Tag: Judith Cummins

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 on the total stock of affordable homes in Bradford.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing and Planning Act will help more people buy their own home and ensure that we are making best use of our social housing stock. It will also get the nation building homes faster, by giving house builders and decision makers the tools and confidence to deliver more homes.

The Act sets out that planning authorities have a duty to promote the supply of starter homes and the starter homes requirements in the planning system. Local authorities will still be able to seek other forms of affordable housing in addition to the starter homes requirement where it would be viable.

The impact assessment for the Housing and Planning Bill can be found here:

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/housingandplanning/documents.html

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of dwellings in the UK have an EPC rating below band E; and what proportion of measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation have been in dwellings with an EPC rating below band E.

Gavin Barwell

On 29 July 2016, 5% of dwellings in England and Wales where an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) has been produced are rated band F and 2% are rated band G.

Information on the proportion of measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation carried out in dwellings with an EPC rating below band E is not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve road connectivity between Bradford and its wider region.

Andrew Jones

The Government is committed to improving transport links across the North and Bradford, as a key partner in the Leeds City Region, has access to the biggest Growth Deal allocation agreed in 2014 which will provide up to £781m for the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund through Local Growth Fund and Gain Share up to 2035. The fund will allow Bradford to access funding for the schemes they need to benefit the city and improve connectivity between Bradford and the rest of the North.

In addition to this local investment, the Road Investment Strategy will tackle delays for commuters on the strategic road network between Bradford, Leeds and Manchester. This includes improving the M62/M606 Chain Bar Interchange where congestion is a major issue, and the planned Smart Motorway scheme for junctions 20-25 of the M62 will increase capacity, reduce congestion and improve safety.

To support this work, the 2016 Budget announced a further £161 million to accelerate the transformation of the M62, as part of building the Northern Powerhouse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford of improvements to rail connectivity in and around the Bradford area.

Andrew Jones

The Government recognises the economic benefits of investing in transport and is committed to spend £13 billion on transport in the north of England which through the new franchises will provide more than 500 brand-new carriages, the removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacer trains, room for 40,000 extra passengers at the busiest times, and more than 2,000 extra services a week.

As part of the North of England programme we are investing in journey time, capacity and connectivity improvements to give passengers more and faster services to and from Bradford.

Specific improvements in improving connections to and from Bradford include:

• A new direct link to Wakefield, Sheffield, Chesterfield and Nottingham as part of the Northern Connect network, with at least 10 services per day in each direction operated by brand new diesel trains.
• One additional train per hour between Bradford Interchange and Leeds.
• Later trains to Bradford from Leeds.
• One extra train per hour to Manchester, with a significantly enhanced evening service and double the current hourly frequency on Sundays.
• New direct links to Liverpool, Chester, Warrington and Manchester Airport, with an hourly service to each using brand new trains as part of the Northern Connect network.
• Increased frequency on Sunday services from Bradford to Skipton and Ilkley, with hourly trains
• Six additional trains to/from London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to reduce in-work poverty.

Damian Hinds

Work is the best route out of poverty, which is why this Government is focused on getting people into employment. Since 2010, 2.5 million more people are in work and average household incomes are at a record high.

We are reforming the tax and benefit system to ensure work will always pay more than a life on benefits. That is why we are raising the tax-free personal allowance to £11,500 in April 2017, meaning 1.3m individuals will have been taken out of income tax altogether since 2015. This enables people to keep more of what they earn. We are also introducing Universal Credit which is designed to reduce poverty, ensure work pays and strengthen incentives to progress in work.

We have introduced the National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, representing a pay rise of £900 this year for a full time workers on the minimum wage.

The Government is also providing additional support for families by increasing childcare funding within UC from 70% to 85% of eligible costs, introducing Tax Free Childcare and extending free early years childcare for working parents from 15 to 30 hours.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to reduce disparities in spending on culture and the arts between London and cities in the North of England.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Arts and culture has a hugely positive impact on people’s lives and we are committed to broadening access to the arts across the whole country.

Arts Council England are increasing the percentage of Lottery funding distributed outside London from 70 per cent to 75 per cent including over £30 million from their Ambition for Excellence fund that will be spent outside of the capital.

Our Culture White Paper – the first strategy for the sector in more than 50 years – sets out how we will increase access across the country and ensure arts and culture are open to all.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the long-term health costs associated with the increase in the number of dental extractions in children under the age of 10 in the last four years.

Alistair Burt

The tables below shows 1) the number of courses of treatment (CoT) for children age 10 and under in Primary Dental Care which included an extraction and 2) the number of Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) for children aged 10 and under including an extraction due to tooth decay.

During the same period, the population for children age 10 and under rose from 6.9 million to 7.3 million. The figures suggest the total rise in extractions and therefore increases in health costs are broadly in line with the increase in population of this age group over the same period.

1)

Financial year	(CoT) Extractions per 100,000	Primary Care (CoT)	Population	change
2014/15	3211.0	234,704	7,309,300	-8,274
2013/14	3380.7	242,978	7,187,200	9,186
2012/13	3317.0	233,792	7,048,300	718
2011/12	3376.9	233,074	6,902,100

Source: NHS Business Services Authority, extract from FP17 form clinical data set information 2011/12 – 2014/15

2)

Financial year	FCE Extractions per 100,000	FCEs	Population	change
2014/15	462.2	33,781	7,309,300	1040
2013/14	455.5	32,741	7,187,200	1466
2012/13	443.7	31,275	7,048,300	514
2011/12	445.7	30,761	6,902,100

Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Hospital Episode Statistics 2011/12 – 2014/15

However, the Government is serious about improving oral health for children. Initiatives to improve oral health include targeted interventions in ten high needs areas and reform of the dental contract to focus on prevention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford and the wider regional economy of electrifying the Calder Valley line.

Andrew Jones

Later this year the rail industry will present its initial advice to Government on investment needs for the national network, drawing on the outputs of Network Rail’s long term planning process, including its refresh of the national electrification strategy. Taking account of this advice and other inputs – including from Transport for the North – the Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvement to the national network during 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the trends in the number of applications to Early Years Teacher training courses over the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage

The Head of Profession for Statistics for the Department is currently reviewing the data collected on Early Years initial teacher training. We are unable to provide any data or assessment of trends while this review is ongoing. It is intended that the first data will be published in November 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential contribution to raising community awareness of the dangers of testicular cancer of the work of the Oddballs testicular cancer charity and similar organisations.

David Mowat

Public Health England’s ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns do not currently include testicular cancer, so no assessment has been made of the potential impact of a campaign on the issue.

The decision on which cancers should be the focus of ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns is informed by a steering group, whose members include primary and secondary care clinicians, and key voluntary sector organisations. A number of factors are taken into account when deciding which campaigns to develop and run, with one of the main criteria being the scope to save lives through earlier diagnosis and whether the cancer has a clear early sign or symptom that the general public can act upon should it arise.