The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will meet the revised December 2015 target for upgrading air defence radars at RRH Benbecula and RRH Buchan to the TPS-77 radar standard.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Type 92 radars at Remote Radar Heads Buchan and Benbecula have both been upgraded to the TPS-77 standard; the Buchan upgrade was completed on 30 March 2015 and the Benbecula upgrade on 3 July 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chloe Smith on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral reply by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality of 17 November 2015, Official Report, column 519, what specific support has been provided to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Trust for winter 2015-16; what the financial value of that support is; and what the value is of the total of such support to all hospitals.
Jane Ellison
£400 million in resilience money has been invested in the National Health Service for winter 2015/16. Of this £400 million North Norfolk, South Norfolk, West Norfolk and Norwich clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) received £4.8 million of resilience money in their baseline, however it is not possible to give a specific figure for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Trust. Learning from previous years, we have put this money into the CCG baseline for 2015/16 so that the National Health Service can plan effectively at local level for the long-term and take earlier action to tackle the symptoms of seasonal pressures.
As part of the best practice guidance from the Safer, Faster, Better report (April 2015), all System Resilience Groups are implementing eight high impact interventions. These focus on short term priorities needed to improve flow through the system and reduce pressure on emergency departments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what powers he plans Rail North to assume in relation to rail franchises by 2020.
Andrew Jones
In March of this year the Department for Transport (DfT) signed a formal partnership agreement with Rail North. This agreement sets out the arrangements by which a locally-based team in Leeds, reporting to a joint Rail North/DfT strategic board will manage the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises from April 2016. The agreement includes important mechanisms to enable the Rail North authorities to make decisions on changes to their local rail service and fares and to make investments in these franchises to make improvements. The partnership agreement with Rail North signed in March 2015 sets out the steps by which further devolution will be agreed by the parties during the life of the franchises.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2015-11-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the role of law enforcement in Sub-Saharan Africa in deterring and apprehending people smugglers, and (2) the capacity of those forces to fulfil that role.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
At the Valletta Summit on 11 and 12 November, EU and African leaders made clear their shared determination to provide a comprehensive solution to irregular migration that deals with the root causes as well as responds to the consequences. Both European and African law enforcement agencies have an important role to play in delivering that solution. A key tenet of the Action Plan agreed at the Summit was to strengthen further our collective efforts to prevent and fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings through effective border management, enhanced intelligence-sharing and the implementation of the relevant legal frameworks. Through the new EU Trust Fund on migration, as well as bilateral activity, we will help build the capacity of law enforcement agencies in Africa to go after the criminal gangs and smuggling networks that profit from human misery. In Valetta the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced further funding for the UK’s Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce, now totalling £50million for 2015-2020. The Taskforce brings together officers from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service with the task of pursuing and disrupting organised crime groups involved in the people smuggling trade in countries of source, transit and destination.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed abolition of maintenance grants on the Government’s target of doubling the proportion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education between 2009 and 2020.
Joseph Johnson
An Equality Analysis has been carried out and will be published alongside the regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative economic assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of HM Revenue and Customs locating its regional hub in (a) Leeds and (b) Bradford; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.
Mr David Gauke
On 12 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its ten-year modernisation programme. As part of that, the department demonstrated its long-term commitment to Yorkshire and the Humber by setting out that it would establish a Regional Centre in Leeds.
A number of factors were considered by HMRC when deciding where to locate its new Regional Centres. In addition to cost, it considered local and national transport links, the local labour market, supply of future workforce and the retention of current staff and skills.
HMRC modelled the impact of locating the Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in both Bradford and Leeds. For both scenarios, it took into account the potential loss of jobs for staff expected to be outside of reasonable daily travel (defined as approximately 1 hour from home to work, though dependent on individual circumstances).
HMRC first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, setting out how and why it is changing. The department is committed to continuing to support all of its employees who are affected by these changes.
Staff in Yorkshire attended a number of face-to-face events, providing feedback on the potential location of the regional centre. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances in one-to-one meetings with their manager.
This transformation programme will ultimately enable HMRC to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. It will generate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who she met during her visit to China in November 2015; and what was (a) discussed and (b) agreed at those meetings.
George Eustice
During her visit the Secretary of State met a number of her counterparts, supported the two week long Food is GREAT Campaign in China and took with her the largest ever UK delegation to the Food and Hotel China trade show. She signed agreements to open the markets for UK barley and pigs trotters worth up to £190m over 5 years and discussed the forward plan for opening up the markets for poultry, beef and lamb. She discussed shared priorities with the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Water Resources and agreed programmes of closer collaboration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of Saudi Arabia on the reaffirmation in UN Security Council Resolution 2199 (2015) of 12 February 2015 of its Resolution 1373 (2001) on matters including the prevention and suppression of financing of terrorist acts.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
All UN Member States, including Saudi Arabia, are subject to the terms of UN Security Council Resolutions 2199 and 1373 and the UK consistently calls on all nations to fully implement these in multilateral and bilateral meetings. Saudi Arabia is a member of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force which conducts evaluations of its members to assess compliance with the international standard. A Financial Action Task Force report on terrorist financing published on 16 November 2015 noted that since 2010, Saudi Arabia had achieved the highest number of terrorist financing convictions out of the 33 jurisdictions who had achieved a conviction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what financial support his Department has provided for research into antibiotic resistance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The information requested is not available. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department’s Policy Research Programme (PRP). Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR is categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories. There are no HRCS health sub-categories, and no category or sub-category for antibiotic resistance.
On 18 November 2015 the NIHR announced funding for 16 studies relating to antimicrobial resistance with an investment of over £15.8 million to date, with funding of further projects expected during 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue a response to Early Day Motion (a) 162, Closures of abortion clinics and (b) 172, Buffer zones around abortion centres.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to 5385 on 13 July 2015.