Tag: Paul Flynn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has held with the Care Quality Commission’s Head of Inspection on the number of vacant posts in the Commission’s inspection teams.

Ben Gummer

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. The CQC is an executive non-departmental public body accountable to the Secretary of State for the efficient and effective discharge of its functions, duties and powers. The Department monitors CQC’s financial and operational performance and risks, including progress with recruitment of inspectors, at a general and strategic level through regular formal and informal accountability meetings. Ministers and the Permanent Secretary also hold regular meetings with the Chair and Chief Executive of the CQC and its Chief Inspectors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of patients being offered a choice of outpatient facility by their GPs.

Ben Gummer

We are committed to giving patients more choice and control over their health care, as this can help drive up standards and improve patient care.

As set out in the Five Year Forward View, the health system is focused on embedding patient choice and, as part of this, NHS England is working to secure improvements in awareness and uptake of choice across physical and mental health services.

In addition, we have asked NHS England to come up with proposals, before the end of the year, to make sure there is choice and control over services offered in maternity and end-of-life care, as well as for those with long-term conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she received the report by the group Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) Nuclear Power: New Evidence: a call for a full-scale statutory review of the Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1); and what response she has made to the correspondents sending that report.

Andrea Leadsom

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State received a copy of the report on 9 July 2015. The report was discussed with officials at a meeting of my department’s Nuclear NGO Forum on 21 July and it was agreed that a sub-group of the forum should be set up to discuss the Nuclear National Policy Statement. The Department wrote to Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) on 29 July confirming these arrangements. The subgroup will hold its first meeting next month.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many meetings her Department has had with Westinghouse officials to discuss the potential partnership between Westinghouse, interested nuclear industry partners and the Government on developing small modular nuclear reactors.

Andrea Leadsom

Officials within my Department have met Westinghouse on two occasions to receive their proposal on small modular reactors (SMRs). Receipt of this proposal was acknowledged by officials and it will be considered as part of Government’s wider work on SMRs which includes evidence building through the techno-economic assessment and engagement with SMR vendors where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what response she has made to the proposal put forward on 21 October 2015 for a partnership between Westinghouse and the Government to develop small modular nuclear reactors.

Andrea Leadsom

Receipt of the proposal was acknowledged by officials and it will be considered as part of Government’s wider work on SMRs, which includes evidence building through the techno-economic assessment and engagement with SMR vendors where appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the safety issues identified in the Generic Design Assessment for the European Pressurised Reactor that EDF Energy plans to build at Hinkley Point C have still not been resolved to the satisfaction of the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

Andrea Leadsom

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has advised me that safety issues remaining at the end of Step 4 of Generic Design Assessment (GDA) of the European Pressurised Reactor were captured either as GDA Issues or Assessment Findings. GDA Issues are items that ONR requires to be addressed before a Design Acceptance Confirmation can be issued, successfully ending the GDA process, or before nuclear safety related construction can commence on site. All of the GDA Issues were addressed and closed by ONR in 2012. These Issues, the resolution plans to address them and information on their closure are published on ONR’s website:

http://www.onr.org.uk/new-reactors/

Assessment findings are addressed throughout the post GDA phase through routine regulation under the nuclear site licence.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether all projects undertaken in the new UK-China joint research and innovation centre will be subject to the (a) Freedom of Information Act 2000 and (b) Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Andrea Leadsom

The Joint Research and Innovation Centre (JRIC) is envisaged to be the subject of a commercial agreement between the National Nuclear Laboratory and the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation.

These two organisations are still in the process of negotiating such an agreement and will need to consider details on the structures, funding, governance and accountability of the JRIC. As such, it is too early for Government to be able to comment on the outcomes of such a negotiation.

We continue to maintain an interest in developments of these discussions and will work, where appropriate, with our counterparts in the Chinese government to ensure that outcomes are mutually beneficial to the research landscape of both nations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what new departmental resources have been committed to support the UK-China joint research and innovation centre; which UK personnel have been appointed to this work to date; what process was followed in making those appointments; and where each such post was advertised.

Andrea Leadsom

The Joint Research and Innovation Centre (JRIC) is envisaged to be the subject of a commercial agreement between the National Nuclear Laboratory and the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation.

These two organisations are still in the process of negotiating such an agreement and will need to consider details on the structures, funding, governance and accountability of the JRIC. As such, it is too early for Government to be able to comment on the outcomes of such a negotiation.

We continue to maintain an interest in developments of these discussions and will work, where appropriate, with our counterparts in the Chinese government to ensure that outcomes are mutually beneficial to the research landscape of both nations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart against that country’s policy of judicially-sanctioned capital punishment.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We believe it undermines human dignity and there is no evidence that it works as a deterrent. Ministers, our Ambassador in Riyadh and the Embassy team raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, both bilaterally and through the European Union.

We recognise that total abolition of the death penalty is unlikely in Saudi Arabia in the near future. Our focus is therefore on encouraging the introduction of EU minimum standards for the death penalty as a first step, and on supporting access to justice and rule of law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on human rights abuses in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The British government regularly raises its human rights concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities at the highest levels through Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign & Commonwealth Office country of concern because of the human rights situation in the country, particularly on the use of the death penalty, restricted access to justice, restrictions on women’s rights, as well as on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief. We regularly make our views well known including through the UN Universal Periodic Review process and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.