The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the funding available to the Waste and Resources Action Programme in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
The current 2016/17 grant agreement for the Waste and Resources Action Programme is £14m.
Future years’ allocations have yet to be finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department is providing to Iraqi and Kurdish forces to assist in the recapture of Mosul; and if he will make a statement.
Mike Penning
As a leading member of the Coalition, the United Kingdom has assisted in the training and mentoring of over 29,000 local Iraqi security forces (including over 6,900 Kurdish Peshmerga). This includes infantry, counter-IED, medical and engineering skills – including a small team of Royal Engineers mentoring Iraqi forces carrying out bridge building in support of the liberation of Mosul, over 40 km from the city, in response to a request from the Coalition for specialist assistance. Many of the forces British troops have trained are participating in the operation to recapture Mosul.
The RAF is contributing its advanced air capabilities to Coalition operations in support of Iraqi forces on the ground. Since the start of the Mosul operation, the majority of RAF strikes have been in support of the Iraqi ground operation in and around that city.
Additionally, the UK has been at the forefront of humanitarian support and recently committed £40 million to the Iraqi government, which will include a contribution to the Mosul aid plan. This brings the total pledged by the UK to help the victims of Daesh to almost £170 million since 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received from his Israeli counterpart on the recent violence in that region; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
As I said in my statement of 13 October, the UK Government remains extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far this month. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) also made a statement on 9 October condemning the violence.
Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to the Israeli government, urging them to de-escalate the tensions.
On 16 October, the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser spoke to Israel’s National Security Adviser and reiterated the need for both sides to do everything in their power to calm the situation. On 19 October, the Director of the Middle East and North Africa Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spoke to the Israeli Chargé D’Affaires to London, including about the recent violence.
Our Embassy in Tel Aviv receives regular updates from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 19 October, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv raised our concerns on the recent violence with the Israeli Cabinet Secretary. Most recently, our Defence Attaché to Tel Aviv received a briefing from the Israeli Defence Forces on 21 October on the number of attacks they have so recorded in this latest outbreak of violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment her Department has made of the role of fracking in meeting the future energy needs of the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Written Ministerial Statement by my rt. hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 16 September 2015 (Official Report, Column 34-38WS), sets out the Government’s view that there is a national need to explore and develop our shale gas and oil resources in a safe, sustainable and timely way, to help meet our objectives for secure energy supplies, economic growth and lower carbon emissions.
A successful shale industry could help create jobs and grow local economies. Investment in shale could reach £33billion and support up to 64,000 jobs in oil, gas, construction, engineering and chemical sectors. The opportunity to extract this energy, as well as to secure jobs and investment, cannot be ignored.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to review the adequacy of waiting times to access NHS physiotherapy services; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not undertaken a review of NHS physiotherapy service provision. However, scoping work has started regarding the ability for patients to self-refer to musculoskeletal physiotherapy within primary care.
The provision of physiotherapy, as for all health services is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and it will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
As defined in the NHS Constitution, patients have the right to expect to be seen and treated within national operational standards ensuing timely diagnosis and treatment, equality of care and patient choice.
The 18 weeks commitment is a universal right. This commitment should be delivered for every patient, in every specialty and in every organisation unless the patient chooses otherwise or it is not in their best clinical interest.
In June this year, NHS England, Monitor and the Trust Development Authority jointly wrote to CCG Accountable Officers and Clinical Leaders and Chief Executives of NHS Providers setting out the changes to the Referral to Treatment operational standards and reporting arrangements. A copy of that letter, which outlines the changes in more detail, is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of public subsidy for train operators in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
Actual figures for public subsidy are published on the Office of Rail and Road’s (‘ORR’) website at http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/browsereports/1.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2015 to Question 12252, what plans his Department has to increase the nutritional content of meals served to the prison population.
Andrew Selous
Meals offered to prisoners are nutritious, balanced, varied and in line with government recommendations on eating a healthy diet.
Last year, National Offender Management Service developed a model of cyclical four week menus, working closely withtheir food suppliers and nutritional technologists. As part of this process, a dietary and nutritional specialist was commissioned to review, analyse and make recommendations on the overall balance and nutritional content of the menus. These recommendations were incorporated and the menus are available to Prison Catering Teams.
Prisons are also encouraged to seek nutritional advice on any changes to menus to ensure they meet national standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to review the adequacy of NHS physiotherapy service provision; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not undertaken a review of NHS physiotherapy service provision. However, scoping work has started regarding the ability for patients to self-refer to musculoskeletal physiotherapy within primary care.
The provision of physiotherapy, as for all health services is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and it will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
As defined in the NHS Constitution, patients have the right to expect to be seen and treated within national operational standards ensuing timely diagnosis and treatment, equality of care and patient choice.
The 18 weeks commitment is a universal right. This commitment should be delivered for every patient, in every specialty and in every organisation unless the patient chooses otherwise or it is not in their best clinical interest.
In June this year, NHS England, Monitor and the Trust Development Authority jointly wrote to CCG Accountable Officers and Clinical Leaders and Chief Executives of NHS Providers setting out the changes to the Referral to Treatment operational standards and reporting arrangements. A copy of that letter, which outlines the changes in more detail, is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of unmanned drone missions flown over Syria in the last year; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
The net additional costs associated with REAPER operations over Iraq and Syria to the end of September 2015 were an estimated £43 million.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2015 to Question 12620, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of public subsidy for train operators in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
The level of public subsidy paid to (or premiums paid by) train operators is determined by the franchising process, in which bidders compete for the right to run passenger services franchises. Franchise competitions are designed to allow train operators an adequate financial return while at the same time ensuring they can fulfil their franchise commitments and obligations in full. Last year the Department received net £1.2bn premium from franchised train operators. Further information can be found on the Gov.uk website
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-subsidy-per-passenger-mile).
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