Tag: Craig Whittaker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many student midwives there were in England in each of the last five years.

Ben Gummer

The following table shows the total number of student midwives in training in England as at the end of each financial year for the period 2010/11 to 2014/15.

Year	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Midwives	5,644	5,955	6,315	6,413	6,662

Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from Calderdale Council since 2010 on the level of local authority funding from central Government.

Mr Marcus Jones

Calderdale Council have submitted a representation each year since 2010 as part of the annual consultation on the local government finance settlement.

The annual local government finance settlement sets out details of central government funding for local authorities, including Revenue Support Grant, as well as considering councils’ locally raised funds, and represents the main funding source for local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the frequency of rocket attacks from the West Bank into Israel in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have not received reports of incidents of rocket fire from the West Bank into Israel . However, military groups in Gaza (including Hamas’ military wing), conduct test-firing of rockets into the Mediterranean on a regular basis. There have also been reports of rocket or mortar fire from Gaza towards Israel.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations he has made to (a) the Premier League, (b) the Football League and (c) the Football Association to encourage football clubs to offer affordable tickets to supporters.

David Evennett

Ticket prices are a matter for clubs, and we therefore welcome the recent announcement by those in the Premier League to cap the price of away tickets to £30 for the next three seasons. In my regular meetings with the football authorities, I will continue to ask that all clubs keep under review ticket prices, as well as ways to ensure greater engagement in clubs by supporters

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary school places in Calderdale.

Edward Timpson

Supporting local authorities to ensure sufficient school places in their area is one of this Government’s top priorities. That’s why we’ve committed to investing £7 billion in new school places up to 2021, which along with our investment in the free schools programme we expect to deliver 600,000 new places. This is on top of the £5 billion the Coalition Government spent between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create 600,000 additional places between 2010 and 2015.

Calderdale received £8.8 million in basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create nearly 2,000 new places between 2010 and 2015. Of these, around 960 were primary places and around 1,010 were secondary. Calderdale has also been allocated £17.6 million to create the places required by September 2019.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage local authorities to adopt proactive enforcement policies to help combat fly-tipping.

Rory Stewart

We are committed to tackling fly-tipping, and as set out in the Government’s manifesto we have given local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping. These new enforcement tools provide local authorities with an alternative to prosecutions and will assist them to take a proportionate enforcement response.

This builds on other Government action to tackle fly-tipping, which has included: working with the Sentencing Council on its guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July 2014; making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be stopped, searched and seized; and continuing our work with the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will work with (a) Oman and (b) other Middle Eastern countries to broker a deal to end the current conflict in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), met his Saudi, Emirates and US counterparts on 19 July in London to review the situation in Yemen. A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability and end the conflict. We welcome and fully support the UN led talks in Kuwait: now is the time to reach an agreement. We will continue to work closely with the UN and partners in the Middle East, including Oman, to encourage both sides to engage constructively.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on producing a long-term industrial strategy for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Mr Nick Hurd

On 2 August, my right Hon. Friend the Prime Minister chaired the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Economy and Industrial Strategy, which brings together Secretaries of State of Departments across Whitehall to help to drive forward an Industrial Strategy that will aim to deliver the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘an economy that works for all’ and put the United Kingdom in a strong position for the future, promoting a diversity of industrial sectors and ensuring the benefits of growth are shared across cities and regions up and down the country, including Yorkshire and Humber.

Overall responsibility for developing and implementing an industrial strategy sits within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We will be working closely across Government and with a range of organisations – including regional representatives, businesses, trade bodies, universities, and trade unions – to deliver this, to help ensure that the economy grows strongly in all parts of the country, and to support the UK’s global competitiveness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve the UK’s economic ties with developing African economies.

Harriett Baldwin

Supporting Africa’s economic development is central to the government’s international agenda. This is highlighted in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 which states that:

Over the next five years, we aim to deepen the UK’s relationships with African countries significantly. To enable this, we will deliver a more strategic and coordinated government approach to Africa… We will continue to make substantial investments to promote greater economic growth and poverty reduction.

In parallel, the Department for International Development (DFID) has previously committed to spend around £1.8 billion of their budget on economic development by the end of the 2015/2016 fiscal year: almost double the level of two years ago. DFID is also working with business and new partners, including new partners in the UK, to support innovative and profitable solutions to Africa’s development challenges. For example, the recently launched Energy Access initiative aims to expand solar energy access across sub-Saharan Africa, by increasing investment in off-grid energy firms, promoting innovation and removing regulatory barriers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Atos assessments are carried out effectively for personal independence payment applications.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department has a number of mechanisms available to monitor and challenge Atos performance in carrying out assessments for Personal Independence Payment. These include a range of Management Information to inform performance against contractual Service Level Agreements relating to, for example, time taken to process claims and the quality of the assessment reports produced.