The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) volume and (b) value of (i) raw milk, (ii) butter, (iii) cheese, (iv) cream and (v) condensed milk was imported in each year from 1995-96 to 2014-15.
George Eustice
The information requested is set out in the tables attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.64 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how she plans to make £600 million savings from the Education Services Grant; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Savings of £600 million will be made by reducing the Education Services Grant (ESG), including phasing out the additional funding that goes to schools and local authorities. We will be making a small efficiency saving (around £80 million) from the ESG in 2016-17, and will be setting out our proposals for savings from 2017-18 in the New Year. This will include consulting on the details of the statutory duties that will be removed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under which circumstances Southern Railway’s franchise would be withdrawn.
Claire Perry
Schedule 10.2 of the TSGN Franchise Agreement (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488198/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf p.506) specifies how this franchise can be terminated by the Department.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what countries take part in Flag Officer Sea Training courses for surface ships and submarines.
Penny Mordaunt
Each year, a number of countries participate in training with Flag Officer Sea Training. In 2015, the following 58 countries undertook training: Albania, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Somaliland, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vietnam and Yemen.
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 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors have (a) commenced and (b) finished their training in each of the last five years.
Ben Gummer
The table provides figures on a United Kingdom basis for the number of trainees entering further training at Foundation Year 1 (F1) for the last 5 years. However, it should be noted that not all doctors commence their training in the UK at F1, and an accurate figure for these is not available.
|
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
2015/16 |
|
7,314 |
7,257 |
7,330 |
7,678 |
7,478 |
The General Medical Council (GMC) issue Certificates of Completion of Training (CCT) to doctors who complete a full GMC approved speciality training programme. The UK figures for the last five years available from the GMC are:
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
6,211 |
6,406 |
6,222 |
6,429 |
6,888 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what he plans the size of the Frigate fleet will be in 2025.
Mr Philip Dunne
The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that we will maintain our fleet of 19 frigates and destroyers whilst also conducting a concept phase for the design and build of a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate so that by the 2030s there is potential to increase the total number of frigates and destroyers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake a review of the effectiveness of the operation and governance of the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
Jane Ellison
Monitor, the then independent regulator of National Health Service foundation trusts announced on 28 October 2015 that it was taking action against South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust after the trust ran a project between December 2014 and February 2015 that increased how long some patients were waiting for ambulances.
Monitor’s requirements included the development of three reviews; the first was a forensic review of the project itself which was undertaken by Deloitte and the report was subsequently published on 15 March 2016; the second was a wider governance review, and the third a comprehensive patient impact study which is subject to a separate, clinically-led independent review currently underway. This review is due to be concluded this summer and published in due course.
Monitor used its regulatory powers to secure the appointment of Sir Peter Dixon as the new interim chair at the trust, following the resignation of its Chair Tony Thorne on 15 March 2015.
From 1 April 2016 Monitor became part of NHS Improvement who has confirmed that it is providing constructive challenge to the foundation trust on the content of an agreed action plan and continues to hold the trust board to account for delivery of that plan via usual regulatory meetings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) Royal Air Force aircraft and (b) manpower establishment is of (i) airborne early warning and (ii) air to air refuelling.
Penny Mordaunt
The type of aircraft and manpower establishment details are in the table below.
|
Aircraft Type |
Manpower Establishment |
|
|
Airborne Early Warning |
E3-D Sentry |
321 |
|
Air to Air refuelling |
Voyager |
371 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about moving the Knightsbridge Barracks to an alternative location in the Royal Parks.
Mark Lancaster
The Secretary of State for Defence holds regular reviews of the Ministry of Defence estate, including the wider London Estate, in the context of the emerging Estate Optimisation work.
There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about moving Hyde Park Barracks (located in Knightsbridge) to an alternative location in the Royal Parks.