Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will exempt small businesses from paying the Legal Entity Identifier.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The European Union’s updated Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), which will apply from 3 January 2018, introduces strengthened transaction reporting requirements on financial services firms. Under this new transaction reporting regime, financial services firms with transaction reporting obligations must identify their clients which are legal persons by using a Legal Entity Identifier. The use of a unique identifier improves the effectiveness of surveillance for possible instances of market abuse. National authorities cannot exempt small businesses from these EU requirements.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to modernise the licensing scheme for dog breeding and selling to improve the welfare of dogs.
Answered by George Eustice
In February, Defra published its proposals to update the laws that regulate the breeding and selling of dogs to improve their welfare. The proposals are currently being finalised and a Statutory Instrument should be laid before Parliament next year.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the effectiveness of integration systems for refugees.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We are working towards achieving more integrated communities and creating the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other; and in the New Year the Government will publish an integration strategy.
The Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes are being evaluated through a programme of quantitative data work and qualitative research with refugees and key delivery partners. A key focus of this work is examining integration progress according to a range of key measures and what can be done to improve this.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the 12-month grace period to protect individuals from a reduction in housing benefit when someone who lived with them passes away is being implemented effectively.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
A grace period exists in Housing Benefit to help protect those suffering a bereavement for a period of 12 months. This applies not only in respect of the claimant or their partner but to people linked to them, such as a family member who lives in the same household. This means that housing benefit entitlement is protected from any consequential decrease in their eligible rent for a year from the date of a death.
It is however the responsibility of individual local authorities to assess individual benefit claims and apply the specific rules which is laid out in regulations and guidance.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review the categories for registering a death of an unmarried partner to include partner and not simply disposing of the body.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The introduction of additional qualified informants will be progressed alongside wider Death Certification Reform under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage countries yet to do so to join the ban on cosmetics animal testing and the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.
Answered by Mark Field
Since 2013 the Home Office and the FCO/BEIS Science & Innovation Network in Beijing has continued to support China to bring an end to unnecessary cosmetics testing on animals, advising on a science based approach for alternative testing.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What plans he has to develop an export strategy after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Liam Fox
My Noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion (Baroness Fairhead), will lead the creation of a new export strategy, bringing together expertise from across Government and the private sector.
This strategy will ensure that Government has the right financial, practical and promotional support in place to allow businesses to benefit from growth opportunities, generating wealth and wellbeing for the whole of the UK.
In addition, the Government will launch a targeted campaign to promote the support available from UK Export Finance (UKEF), as part of the wider GREAT campaign.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage other countries to ban cosmetics animal testing and the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals in the UK has been banned since 1998 and the UK has been instrumental in introducing this ban across the European Union and beyond.
The Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to support China to bring an end to unnecessary cosmetics testing on animals, advising on a science based approach for non-animal alternative human safety testing.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase GP training to improve the detection of bowel cancer.
Answered by Steve Brine
The standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. Continuing professional and personal development for registered professionals employed in the National Health Service is a matter for employers and those individuals.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to monitor adherence to waiting-time standards for suspected bowel cancer.
Answered by Steve Brine
Maintaining and improving patient access standards, including the eight cancer waiting times standards is a key objective of the Mandate to NHS England in 2017/18. NHS England has set out their approach to meeting and improving patient access standards in the ‘Next steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View’ which was produced in partnership with organisations including NHS Improvement.
The Department uses performance data published on a monthly basis by NHS England to monitor compliance with the cancer waiting times standards and there are robust processes in place to hold NHS England and NHS Improvement to account for performance and ensure compliance with the cancer standard is discussed in the course of this process.
The latest data for September 2017 showed that the National Health Service is meeting seven out of the eight cancer waiting times standards. The data can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/