Tag: Jim Fitzpatrick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on his Department’s policies of the recommendations of the Second Global Conference on Road Safety organised by the UN/WHO in Brasilia between 17 and 19 November 2015.

Andrew Jones

The themes of the recommendations from the Second Global Conference on Road Safety in Brasilia are broadly in line with our approach to road safety, with an emphasis on education, enforcement and infrastructure with particular regard to vulnerable road users.

The Government has a Manifesto commitment to reduce road deaths and injuries amongst cyclists and other road users every year. We are working with road safety groups and other stakeholders to determine what more can be done to meet this commitment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licenses issued under the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 are currently in force; and how many applications for such licenses for what reasons have been (a) granted, (b) refused, (c) suspended and (d) revoked in the last 12 months.

George Eustice

Under the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 there are currently two licences in force. One of these licences was suspended for twenty days in December 2015. Applications for renewals of both of these licences have been received and are currently being considered.

In May 2015, Defra also received an application for a licence from a further circus. As that circus subsequently decided not to tour in England in 2015 their application was discontinued without Defra making a decision whether to grant or refuse the application. In the last 12 months, no other applications for a licence have been received by Defra and no others have been refused, suspended or revoked.

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 people have been identified as illegally importing puppies under the Pet Travel Scheme during the Dogs Trust’s pilot quarantine initiative.

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 undertaken 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 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to begin the five-year review of the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 required by those regulations.

George Eustice

Defra began its review of the Trade in Animals and Related Products (TARP) Regulations 2011 with formal and informal consultation with customers in October 2015.

The intention is to complete the review by the end of 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce financial incentives for physiological services to engage with and achieve IQIPS accreditation.

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 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.