Tag: Nicholas Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has any plans to extend child discounts on public transport from 16 to 18 years to match the new compulsory school leaving age.

Andrew Jones

Government recognises the importance of accessible transport to all young people and, whilst there are no plans to introduce a statutory concession for young people, we are working with the sector to encourage operators to continue to improve their offers.

In the de-regulated bus market it is for operators to set their own fares. Current estimates indicate that 50% of young people aged 16 to 19 receive at least a third off standard fares.

The new Enhanced Partnership powers in the Bus Services Bill would allow local transport authorities and bus operators to agree standard ticket rules, such as eligibility for half fares across operators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for immune-oncology treatments to treat mesothelioma effectively.

George Freeman

A number of immuno-oncology treatments with the potential to treat mesothelioma are in development.

Most significant new drugs are referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) technology appraisal programme to assess their clinical and cost effectiveness. Decisions on the suitability of these drugs for NICE appraisal will be made through the established topic selection process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to help alleviate the work pressures placed on A&E departments as a consequence of the number of admissions which relate to excessive drinking.

Jane Ellison

Alcohol-related attendances in accident and emergency (A&E) are a matter of concern. We are taking action, for example, by encouraging better sharing of anonymised data on these attendances between National Health Service bodies and the police. This can provide intelligence for licensing decisions, enabling targeting of premises who are contributing to irresponsible sales and drunkenness.

The NHS constitution makes clear that abusive or violent behaviour would be reasonable grounds to refuse access to NHS services. That would include a small minority of people who are drunk and abusive to staff.

In addition, accredited hospital staff have powers to issue fines to individuals whose drunkenness could cause harassment, alarm or distress (Penalty Notices for Disorder – £80 fines).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to publish details of the submissions received to the Government’s consultation on the contaminated blood compensation scheme.

Jane Ellison

We will consider the responses to the consultation on “Infected blood: reform of financial and other support” and publish a response and final plans for the reformed scheme. The response will summarise the issues raised by consultees and how these have informed the plans for the reformed scheme. In line with usual practice and the Government principles for conducting consultations, we do not intend to publish details of the individual submissions received to the consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the results of the consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework which concluded on 22 January 2016.

Brandon Lewis

A consultation on specific changes to the Framework, aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations, closed on 22 February. We are analysing the responses and will publish the results of the consultation when we issue the revised Framework.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what revenue the Government has received from the sale of government-owned assets in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area between 2010 and 2016.

Matthew Hancock

Since 2010, the Government has generated £1.8 billion in capital receipts and vacated over 2,000 individual properties. This includes over £600,000 raised from the sale of Government owned property in Newcastle upon Tyne between 2010 and 2016. Disposals of surplus property is improving Government’s estate management and releasing surplus land and property in a way that delivers value for the taxpayer, boosts growth and creates new homes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has any plans to extend her Department’s policy of free school transport for children between eight and 16 years old living over three miles from their school to match the compulsory school leaving age of 18 years old.

Caroline Dinenage

The government has no current plans to extend the home to school statutory entitlement beyond the age of 16.

It is helpful to be clear initially that young people do not need to be in school beyond the age of 16. There are a range of ways that young people can fulfil their duty to participate in education and training until they are 18, as well as staying at school. Options include apprenticeships or part-time paid work together with study.

The statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16 to 19 year olds remains with local authorities, enabling them to make decisions and arrangements which best match local needs and circumstances. Arrangements do not have to include free or subsidised travel; however, local authorities are expected to make reasonable decisions based on the needs of their population, the local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available.

Most 16 to 19 year olds have access to a discount or concession on local travel, from their local transport provider, their local authority, or from their education or training provider. Providers can also use the 16-19 Bursary Fund to support young people with the costs associated with attending education or training. This is often used to support transport for disadvantaged young people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of the UK’s critical infrastructure from cyber attack; and what investment his Department is making to improve the security of the UK’s critical infrastructure from such attacks.

Matthew Hancock

For security reasons we do not comment on details of our vulnerability to cyber attacks. The Government takes cyber security very seriously; since 2011 we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme. As announced in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security to £1.9bn over the next five years, which includes further investment in protecting the UK’s critical national infrastructure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on adult loneliness.

Alistair Burt

The Department of Health does not collect data on adult loneliness but a range of other national collections do address this issue.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) collects information on social care activity and expenditure. In 2015 the type of data the HSCIC collects was changed and for the first time it now captures information on social isolation.

The Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity 2014/15 show that local authorities in England met the needs of 56,000 adults where the primary support reason was support for social isolation. The Personal Social Services: Expenditure and Unit Costs England 2014-15, show that local authorities spent £81 million in meeting the needs of adults whose primary support reason was social isolation/other. The HSCIC does not collect data on the numbers of adults or expenditure spent where local address social isolation through preventative measures.

The HSCIC run an annual Survey of Adult Social Care users and a biennial Survey of Adult Carers covering all Local Authorities in England. Both surveys contain questions on users and carers satisfaction with their levels of social contact. This data feeds into the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework indicators which are also published by HSCIC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 5063, whether the text of the EU Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement will be subject to approval by Parliament once it has been laid.

Anna Soubry

The Government currently expects the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to be a “mixed agreement” i.e. between Canada, the EU and the EU’s Member States. This would mean that the complete draft text of the agreement would be laid before Parliament for at least 21 sitting days and during this time MPs and Lords may debate the treaty and vote on the proposed ratification.

CETA is an ambitious trade agreement. However, the Government has concluded that “overall a free trade agreement along the lines of EU-Canada would bring less advantageous terms for UK trade than those we currently enjoy, with particular issues for UK services losing access to the Single Market" (Paragraph 3.65, Alternatives to membership: possible models for the United Kingdom outside the European Union; March 2016).