Tag: Andrew Turner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of expanding (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to achieve seven-day services in hospitals by 2020.

Ben Gummer

By 2020, all hospital patients who need urgent or emergency care will have access to the same levels of consultant assessment and review, diagnostic tests and consultant-led interventions, whatever day of the week it is.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the cost efficiency of the NHS in Wales compared with England.

Alun Cairns

The Welsh Government is responsible for the NHS in Wales. It is up to the Welsh Government to decide how best to use their funding and deliver health services in Wales.

The UK Government is happy to share good practice with the Welsh Government to help ensure people living in Wales receive high quality healthcare.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the provision of learning outside of the classroom.

Nick Gibb

Field trips and educational visits are important and have a key role to play in children’s education.

It is for schools to use their professional judgement to decide how their activities deliver a broad and balanced curriculum and to plan lessons and use their budgets accordingly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on smaller bus operators of local authorities franchising bus services; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

I want to ensure that smaller bus operators, who drive innovation and invention, form part of the mix of bus service providers in any future franchising model. The Department’s assessment of the effects of franchising on smaller bus operators will be set out in the Impact Assessment which will accompany the introduction of the Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has set a timetable for returning foreign national offenders remaining in UK prisons and communities to their countries of origin.

James Brokenshire

We aim to deport foreign national offenders at the earliest opportunity. We have removed 30,000 foreign national offenders since 2010, including 5,692 in the year 2015-16: the highest number since records began.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what functions are planned to become the responsibility of the proposed Solent combined authority; what estimate he has made of the costs of each of those functions in the next (a) 12 months, (b) five years and (c) 30 years; and if he will publish all information that his Department holds on those proposed functions.

Andrew Percy

The proposals for a Solent Combined Authority have been developed by local leaders and partners in the Solent and leaders in the Solent have been undertaking a consultation to inform their proposals and gather the views of local people. Following that it will be for the local authorities to decide if they wish to propose forming a Combined Authority.

Ministers and officials have held discussions with Solent partners on what additional powers and funding could be devolved to the local area, as we have with local areas up and down the country. These discussions have not as yet reached a conclusion although I expect that if a Solent Combined Authority is proposed to government a devolution deal could be rapidly concluded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) local authorities and (b) other organisations on which (i) key net roads and (ii) highway responsibilities could be devolved to the proposed Solent combined authority.

Mr John Hayes

DfT officials have had some early conversations with local authorities about the possibilities for coordinating/improving transport delivery across the Solent area as part of potential combined authority proposals. Discussions across Government are still ongoing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the number of Syrians seeking refugee status who enter the UK from Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

A person who is in genuine need of international protection should not travel through a safe country in order to choose where to claim asylum. If we have evidence that asylum seekers, including Syrian nationals, are the responsibility of Ireland we will seek to return them under the Dublin Regulation. Similarly, if we have evidence that individuals claiming asylum in the UK have already been granted international protection by Ireland we will also seek to return them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2014-06-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to support businesses with five or fewer staff.

Mr David Gauke

The Government’s long term economic plan is backing small businesses as they set up and grow. As part of this plan we are cutting taxes and reducing red tape to help businesses. In particular, the Employment Allowance was introduced in April 2014, and allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to deduct up to £2,000 off their employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill each year. Over 60% of the total benefit of the policy is expected to go to businesses with fewer than 10 employees, and a business employing three people on the median full-time private sector wage of £25,800 in 2014-15 will see their typical NICs bill cut by over 25 per cent.

In addition, Autumn Statement 2013 announced the extension of the Small Business Rate Relief until April 2015, taking 350,000 small businesses out of business rates.

The British Business Bank was launched in October 2013 to make finance markets work better for small firms, allowing them to prosper, grow and support the UK economy. Over the next five years, the Bank aims to unlock up to £10 billion of financing for viable smaller businesses. Business Bank programmes facilitated a total of £782m of new lending and investment in the fiscal year 2013/14, to over 30,000 businesses. This represents more than a doubling of activity on the previous year. The Business Bank also supported £100m of new Venture Capital investment in 2013/14. StartUp Loans is a £322m scheme to help individuals to access finance and support to start a business. Over 18,000 loans totalling more than £90m have been made since the launch in April 2012.

These measures are all part of our economic plan that is building a stronger, more competitive economy.