Tag: Andrew Gwynne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on distributing UK fines for air quality breaches to individual local authorities or combined authorities.

Rory Stewart

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues within Defra and across Whitehall on a range of issues, including on air quality. The air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide we published on 17 December last year sets out the steps we are taking to reduce pollutant levels, including working in partnership with Local Authorities, to avoid any prospect of fines.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has powers to require the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to recommence the consultation on the sites identified in the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Development Plan; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current process.

Brandon Lewis

The authorities have consulted on a number of strategic options and the evidence used to produce them. I understand that the consultation is still open to interested parties and the authorities are asking local residents, businesses, land owners and developers to identify sites that they think could be suitable for housing or employment development.

As I previously set out, it is the responsibility of each authority to ensure that any Development Plan Document is prepared in accordance with its Statement of Community Involvement which should explain how they will engage local communities and other interested parties in producing development plan documents and determining planning applications.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on of 4 February, PQ 24412.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24211, whether public health and health inequalities are taken into account in the consideration she gives to an application of dispose of former school playing fields.

Edward Timpson

The Education Funding Agency and the Independent School Playing Fields Panel who advise on playing field disposals will look at a range of factors before advising the Secretary of State on disposals, including any reduction in access to playing fields for the school, other local schools and the local community.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost was to the public purse of graffiti removal across the (a) Highways England and (b) Network Rail networks in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones

The Highways England does not separately identify the exact annual cost of removing graffiti from its road signs and structures, as this forms part of a wider contracted service which includes a range of maintenance activities.

Network Rail spends more than £3.5 million a year removing graffiti. This spending is devolved to local teams and it would involve disproportionate cost to retrieve exact annual expenditure. However, there is no reason to expect significant annual variations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to reduce the amount of litter on Network Rail’s land; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

This is an operational matter for Network Rail, but I acknowledge the Honourable Member’s concerns and note the size of Network Rail’s estate. I have been informed by Network Rail that it has policies on litter removal that are consistent with current legislation and that it already takes all practicable measures within its resources.

In cases where litter is on operational land, removal may only be dealt with when lines are closed for other maintenance activity, to avoid inconvenience to passengers and compromising safety. The company also prioritises litter clearance based on safety.

Network Rail has a 24 hour National Helpline on 08457 11 41 41, whose remit includes handling requests from local authorities and the public, to clear line-side areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25439, on regional planning and development in Greater Manchester, when the consultation on the call for sites closed.

Brandon Lewis

We understand that no end date has been published and that the call for sites for the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework is still open. Further details can be found at: https://www.greatermanchesterca.gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of fuel was for the Government Car Service fleet in each month since May 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The table shows the cost of fuel for the Government Car Service fleet in each month since May 2015

Month	Exc. VAT	Inc. VAT
May	£10,429.57	£12,515.48
June	£9,946.79	£11,936.15
July	£12,540.02	£15,048.02
August	£7,126.37	£8,551.64
September	£8,861.36	£10,633.63
October	£11,239.51	£13,487.41
November	£10,417.58	£12,501.10
December	£9,101.75	£10,922.10
January	£9,682.24	£11,618.69
February	£9,278.99	£11,134.79

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) MRI machines (b) CT Scanners (c) PET-CT scanners (d) Linear accelerators and (e) Robotic surgery systems in use in each NHS trust are older than ten years.

George Freeman

Information on the age of MRI machines, CT scanners, PET-CT scanners, linear accelerators and robotic surgery systems and the proportion of the cost of backlog maintenance that relates to these are not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of job offers on the terms and conditions of the new junior doctor contract have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected to date.

Ben Gummer

More than 500 job offers have been made and employers are currently carrying out pre-employment checks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to consult (a) alternative educational providers, (b) the public and (c) the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish over applications for the disposal for development of the former Two Trees High School site in Denton.

Edward Timpson

The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new academy or free school.

School playing fields are also protected by Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Schools and local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval before they can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of school playing fields are first considered by the school playing fields advisory panel, who make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, before she then makes her final decision.

At this time I am not aware of an application by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to seek approval to dispose of the former Two Trees Sports College, including the playing fields.

Should an application be submitted, the Secretary of State would take into account any groups or organisations with permission to use the playing fields and what suitable alternative provision they may have been offered. Local schools, which are deficient in playing field land, should also be offered the opportunity to use the playing field before any application is presented. She will also take into account local school place needs and any academy requirement.