Tag: Jim Fitzpatrick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to take account of the conclusions of the United Nations/World Health Organisation Second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety when preparing the UK’s response to the next set of Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Road traffic injuries cost developing countries an estimated 1-2% of their gross national product, equivalent to over US$100 billion annually, with a widening of the disparity between advanced and developing countries. Road accidents kill an estimated 1.3 million people and injure up to 78 million people each year.

We are pleased that the burden of road crashes has been recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals and we are committed to supporting the international community to achieve the target of halving the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020.

DFID recently increased its funding to the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) hosted at the World Bank and will contribute £4.5 million between 2013 and 2017. The GRSF provides funding, knowledge, and technical assistance that lever road safety investments into transport sector programmes.

We also focus on road safety through our research and evidence portfolio. For example our programme on High Volume Transport and the programme “Research for Community Access Partnership” (ReCAP) both have strong road safety research components. DFID also supports a programme in Nepal working to improve road infrastructure for road safety on a critical section of Nepal’s national network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to reduce the number of fires caused by an electrical source of ignition in domestic dwellings.

Mike Penning

The Department’s Fire Kills campaign, run in close partnership with fire and rescue authorities in England, promotes a range of domestic fire safety messages, including on electrical fire safety, to ensure householders take appropriate action to prevent accidental fires and understand how best they can protect themselves and their families.

Fire Kills and Electrical Safety First have a longstanding and close partnership to promote electrical fire safety messages, including through the annual Electrical Fire Safety Week, which runs in November each year.

The campaign also supports the Register My Appliance initiative, run by the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Electrical Appliances. This is designed to improve recall rates and ensure a greater number of faulty products can be traced and either repaired or removed from homes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have occurred or proceedings been commenced as the result of the seizure of illegally imported puppies taken into the Dogs Trust’s care via its pilot quarantine initiative since the start of that pilot.

George Eustice

Local Authorities are responsible for the prosecution of individuals illegally importing puppies into Great Britain. In addition Port of Dover Police can issue formal warnings for illegal landing of puppies including where animals have been concealed. It is for the local authority concerned to decide if it wishes to undertake a prosecution in any of the cases of illegal importation identified during the pilot.

The Dogs Trust pilot quarantine initiative began on 2 December 2015 and is expected to continue until the end of May 2016. As explained in my reply to the honourable Member for North Durham, Kevan Jones, on 11 March 2016, PQ UIN 30363, the Animal and Plant Health Agency will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative following its conclusion. This assessment will be made publicly available and will be based on information provided by all parties involved in the pilot. This will include a summary of all enforcement action that has been taken. The report may not, however, be able to comment on investigations that may be underway.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects a decision to be taken on London City Airport’s planning application.

Brandon Lewis

The published target date for issuing the decision is on or before 28 September. My Department does of course attempt to reach planning decisions in advance of target dates when this is practical.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the progress of audiology services achieving IQIPS accreditation; and what plans he has to ensure that audiology services in NHS trusts and communities give priority to registering with IQIPS.

David Mowat

Comprehensive data on the number of audiology services in England is not collected.

NHS England has no current plans to introduce financial incentives for the achievement of Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation.

As of 1 September, there are 39 organisations with IQIPS accreditation for audiology, covering 28 adult and 21 paediatric audiology services. If an organisation is accredited for both adult and paediatric audiology, United Kingdom Accreditation Service considers that one accreditation.

In Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups, published in July, NHS England strongly encourages clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.

In the contract for Genomics Medicines Centres, Annex M requires National Health Service trusts nominated as Lead Organisations and Local Delivery Partners to be working towards diagnostic accreditation across all available schemes, including IQIPS.

NHS England is also working with the Care Quality Commission to agree the use of scientific and diagnostic schemes as an information source for inspection purposes, as set out in their latest strategy.

We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the proposed closure of Bow County Court on access to justice for the residents of Poplar and Limehouse constituency.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The consultation closed on 8 October. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is currently evaluating all responses submitted, and will take into account any potential impacts identified from the responses received.

No decision has been taken to close any court and an announcement on the outcome of the consultation will be made in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for the future of its Fire Kills campaign.

Mike Penning

The evaluation of the recent Fire Kills Unsung Heroes campaign is currently underway and the results will be analysed and fed into future campaign development. The Fire Kills campaign is included in plans for 2016/17 subject to appropriate approvals from the Secretary of State.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the recommendations of the Pitt Review on the 2007 floods, whether her Department plans to (a) change building regulations to make homes more resilient in flood risk areas and (b) increase the adoption of sustainable drainage systems in order to better manage urban flood risk in the long term.

Rory Stewart

Building regulations were updated in 2013 and enable the incorporation of flood resilience measures into building work. In addition, the British Standards Institution published BS8550 in November 2015. This is a technical standard addressing resilience and resistance issues. We continue to promote better resilience and support innovations in this field.

On 6 April 2015, planning policy was strengthened to ensure that sustainable drainage systems are provided in new major developments where appropriate, and that clear arrangements are in place for ongoing maintenance over the lifetime of the development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hand-held radar speed detectors are in use by police constabularies in England; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of recruiting and training civilian volunteers to use such detectors.

Brandon Lewis

The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. The purchase and deployment of speed enforcement devices is a local operational matter for individual police forces. There has been no assessment made on the merits of recruiting and training civilian volunteers in the use of these devices. Decisions on how the public can assist the police in speed enforcement activity are matters for individual Chief Officers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.

David Mowat

Comprehensive data on the number of audiology services in England is not collected.

NHS England has no current plans to introduce financial incentives for the achievement of Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation.

As of 1 September, there are 39 organisations with IQIPS accreditation for audiology, covering 28 adult and 21 paediatric audiology services. If an organisation is accredited for both adult and paediatric audiology, United Kingdom Accreditation Service considers that one accreditation.

In Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups, published in July, NHS England strongly encourages clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.

In the contract for Genomics Medicines Centres, Annex M requires National Health Service trusts nominated as Lead Organisations and Local Delivery Partners to be working towards diagnostic accreditation across all available schemes, including IQIPS.

NHS England is also working with the Care Quality Commission to agree the use of scientific and diagnostic schemes as an information source for inspection purposes, as set out in their latest strategy.

We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.