Tag: Andrew Gwynne

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role the UK pharmaceutical industry is playing in the development of a vaccine for the Zika virus.

Jane Ellison

The United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry will play a leading role in the development of a vaccine for the Zika virus, in collaboration with a range of the UK’s infectious disease experts, who are world leaders in this area.

In the Spending Review, the £1 billion Ross Fund, run jointly by the Department of Health and Department for International Development, includes over £350 million for the development of new vaccines, drugs and diagnostics for infectious diseases.

Particularly noteworthy within this, the UK Vaccine Network, with up to £120 million of funding, brings together industry, academia and Government to finance the development of new vaccines for priority infectious diseases with epidemic potential, including Zika. Indeed, the Network will launch a major funding call to finance the development of vaccines for Zika and other priority diseases at the end of February.

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, what account she takes of the recreational benefit of maintaining school playing fields when considering a school disposal request.

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, whether he expects residents adjoining the M60 in Denton to qualify for monetary compensation for the extension of the smart motorway scheme.

Andrew Jones

The M60 Smart Motorway Project near Denton is currently in its early design stage and the scope and boundaries of the project are still being defined. By its nature of this type of project, Highways England expect that the scheme will mostly be within the existing footprint.

Any compensation arrangements will be the same as for all such improvement schemes. If there is a requirement to purchase land then the owners of that land can expect to be appropriately compensated. Similarly if properties in the area of the scheme qualify for noise insulation under the Noise Insulation Regulations, then appropriate offers will be made.

The environmental impact will be assessed as part of the design and any necessary actions will be considered during the detailed design. One year after the completion of the scheme local property owners may apply for compensation under Part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 and such claims will be assessed under the terms of that Act.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the £570 million referred to in paragraph 0.5 of his Department’s paper, Infected blood: reform of financial and other support, published in January 2016, will be spent in each year of the programme; what the average spend per recipient will be in each such year; and in what categories of spending that funding will fall in each such year.

Jane Ellison

The Department estimates that it would pay out £570 million over the next 45 years, based on the existing unreformed scheme. The Department currently anticipates that it will disburse the same sum under a reformed scheme plus the additional £125 million over the current spending review period of five years. We are currently consulting on the reformed scheme and are unable to estimate the future average annual spend beyond the current spending review or the categories of spend for the period. For the current spending review period the planned expenditure is £47.5 million for each of the next five years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, what his policy is on the appointment of hon. Members from the constituent districts to the scrutiny, overview and audit panels of combined authorities.

James Wharton

The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2015 to Question 23840, on cancer: drugs, whether his Department plans to undertake an impact assessment of NHS England’s consultation proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund.

George Freeman

The Department has no such plans.

NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Cancer Drugs Fund. NHS England has advised that it does not, as a rule, produce impact assessments as standalone documents. Instead, it seeks to ensure that, as part of its processes to develop any policy or proposal, it considers quality, value for money, equality and accessibility issues.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23756, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funds within NHS organisations to eradicate backlog maintenance repairs which are considered to be high risk.

George Freeman

National Health Service organisations are locally responsible for the quality of their estate and the management of their own backlog maintenance. They decide on the investment needed to reduce backlog maintenance levels based on their own local plans and financial situation. Capital investment by NHS providers continues to be financed locally through income and/or through access to external financing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss the use of pupil premium funding by Audenshaw School Academy Trust.

Edward Timpson

I understand that the Hon. Member for Denton and Reddish has met the Regional Schools Commissioner, Vicky Beer, to discuss his concerns about Audenshaw School Academy Trust. I can assure him that she is fully aware of the issues and is holding the trust to account for underperformance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has received an application from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to release the former Two Trees High School site in Denton for development.

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases relating to the (a) eviction of residents and (b) banning of guests in care homes have reached the High Court in each year since 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.