Tag: Jim Cunningham

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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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11738, what review his Department has conducted of the working conditions of junior doctors; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The working conditions of junior doctors are a matter for employers. The new contract for doctors and dentists in training will introduce new, stronger limits on working hours and patterns and place a continued contractual obligation on employers to abide by those, ensuring a safer National Health Service for patients all days of the week.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 12263, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils who will qualify for free school meals in each of the next five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The continuation of free school meals was a commitment in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. The government is currently conducting a spending review across all its programmes. We are not able to report on free school meals until after the outcome of that review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has carried out of the ability of road infrastructure to meet future demand; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Road Investment Strategy (RIS) published in December 2014 sets out how £15.2 billion is being invested between 2015 and 2021 to improve the Strategic Road Network (SRN) – motorways and major ‘A’ roads in England. The RIS takes into account a range of possible outcomes for the future, underpinned by broad evidence which the Department will continue to build on and review. This includes an assessment of the trends that are likely to have a significant impact on road use and what these trends mean for traffic volumes on the SRN.

On the local road network it is for local highway authorities to make assessments of need and consider improvements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to review the adequacy of public transport options in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Local transport authorities across England are responsible for public transport in their local areas, as has been the case under previous Administrations. This includes the development of policies relating to local transport, including public transport, and the preparation and publication of a local transport plan. In the Metropolitan area of the West Midlands, this responsibility sits with the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

In the 2015 Summer Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £5million for Midlands Connect, a partnership of Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships from across the Midlands, to develop its transport vision and strategy for transforming transport connectivity across the region in order to drive economic growth. Officials from the Department for Transport continue to work with Midlands Connect and the partnership launched their approach to this task today.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of the agricultural industry to total UK carbon dioxide emission levels in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Defra works closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to identify carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture. We provide detailed farm statistics that DECC feeds into the UK Green House Gas Inventory, which contains the UK’s official reported greenhouse gas estimates.

The Inventory indicates that:

• Only around 1% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the UK are attributed to agriculture, these relate mainly to fuel use. Since 1990 there has been an overall decline in estimated carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture.

• CO₂ emissions from agriculture as a proportion of the UK total have fluctuated over the last 5 years between 1.0% and 1.2%. CO₂ emissions from agriculture are lower in 2013 compared to 2009 by around 6%.

• CO₂ emissions make up a very small portion of agriculture emissions (around 9-10%).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to review the safety of roads and highways in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has not undertaken a review of safety of the roads of highways in the West Midlands as this is a matter for the local highway authorities and Highways England.