Tag: Jonathan Reynolds

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account his Department has taken of the performance of Arriva Transport in its patient delivery contract in Greater Manchester in its work to ensure that Arriva Rail North fulfils its contractual obligations.

Andrew Jones

At the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire stage of the bidding process we assess applicants to ensure they have the right approaches and capabilities to operate a rail franchise. This includes assessment of their management approaches to safety/culture etc. and requires them to provide evidence of these practices. We assess purely on this evidence and if the applicant is successful, they will be able to compete for a franchise. Applicants are also required to inform us as the authority if circumstances change. We do not comment on the specific evidence provided to us as part of this process as it is commercially sensitive, however we are content that Arriva Rail North are an appropriate company to operate the franchise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses his Department received to the devolving Sunday trading rules consultation.

Anna Soubry

The Department received 7,171 responses to that consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost is to the NHS of keeping a patient in an Assessment and Treatment Unit.

Alistair Burt

At the end of April 2016 for inpatients with a learning disability and/or autism, the average length of stay was 1,095 days. The total number of inpatients was 2,565. 415 were diagnosed with autism only and 555 patients had a learning disability and autism (Learning Disability Services Monthly Statistics, April 2016).

The average weekly cost for inpatient care was £3,563 per week in September 2015 (Learning Disability Census: England 2015)

Both the Learning Disability Services Monthly Statistics and the Learning Disability Census provide data on people with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder receiving inpatient care commissioned in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the electrification works on the Manchester to Stalybridge railway line.

Paul Maynard

The electrification works on the railway line between Manchester and Stalybridge (Phase 5 of the North West Electrification Programme), due by December 2017 will see the installation of infrastructure and improvements to facilitate overhead electrification of the railway line, delivering journey time benefits for passengers in the north of England.

Good progress has been made on the design and planning aspects of the project. Canopy works at Stalybridge station have been completed to achieve high level clearance required for electrification, and track interventions have taken place on Phase 5 infrastructure, including track lowering and renewals to enable electrification. Detailed Design is progressing well and is at an advanced stage of development.

This is an extremely complex engineering project ensuring electrification is delivered alongside capacity and journey time improvements. Network Rail continue to work with their contractors to develop a delivery programme to maximise passenger benefits and minimise disruption to a busy passenger and freight rail corridor.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-11-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what process the Treasury determines whether an item of public spending should trigger a consequential payment to the devolved administrations under the Barnett formula.

Greg Hands

The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the devolved administrations by the UK Government in relation to departmental spending within Departmental Expenditure Limits.

Under the Formula, the Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Welsh Government receive a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK Government spending on comparable services in England, where those services correspond to devolved responsibilities in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans that smart ticketing will cover the entirety of the North or be separated between city regions.

Andrew Jones

We are working towards a world class transport network that is supported by a ticketing system that makes it simple and easy to travel across the North by bus, tram, metro and rail. In the recent spending review, the Government committed up to £150 million of new funding to help make this vision a reality. By Budget 2016, Transport for the North will set out an implementation plan for the delivery of smart and integrated ticketing across local transport and rail services in the North over this parliament and beyond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses to the Government’s consultation on devolving Sunday trading rules were opposed to any relaxation of Sunday trading rules.

Anna Soubry

The consultation was about a specific proposal to devolve a power to extend trading hours on Sunday to local areas. The consultation did not ask respondents whether they supported or were opposed to a general relaxation of Sunday trading rules. The Department does not, therefore, hold information on this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average length of time is that a patient stays in an Assessment and Treatment Unit.

Alistair Burt

At the end of April 2016 for inpatients with a learning disability and/or autism, the average length of stay was 1,095 days. The total number of inpatients was 2,565. 415 were diagnosed with autism only and 555 patients had a learning disability and autism (Learning Disability Services Monthly Statistics, April 2016).

The average weekly cost for inpatient care was £3,563 per week in September 2015 (Learning Disability Census: England 2015)

Both the Learning Disability Services Monthly Statistics and the Learning Disability Census provide data on people with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder receiving inpatient care commissioned in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings he has had with representatives of major sectors of the UK economy since he assumed office.

Mr David Jones

Government officials are carrying out a programme of sectoral and regulatory analysis, which will identify the key factors for British businesses and the labour force that will affect our negotiations with the EU. They are looking in detail at over 50 sectors and cross-cutting regulatory issues.

Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the rate of suicide among members of the fire service; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce such numbers.

Greg Clark

We do not hold information on the rate of deaths by suicide of firefighters. Individual fire and rescue authorities as employers are responsible for the health and welfare of firefighters, including their mental health. In October last year the Government announced the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through LIBOR fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training for leaders and line managers, peer learning events and resources to promote better mental health in the work place. I encourage fire and rescue authorities to engage with this important programme.