The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he and Network Rail have to remove level crossings on the mainline between Plymouth and Reading.
Claire Perry
Network Rail operates at arm’s-length from the Department for Transport and is not expected to involve Ministers in its regular operational decisions such as its proposals for the removal or upgrading of level crossings on a particular route.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS England’s document, Commissioning Intentions 2016/2017 for Prescribed Specialist Services, published in September 2015, what plans are being put in place by NHS regions which will focus on development of hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks; and how such plans will relate to the national improvement framework for hepatitis C services.
Jane Ellison
NHS England’s commissioning intentions recognise that following their establishment in August 2015, Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) will need to continue to be developed as a mechanism for ensuring equitable access to expert multidisciplinary team care and treatment for hepatitis C. ODNs are working to develop their plans, based on the published service specification and with the support of local specialised commissioning teams and regional Clinical Directors of specialised commissioning. Work is also underway to establish by February 2016 a national network of ODN clinical leads to share good practice. The formation of ODNs provides an opportunity for local collaborative commissioning conversations about hepatitis C pathways beyond the remit of specialised or health and justice services. In addition, the draft hepatitis C improvement framework includes a numbers of areas pertinent to ODN operation and will therefore support further development of their role.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10658, whether the national improvement framework for hepatitis C services will contain guidance on (a) commissioning responsibilities and (b) patient pathways.
Jane Ellison
Commissioning responsibilities for hepatitis C are divided between NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities. In the light of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance for the anti-viral drugs, the successful establishment of Operational Delivery Networks across England, and the rapidly widening access to curative treatment to thousands of patients, the draft Improvement Framework does not provide detailed commissioning guidance or patient pathways. NHS England is exploring how such guidance might be developed through its collaborative commissioning arrangements.
The speech made by Gary Streeter, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, in the House of Commons on 13 December 2022.
I rise to speak to new clauses 8 to 11 in my name and the names of other hon. Members.
As chair of the national parks all-party parliamentary group, and with a delightful corner of Dartmoor in my constituency, I am pleased to propose these new clauses. As we all know, national parks provide many benefits to nature, climate, heritage and culture. However, they are underpinned by an outdated legislative framework, which prevents them from realising their full potential for people, nature’s recovery, the 30×30 initiative and the Government’s net zero goals.
The Glover review of protected landscapes in 2019 highlighted these issues and put forward a package of recommendations to address them, the majority of which, to be fair, were accepted by the Government in their response to the review. But it is time that we implemented them to make best use of the rich natural heritage that we have been blessed with in our country. The new clauses that I have tabled could act as a vehicle to take forward the Glover review’s recommendations.
National parks play a key role in furthering the Government’s levelling-up mission, particularly in having a positive impact on our health, wellbeing and pride of place. Given this Bill’s focus on environmental matters and the planning system, it provides the perfect opportunity to implement the Glover recommendations to strengthen national parks as planning authorities. We must take this opportunity as these next few years are vital for meeting the commitment to protect 30% of England for nature by 2030, for halting the decline in species abundance and for making progress towards net zero.
New clause 8 delivers on proposal 1 in the Glover review to give national parks a renewed mission to recover biodiversity and nature. Natural England has found that only 26% of the protected habitat area inside national parks is in favourable condition, compared with 39% for England as a whole. The new clause seeks to address this disparity by recognising that we have a role not just in protecting national parks, but in actively strengthening and recovering them. It also delivers on proposal 7 of the Glover review, which proposed a stronger mission to connect all people with our national landscapes.
National parks have invaluable potential to improve people’s connection with nature and our levelling-up goals require that we should all enjoy equal access to nature across the country. During the lockdown, we learnt that, if we did not already know it. Natural England has shown that, if everyone has access to a green space, we could save the NHS more than £2 billion a year.
New clause 9 implements two recommendations from the Glover review to give national park authorities a new duty to address climate change and to strengthen the existing duty on public bodies to further national park purposes. The Government have already said that national park management plans should contain
“ambitious goals to increase carbon sequestration”
and
“set out their local response to climate adaptation”.
New clause 10 helps in setting out realistic goals for national park improvement. That would deliver other key elements of proposal 3 in the Glover review, that strengthened management plans should set clear priorities and actions for nature’s recovery and climate in national parks, and that legislation should give public bodies a responsibility to help prepare and implement management plans.
New clause 11 seeks to address Glover’s ambition to increase skills and diversity on national park authority boards. The Government’s response to Glover committed to measures to ensure that boards
“have more flexibility to balance diversity and expertise”
and proposes
“a more merit-based approach”.
So let us get on with it. The new clause would deliver this flexibility, removing the restrictive legislation referred to in the Government’s response, and ensure that boards are better equipped to deliver national park purposes. I am supported in these new clauses by the Better Planning Coalition, representing 27 organisations across the key sectors of the environment, housing, planning, and heritage.
I had a positive meeting last week with the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland (Trudy Harrison), who is responsible for national park policy. She is committed to working with national parks to bring about the bright new future that Glover anticipates and I hope that those on the Front Bench today will assist her in that vital mission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of referral times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service appointments in Plymouth and Devon; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any such assessment. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning services locally. Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG states that their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service provider met their locally agreed target of 70% of referrals being within 18 weeks by March 2015. There has been a significant reduction in the number of children and young people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment at the same time as a 20% increase in referral rates. Discussion has been ongoing to understand the capacity and resources needed to meet the full contract target of 95% of patients being seen within 18 weeks.
On 3 August 2015, NHS England published guidance, developed with partners across the system, to CCGs for developing their Local Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health with their local partners, in line with the proposal in Future in mind. These plans will be developed by CCGs working closely with their Health and Wellbeing Boards and partners from across the National Health Service (including NHS England Specialised Commissioning), Public Health, Local Authority, Youth Justice and Education sectors. The plans will clearly articulate the local offer and cover the whole spectrum of services for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, from health promotion and prevention work, to support and interventions for those who have existing or emerging mental health problems, as well as transition between services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon was in each of the last three years.
Alistair Burt
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations. Information on the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon in each of the last three years is not collected centrally.
General practitioners (GPs) are required to keep adequate records of their attendance on, and treatment of, their patients and this should include details of autism where it is known. For this to work successfully locally services undertaking autism diagnosis should pass information back to the GP who has made the original referral. This is outlined in the recent Autism Statutory Guidance for local authorities and the NHS.
The statement made by Gary Streeter on 25 November 2022.
Today I’ve announced that I will not be seeking re-election at the next general election. It has been an honour and privilege to serve the people of South West Devon and I will continue to do so until the next election.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what infrastructure upgrades, other than the Reading rebuilding project, are being undertaken or planned to gain journey time benefit for the South West Peninsula from the new high-speed AT300 trains when they are introduced in December 2018.
Claire Perry
As part of the long-term economic plan to increase growth and create jobs in the South West, this Government has a commitment to £7.2 billion investment in transport infrastructure in the South West over this Parliament.
As the Secretary of State for Transport set out in his oral statement to the House on 25 June, he has asked the new Chair of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy, to re-plan the enhancements programme. A full assessment of the delivery of the enhancements programme will be a specific task of the re-plan, which is due to report back in the autumn.
The comments made by Gary Streeter, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, on Twitter on 22 October 2022.
David Frost nails it: we cannot go back to Boris [Johnson].
The comments made by Gary Streeter, the Conservative MP for South West Devon, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.
Sadly, it seems we must change leader BUT even if the angel Gabriel now takes over, the Parliamentary Party has to urgently rediscover discipline, mutual respect and teamwork if we are to (i) govern the UK well and (ii) avoid slaughter at the next election.