Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of military operations across Iraq in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

The net additional cost of Operation SHADER, the name for countering ISIL activity in Iraq and Syria, from the start of operations in August 2014 to the end of the financial year in March 2015 was around £80 million (£35 million of which was allocated for the replenishment cost of munitions to be purchased in 2015-16). For the current financial year, running from April 2015 to March 2016, at Main Estimates the MOD has initially requested a further £45 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14021, how many new teachers were trained in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The latest historical information on recruitment of new initial teacher trainees can be found in the ITT Census online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts from Arab League states on the threat posed by ISIS; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK has regular discussions with Arab League states, most of which are members of the Global Coalition to counter ISIL. It is crucial we work together to defeat ISIL. Ensuring peace and stability in the region is an important part of the UK’s counter ISIL strategy.

ISIL has been on the agenda during all recent discussions with Arab League states. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron) and President Sisi spoke about a range of foreign policy issues, including ISIL, during his visit to London earlier this month. The Prime Minister also met His Majesty King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the margins of the G20. In October and November, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) had extensive discussions about ISIL when he visited Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and engaged with regional countries during the talks on Syria held in Vienna on 14 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS treatment measures to deal with antibiotic resistant infections; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

Patient safety is of primary importance to the National Health Service. An integral part of this focus on safety is work to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are currently effective against resistant infections.

There is mandatory surveillance of resistant infections such as meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile and E.coli within the NHS and data are published by Public Health England on a monthly basis. This transparency of data has ensured that NHS organisations are focused on minimising the number of resistant infections, and identifying and dealing with patients suffering from such resistant infections appropriately.

The NHS has also implemented a Public Health England screening protocol to identify people suffering from carbapenem resistant infections so that adequate treatment measures can be implemented in a timely way. Carbapenems are a powerful group of broad spectrum (penicillin-related) antibiotics.

The NHS vaccination programmes have also proved effective at tackling resistance through reducing the incidence of certain diseases. NHS England will continue to work with Public Health England to implement the national vaccination programmes successfully.

In addition, to these existing measures, we are introducing a set of indicators which specifically focusses on resistant infections. These indicators will enable NHS organisations to identify their priorities concerning resistance and take appropriate local action. To support this we will highlight to NHS organisations key actions they can take. These include best practice on controlling levels of resistance and reducing levels of antimicrobial prescribing, and guidance on general infection prevention and control standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF fast jets were (a) operational and (b) being repaired in each month in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The information is not available in the format requested. The number of aircraft available varies day-to-day according to normal fleet management activities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Question 12142, tabled by the hon. Member for Coventry South on 15 October 2015.

Tracey Crouch

The Government believes that all-seater stadiums are the best means to ensure the safety and security of fans at football in England and Wales. All-seater stadiums have helped improve crowd management, crowd behaviour and policing. They also provide more comfortable facilities to enjoy football matches.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19454, how many mental health specialists were employed by his Department in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster

The information requested is shown in the table below. The rounded figures are based on the Defence Medical Services manning returns for each year, and show the trained strength in each of the categories shown as at 1 October. Civilian numbers are not readily available prior to 2015.

2011	Regular	Reserve	Civilian	Total
Psychiatrist	10	~	Not available	20
Psychologist	–	–	Not available	–
Mental Health Nurse	120	50	Not available	160
2012
Psychiatrist	20	~	Not available	20
Psychologist	–	–	Not available	–
Mental Health Nurse	120	30	Not available	150
2013
Psychiatrist	10	10	Not available	20
Psychologist	~	–	Not available	~
Mental Health Nurse	120	50	Not available	170
2014
Psychiatrist	10	~	Not available	20
Psychologist	~	–	Not available	~
Mental Health Nurse	120	40	Not available	160
2015
Psychiatrist	10	~	~	20
Psychologist	~	–	20	20
Mental Health Nurse	110	40	20*	180

*Mental Health Nurse (inc. Community Psychiatric Nurses)

In accordance with Defence Statistics guidance, all figures are rounded to the nearest 10; numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias. Figures below 5 are denoted by ~; zero denoted by -.

Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to broker negotiated ceasefires to allow the creation of aid corridors across Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK plays a key role in ensuring humanitarian access to Syria. The UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid across borders, without the consent of the regime, to assist those in the hardest to reach areas.

The UK will consider options compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. However, experience suggests that so-called ‘safe’ areas or corridors can prove difficult to demilitarise and protect against all threats. In fact, there is a risk that they can become targets. For an aid corridor to work, all parties to the conflict would need to agree to its establishment. In the absence of such consent, foreign military intervention may be necessary, under the authority of a UN Security Council resolution.

An estimated £275 million of humanitarian assistance funded by the UK for inside Syria has been allocated to the UN and NGOs for cross-border operations. We are now encouraging the UN to consider alternative means of assistance such as cash, to support vulnerable populations that are increasingly hard to reach. We continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is providing universities to increase collaboration with Chinese research institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

We are working with UK universities in a number of important ways to increase our collaboration with Chinese researchers.

We have regular discussions with the Chinese government on education and research collaboration These discussions are both at the working level, where BIS science and higher education teams have a close relationship with their opposite numbers, and also through regular Ministerial exchanges such as the annual People to People Dialogue, the UK-China Education Summit, the biennial UK-China Science and Innovation Joint Committee meetings and the annual Prime Ministerial summit meetings.

In addition, our flagship international science and innovation fund, the Newton Fund, has achieved a transformation in UK-China research collaboration since it was launched in April 2014 and continues to strengthen our collaborative work. The fund, includes significant university participation in programmes on urbanisation, climate change, environment, food security and health. Universities also play a major role in building research capacity in China through means of Newton grants for partnerships, PhD placements, training and joint workshops.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 22118, what steps her Department is taking to tackle shortfalls of mathematics teachers in state-funded primary schools; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The number of primary teachers in state funded primary schools in England is the highest on record, and we exceeded our target for primary postgraduate trainee teachers for 2015/16.

Excellent mathematics teaching in primary schools is a high priority for this government, and we have taken a number of steps to promote this.

We have established a national network of 35 Maths Hubs, backed by £11million of funding to raise standards in mathematics. These centres of excellence are helping schools to improve the quality of their mathematics teaching. Through the Maths Hub network we are making improvements via exchanges with Shanghai, as Hubs develop a deep understanding of the ‘mastery’ approach to mathematics teaching and trial its implementation within schools. We also fund good quality mathematics professional development opportunities for primary teachers through The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.

In addition, we have encouraged the development of primary mathematics specialist and specialism initial teacher training (ITT) courses, to allow trainee primary teachers to specialise in the subject. Since 2013/14 we have provided an ITT bursary uplift for trainees on these courses. This means that trainees with a B grade at mathematics A level, or equivalent knowledge, receive a higher bursary than those who train on primary general courses. For courses starting in 2016/17 primary mathematics specialists with a 1^st class, 2:1 or 2:2 degree will receive a £6,000 bursary, compared to the maximum £3,000 bursary for primary general trainees.