Tag: Geoffrey Cox

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the future effect of the introduction of the national living wage on sleep-in payments used by the learning disability sector.

Alistair Burt

We have not made a specific assessment of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on sleep-in payments used by the learning disability sector.

However, as part of the recent Spending Review, the Department considered adult social care expenditure and the future demand for services, and engaged closely with providers within the sector. This included the impact of the new National Living Wage on local authority finances as part of an overall assessment of spending pressures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to publish a funded arthritis action plan.

Jane Ellison

The Department is in regular contact with stakeholders, such as Arthritis Research UK, and hosted a roundtable with them in November. The group is in the process of producing a toolkit for commissioners to support commissioning of physical activity interventions for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Whilst the Department has no plans to publish an arthritis action plan, NHS England and Public Health England are taking forward a number of projects.

Specifically on MSK conditions, the National Health Service National Clinical Director for MSK, Peter Kay, has been working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, to develop new MSK clinical networks across England to build consensus on the way forward for models of care. In addition, in February 2015, Public Health England, in partnership with NHS England and the Department, ran a local pilot campaign to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in Nottingham City and Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Group. The aim of the campaign was to support earlier diagnosis and thereby enable treatment to begin earlier to improve the quality of life for people with the condition. The results of the campaign are currently being evaluated.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when it is planned Dartmoor Farmers who farm on common land will receive payments under the Basic Payment Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

For those Basic Payment Scheme claims with commons, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has faced a particularly difficult challenge as it is necessary to wait until all claimants for a common have had their commons rights validated before the area for each commoner can be established. RPA is working to make the payments for claimants who have not been paid as promptly as possible, including the Dartmoor farmers who farm on Common land.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the post-construction obligations on large volume housing developers in enforcing compliance with building regulations.

James Wharton

It is the responsibility of the housing developer to ensure that work is compliant with the building regulations both during construction and post-construction. During the construction period, the building control body would be responsible for checking compliance. Post-construction, where there is a new home warranty in place, the warranty provider provides cover for up to ten years after construction and can include compliance with aspects of the building regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure local authorities can adequately fund learning disability services.

Alistair Burt

In the national service model and Building the Right Support published in October 2015, NHS England, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services set out how areas would be supported to deliver lasting change to people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges.

This includes service transformation – shifting money from some services, such as inpatient care, into others, such as community services.

To support this NHS England is making available up to £30 million of transformation funding over three years, to be matched by clinical commissioning groups, and £15 million in capital funding. This funding is in addition to the £10 million which was made available to six fast track areas in 2015/16.

The Government has supported adult social care, which includes care for those with learning disabilities, by giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support by 2019/20. This includes the adult social care precept, allowing councils to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold, as well as additional social care monies to be included in the Better Care Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce a decision on the planning appeal submitted by the Route 39 free school in Torridge.

Mr Marcus Jones

This decision has now been announced. The announcement was made on Thursday 18 February.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps other than the social care precept the Government is taking to ensure that local authorities are able adequately to fund services for people with learning disabilities.

Alistair Burt

In addition to the social care precept, which gives local authorities access to up to £2 billion for adult social care by 2019/20; the Government has supported adult social care, which includes care for those with learning disabilities, by giving local authorities access to up to £1.5 billion of new support by 2019/20. This is based on the additional social care monies to be included in the Better Care Fund.

In the national service model and Building the Right Support published in October 2015, NHS England, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services set out how areas would be supported to deliver lasting change to people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges.

This includes service transformation – shifting money from some services, such as inpatient care, into others, such as community services.

To support this NHS England is making available up to £30 million of transformation funding over three years, to be matched by clinical commissioning groups, and £15 million in capital funding. This funding is in addition to the £10 million which was made available to six fast track areas in 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of trends in the overall size of the under-10 metres fishing fleet in (a) England, (b) the South West of England and (c) Devon.

George Eustice

The Department publishes details on the structure of the UK fishing fleet, including vessels of 10 metres and under, annually in the UK Sea Fisheries Statistics. Data on the change in number of vessels and engine size from 2010 to 2014 is shown in the table below.

England	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
No. of Vessels	2569	2573	2562	2602	2573
Engine power (kW)	141524	141164	141855	144863	144045

South West*	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
No. of Vessels	982	994	982	1004	1002
Engine power (kW)	49914	49925	49262	51073	51256

Devon**	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
No. of Vessels	438	447	446	473	465
Engine power (kW)	27836	27835	27854	29651	29289

*using the administration ports of Brixham, Newlyn and Plymouth

**using the administration ports of Brixham and Plymouth

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Supported People programme funding to local authorities reaches vulnerable people in Devon.

Mr Marcus Jones

Funding for the Supporting People Grant was rolled into the local government finance settlement in 2011-12. Decisions on how money should be spent are best made by local authorities. Local authorities have the freedom and flexibility to prioritise and make their own decisions on how they spend their budgets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to promote battlefield tourism in England in the next 12 months.

David Evennett

The Heritage Lottery Fund is able to support projects concerned with historic battlefield landscapes. Over the coming months the Heritage Minister will be visiting several battlefield sites both at home and abroad to commemorate important events such as the Battle of Hastings and to promote battlefield tourism. The Battlefields Trust is on hand to help preserve and promote battlefield heritage across the UK and local authorities may also be able to help promote battlefields.