Tag: Catherine West

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Indonesia in dealing with the terrorist bombings in Jakarta in January 2016.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK and Indonesia are already working closely together on a broad range of issues, including counter-terrorism and counter-extremism. We continue to provide support and assistance to the Indonesian government as it works to defeat those who plan and perpetrate acts of terror. Our collaboration in these areas includes an operational capacity-building programme, established in 2005, and incorporates training delivered through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation. A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on police cooperation was signed during the Prime Minister, my right hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) visit to Jakarta in July. Additionally, we co-operate on a range of issues including foreign terrorist fighters, crisis response and legal frameworks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mental health services take account of the experiences and needs of women (a) in general and (b) who have experienced extensive abuse.

Alistair Burt

The focus of our mental health service transformation is supporting increased equitable access to high quality care for all people. Local health economies consider the local populations needs, including access to services, when they commission and provide services and support.

The Prime Minister recently announced a £290 million investment over the next five years to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services. This builds on the initial investment announced in the March 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2015/16 to 2020/21 of £365 million. The settlement is expected to enable NHS England to build capacity and capability in perinatal mental health services, with the aim of increasing access to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-concordant care for women in all areas of England by 2020/21.

We know that vulnerable women can experience abuse and that abuse can also increase vulnerability. It can take many years, if at all, for women to disclose that they have been sexually or otherwise abused, whether as adults or children. The Department is exploring how enquiries can be routinely made of patients using a number of services such as substance misuse, adult mental health and sexual health clinics to help with early identification and support for women to get the services that they need, much earlier.

Health care professionals are in a unique position to identify abuse and to intervene early with women to direct them to the most appropriate statutory and non-statutory services for support.

Focussing health professionals on better identification and actions that will break the cycle of violence, means that health care staff can then enable those affected to access the therapeutic support they need, including counselling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 25293, whether his Department distinguishes between the proposed use of deployed platforms with capabilities for (a) high value targeting and (b) intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance.

Penny Mordaunt

With reference to the answer given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Tom Watson) on 23 June 2014 (Official Report, column 99W) we do not distinguish between platforms with different capabilities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Harriett Baldwin

The cleaning service at HM Treasury is provided by through a service contract, let by the landlord for 1 Horse Guards Road (Exchequer Partnership). HM Treasury does not directly employ cleaners.

However, the contracted cleaners that work within 1 Horse Guards Road are paid £9.15 per hour which will increase to £9.40 in April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Alun Cairns

Cleaning services within the Wales Office are undertaken by outsourced providers under Ministry of Justice contracts.

Rates of pay for cleaners are determined by their respective employers and not held by the Wales Office or Ministry of Justice.

All employers are obligated to pay at least the National Minimum Wage and the new National Living Wage from April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding the Government has allocated to cycling schemes in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In the five financial years from 2010/11 to 2014/15, the Department for Transport has provided: £63m to Cycling England, £94m to the Cycle Ambition Cities and National Parks fund, £30m to the Linking Communities/Cycle Rail fund, £12m to Links to Schools, £44m to Bikeability cycle training and £35m to the Cycle Safety fund. Between 2011 and 2015, the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) also provided 28% of its budget, or £151m, to cycling projects. Overall between 2011 and 2015 funding was more than doubled compared to the previous administration.

For 2015/16, a further £15m will be invested in Cycle Rail, £11m in Bikeability and £64.5m in LSTF projects; £15m was also invested in the second phase of the Cycle Ambition City programme. Looking forward, a further £99m will be invested in the Cycle Ambition Cities, £50m in Bikeability and £100m via the Road Investment Strategy.

Long-term funding is also available for cycling from the Integrated Transport Block, Highways Maintenance Block, and the Local Growth Fund, where around £270m is already planned by Local Enterprise Partnerships for cycling infrastructure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve trade with (a) Hong Kong and (b) China as a whole.

Anna Soubry

Increasing trade and growth through exports, to all overseas markets including Hong Kong and China is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish on the international stage.

The focus on China and Hong Kong is exemplified by the fact that UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has some 180 full-time equivalent posts in these markets, representing its largest overseas team working on trade and investment. UKTI also works in partnership with the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) which delivers volume trade support on its behalf for UK companies looking to export to China. CBBC offers support for UK businesses across 13 strategic locations in China.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many regional or minority languages are recognised by his Department; and how many of those languages receive funding for language programmes.

James Wharton

The United Kingdom has recognised seven languages under the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, Scots, Ulster Scots, Cornish and Manx. Cornish is the only language in England to have this status and since April 2010 the Department for Communities and Local Government has provided £650,000 to Cornwall Council for the development of the Cornish Language.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the target response times are for ambulances responding to C1 and C2 incidents.

Jane Ellison

Category C1 and category C2 are terms used by London Ambulance Service to describe the first two categories of green calls.

Green calls are lower acuity calls where there is still a need for an ambulance, but in slower time scales than life-threatening or more urgent calls. They are usually split into four categories and the response times for these are agreed and set locally.

Data on green call performance is not centrally held.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects on public health of changes in the number of paramedics employed by the London Ambulance Service.

Ben Gummer

We are advised by London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) that during 2015/16 it recruited 717 frontline staff. In doing so, LAS achieved its recruitment target and filled all its available frontline posts.

We understand that LAS has put in place a number of measures to help it support and retain staff. These measures include updating the vehicle fleet and re-launching the trust’s learning and development function. LAS has also established a new clinical team leader role, with 50% of the role devoted to supporting staff.

Demand on the service has increased significantly over the past five years. During March 2016, demand was the highest on record for patients with serious and life threatening illnesses. LAS continues to work to improve services for patients by focusing on reducing demand, recruiting more staff and supporting staff to work more efficiently.