The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of a deposit return system for single-use drinks containers on the level of litter.
Rory Stewart
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green on 11 April this year, PQ UIN 32607.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the safety of helicopter operations in the UK offshore oil and gas sector.
Mr Robert Goodwill
No such discussions have taken place. Helicopter operations in support of the offshore oil and gas sector are regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority and must comply with the safety requirements established by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the Exchequer was of providing free television licences to people over 75 years of age in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 for qualifying residents in (i) the North East, (ii) Country Durham and (iii) Easington constituency.
Richard Harrington
In 2014/15 the cost of providing free TV licences to those 75 and over in the North East was £26.5m and it is estimated the cost for qualifying residents in Durham County local authority and Easington constituency was £5.3m and £0.8m respectively.
The cost of the free TV licences to those aged 75 and over in the North East for 2015/16 will be published on 21 September on the Gov.uk website. Breakdowns by County and Parliamentary Constituency use that North East expenditure estimate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in medicine.
Ben Gummer
The Government has set out in its Mandate to Health Education England (HEE) the need to improve access to healthcare education and employment within the health sector for underrepresented groups, which includes those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
HEE’s ‘Widening Participation: It Matters’ strategy is in place to drive widening participation through partnership working. The strategy’s purpose is to ensure that the National Health Service workforce is more representative of the communities it seeks to serve and that personal development and progression is based upon merit, ability and motivation and not social background, nepotism or privilege.
HEE has also been working with the Medical Schools Council, in partnership with the Sutton Trust in extending the Pathways to Medicine Programme and the Social Mobility Foundation in supporting disadvantaged participants interested in a medical career.
The Department has also worked with the Medical Schools Council and other key groups to produce the “Selecting for Excellence” report which looks to highlight areas for Medical Schools to consider and tackle around widening participation in to UK medical schools a copy of which can be access from:
http://www.medschools.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Selecting-for-Excellence-Final-Report.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the target date is for completion of the England Coast Path.
Rory Stewart
The coastal access programme has so far opened up 101 miles of our beautiful coastline for everyone to enjoy, boosting local tourism and growing the rural economy.
The Government is working closely with Natural England to build on the progress already made, with the aim of completing the coastal path around England by 2020. We have approved Natural England’s coastal access proposals for a further 176 miles. By the end of this financial year we expect Natural England to have submitted proposals for another 349 miles and also to be working on proposals for an additional 986 miles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have made of the levels of preparedness among clinical commissioning groups (CCG’s) for the planned transfer of obesity surgery commissioning responsibilities to CCGs in April 2016.
George Freeman
The responsibility for commissioning severe and complex obesity for Tier 4 services will transfer to CCGs in April 2016. This is one of a number of changes in commissioning responsibility which will be managed between NHS England and CCGs. NHS England will be leading on the contracting for services for 2016/17 to facilitate the smooth handover from 1 April 2016.
NHS England is addressing preparedness, both around the technical and financial transfer of budget and contracting responsibility, and supporting CCGs in commissioning of the clinical pathway.
The technical impact of these changes is being modelled and formal agreement within NHS England will occur in mid-December. The formal transfer will be part of the annual national Planning Guidance to commissioners, including CCGs that will be issued in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many inspections have been carried out into the quality of the food served to UK Armed Forces in each of the last five years.
Mr Philip Dunne
All food procured for Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel must comply with MOD food quality standards. These standards comply with all UK and EU production standards, Farm Assurance or equivalent. The Defence Food Quality Standards (DFQS) establishes the minimum quality criteria that the Department requires a supplier to deliver. It sets the standard of what food and ingredients should be provided as part of the contracts to provide nutritious and balanced meals to Service Personnel. The DFQS publication is available online through the gov.uk website at:
(www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479299/20151006-DFQS-V12-U.pdf).
The MOD requires all of its food suppliers to comply with both EU and National legislation whilst operating to industry standards and monitors the suppliers’ compliance with the DFQS through a combination of product testing and conducting inspections of their premises/production facilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had on introducing new duties on local authorities to assess the level of need for wheelchair accessible homes and set appropriate targets in local development plans.
Brandon Lewis
Local authorities are best placed to understand the housing needs in their area. We expect them to work closely with key partners and their local communities in deciding what type of housing is needed.
National policy sets out clearly the need for local authorities to plan for the housing needs of all members of the community and that planning should encourage accessibility. The introduction of optional requirements for accessibility in the Building Regulations provides local authorities with the tools needed to ensure that new homes are accessible and that in particular the needs of disabled people are met.
Local authorities are held accountable for their housing delivery via their Local Plans which are tested by local independent planning inspectors and are scrutinised via yearly Authority Monitoring reports which set out progress on delivery against Local Plan targets. In addition local authorities must determine individual decisions in line with the development plan and other material considerations, such as the National Planning Policy Framework and having regard to viability considerations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Supported Accommodation review on the commissioning of services for vulnerable people.
Brandon Lewis
We understand the importance of ensuring that those people living in supported accommodation, who are generally the most vulnerable members of our society, receive appropriate protections.
My Department, along with the Department for Work and Pensions, have jointly commissioned an evidence review of the supported housing sector. The review will report shortly, and we will continue to work with and listen to providers as part of developing a long-term sustainable funding regime.
In the meantime, we have put in place a one-year exception for all supported accommodation, from the rent reduction measures, and from the Local Housing Allowance cap.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many medically qualified panel members of HM Courts and Tribunals services in the North East of England are orthopaedic specialists.
Mr Shailesh Vara
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold the requested information centrally.