Tag: Crispin Blunt

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with veterinary experts on the use of colistin and colistin resistance in animals, food and humans.

George Eustice

I discussed the issue of colistin resistance on 1 December with the Chief Executive of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate following the publication of a report on the issue in relation to China.

In November, the UK Government attended an EU workshop on the impact on public health and animal health of the use of antibiotics in animals, which included the use of colistin. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has also held initial discussions on the use of colistin and colistin resistance with other experts across government, including the Food Standards Agency, Department of Health and Public Health England, and key industry bodies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 10 of NHS England’s Strategic Framework for Specialised Services board paper, published in May 2016, what plans NHS England has to trial alternative reimbursement models for drugs and devices.

George Freeman

As set out in the NHS England Board Paper, improving the adoption of new technologies and treatments will be an important element of NHS England’s strategic framework for specialised services. As part of the work to develop that framework, NHS England will be working with a range of stakeholders to explore how alternative reimbursement models could be deployed, including in the context of the recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review due for publication this summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with health experts on the human health implications of the veterinary use of colistin for colistin resistance in slaughtered animals, food and humans; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The Department of Health is working closely with Public Health England (PHE), the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate to ensure that the risk assessment to public health from colistin-resistant bacteria from slaughtered animals, food and humans considers all available evidence. While PHE and the FSA judge that the public health risk of colistin-resistant bacteria from slaughtered animals and the food chain is very low, the use of colistin for animals will be reviewed following recent reports of transferable colistin resistance in China and Europe.

I regularly discuss the issue of antimicrobial resistance with the Chief Medical Officer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 14 June 2016, Official Report, column 1617, on EU Prisoner Transfer Directive, to which EU member states the 102 prisoners transferred from England and Wales under the EU prisoner transfer agreement have been transferred.

Andrew Selous

The information requested is provided in the table below.

MEMBER STATE TO WHICH TRANSFER HAS TAKEN PLACE	NUMBER OF PRISONERS TRANSFERRED
Belgium	7
Czech Republic	4
Denmark	1
Italy	3
Latvia	5
Lithuania	1
Netherlands	44
Poland	3
Romania	15
Slovakia	13
Spain	5
Malta	1

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will raise the issue of withdrawal of marketing authorisations for veterinary use of colistin at the next EU Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 7 December 2015.

Jane Ellison

The withdrawal of marketing authorisations for veterinary use of colistin was not raised at the EU Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 7 December 2015.

The Public Health Minister has regularly discussed antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with her international colleagues and attended a meeting on AMR hosted by the Netherlands in advance of their forthcoming Presidency where the Minister raised the importance of a ‘One Health’ approach to AMR including the need for the appropriate use of antibiotics in both humans and animals.

The five year UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, published in 2013 takes a ‘One Health’ approach.

Minimising the unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics reduces the selective pressure that favours the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria and is an essential component of strategies to safeguard antibiotics critical for treatment of serious human infections.

PHE is working closely with Defra, Department of Health, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Food Standards Agency and Veterinary Medicines Directorate to ensure the latest evidence on colistin resistance is considered.

AMR is a global problem that needs concerted action at both a national and global level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what payments his Department has made or is projected to make to Network Rail in respect of the rail network used by Govia Thameslink Railway for each financial year of the franchise period.

Paul Maynard

The Department for Transport does not make payments to Network Rail on a route by route basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the capital costs of (a) replacing the Vanguard fleet with four new Successor submarines and (b) other foreseeable elements within the Trident renewal project up to the late 2030’s.

Mr Philip Dunne

As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, our latest estimate is that manufacturing the four Successor submarines is likely to cost a total of £31 billion, including inflation over the lifetime of the programme. We will also set a contingency of £10 billion. The MOD budget for the Spending Review period published in Budget 2016 included this latest estimate for the relevant period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department’s capital programme prepared for Budget 2016 included revised estimates for the Trident Successor project.

Mr Philip Dunne

As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, our latest estimate is that manufacturing the four Successor submarines is likely to cost a total of £31 billion, including inflation over the lifetime of the programme. We will also set a contingency of £10 billion. The MOD budget for the Spending Review period published in Budget 2016 included this latest estimate for the relevant period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average number of (a) seats available and (b) passengers is on train services running from Gatwick Airport to London Bridge during the 0700 to 1000 weekday peak period.

Claire Perry

While Govia Thameslink Railways provide us with information on capacities and passenger numbers arriving at London Bridge, it is not possible to provide numbers of passengers who boarded at Gatwick Airport railway station.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of expansion of Gatwick Airport on seat capacity on northbound trains into London terminals in (a) 2030 and (b) 2040 during weekday morning peak periods.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Airports Commission analysed the likely surface access impacts of a second runway at Gatwick Airport in 2030. Its analysis concluded that the second runway does increase forecast crowding on the Brighton Main Line but not to significant levels.

At the time its work was carried out, the Airports Commission felt it was not plausible to carry out detailed surface access analysis for 2040 and beyond because of the difficulty in making assumptions about the likely state of the transport network and background growth at that time.