Tag: Andrew Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which (a) communities and (b) projects will receive funding from the English Language scheme.

Mr Marcus Jones

We are working to develop the new English language programme, including ensuring it is focused on those areas where we know women are at greatest risk of isolation and are more likely to have no or little proficiency in the English language. We will make an announcement as soon as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safety improvements are planned for the A34; and what the planned date of completion is for each such improvement.

Mr John Hayes

Highways England has a major scheme planned for the A34 to ease congestion, improve safety and incident management between the M4 junction at Chievely and the M40 junction at Wendlebury. Vehicle detection loops (in the road) will detect when traffic is building or slowing down to help operate traffic signals and activate electronic message signs. CCTV cameras and driver information systems will be installed at key locations along the A34 between the M4 and the M40. Highways England intends to start work by March 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures he plans to include in the forthcoming Order under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 to amend the legislation governing the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Ben Gummer

The Section 60 Order will remove statutory midwifery supervision from the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) governing legislation.

The Department is also in discussions with the NMC on what other reforms may be achieved through the Order.

The Order will be subject to a full public consultation early next year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of food to people in Malawi.

Mr Nick Hurd

Each year the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) assesses food availability in Malawi and publishes the official figure for those who are likely to be food insecure over the year. This year, at over 2.8m people, the figure is the highest for a decade. The UK was one of the first development partners to respond to Malawi’s international appeal for emergency aid in October 2015. The UK has now committed £14.5m, which includes provision of food for over 800,000 people, mass screening of up to 800,000 children to identify urgent nutritional support needs and specialist nutrition supplies for over 140,000 children and others suffering from acute malnutrition.

DFID continues to monitor the situation, through formal assessments, community consultation and ongoing engagement with partners. Maize prices are high and increasing and food availability on markets is unpredictable. The Government of Malawi has released maize from its reserves and has bought additional supplies from Zambia, although there are ongoing concerns about effectiveness of its distribution. DFID continues to work with partners to help Malawi break the cycle of recurrent food insecurity crises year after year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the UK contribution has been to the UN’s emergency relief fund for Yemen since its creation.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has contributed £36.2 million to the Yemen Emergency Response Fund (ERF) since it was established in 2010.

In 2015 the ERF channelled funds to over 79 projects implemented by UN agencies and national and international NGOs. Through the total resources received from donors in 2015, the Fund has provided critical life-saving assistance to 3.3 million people affected by the conflict in Yemen, including through the provision of healthcare, clean water, sanitation services, food supplies or shelter materials.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety of and access for horse riders on roads and bridlepaths.

Andrew Jones

The Department takes every opportunity to remind motorists of their responsibilities towards vulnerable road users – including horse riders – through publications such as the Highway Code and THINK! Road Safety campaigns. THINK! officials are currently working with the British Horse Society following their recently launched ‘Dead Slow’ campaign. Plans for the summer include publicity on TV, radio, online and social media advising motorists on how to pass horses safely.

We do not provide advice on access to bridleways, as this falls within the remit of Natural England (a non-departmental public body).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safety improvements have been undertaken on the A34 in the last five years.

Mr John Hayes

In the last five years Highways England has carried out twelve specific safety schemes on the A34.

The Gore Hill HGV restriction scheme started as a trial in 2010 and was made permanent in September 2011 because of its success in reducing accidents.

Between 2011 and 2012, Highways England completed four safety schemes, namely the Botley Northbound Merge Improvements, Whitchurch Directional Signing, Winnal Layby Improvement, and the Oxford Resurfacing Scheme. The layby and directional signs needed bringing up to current standards to improve safety.

Between 2014 and 2015, Highways England completed seven safety schemes, namely Kingsworthy Layby Improvement, Whitchurch Direction Signs Upgrade, A34/M3 Junction 9 Deer Vehicle Collisions Mitigation, A34 Passively Safe Signs, A34 Roadworker Safety, A34/M40 Junction 9 Wendlebury (Phase 2), and Didcot Drainage Maintenance. The drainage maintenance scheme was necessary to reduce the risk of future flooding between the A4130 Milton Interchange and the A4185 Chilton junction.

Numerous Renewals, Structures and Technology schemes have been delivered on the A34 in the past five years and these schemes have had an inherent safety aspect inbuilt.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the inclusion of renewable energy in the Climate Change Levy on incentives for businesses to operate in a more environmentally friendly way.

Andrea Leadsom

The Climate Change Levy (CCL) renewables exemption offered poor value for money, as it provided indirect support to renewable generators, and a third of its value went to supporting overseas renewable generation projects, which did not contribute to the UK’s climate change or renewables targets and often received subsidies from home Governments. The rise in UK renewable electricity generation and imports led to a decline in CCL revenue. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility published forecasts showing that this decline would have continued to 2020 if the exemption remained in place and that virtually no CCL tax would have been paid on electricity by 2020, which would have undermined the energy efficiency objectives of the CCL.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indonesian counterpart on freedom of access by journalists to West Papua.

Mr Hugo Swire

We welcome the Indonesian government’s commitment to improving the situation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. President Joko Widodo has visited 3 times since his election, most recently spending New Year in Papua. During his visit in May 2015, he granted clemency to a number of prisoners and announced the lifting of travel restrictions for foreign journalists and international organizations. Since then, a number of foreign journalists have successfully visited and reported from Papua and West Papua. Our Ambassador in Jakarta last visited Papua in January. As well as raising these issues, he also discussed ways to ensure the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces with members of the police, and religious and community leaders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2016 to Question 20586, for what reasons the draft Hepatitis C Improvement Framework has been withdrawn.

Jane Ellison

The Department continues working with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to advance the public health ambitions set out in the initial framework to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C.

Both PHE and NHS England are fully committed to improving hepatitis C outcomes including the long-term reduction in transmission of the virus in which treatment has a potentially major role to play.

NHS England has been working on plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.