Tag: Nicholas Soames

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Highways Agency on litter clearance on roads.

Andrew Jones

The Secretary of State discusses a range of issues in his regular meetings with the Chief Executive of Highways England. I also raised the issue of litter on roads with the Chief Executive at our most recent monthly meeting on 15 March 2016.

Highways England actively monitors local authorities to ensure standards are maintained, as it is a local responsibility to clear litter on most of the A roads on the strategic road network. On the motorways for which Highways England is responsible, more than 150,000 sacks of litter are collected every year; an average of 411 bags every day at a cost of £40 per sack.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce tax on fast food containers.

Mr David Gauke

The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review. However, there are no plans to introduce a tax specifically on fast food containers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the interim findings of the Area Based Review of further education which includes Central Sussex College; what the geographical extent of that review is; and which other further education institutions are included in that review.

Nick Boles

Central Sussex College is within the Sussex area review, part of wave 1 of the area review programme which began in September 2015. This review covers Brighton & Hove City, East Sussex, and West Sussex Councils, and Coast to Capital and South East Local Enterprise Partnerships.

The other further education institutions included in this review are: Chichester College; City College, Brighton and Hove; Northbrook College, Sussex; Plumpton College; Sussex Coast College; Sussex Downs College; Worthing College; Bexhill College; Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College; and Varndean College.

The local steering groups overseeing each area review hold regular meetings and do not intend to publish interim findings of any area review.

The Department is committed to making the outcomes transparent, and once each review reaches its conclusions, there will be a report published at the end of each Area Review process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to hospital trusts on the discharge of frail elderly patients.

Alistair Burt

In this Parliament, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a guideline on “Transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs” in December 2015. The guideline aims to improve people’s experience of admission to, and discharge from, hospital by better coordination of health and social care services.

NHS England’s “Quick Guide: Improving Hospital Discharge into the Care Sector” also provides practical advice for local health and care systems on how to improve hospital discharge for people with packages of care at home or with care home places.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what local organisation is accountable for the operation of the NHS in (a) Mid Sussex, (b) West Sussex and (c) Brighton.

Jane Ellison

NHS England advises that there is not one single organisation accountable for the operation of the National Health Service in Mid Sussex, West Sussex or Brighton. Instead, each of the NHS organisations in these areas is accountable for the different operational aspects of the provision of NHS services.

NHS England further advises that it commissions a comprehensive health service for patients in this area along with the Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG); Crawley CCG; Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG; and Brighton and Hove CCG.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish a timetable for the roll-out of the General Practice Resilience Programme to support GP practices in Mid Sussex constituency; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat

The milestones for the General Practice Resilience Programme have been set nationally by NHS England and can be found in section 8 of the programme’s guidance document at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/gpfv/resilience/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the Future Combat Air System.

Harriett Baldwin

As set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), we are working in partnership with the UK defence industry and our closest allies to understand and develop the technologies that will be required for future combat air systems (FCAS). No decisions have yet been made as to what this system will consist of, nor the platforms and capabilities that it will include. We are focussing now on developing the core technologies that any such system will require. To do this we have developed and are implementing the FCAS technology initiative. This programme includes the development of an advanced unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator in partnership with France, bilateral projects with the United States (US) to mature other key technologies and a national programme to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in the combat air sector.

In Amiens in March 2016 we agreed to transition to the next phase of the UK/France UCAS programme in 2017 and to develop the full-scale demonstrators by 2025. In addition to the current projects we are in discussions with the US and other allies to understand areas of mutual interest for further collaborative work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which category (a) A, (b) B, and (c) C projects are managed by (i) Navy Command, (ii) Army Command, (iii) Air Command, (iv) Joint Forces Command and (v) the Strategic Programmes Directorate.

Mr Philip Dunne

This information is not held centrally and collating which individual category A, B, and C projects are managed by each of the Front-Line Commands would incur disproportionate cost.

Further information on equipment projects can be found in the published Defence Equipment Plan 2015 and Major Projects Authority Annual Report 2015, both of which can be found in the Library of the House.

The-Defence-Equipment-Plan-2015

Major-Projects-Authority-Annual-Report-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential risks to undersea internet and telephony cables; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government continually assesses a range of possible risks to the UK’s infrastructure, and arrangements are in place across Government and industry to ensure the ongoing resilience and availability of services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Navy plans to adhere to the 12-nautical mile territorial limit proclaimed by China around the Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

In accordance with international law as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Royal Navy warships exercise the right of innocent passage whenever transiting in another States’ recognised territorial seas. The exercise of the right of innocent passage requires neither prior authorization nor authorization from the coastal State. When operating in the Exclusive Economic Zone of a coastal State, RN warships will exercise full freedom of navigation and overflight whilst respecting any established safety zones, up to 500 meters, around an artificial island, installation or structure.

In the South China Sea the UK has a strong interest in the maintenance of peace and stability, which is underpinned by respect for, and adherence to, international law. The UK strongly supports its right, and that of all States, to exercise freedom of navigation in accordance with UNCLOS. We urge all States to respect these very important rights.