Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 32366, what assessment he has made of trends in the proportion of the NHS budget spent on general practice over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

Overall National Health Service investment increased from £97.47 billion in 2010/11 to £110.56 billion in 2014/15, the last five years for which data is available. Over the same period, spending on general practice increased by £651 million in cash terms. The percentage of total NHS spend on general practice decreased from 8.6% to 8.1%.

NHS England has committed to increasing the funding it invests in primary medical care by an average of 4.5% each year until 2020/21.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what forecast his Department has made of the cost of legal fees for the High Speed 2 project over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department has appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to provide support in relation to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill. The value of the contract as agreed with Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group is £10.5m. The contract duration is from March 2012 until six months after Royal Assent.

The Department has also appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to support the preparation of the HS2 Phase 2a hybrid bill, which is expected to be deposited in 2017. The value of the contract as agreed with Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group is £4.2m over three years, with the opportunity to extend the contract for an additional one or two years, subject to approval.

The Department also continues to instruct a number of barristers to support the HS2 project. However, the use of barristers is demand led and so the total cost of fees over the next five years is not possible to forecast.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of hotel bookings made for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each of the last five years.

Mr Mark Francois

Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in this department undertake a variety of visits to support the delivery of Government’s objectives. The total Departmental cost for hotels in the last five years was £994,848.01, or on average just under £200,000 per annum. We do not hold figures for the estimated costs for hotel bookings, broken down in the format requested and this can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what provision academy trusts have to charge teachers for car parking services on school grounds; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

Academy trusts have the freedom to make decisions which reflect the local circumstances of their school. We expect these decisions to be made in a fair and transparent way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36326, what representations she has received from (a) schools and (b) union representatives about the provision for academy trusts to charge teachers for car parking services on school grounds; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

The Department has not received any representations on this matter from schools or union representatives. As we stated in the answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36326, academy trusts have the freedom to make decisions which reflect the local circumstances of their school. We expect these decisions to be made in a fair and transparent way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visits (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have made to Coventry in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley

Details of Ministerial visits and those made by senior officials can be found on the gov.uk website. Details of all visits made by officials who are not Senior Civil Servants, are not centrally recorded. Therefore providing this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 37977, what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the number of passengers travelling from and to (a) Coventry railway station and (b) other stations in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry

Work is currently in progress assessing trends on the routes from and to Coventry as part of the West Midlands and InterCity West Coast franchise competitions. The Invitation to Tender for the West Midlands franchise is due to be released shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of UK energy consumption that was supplied by other countries in each of the last 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK’s net import dependency is published in DECC’s Energy Trends table 1.3, and is reproduced below:

Source: DECC Energy Trends, March 2015

In 2015, the UK’s net imports of 79.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent accounted for 38.6% of the UK’s primary consumption of energy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the replacement rate of housing association properties sold through right-to-buy in each year since the launch of that policy; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

Under the voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation and housing associations, every home sold to tenants will result in an additional home being provided. This will lead to an increase in overall housing supply.

The voluntary agreement states that housing associations and the Government share a mutual objective to ensure that replacement homes are delivered as quickly as possible. Whilst aiming for replacement within two years, the default position is that housing associations will have flexibility to replace homes within a three year period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that water safe for drinking is available in countries which receive aid from her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK government is committed to supporting the achievement of the Global Goals in countries which receive UK Aid and is prioritising programmes to ensure that everyone has access to sustainable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). From 2010 to 2015 DFID supported 60 million people to gain access to sustainable WASH. We are committed to supporting a further 60 million people gain access to sustainable WASH up to the end of 2020. Providing a safe and reliable drinking water and sanitation is a key element of our work across all our country programmes.