Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in excess winter mortality rates in North East England in the winter of 2014-15.

Jane Ellison

The increased excess deaths in 2014-15 coincided with the circulation of a strain of flu, A(H3N2), that particularly affects older people. Cold snaps and other respiratory infections may also have contributed to an increase in excess mortality. There was evidence also that the flu vaccine provided reduced protection due to some drift of the circulating A(H3N2) virus.

These observations were not unique to the United Kingdom, with 14 other European countries also reporting an increase in excess mortality. Throughout the last decade, there has generally been a good match between the strains of flu in the vaccine and those that subsequently circulate, highlighting the importance of flu vaccination for at risk groups, including older people and also the childhood flu vaccine programme, which when rolled out, aims to provide protection for both children, but also the general population.

Public Health England has no such data available for North East England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) statutory and (b) other guidance is available to higher education institutions on their duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards disabled students.

Joseph Johnson

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced a range of guidance for institutions on their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including technical guidance setting out the detail of the law.

Guidance is also produced by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), a higher education sector body that supports equality and diversity for staff and students across the UK, including for disabled staff and students on managing “reasonable adjustments”. The ECU also published a report on the implications for institutions of the key issues contained in the Equality Act 2010.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23435, whether it is his Department’s position that the UK was a party to the armed conflict occurring in Syria at the time of the air strike on 21 August 2015.

Michael Fallon

An armed conflict was occurring in Syria at the time of the air strike on 21 August 2015. The UK’s military strike was governed by international humanitarian law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations originated in Russia in the first nine months of 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC does not hold figures on the proportion of coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations, by country of origin. However, from January to September 2015, 16,784 thousand tonnes of steam coal (mainly used by coal-fired power stations) were imported into the UK, while coal used for electricity generation was 22,512 thousand tonnes during the same period.

The USA provided 3,231 thousand tonnes of steam coal imports, 19% of all steam coal imports, while Russia provided 7,237 thousand tonnes (43%)

Source:

Energy Trends tables 2.1 and 2.4, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-section-2-energy-trends

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many of gigawatts of diesel generating capacity the National Grid has on standby for demand spikes; whether her Department is planning for more diesel generation to be so available; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid currently has approximately 0.6GW of diesel generation contracted in Short Term Operating Reserve – STOR – the key balancing service used to manage fluctuations in demand.

STOR is procured by National Grid and Government is not involved in this process. However, Government is aware of concerns regarding the growth of diesel generators, and with this in mind Defra will consult later this year on options which will include legislation that would set binding emission limit values on relevant air pollutants from diesel engines.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 29325, how much of the 0.6GW diesel generating capacity is (a) privately owned and (b) owned by the Government; and which companies are involved in providing that capacity.

Andrea Leadsom

I am not aware of any HM Government Departments or agencies which provide Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) services to National Grid. Short Term Operating Reserve is procured by National Grid, and is subject to commercial confidentiality. DECC does not hold figures on contracts entered into by other Government departments or agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department advises schools on the steps they should take to ensure that children are not over exposed to electromagnetic fields in schools.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not specifically monitor exposure to electromagnetic fields in schools.

We provide advice to schools on health and safety matters. Schools must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health and safety by conducting a risk assessment and, if necessary, putting measures in place to minimise any known risk.

Schools should be aware that where concerns are raised that they can access the appropriate advice; Public Health England provides advice via GOV.UK[1] on exposure to electromagnetic fields in the everyday environment.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/electromagnetic-fields

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with higher education institutions about the potential effect of changes in the level of university teaching staff on casual employment contracts on the quality of teaching.

Joseph Johnson

We have had no such direct discussions with higher education institutions.

In the 2016 Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Grant letter we asked HEFCE to look into the two issues of (a) the contractual status of academic staff and (b) teaching intensity/weighted contact hours across different subjects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on the terms of reference of the forthcoming review on personal independence payments.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department has regular discussions with stakeholders on all aspects of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

PIP is subject to two statutory, independent reports on the operation of assessments which determine ability to carry out daily living activities or mobility activities. The terms of reference for the second report, due to be published by April 2017, will be subject to the statutory criteria and will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of (a) the indicators of mental disorders including stress, depression, fatigue and post traumatic stress disorder and (b) the provision of support by service providers or others to personnel in 13 and 39 Squadrons.

Mark Lancaster

The Government is committed to improving the mental health of our Armed Forces and has long recognised that Service life can cause stress. Support to personnel has improved in a number of ways, including providing pre and post-operational stress management training, a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments and initiatives such as Decompression and Trauma Risk Incident Management (TRiM) and Post Operational Stress Management.

Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels of the risk of Mental Health disorders and indicators to help identify these. Trained TRiM providers are embedded within both Squadrons to offer peer group mentoring and support, whilst also educating non-medical Service personnel on how to identify indicators of mental health problems.