely resolve by April or May 2024. We have also added ADHD products to the list of medicines that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the United Kingdom to protect UK supplies for patients.

There is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems arising both in the community and in hospitals. It has well-established procedures to manage medicine supply issues, whatever the cause, and help to prevent shortages and minimise risks to patients by working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, and others operating in the supply chain.

We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be and we want to assure patients that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues with ADHD medicine supply in the UK as soon as possible and to help ensure patients are able to access these medicines in the short and long term.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the threshold for compulsory registration for VAT; and what plans they have to reinstate the policy of annually updating the threshold in line with inflation.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years.

In 2018, the Government consulted on how the design of the VAT registration threshold could better incentivise growth. However, there was no clear option for reform.

While the Government keeps all taxes under review, it was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the withdrawal of the VAT Retail Export Scheme; and if they have any plans to reintroduce the scheme.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government’s assessment of the anticipated impact of the withdrawal of the VAT Retail Export Scheme (VAT RES) was set out in the original policy costing note which can be found in the Policy costings document from November 2020 p42-43.

Government analysis conducted in 2022 found that introducing a worldwide scheme could come at a fiscal cost of around £2 billion each year. This figure consists of the cost from EU and non-EU visitors and is calculated based on methodology signed off and certified by the OBR in 2020.

Whilst there are no current plans to re-introduce VAT RES, this Government keeps all tax policy under review, and we are very grateful to industry for their contribution to our invitation to provide evidence on this matter.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regularise the treatment of training expenses against profits subject to Schedule D income tax and profits subject to corporation tax.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

In calculating taxable business profits, expenditure on training to update existing skills would be a deductible business expense when the expenditure is incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the business and is not capital in nature. The treatment of these training expenses is the same irrespective of whether the taxpayer pays income tax or corporation tax.

Any changes to tax policy are a matter for future Budgets and it would not be appropriate to comment on tax measures at this stage of the policy development cycle.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they will announce details of a full and comprehensive scheme for victims of the infected blood scandal; and when they expect the first payments to be made under the new scheme.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Inquiry is expected to publish their final report on 20th May and the Minister for the Cabinet Office has committed to updating Parliament within 25 sitting days of the publication of the final report. The Government is appointing clinical, legal and social care experts to advise the Cabinet Office on detailed technical considerations to make informed choices in responding to the Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are coordinating and disseminating lessons learned from the various current and recent past public inquiries, in particular where there are recommendations regarding policy-making procedures and machinery of government; and whether they plan to publish the steps they intend to take as a result.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Each inquiry chair will present their conclusions and recommendations to an inquiry’s sponsor minister. It is the responsibility of the lead department to determine how best to progress and implement the inquiry’s recommendations and the department will publish its response on Gov.uk.

The Cabinet Office takes the lead on the Covid, Grenfell and Infected Blood Inquiries and looks forward to acting on lessons learned.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to bring inflation back to the target of two per cent; and when they expect that to be achieved.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Inflation has halved and was lower in Q4 2023 than had been forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in the Autumn. Despite the progress there are four key things the government is doing to reduce it further.

• Remaining steadfast in our support for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England as it takes action to return inflation sustainably to the 2% target.
• Keeping borrowing under control. Borrowing is lower this year and next than it was forecast to be in the Spring and the OBR has forecast that government policies in the Autumn Statement will reduce inflation next year.
• Boosting labour supply. Labour market conditions are a key problem affecting UK businesses’ growth, as well as a significant driver of domestic inflation. Together, the packages at Autumn Statement and Spring Budget 2023 were the two largest increases to labour supply and potential GDP resulting from policy the OBR has ever scored.
• Introducing ambitious supply-side measures to support non-inflationary growth, including delivering full expensing to boost investment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the underlying cause of the fall in each of the past three years in applications to university nursing courses, as reported by the Financial Times on 15 February, and what action they are taking to reverse the trend.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The drop in nursing applicants follows unprecedented demand for healthcare courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of applicants continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service.

We are working closely with NHS England, universities and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to ensure everyone who wants to pursue a rewarding healthcare career in nursing has the support and opportunities to do so.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have of the underlying cause of the fall in gross domestic product per head in every quarter of 2023, as reported by the Office for National Statistics on 15 February, and what action they are taking to reverse this trend.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The economy has faced an unprecedented series of shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. These have led to challenging economic circumstances.

Looking over a longer timeframe, since 2010 GDP per capita has increased by 12%. Real household disposable income per capita - a more comprehensive measure of household living standards - has grown more than France and Italy since 2010.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments by the Royal College of Nursing that the fall in each of the past three years in applications to university nursing courses is a direct threat to patient safety, and what actions they are taking to improve patient safety in England.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of applicants continues to outstrip the places on offer. Nursing training places are competitive, and lead to an attractive and important career in the National Health Service.

Record numbers of nurses are now working in the NHS, and the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion of funding, will add 24,000 more nurse and midwifery training places by 2031.

Over the last decade, the Government and system partners have delivered major initiatives to advance patient safety in the NHS. This includes implementing the first NHS Patient Safety Strategy, establishing the independent Health Services Safety Investigations Body to address the most serious patient safety incidents, and appointing the first Patient Safety Commissioner to champion the patient voice in relation to the safety of medicines and medical devices.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the underlying cause of the fall in UK goods exports in 2023, as reported by the Office for National Statistics on 15 February, and what action they are taking to reverse the decline in UK goods exports.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The main causes of the £33 billion decrease (current prices) in goods exports were fuels (predominantly oil) down £24 billion, non-monetary gold and other precious metals down £15 billion, and non-ferrous metals (mainly silver and metals in the platinum group) down £7 billion.

Trade in these commodities is known to be very erratic and export values can fluctuate substantially year on year.

The Department for Business and Trade are committed to growing exports and will continue to provide businesses with a wealth of export support options on great.gov.uk, including trade advisers, Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance