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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) premium and (b) subsidy payments the new Northern franchisee is expected to make or receive in each year of that franchise’s duration.

    Andrew Jones

    The new Northern Franchisee is expected to receive subsidy payments during each year of its franchise term. I note however, that under this franchise agreement the amount of annual subsidy will be reduced by £160million by the end of this 9-year contract and at the same time, unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, this new franchise will deliver more than 2,000 extra services each week, nearly a 40% increase in capacity and the complete removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacers by the end of 2019.

    The subsidy payments are set out below in both nominal terms and in real (i.e. constant) terms in 2015/16 prices. Years 1 to 9 are the payments for the core Franchise Term. Year 10 is an optional extension period of up to one year, callable at the discretion of the Secretary of State.

    Year

    £M

    Nominal

    Real – 2015/16 prices

    Year 1

    2016/17

    281

    275

    Year 2

    2017/18

    276

    262

    Year 3

    2018/19

    282

    260

    Year 4

    2019/20

    247

    221

    Year 5

    2020/21

    204

    177

    Year 6

    2021/22

    158

    134

    Year 7

    2022/23

    136

    113

    Year 8

    2023/24

    114

    92

    Year 9

    2024/25

    92

    73

    Year 10

    2025/26

    53

    39

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what alterations were made to the pulsion system of the Type 45 destroyer between the launch of the first and the sixth such destroyers.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The decision to procure the Rolls Royce WR21 was taken in November 2000 by the then Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon. In announcing the decision, he accepted this decision "presents a greater degree of risk to the programme."

    Following that decision a number of issues with the Type 45 Integrated Electrical Propulsion (IEP) system were identified when the First of Class, HMS Daring was launched in 2006.

    From 2006 to the launch of the sixth and final Type 45 in October 2010, the Type 45 Destroyer class had around fifty minor design alterations directly attributable to the development of the Type 45 IEP system identified. The subsequent implementation process for acceptance of these alterations is necessarily rigorous to maintain safety and system design intent. As a result, the majority of Type 45 IEP alterations were implemented after the launch of the last of class.

    A report was commissioned in 2011 to examine the reliability of the power and propulsion system in greater detail. This work was re-assessed in 2013 to examine the extent to which the issues identified in the report had been dealt with, (by changes to operating procedures and training) and establish which were not simply the problems associated with a new complex system.

    As part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Government is committed to improving the Type 45’s power and propulsion system an ongoing Equipment Improvement Plan is successfully making further alterations to the existing power and propulsion system.

    Over the last two years, Type 45 Destroyers have been routinely deployed to the Gulf to maintain a destroyer presence in the region, including HMS Defender’s support to US Carrier operations against Daesh.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the (a) scale of the difficulty experienced by trusts in recruiting to consultant posts and (b) effect of that difficulty on numbers of occupied consultant posts in cellular pathology.

    Ben Gummer

    Individual healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring that they have the right level of staffing to provide high quality care to their patients.

    The following table taken from the monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) shows the total consultant figures for May 2010, November 2010 and for November 2015 working in the National Health Service in England. The data for November 2015 is the latest available. The HSCIC statistics do not show cellular pathology, but data is provided for those working in the pathology group.

    England full-time equivalent

    May 2010

    November 2010

    November 2015

    All Consultants

    35,174

    36,010

    42,423

    Consultants in Pathology group

    2,426

    2,486

    2,597

    Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre NHS monthly workforce statistics

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training is available for prison officers in dealing with inmates who are under the influence of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.

    Ben Gummer

    Public Heath England has produced guidance to support healthcare and operational staff in prisons in England manage the impact of new psychoactive substances on the health and wellbeing of prisoners and staff and help staff manage security. This guidance is available at:

    http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nps-manual-final.pdf

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the package of compensation schemes for phase 2A of High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We expect to announce the Government’s response to the HS2 Phase Two: West Midlands to Crewe Property (Phase 2a) Consultation 2015 by the summer Recess.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 23 May (HL174), what steps they are taking in particular to ensure that all employees at British airports with access to aircraft are vetted to ensure that they do not hold Islamist fundamentalist views.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    I would refer my noble friend to my Written Answer of 23 May (HL174) to his earlier question on this issue. Those staff undertaking aviation security duties are subject to additional security vetting following the minimum checks that must be completed. These arrangements, like our overall security regime, are kept under close review in light of all current threats. For security reasons, we would not comment on specific staff vetting arrangements.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of welfare reform on health inequalities in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The policy responsibility for welfare reform sits with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Department of Health has not made a separate assessment of the effect of welfare reform on health inequalities in England.

    Although no assessment has been made in England, DWP has engaged across government on its proposals for welfare reform. The Department of Health has been involved in discussions on the introduction of Universal Credit and its impact on health inequalities for programmes such as Healthy Start and Help with Health Costs.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the proportion of funding for extended school activities in primary schools in 2015-16 which came from parental contributions in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Sunderland.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not collect the information requested.

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with FIFA officials on the candidacy of Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa for FIFA President.

    Tracey Crouch

    I have had no discussions with FIFA officials regarding candidates standing for the FIFA Presidency.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence the Government has had with the Clydesdale Bank on implementation of the Access to Banking Protocol and the (a) closure of branches and (b) reduction of banking services in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. This includes establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting in place suitable alternative measures before a branch is closed.

    There is a commitment to review the operation of the protocol after one year. In August, the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise and I wrote to the Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association and requested an update on progress towards the appointment of an independent reviewer. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Chief Executives of the banks that are signatories to the Access to Banking protocol.

    Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy.

    Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.