My Lords, the Government responded to the Rose review by immediately setting out a new, ambitious target to increase female entrepreneurship by half by 2030, and making new

commitments to help drive more funding to women starting and growing businesses. Alison Rose is working with private sector partners to take forward the recommendations of the review, and will update all in due course.

My Lords, the FSB report makes fascinating reading: more than half the businesses answering the survey expect to grow in the next 12 months; nine in 10 businesses do not see access to finance as a barrier to growth; seven out of 10 firms applying for finance got it; twice as many firms expect to increase investment as those expecting it to decline. This Government’s policies are creating a positive environment for all businesses, large and small.

There is a range of advice and support available to help businesses of all sizes prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT in April 2019. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is working very closely with software providers, businesses, representative bodies and the accountancy profession to raise awareness of MTD and ensure the right support and training is in place to help businesses adapt.

HMRC’s customer support model, which guides businesses to the most appropriate help, includes technical support, webchat, YouTube training videos, webinars, a helpline, and relevant guides. HMRC also publishes a list of MTD for VAT compatible products on GOV.UK to help businesses make an informed choice of software to meet their needs. HMRC is writing to customers that it expects to be mandated for MTD for VAT, explaining what the business needs to do.

HMRC’s Impact Assessment for MTD was published on 1 December 2017. There is no separate Impact Assessment relating to small and medium-sized enterprises.

There is a range of advice and support available to help businesses of all sizes prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT in April 2019. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is working very closely with software providers, businesses, representative bodies and the accountancy profession to raise awareness of MTD and ensure the right support and training is in place to help businesses adapt.

HMRC’s customer support model, which guides businesses to the most appropriate help, includes technical support, webchat, YouTube training videos, webinars, a helpline, and relevant guides. HMRC also publishes a list of MTD for VAT compatible products on GOV.UK to help businesses make an informed choice of software to meet their needs. HMRC is writing to customers that it expects to be mandated for MTD for VAT, explaining what the business needs to do.

HMRC’s Impact Assessment for MTD was published on 1 December 2017. There is no separate Impact Assessment relating to small and medium-sized enterprises.

My Lords, marriage is a complex area of law that needs systematic review to enable any reform proposals to be delivered fairly and consistently. We are working with the Law Commission to draw up terms of reference for the wider review of the law on marriage ceremonies, announced in the recent Budget. The Government welcome the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, the APPHG, and are carefully considering its findings.

My Lords, we know how important tackling late payment is, especially for smaller businesses. We are taking forward a number of measures to improve payment practices across the public and private sector, including establishing the Small Business Commissioner and introducing transparency reporting in both public and private sectors.

The process for the recognition of sports in the UK is a matter for the Sports Councils’ Recognition Panel which is made up of Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland, Sport Northern Ireland and UK Sport.

The games of bridge and chess are not recognised as sports by any of the UK sports councils.

There are no plans currently to revisit the question of recognition for either chess or bridge.

The Government has made no assessment of the benefit of playing chess and bridge for older people, those with mental health problems or children.

My Lords, in the negotiations, we will discuss with the European Union and its bodies how best to continue economic co-operation. It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to secure a mutually beneficial agreement for business and citizens across Europe.

The Bank of England's name carries a longevity that pre-dates the formation of the United Kingdom itself, having been founded in 1694 as “the Governor and Company of the Bank of England”. Under the current state of the union the Bank acts as central bank for the entirety of the United Kingdom. This includes underwriting both Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes.

To change its name now would represent a break from over 300 years’ worth of history and the prestige it carries as a global brand.

My Lords, through our modern industrial strategy we are taking steps to increase productivity and drive growth across the whole country. We will support key strengths, including science and research, and invest in technical training and infrastructure, which will sustain productivity over the long term.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) had instigated a significant programme of improvements to the services offered to medical customers in 2014, prior to the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO)’s report. Significant progress has been made and the DVLA continues to concentrate efforts in this area.

The government accepted four of the six recommendations made by the PHSO. The DVLA’s Chief Executive has apologised and paid appropriate compensation to the eight customers upon whom the PHSO based its report. More staff and medical advisers have been recruited, which has led to significant improvements in the time taken to deal with medical licensing applications. The DVLA has also introduced a service which allows motorists to notify certain medical conditions online. This system will continue to be developed and improved over time.

The DVLA has also significantly improved communications in this area. Letters to medical professionals and customers have been re-written to make them clearer and officials have worked closely with doctors and medical professionals to publish revised online guidance.

The government does not accept the PHSO’s recommendation to put in place arrangements so that others affected by the issues identified can seek financial redress. The DVLA has a well established compensation scheme which conforms to HM Treasury guidelines. The PHSO’s report was based on only eight cases dating back to 2009 and the DVLA has dealt with more than four million medical applications since then, the vast majority of which have been handled efficiently and without issues. The government does not believe that it is proportionate to introduce further arrangements in this area.

