Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of ending the furnished holiday let tax regime on the tourism industry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS is working closely with other Government departments to ensure that different measures being considered across Government that apply to short-term lets are proportionate, complementary and easy to understand.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department used to estimate the number of short-term lets that would be suitable for primary residences when the furnished holiday let tax regime has ended.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced that it will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime, equalising the tax treatment of landlords with short-term holiday lets and those with standard residential properties. This will make the taxation of property fairer and simpler while raising revenue for public services. The changes will not penalise or prohibit the provision of FHLs more widely.
The Government keeps all aspects of tax policy under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether medicines funded under the Innovative Medicines Fund will be included in the calculation of that company's rebate under the Voluntary Pricing Scheme for Branded Medicines (VPAS).
Answered by Will Quince
The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) builds on the successful Cancer Drugs Fund and will support patient access to the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected on their use to address clinical uncertainty.
Funding for the IMF is allocated from NHS England budgets. Unless specifically exempt under scheme rules, sales of products within the IMF are included in measured sales when calculating sales growth used to set the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access payment percentage each year and included in eligible sales used to calculate the amount owed by the relevant scheme member each quarter.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether medicines funded through the cancer drugs fund are included in the calculation of the rebate due under the voluntary pricing scheme for branded medicines (VPAS).
Answered by Will Quince
The Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) helps to ensure that patients are able to benefit from the most promising new cancer medicines while further evidence is collected on their use to address clinical uncertainty.
Funding for the CDF is allocated from NHS England budgets. Unless specifically exempt under scheme rules, sales of products within the CDF are included in measured sales when calculating sales growth used to set the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access payment percentage each year and included in eligible sales used to calculate the amount owed by the relevant scheme member each quarter.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing Access rebate on foreign direct investment into the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
Answered by Will Quince
We have been working directly with industry to understand the impact of changes to VPAS on investments into the UK life sciences sector. We remain firmly committed to VPAS and to working with the pharmaceutical industry to create an environment that facilitates innovation for the development of medicines in the UK.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the laundry industry is not eligible for support under the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) support under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). The firms eligible for ETIIs support are those operating within sectors that fall above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, and those within sectors eligible for the existing Energy Intensive Industries compensations and exemption schemes. Further information on the methodology can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-discount-scheme-factsheet/energy-bills-discount-scheme-energy-and-trade-intense-industries-assessment-methodology.
All other eligible businesses, except for those experiencing low energy costs, will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas. This will help those locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.18 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183, published on 15 March 2023, what support his Department provides to community-run swimming pools.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
Details of the eligibility process will be published shortly, however, this fund will focus on those public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. The Government intends for community and charitable trusts to be eligible to receive this funding. Sport England will manage a competitive application process and set out further detail on eligibility shortly.
This funding is on top of unprecedented levels of support provided for energy costs over the winter by the Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS). From 1 April 2023 following the end of the EBRS, further support will be provided to eligible non-domestic users, including swimming pools, through the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which will run until 31 March 2024. This will help those locked into contracts signed before the recent substantial fall in wholesale prices manage their costs.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has written to university vice-chancellors to request that they cap the number of medical school places on offer; and if her Department will take steps to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to help raise the cap on new medical students in England.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Medical and dental school places are capped to ensure teaching, learning and assessment standards are maintained as well as ensuring there are enough high quality placements for each student.
The number of places available to study medicine and dentistry is regulated by the government. The Department for Health and Social Care, in consultation with Health Education England, is responsible for the setting of medical and dentistry caps.
The cap on medical school places was temporarily lifted during the COVID-19 pandemic in both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years. There will not be fewer government-funded places in 2023 as a result.
I have written a letter to higher education Vice-Chancellors which referenced the cap on medical and dental school places and reminded them to remain within their five-year rolling medical and dentistry intake targets.
Health Education England recently announced financial support for the new medical apprenticeship to increase numbers of doctors where they are needed most. This will make careers in medicine more accessible and will provide an alternative route into medicine to help deliver a diverse and sustainable workforce. There is now a complete apprentice pathway from entry to postgraduate advanced clinical practice.
The government has committed to publishing a Long-Term Workforce Plan this year and this will include independently verified projections for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that will be needed in 5, 10 and 15 years’ time, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity. This plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.
The department will continue to work with the Department for Health and Social Care to monitor current arrangements.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the highest performing schools are for apprenticeship starts for level 3 qualified 18-year-olds from the latest available data held by her Department; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department recognises that destination measures may have been affected by the broader impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including school and college closures during 2020 and 2021 and alternative grading arrangements.
The department publishes destinations after 16 to 18 study of level 3 students from schools and colleges in England. The figures show sustained destinations, where activity has taken place for at least six contiguous months in the destination year, rather than starts.
The latest data shows the activity of students deemed to have reached the end of 16 to 18 study in 2020, and their activity in the following academic year. This data can be found here: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/02e037c5-601f-4900-def8-08da96ef9e97/files/779e3c8d-8300-4fc1-cfbd-08daa212051a.
School data can be accessed via the Find school and college performance website, available at: https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the relevant stakeholders on expanding the Annual Investment Allowance to cover workplace training.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is available for investment in plant and machinery. In the 23 September Growth Plan, the government announced that it would permanently set the AIA at £1 million. Unlike capital expenditure, workplace training is tax-deductible for companies and so expanding the AIA to cover workplace training is not something the government is considering.
The Government is, however, supporting workplace training. The Government has transformed apprenticeships – which are jobs with training for anyone of any age – to align with employer needs and the Spending Review 2021 increased total government spending on skills in England by £3.8 billion by 2024-25.