Tag: Jamie Reed

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, who was involved in designing the Sellafield Workforce Reform initiative.

Andrea Leadsom

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a responsibility to UK tax payers to ensure that Sellafield Ltd has maximum opportunity for improved performance: accelerating hazard reduction and delivering value for money. A new model, part of a suite of changes designed to increase efficiency in the business, is being put in place to help achieve that. The Sellafield Change Programme is driven by Sellafield Ltd and is managed by its CEO and Executive. From April this year, Sellafield Ltd will report to the NDA Board on progress.

Full details of the change programme are available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to require supermarkets to donate food to food banks and other charities.

Rory Stewart

I am replying as the Minister with responsibility for food waste.

The Government welcomes the redistribution of good quality surplus food to charities that can make sure it goes to people rather than going to waste.

Based on our experience, a simple law or requirement obliging supermarkets to donate food would not fix the barriers to redistribution. We need to look at the bigger picture. Less than 10% of food wasted in the supply chain is from supermarkets, so we need the whole chain to work together.

Facilitated and supported by government, all major retailers now have arrangements in place to redistribute surplus food. Action taken by retailers to redistribute surplus food includes:

• Morrisons have announced that, from January 2016, any unsold safe food will go to redistribution organisations
• Tesco are making use of an app which links supermarkets with redistribution organisations
• Asda are working with FareShare to redistribute food

Signatories to the voluntary Courtauld Commitment with industry have reported a 74% increase between 2012 and end 2014, and we expect it to increase further.

We want to achieve more. Last year, the Secretary of State held a meeting with industry and redistribution organisations to take stock of progress on food redistribution. Outcomes from this include the recent publication of a Redistribution Framework to help facilitate closer working between potential donors and recipients of food surpluses. Research has been commissioned by WRAP to identify where and why waste and surpluses occur in the supply chain to inform further action to increase waste prevention and redistribution.

Following the success of earlier agreements, WRAP launched The Courtauld Commitment 2025 in March. This is an ambitious new agreement that takes a whole food supply chain approach, and will build on the progress we have already made to prevent waste, including through the redistribution of surplus food.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he next plans to visit West Cumberland Hospital in an official capacity.

Ben Gummer

I am currently planning to visit the West Cumberland Hospital in the coming months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will conduct a study on the potential merits and feasibility of upgrading the trunk road section of the A595 in 2016.

Mr John Hayes

Highways England, the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, and Cumbria County Council commissioned a study to examine the connectivity, capability, resilience, and reliability of the A595. This will conclude later this month. Highways England has also commenced its evidence-based Route Strategy process. If this section of the A595 is included in the priority list, the next stage would be to consider potential improvement options, which would be developed during the next Road Investment Strategy (RIS) period (2020-2025).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the North West Coast Connections Project if cables through the Lake District National Park are (a) routed underground and (b) not routed underground.

Jesse Norman

Under the current energy market framework, the development of the transmission network in England and Wales is a matter for National Grid, and this includes assessment of the costs of any particular route or approach on specific projects, such as for the proposed North West Coast Connections. National Grid’s costs are regulated by Ofgem to ensure they are justified and efficient.

The grant of planning consent for any energy project, including new transmission assets, would be considered by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under the Planning Act 2008, but the proposed project has not reached that stage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to distribute money awarded by the European Solidarity Fund to flood-affected communities in the event that funds are awarded.

Andrew Percy

The Government will determine how best to use any additional benefit received from the European Union Solidarity Fund once the amount of any award is known.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 13099, whether, as part of his Department’s work with Transport for the North, he has discussed the possibility of conducting a feasibility study into improving the A595.

Andrew Jones

Cumbria County Council and Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership are currently taking forward two infrastructure studies. One of these is in partnership with Highways England and will specifically consider accessibility to West Cumbria, including issues on the A595. Both studies are due to complete early next year and will be able to feed into the Roads Investment Strategy for 2020/21 to 2024/25 and the work Transport for the North is undertaking to establish the North’s future transport priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of the SEND code of practice on educational provision for children with cerebral palsy.

Edward Timpson

The reforms introduced in September 2014 will ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 0 to 25, including those with cerebral palsy, have improved access to the support they need.

Local authorities are responsible for meeting the educational needs of all children with SEND within their local area. They must co-ordinate education, health and care provision for individual children and ensure that young people and parents are involved in discussions about their individual support and about local provision more generally. Statutory Local Offers published by each local authority must set out what support is available for all children and young people with SEND in their area, including those with more complex needs.

The reforms detailed in the SEND Code of Practice were drawn up in consultation with a wide range of interested parties, many of whom represented the interests of children and young people with specific impairments. They are intended to improve outcomes for every child or young person with SEND by placing them at the heart of a system designed to respond to their individual needs and aspirations.

The Department has not assessed the impact of the SEND Code of Practice, or regional variations in provision, on the basis of any specific impairment but is monitoring implementation closely.

This monitoring includes inputs from annual data collection; termly surveys of local authorities and Parent Carer Forums; and feedback from specialist SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations. From May 2016, this monitoring will be enhanced by a new joint Ofsted/CQC inspection framework for SEND, which is currently the subject of a national consultation.

Schools are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify the SEN of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that they get the support they need. Teachers are expected to be able to adapt their teaching to the needs of all pupils, and to have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

To support the school workforce, the Department has funded almost 11,000 SEN Coordinators to attain Masters-level national awards between 2009 and 2014, at a cost of almost £33 million; is funding SEND conferences for school leaders and supporting the development of a ‘SEND gateway’ for education professionals, which offers a wide range of online training and information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions he or his predecessor has given evidence to committees of the House on arms sales to (a) Saudi Arabia and (b) other countries in each of the last six years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided evidence on UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other countries to committees of the House on a number of occasions in the last six years. From the start of the 2010-12 session until recently this has involved the submission of written and oral evidence to the Committees on Arms Export Controls (the CAEC) as part of their annual inquiries. The Rt Hon the Lord Hague of Richmond (the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) and the Secretary of State gave oral evidence to the CAEC on global UK arms exports on 7 February and 19 December 2012 and 8 January 2014, and 1 December 2014, respectively. The former Secretary of State was questioned about arms exports to Saudi Arabia on 7 February and 19 December 2012. Details about such evidence, including the Government’s response of 31 July 2015 to the most recent CAEC inquiry, can be found in the committees published reports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to make a decision on whether to formally apply for EU Solidarity Funding to support communities affected by flooding in Cumbria.

James Wharton

The Government has not ruled out applying to the EU Solidarity Fund. We are assessing the case for an application and will make a decision by the end of February. The European Union Solidarity Fund does not provide additional funding to local areas, but simply reimburses emergency costs that the Government would have incurred anyway. For this reason, the Government’s immediate priority remains dealing with the urgent needs of those affected, which is why we have provided over £200 million to help those affected by the floods to support recovery and repair.