Tag: Craig Whittaker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much West Yorkshire PCTs are owed by foreign patients for medical treatment from the NHS.

Alistair Burt

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, primary care trusts (PCTs) ceased to exist from 1 April 2013, being replaced by clinical commissioning groups.

The Department does not hold information centrally on the amounts owed to clinical commissioning groups by foreign patients for National Health Service medical treatment received.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to monitor unauthorised entry into British territorial waters around British Overseas Territories.

Penny Mordaunt

Territorial waters around the British Overseas Territories are monitored through a variety of means. The level of monitoring is commensurate with any potential threat.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on establishing 20mph zones.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has provided a wide range of guidance for local authorities on establishing 20 mph zones. Local Transport Note 1/07 ‘Traffic Calming’ sets out design guidance on 20 mph zones, summarising the advice provided in earlier Traffic Advisory Leaflets, whilst guidance on signing is provided in the Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 3 and the Area-wide Authorisations and Special Directions Guidance Note. Advice on setting speed limits is provided in Department for Transport Circular 01/2013 ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’. All of these documents are available on the Department’s website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of new apprenticeships in Calder Valley constituency in each of the next four years.

Nick Boles

The Department does not produce estimates of future Apprenticeship starts by Parliamentary constituency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to the Calder Valley of a high speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester.

Andrew Jones

Since the publication of the March 2015 Northern Transport Strategy, the Government and Transport for the North have been taking forward a programme of work on an ambitious Northern Powerhouse Rail vision. Parallel work is also taking place to understand the capability of the North’s road network.

Detailed analysis has not yet been carried out on the potential benefits of high speed rail links between particular locations across the Pennines. However the recent Budget allocated £60million to help develop the options for a High Speed 3 route between Leeds and Manchester.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the proposals in his Department’s White Paper, A BBC for the future, published in May 2016, what discussions he has had with the BBC on challenging a perceived culture of political bias at the corporation.

Mr Edward Vaizey

I have had discussions with the BBC throughout the Charter Review process. Under the plans in the White Paper, ‘A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction’, the BBC’s obligations for impartiality and accuracy will, for the first time, be regulated by an external body, Ofcom. The culture of the BBC will be a matter for the new unitary board in delivering its new mission ‘To act in the public interest, serving all audiences with impartial, high-quality and distinctive media content and services that inform, educate and entertain.’

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training and logistical support the armed forces have provided to Iraqi forces to combat the threat from Daesh in Iraq in the last 12 months.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK Armed Forces have continued to play a full part in the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition programme to build the capacity of Iraqi (including Kurdish) security forces. Over the past 12 months, we have contributed to the training of over 13,600 Iraqi army personnel and some 2,570 Peshmerga, to build vital counter-IED expertise and to enhance medical and infantry skills. The impact of this training can be seen in the success of Iraqi security forces over the past year in taking back territory previously held by Daesh. Some 40% of occupied territory has now been recovered. In terms of logistic support, following the UK’s substantial contributions of non-lethal support, heavy machine guns, ammunition and military equipment to meet immediate Kurdish Peshmerga needs in early 2015, the UK has provided airlift to facilitate other international contributions and, subject to parliamentary approval, is planning to provide a further £1 million of ammunition later this summer for Peshmerga use.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many convictions there have been for offences relating to cases of immigration marriage fraud in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The table below gives the number of individuals who were successfully prosecuted by Home Office Immigration Enforcement for offences relating to immigration marriage fraud.

Prior to 2014, the records were not held centrally.

The decrease in the number of referrals to the Home Office can be aligned to the introduction of the Immigration Act 2014.

This legislation extends the notification period for those seeking to marry up to 70 days and provides time for the Home Office to investigate whether the marriage is sham. The effect of this is that those marriages deemed to be sham can be prevented from taking place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the value of artwork and antiques held by local authorities.

Mr Marcus Jones

The information requested is not available.

However, the Department does collect information about total heritage assets held by local authorities which includes museum and gallery collections and works of art, as well as historical buildings, archaeological sites, military and scientific equipment of historical importance, historic motor vehicles, recordings of significant historical events etc.

The latest local authority figures that have been published are for 2013-14 and can be found in the drop down table entitled “Capital outturn return (COR5) 2013 to 2014 receipts and fixed assets for England” at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-capital-expenditure-and-financing-in-england-2013-to-2014-individual-local-authority-data

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults were recorded on prison staff on duty in 2014-15.

Andrew Selous

We do not tolerate violence of any kind in prison and any assault is treated extremely seriously. Any prisoner who commits an act of violence can expect to have action taken against them.

Statistics for assaults on staff are published in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin.

The information requested may be found in the ‘Summary tables April 2004 to March 2015’ at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2015

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