Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to bring about reform of the two seat operation of the European Parliament.
Answered by David Lidington
The UK’s position is well known among other Member States; we are in favour of a single seat. The current arrangements are expensive, impractical and indefensible on environmental grounds. A move to a single seat would require Treaty change and the common accord of all Member States. We welcome the support from within the European Parliament for the move to a single seat. Pressure from Members of the European Parliament themselves to make this change should help push this issue up the political agenda throughout the European Union.Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government has taken to gain greater control over the type and amount of benefits paid to EU nationals who reside in the UK but are not in employment.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Over the last year, the UK Government has introduced a number of restrictions to benefits which are designed to ensure that our welfare system focusses support towards those who have come to the UK and are contributing to our economy.
Since December 2013 EEA nationals have had to take a stronger, more robust Habitual Residence Test (HRT) if they want to claim income-related benefits. If they pass the HRT, EEA job seekers must have been living in the UK for three months before they can claim income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance. If they satisfy these requirements, they are only able to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance for three months.
From 1 April 2014 new EEA job seekers have been unable to access Housing Benefit, even if they were in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Common Security and Defence Policy continues to increase Britain's capability in ensuring international security.
Answered by Julian Brazier
My right hon. friend the Defence Secretary and his Ministerial colleagues engage regularly with defence ministers from other EU Member States and with the EU institutions themselves to ensure that CSDP evolves in line with UK policy objectives.
As full members of both NATO and the EU, we continue to press for partners and Allies to invest more in the necessary capabilities and to work together in a complementary manner to deliver a comprehensive response to security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic region and further afield.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to (a) return control of agricultural policy to member states and (b) reduce subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has consistently argued that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should provide best value for money for taxpayers, not impose undue burdens on businesses or administrations, and provide greater discretion for Member States in its implementation.
We continue to believe that expenditure on market price support and direct payments to farmers under Pillar 1 of the CAP represents very poor value for money. The UK has always made clear that we would like to move away from subsidies in the long run. However, we recognise that there is scope for using taxpayers’ money to pay farmers for public goods that the market otherwise would not reward, such as protecting the natural environment, supporting biodiversity and improving animal welfare. We will shortly be commencing preparation for the next round of CAP reform.
Within the EU budget for 2014-2020, CAP was allocated €362.8 billion (equal to circa €52 billion per year). This amounts to a real terms cut of 13% or €55 billion, which is roughly equal to the annual level of spending on the CAP budget. This was a significant development and made an important contribution to the overall reduction in the EU budget.
Most of the cut was delivered through a cut to Pillar 1 direct payments, which fell from €320 billion over 2007 to 2013 to €277.9 billion. Pillar 2 rural development received €84.9 billion, down from €98 billion.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to exercise a block opt-out from the 131 pre-Lisbon EU policing and criminal justice laws.
Answered by Karen Bradley
In July 2013, following votes in both Houses of Parliament endorsing the Government’s decision, the Prime Minister formally exercised the opt-out. This decision took effect on 1 December 2014 and on that date the United Kingdom
opted out of more than 100 EU police and criminal justice powers.
On 20 November 2014, following votes in both Houses of Parliament endorsing the Government’s package, the Prime Minister wrote notifying the President of the Council of Ministers of the United Kingdom’s wish to rejoin the 35 vital police
and criminal justice measures set out in Command Paper 8897: Decision pursuant to Article 10(5) of Protocol 36 to The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The EU level Decisions required to give effect to the United
Kingdom’s application to rejoin the measures were adopted in Brussels on 1 December 2014.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations the Government has received from UK publishers about the share of the eBook market of online retailers.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government is aware of concerns about some aspects of the ebook market. We have had contact with a range of market participants and have encouraged them to submit any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour to the Competition and Markets Authority.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the value of the (a) domestic and (b) export publishing industry to the UK economy.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government’s Creative Industries Economic Estimates show that in 2012 the publishing industry contributed £9.7bn to the UK economy and 223,000 jobs. In 2011 these estimates showed that exports of publishing services were £1.2bn.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of digitisation and online platforms on the contribution to the UK economy of the book industry.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Department has not made an assessment of the effect of digitisation and online platforms on the contribution to the UK economy of the book industry. However, the ‘UK Book Publishing Industry in Statistics’ produced by the Publishers Association (PA), shows that in the invoiced value of UK publisher sales of books fell 2 per cent in 2013 to £3.4bn, with a 5 per cent decrease in physical book sales and despite a 19 per cent growth in digital sales. Digital sales now represent 15 per cent of UK publishers’ total digital and physical book sales.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will request the Competition and Markets Authority to initiate an inquiry into the effect of online retailers on the book publishing market.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is aware of concerns about some online retailers and book publishing. In its Draft Annual Plan for the next year it states that it anticipates ‘the CMA’s markets work will be particularly focussed on issues relating to the digital economy’. I have encouraged those with evidence of anti-competitive behaviour to submit that to the CMA which can take a decision on what action, if any, is necessary.
Asked by: Mike Weatherley (Conservative - Hove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of access on the NHS to new treatments for patients with rarer cancers.
Answered by George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended a number of treatments for rarer cancers. In addition, a number of drugs used in rarer cancers are available through the Cancer Drugs Fund administered by NHS England.