The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths have been caused by people taking legal highs in (a) Copeland constituency, (b) Cumbria and (c) England in each of the last five years.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure reductions in funding to Cumbria Constabulary do not result in a reduction in police numbers.
Mike Penning
The size and make up of the police workforce is a matter for Chief Constables to take locally in conjunction with their democratically-elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12348, what estimate he has made of the number of families whose income will reduce as a result of the proposed changes to tax credits.
Damian Hinds
No such estimate has been made.
This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to set out in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review that police budgets in Cumbria should not be reduced.
Greg Hands
Police reform is working and crime is down by more than a quarter since 2010, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.
As with other spending decisions, no decisions have been taken on police funding beyond 2015/16. Future funding levels will be subject to the outcome of the Spending Review later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2015 to Question 7630, how many GP practices in each pathfinder area have signed up to care.data to date in total.
George Freeman
The information requested is provided in the following table:
|
Pathfinder clinical commissioning groups. |
GP Practices |
|
Blackburn with Darwen |
23 |
|
Leeds |
15 |
|
West Hampshire |
30 |
|
Somerset |
56 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 in the UK.
Mr David Gauke
The government is committed to tackling inequality. According to the latest ONS statistics, original income inequality in the UK is at its lowest level since 1989.
The government believes that the best way to reduce inequality and poverty is through tackling unemployment, and getting workless households into work. Employment has increased by 2 million since the 2010 election, and the percentage of workless households is lower than at any point under the last Labour government.
The Government is tackling low pay by introducing a new National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above from April 2016. On current OBR forecasts, by 2020 the NLW will be over £9 an hour, meaning a full-time worker aged 25 or above will earn over £4,800 a year more in cash terms than under the current National Minimum Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to provide ring fenced funding for a feasibility study into the trunk road section of the A595.
Greg Hands
Highways England will soon start a new programme of Route Strategies, aiming to develop an investment programme for the years 2020-25. These will be the forum where MPs and members of the public can make the case for improvements in their area. If improvements to the A595 are proposed through this process, they will be considered carefully for investment in the next Road Investment Strategy.
Further details of Spending Review decisions will be announced on 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the skills gap in Cumbria.
Nick Boles
It is not for central government to assess local skills needs. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are working in collaboration with local authorities, colleges and providers in the area to jointly agree key local skill needs and develop a local skills offer that is responsive to local labour market conditions and contributes to improving our productivity.
Cumbria LEP and the Cumbria Employment and Skills Commission are currently refreshing the area skills strategy and this will be finalised in December 2015. It will include a review of the skills needs of the four key sectors denoted in the Cumbria Strategic Economic Plan: Nuclear and Energy; Advanced Manufacturing; Rural and Visitor Economy; and, Infrastructure Improvements. The Skills Commission has noted that the future skills needs of the nuclear sector and BAE Systems Submarine will create significant pressure for skilled labour, particularly in advanced manufacturing and engineering. This will create displacement challenges in other manufacturing businesses in the area.
In September the government announced a programme of area reviews, which will be locally led and will involve key stakeholders. They will be based on the best available evidence of skills requirements and establish a local post-16 education and training offer which is high quality and responsive to employer need. The reviews will support local involvement in the ongoing commissioning of provision, putting responsibility in the hands of people who are best placed to tailor provision to local economic needs. Cumbria will be included in the area review process, due to be completed by March 2017 and an announcement on the date for the review will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many official visits he has made to (a) Copeland constituency and (b) Cumbria as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Greg Hands
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer was in Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside and would hope to visit Cumbria in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people in receipt of tax credits who will have their income reduced as a result of the proposed government changes to tax credits.
Damian Hinds
The government set out its assessment of the impacts of the Summer Budget policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July 2015. Taken together, the introduction of the National Living Wage, increases in the personal allowance and welfare changes mean that 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the Summer Budget.
The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society.
A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.
To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.