The government also does not accept the PHSO’s recommendation relating to medical standards for driving. The existing medical standards for driving are based in law and are devised and agreed by medical experts. The legislation underpins the actions DVLA takes in relation to driver licensing decisions. The DVLA also takes advice from six medical advisory panels composed of relevant experts to inform decisions about the health standards required for safe driving.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) had made significant improvements in this area prior to the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman’s report.

The DVLA worked closely with doctors and other medical professionals to improve the guidance for medical professionals to use when assessing fitness to drive. The revised guidance was published in March 2016 and has been very well received by medical professionals. Revised guidance for the general public on the medical standards for driving was published in October 2015

The DVLA has re-written customer facing letters to make them clearer and easier to understand. Officials have also reviewed and re-written letters to medical professionals to make them as clear as possible, helping to ensure that the DVLA receives the information it needs as quickly as possible.

The DVLA has also carried out a pilot which saw posters introduced into around 100 GP surgeries in the Birmingham area. The posters emphasise to patients the importance of speaking to their doctor about whether they should declare a medical condition to the DVLA. Doctors were also provided with letters to give to patients if they had discussed declaring a medical condition to the DVLA.

The DVLA has a dedicated team responsible for continuous improvement of communications and services, including an ongoing review of customer facing literature.

My Lords, clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning cataract surgery for their local populations. Patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral for non-urgent conditions. All patients should be treated without unnecessary delay and according to their clinical priority.

The Government supports the aims of the UK Vision Strategy of improving eye health, preventing avoidable sight loss, improving services for those who do lose sight, and maximising social inclusion and opportunities for blind and partially sighted people.

Improving the commissioning of services is a key priority for the National Health Service and social care services, and this is one way that we expect to see improvements for patients.

The Public Health Outcomes Framework is an online only data tool which examines indicators that help us to understand trends in public health. It includes an indicator on preventable sight loss which will track three of the most common causes of preventable sight loss: age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. The open availability of data provide a resource for commissioners and local health and wellbeing boards to identify what is needed in their areas and for comparisons to be made with other areas. The online data tool is available on the Public Health England website.

Our public health programmes tackling smoking and obesity will also help prevent sight loss by addressing some of the key risk factors in the development of eye disease.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning cataract surgery for their local populations. Patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral for non-urgent conditions, or alternatively have the right to ask for an alternative provider who can see them sooner. All patients should be treated without unnecessary delay and according to their clinical priority.

Where National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance does not exist on a particular treatment, it is for local National Health Service commissioners to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence and on the basis of an individual patient’s clinical circumstances. However, in light of concerns about lengthy waits for treatment and unacceptable variations in care, the Secretary of State has asked NICE to bring forward its guidance on cataracts from 2018 to 2017. This will provide NHS commissioners with evidence based guidance from NICE and ensure patients have access to the most effective treatment as early as possible.

The Government has not made an assessment of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement of cataract surgery on patients’ sight or of the impact of innovative technologies; we anticipate that these aspects will be considered by NICE in their assessment.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning cataract surgery for their local populations. Patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral for non-urgent conditions, or alternatively have the right to ask for an alternative provider who can see them sooner. All patients should be treated without unnecessary delay and according to their clinical priority.

Where National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance does not exist on a particular treatment, it is for local National Health Service commissioners to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence and on the basis of an individual patient’s clinical circumstances. However, in light of concerns about lengthy waits for treatment and unacceptable variations in care, the Secretary of State has asked NICE to bring forward its guidance on cataracts from 2018 to 2017. This will provide NHS commissioners with evidence based guidance from NICE and ensure patients have access to the most effective treatment as early as possible.

The Government has not made an assessment of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement of cataract surgery on patients’ sight or of the impact of innovative technologies; we anticipate that these aspects will be considered by NICE in their assessment.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning cataract surgery for their local populations. Patients have the right to start consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks of referral for non-urgent conditions, or alternatively have the right to ask for an alternative provider who can see them sooner. All patients should be treated without unnecessary delay and according to their clinical priority.

Where National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance does not exist on a particular treatment, it is for local National Health Service commissioners to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence and on the basis of an individual patient’s clinical circumstances. However, in light of concerns about lengthy waits for treatment and unacceptable variations in care, the Secretary of State has asked NICE to bring forward its guidance on cataracts from 2018 to 2017. This will provide NHS commissioners with evidence based guidance from NICE and ensure patients have access to the most effective treatment as early as possible.

The Government has not made an assessment of the effect of hospital-initiated postponement of cataract surgery on patients’ sight or of the impact of innovative technologies; we anticipate that these aspects will be considered by NICE in their assessment.

The information is not available in the format requested. Referral to treatment data are collected by 18 treatment functions and are not condition or procedure specific. Cataract surgery is included in the ophthalmology treatment function. The attached table sets out the median waiting time for completed admitted pathways for the ophthalmology treatment function, by primary care trust and clinical commissioning group, for the years that full data is available, 2007-08 to 2015-16.

My Lords, the NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance 2017-2019 announced NHS England’s intention to

launch a £40 million programme of investment to support the CCGs to improve the treatment and care of people with diabetes. This includes improving access to multidisciplinary foot care teams for people with diabetic foot disease.