The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions (a) overall and (b) where Downs syndrome had been identified were carried out at each (i) NHS hospital, (ii) clinic and (iii) surgery in Lancashire in 2016.
Nicola Blackwood
Data for 2016 is not yet available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to identify properties in Preston that are vulnerable to flooding; and what (a) funding has been allocated and (b) work is being done to protect such properties.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
The Environment Agency has undertaken detailed flood modelling for the Preston area and properties at flood risk are shown on the Environment Agency’s flood map (available on GOV.UK), additional modelling to refine this after the December 2015 flooding is ongoing and expected to be completed in early 2017.
The full cost of a flood defence scheme for the Preston and South Ribble area is £32 million. The Government has allocated £17 million in the current flood risk capital programme to this scheme. The Environment Agency is currently working with partners to explore opportunities to secure an additional £15 million, to address the remaining shortfall. The scheme is scheduled to commence in 2019 and will provide new and improved defences which will reduce flood risk to 3000 residential and 600 commercial properties.
The new Preston and South Ribble flood risk scheme is the main focus of the work that is being done to protect property. However, a number of smaller projects were also completed after the December 2015 flood events including repairs to flood walls at Walton-le-Dale, removal of a fallen tree and repairs to defences at Broadgate and repairs to defences at the Capitol Centre.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Cabinet Office, HCWS 127, on individual electoral registration, how much of the funding referred to in that statement has been allocated to each electoral registration office in England.
John Penrose
In total 103 Local Authorities in England are receiving additional funding to help target their remaining carry forward entries. Almost £570,000 of funding was allocated directly to 53 English authorities where carry forward entries accounted for over 5%, as a proportion of their registers, in May 2015. 59 Local Authorities in England, including 9 which had already received a direct allocation, successfully submitted bids for additional funding, sharing just over £450,000.
The attached table sets out all 103 English authoritieswhich are receiving additional funding directly and those whhich submitted successful bids along with the total amount they are receiving.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-27.
To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps each Anglican church in the Diocese of Blackburn is taking to assist Syrian refugees.
Mrs Caroline Spelman
The Diocese of Blackburn is working alongside other dioceses of the Church of England and local faith communities to coordinate their response to assist Syrian refugees. Churches in the diocese have been advised of the type of assistance that can most usefully be offered, working in conjunction with local authorities and other faith communities.
The three bishops of the Diocese of Blackburn were amongst the signatories to the letter from Church of England bishops to the Prime Minister, which welcomed the commitment of the Government to provide aid and resettlement, while calling on it to resettle substantially more than 20,000, and made clear the Church’s commitment to help in that task.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to schools on meetings for prayer or religious instruction for pupils during break times.
Edward Timpson
Collective worship plays an important role in schools. It encourages children to reflect on belief, and helps shape fundamental British values of tolerance, respect and understanding for others. Parents can choose to withdraw their children from all or any part of collective worship.
The Department does not issue guidance to schools specifically on the provision of meetings for prayer or religious instruction for pupils during break times.
The Department does publish guidance on collective worship; it is for governing bodies to decide how best to meet the requirements of that guidance and the relevant legislation, which can be found online at GOV.UK:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in Preston constituency who were born in November 1954 have been notified of changes in the age at which they will receive the state pension; and when his Department notified each such person.
Justin Tomlinson
We do not have the information requested at this level.
I can confirm that in February 2012, 375,000 letters explaining the State Pension age changes were sent to men and women (across Great Britain and Overseas) with a date of birth in the range 06/10/1954 to 05/04/1955.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to make funding available for remedial work on the flood defences on the north bank of the River Ribble, west of Miller Park; and when that remedial work is planned to take place.
Rory Stewart
Remedial work on flood defences on the north bank of the River Ribble, to the east of Miller Park, will take place in two phases.
Preston City Council started the first phase of temporary repair work on 18 January 2016. The target date for completion is 22 January 2016.
The Environment Agency recovery programme will prioritise repair works across Cumbria and Lancashire using a risk based approach. The level of protection offered by flood defence assets will be restored by autumn 2016. This programme will include the second phase of permanent repairs to the flood defences on the north bank of the River Ribble.
The Environment Agency is not aware of any damage to flood defences east of Miller Park requiring remedial works.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of ending NHS bursaries on the ability of the NHS to recruit nurses from within the UK from 2020 onwards.
Ben Gummer
The Government assessment undertaken to date is that nursing is consistently one of the most popular courses on University Central Administration Service with 57,000 applicants for around 20,000 nursing places in 2014. Midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses receive higher than average applications as well.
Rather than denying thousands of United Kingdom applicants a place to study nursing at university and then being forced to hire new nurses from overseas and others from expensive agencies, these reforms will be boosting participation and securing the future supply of home-grown nurses to the National Health Service. The reforms will enable the creation of up to 10,000 additional nursing, midwifery and allied health professional university training places in this Parliament.
A public consultation will be published during March 2016, an Equalities Analysis and Economic Impact Assessment will be published alongside the consultation document.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which magistrates’ and Crown courts have separate waiting rooms for victims of domestic violence and those accused of assaulting them.
Dr Phillip Lee
All Crown Court Centres have separate waiting facilities for victims and witnesses, including victims of domestic violence.
97% of magistrates’ courts have some kind of separate witness waiting facility. For those courts that do not have this facility, special arrangements will be put in place providing the court is notified in advance.
There are separate secure facilities for those accused that are held in custody. The accused who are remanded on bail, do not have designated waiting rooms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to update the national strategy for sexual health and HIV, published in July 2001.
Nicola Blackwood
The Department’s A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England was published in March 2013 and sets out the Government’s ambitions to improve sexual health outcomes and what is needed to deliver good sexual health services. The following year Public Health England published Making it Work, a guide to commissioning for sexual health across the whole system, to improve the sexual health of both individuals and the wider public.