Tag: Nicholas Soames

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) funding of horseracing and (b) effect of Race Fields legislation in Australia.

Tracey Crouch

To inform work to replace the current levy system, we have commissioned an independent economic analysis of the costs and funding of horseracing. This economic analysis work will also examine relevant comparable models, including the Australian system, however any reform of the Levy will need to comply with EU law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria local authorities will be expected to meet in order to implement bus franchising in their areas; and whether their performance against the criteria will be subject to independent assessment.

Andrew Jones

The Buses Bill will introduce new powers for local authorities to franchise their local bus services. The Bill is still being drafted and it is therefore too early to confirm the detail of the process that may be proposed through the Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to facilitate the development of an improved labelling code in the UK.

George Eustice

The Food Information Regulations (No. 1855) were introduced in 2014 and has resulted in better and more consistent labelling of food in a number of areas, including allergen labelling, ingredients labelling and, from the end of this year, nutrition labelling.

Origin labelling is also improved by these Regulations with new rules on origin labelling of meat of poultry, sheep, goat and pigs introduced in April last year. In addition, we look forward to prospective implementing acts on origin labelling of ingredients of foods, including meat and dairy, where this is different from the place that the food itself was made. The Government is fully engaged in these discussions and expects them to result in improved labelling of meat and dairy products in due course.

We have been pressing for mandatory origin labelling on dairy products, in particular lightly processed dairy products such as butter, cheese and cream but have met with some resistance from the European Commission. We will continue to press for these improvements.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to include group B Strep (GBS) in future work relating to the National Maternity Review.

Ben Gummer

The aims of the National Maternity Review were to develop proposals for the future shape of modern, high quality and sustainable maternity services across England. The key proposals aim to improve safety and experience of care for women and their families.

The Government has made clear that maternity care is a priority and on 13 November 2015 announced an ambition to reduce by 50% stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and neonatal brain injuries by 2030. This includes harm and death caused by Group B Streptococcus.

Following the publication of the National Maternity Review we are working with NHS England to establish a governance structure for the maternity work programme which will include engagement with a broad range of charity partners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether there are circumstances under which the Government would consider deploying armed forces in the South China Sea.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK remains concerned about the situation in the South China Sea. We call on all parties to uphold freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight, to refrain from activities that increase tension, and to pursue urgently a settlement of the maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with international law. As a major trading nation that has substantial links with all the nations bordering the South China Sea the UK has a close security interest in the maintenance of regional peace and stability. While we have a limited permanent military presence in the form of the Brunei Garrison and our contribution to the Five Powers Defence Arrangements in Malaysia and Singapore, other than planning for routine exercises and defence engagement tasks. We have made no specific assessment of the circumstances under which we would deploy Armed Forces to the region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the NATO Readiness Action Plan.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, is progressing well and it will deliver enhanced NATO Response Forces, including the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), by the time of the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016. The UK has played a leading role in the implementation of the RAP: we have committed to spending 2% of GDP on Defence, and 20% of that on new equipment; we will lead a capable and credible VJTF (Land) Brigade in 2017; we have increased our commitment to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces this year; and will continue to provide Airborne Early Warning, Air to Air Refuelling, Tornado and Typhoon aircraft to the VJTF (Air).

Considerable work on survivability, sustainability and readiness of NATO forces has been undertaken. The RAP includes a commitment to generate an enhanced NATO Response Force (eNRF) including a VJTF. To enhance survivability, the eNRF has been designed from the outset as a Joint, Multi-National force with an appropriate quantity and balance of forces needed to effectively conduct the full range of potential operations. Integral logistic structures, which include the newly created Multi-National Corps Headquarters in Poland and a Multi-National Division Headquarters in Romania, ensure the sustainability of the enhanced NRF and VJTF. Enhanced NRF forces are designed to meet the readiness timelines that are laid down in NATO’s strategic planning documents, including the Alliance’s Graduated Response Plans.

Considerable work on Interoperability has also been undertaken since the end of combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. This has built upon NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative to ensure that NATO’s Multi-National forces force are able to continue to operate together effectively beyond the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. For our lead of the VJTF (Land) in 2017, the British Army will operate alongside the armed forces from 13 contributing nations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he provides to the NHS Leadership Academy on the selection of candidates.

Ben Gummer

The Department does not provide specific guidance to the Leadership Academy on the selection of candidates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from care home operators in West Sussex about their future financial viability.

Alistair Burt

The Government continues to engage with the care sector, including care providers, to understand their concerns about their financial viability and the sustainability of services.

The trade bodies Care England and the United Kingdom Home Care Association have convened a provider Taskforce, with membership from the larger care home and home care operators and representatives from the Care Providers Alliance. Officials from the Department of Health, and other Government departments attend the taskforce meetings as observers. The most recent meeting was held on 9 May 2016, where discussions were held about risks to financial viability, local authority commissioning and the impact of the introduction of the National Living Wage.

The Department is working closely with the Local Government Association to consider targeted action to address the issues.

The Department is not aware of any specific representations from care home providers in West Sussex about their future financial viability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many bed days were lost due to delayed transfers of care in Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2015.

Alistair Burt

In 2015 there were 11,907 delayed transfers of care at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Month	Number of delayed transfers of care (days)
January 2015	1,194
February 2015	1,047
March 2015	958
April 2015	824
May 2015	916
Jun 2015	1,098
July 2015	1,139
August 2015	1,089
September 2015	861
October 2015	1,017
November 2015	975
December 2015	789
Total	11,907

Source: Delayed transfers of care, NHS England

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Minister in his Department is responsible for NHS Property Services.

Mr Philip Dunne

NHS Property Services is a limited company 100% owned by the Secretary of State for Health, to whom it is accountable. Within the Department, Ministerial responsibility for NHS Property Services is delegated to my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Prior).