Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were prosecuted for prescription fraud in the last financial year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No prosecutions were undertaken for prescription charge fraud in 2021/22.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current charge for a prescription; and what was (1) the total revenue from prescription charges in the last financial year, and (2) the cost of collecting those charges.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service prescription charge for each medicine or appliance dispensed is £9.35. In 2021/22, the total revenue from prescription charges was £651,964,000. Information on the cost of collecting those charges is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 25 January (HL4866), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, whether the UK has the necessary (1) facilities, and (2) workforce, to increase the number of Challenger tank if required; and where they would be built.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land are the prime contractor for the currently agreed Challenger 3 upgrades and assembly will be completed in their Telford site.
In line with the Defence Secretary's statement on 16 January 2023, the number of Challenger 3 remains under review to ensure the Army's Main Battle Tank fleet is sufficient to meet Defence's needs.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect HMS Prince of Wales to return to active service; and who will bear the costs of the necessary repairs.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
HMS PRINCE OF WALES is expected to commence her operational programme, as planned, in Autumn 2023. However, an issue has also been identified with her port shaft and to prevent a similar defect occurring, rectification of this issue is expected to be completed prior to her planned departure.
The defects with HMS PRINCE OF WALES shafts are not believed to be a Class issue and HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH continues to undertake Strike Carrier duties until 2024 when HMS PRINCE OF WALES will take over as Very High Readiness Strike Carrier.
The cost of repairs and responsibility for payment has not yet been established and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further while investigations are ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK has the necessary (1) facilities, and (2) workforce, to increase the number of Challenger tank if required.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
In line with the Army’s Future Soldier plan, the Army will be structured to deliver two Armoured Regiments based on the Challenger tank. Workforce, infrastructure, and equipment planning will support this structure as well as delivering the upgrades from Challenger 2 to Challenger 3.
In reviewing the number of Challenger 3 conversions, the Army will also need to consider the implications of such a review on the decisions and capability priorities made in Future Soldier.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of additional taxpayers who will have to complete Capital Gains tax returns as a result of the proposed reduction in threshold, (2) the amount of additional tax revenue that is likely to be raised, and (3) the extra cost of administration that will be required as a result of those changes.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
A measure was announced at Autumn Statement 2022 to reduce the annual exempt amount (AEA) for capital gains tax (CGT) to £6,000 for tax year 2023 to 2024, with a further reduction to £3,000 for tax year 2024 to 2025 and subsequent tax years.
In 2024 to 2025, 260,000 individuals and trusts are estimated to be brought into the scope of CGT as a result of the measure.
However, some of those taxpayers brought into the scope of CGT would already have been expected to complete the capital gains tax supplementary pages within Self Assessment for the following reasons:
The amount of additional tax revenue that is expected to be raised as a result of the measure is set out in the table below:
Tax Year | 2022 to 2023 | 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 | 2025 to 2026 | 2026 to 2027 | 2027 to 2028 |
Exchequer impact (£million) | 0 | +25 | +275 | +425 | +435 | +440 |
These figures are set out in table 5.1 of Autumn Statement 2022 and have been certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. More details can be found in the policy costings document published alongside Autumn Statement 2022 which is available on the gov.uk website.
A cost in the region of £100,000 will be incurred in delivering the relevant IT changes to support safe implementation of this measure. HMRC also expects to receive additional contact from customers who require support as a result of this change.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the scale of military accommodation held in reserve for possible reservists or a requirement for mobilisation; and what assessment they have made as to whether a part of this accommodation could be used to house migrants and asylum seekers on a temporary basis.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold accommodation vacant to utilise in the mobilisation of reserves. Under HMT guidelines the Ministry of Defence is obligated to dispose of surplus estates, an obligation we are fulfilling through the Defence Estates Optimisation portfolio and other estate rationalisation programmes.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to increase the financial education provided to young people, including teaching about savings, investments, mortgages and other borrowing.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department wants all young people to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.
Finance education forms part of the citizenship national curriculum, at Key Stages 3 and 4, but can be taught by all schools at all Key Stages.
The subject covers the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.
The mathematics curriculum includes a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including using percentages. The secondary mathematics curriculum develops pupils’ understanding in relation to more complex personal finance issues, such as calculating loan repayments, interest rates and compound interest.
The Money and Pensions Service published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England in November 2021, to support school leaders to enhance their financial education provision. The guidance can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/financial-education-in-schools/.
The department and the Money and Pensions Service are also planning a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, aimed at promoting the importance of financial education, improving pupils’ skills and knowledge and teachers’ confidence.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the most recent figure for the average annual cost of holding a prisoner; and what is the current percentage of prisoner recidivism.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The overall average annual costs for keeping an individual in a prison is £48,409, this figure is for 2020-21.
The latest annual reoffending rate for adults who received a custodial sentence was 41.9% (2019/20). The reoffending rates for adults released from custody has dropped from 50.4% in 2009/10.
Asked by: Lord Lee of Trafford (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the effect of increases in energy costs on the defence budget; and what effect they anticipate such increases will have on defence procurement programmes.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
High energy costs, which drive inflation, will reduce the Ministry of Defence's spending power over the Spending Review period and beyond. However, due to its volatility, a precise estimate of the impact of inflation is challenging. Our existing controls will substantially limit exposure and we keep our programmes under constant financial review, using our contingency to manage risks if they materialise.