Tag: Jamie Reed

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on the reopening of the Keswick to Penrith railway line.

Stephen Hammond

In the last two years the Department for Transport has received four letters on the matter. The Department for Transport is aware of an on-going campaign led by a group called CKP Railways to re-open the Penrith to Keswick line. As any re-opening would primarily address local rather than strategic transport needs, it would be for Cumbria County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership to determine whether the re-opening of the line is a priority and secure funding from locally allocated funds, such as the Local Growth Fund. We have received no indication that this scheme is a priority for the Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for free schools have been made in (a) Copeland constituency and (b) Cumbria in each of the last two years.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Department has not received any applications for free schools in Copeland. We have received one application from Cumbria within the last two years, which was successful.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistant training posts have been (a) commissioned and (b) filled in in (i) Copeland and (ii) Cumbria in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mr David Laws

The information requested is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what correspondence he has received on concerns over the potential closure of GP surgeries in the last year.

Dr Daniel Poulter

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 410 items of correspondence received since 1 June 2013 about concerns over the potential closure of general practitioner surgeries. The cost of a more comprehensive search would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of patients who were able to see their preferred GP in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter

Data from the most recent GP Patient Survey found that 55% of patients have a particular general practitioner (GP) that they usually prefer to speak to or see. Of those, 61.7% of respondents said they could see or speak to their preferred GP ‘always or almost always’ or a ‘lot of the time’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are working on the transition to a new system following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012; and what the cost was of employing such officials in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

The Health and Social Care Transition Programme (HSCTP) was set up to implement the changes introduced under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The programme was led by the Department and closed on 31 March 2013. All of the organisations in the new health and care system assumed full responsibilities and powers as set out in the Act from 1 April 2013.

Any enduring responsibilities that transferred to the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), or NHS England from 1 April 2013 are being discharged as part of business as usual arrangements in each organisation. As the HSCTP has closed and the new organisations are in place, there are no longer any officials working on the transition to a new system.

Further information on the overall cost of transition is available in the National Audit Office report ‘Managing the transition to the reformed health system’ available at the following link:

www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/10175-001-Managing-the-transition-to-the-reformed-health-system.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the openness and transparency of the proceedings and accountability of Family Court decisions.

Simon Hughes

The Government recognises the need for greater openness in the family justice system. The challenge is to open the system up to greater scrutiny while protecting those involved especially the welfare of children. Last year, the President of the Family Division issued practice guidance in relation to committal of individuals found in contempt of court to ensure that these proceedings should be held in open court. In January this year, the President issued guidance aimed at increasing the number of judgments in family proceedings which are published. We are grateful to the President for his work in this area.

The guidance is available at the following link:

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Guidance/transparency-in-the-family-courts-jan2014.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that fathers have appropriate access to or custody of their children following separation or divorce in cases where there is no risk to the child.

Mr Edward Timpson

The Government recognises that a father’s role in his child’s life is a very important one and legislation in the Children and Families Act 2014 reflects the importance of children having a continuing relationship with both of their parents following family separation, as long as it is safe and in the child’s best interests.

We are also strengthening the way in which breaches of child arrangement orders are handled. Cases which are breached within the first 12 months of an order being made will in future return to court quickly and, wherever possible, to the judge who made the original order. Courts will also be able to make full use of powers to direct a parent who is in breach of an order to participate in an activity, for example a parenting programme, to address their behaviour.