Tag: Poulter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that the access and waiting time standards for mental health set out in the NHS Five Year Forward plan are implemented in full.

Ben Gummer

The Government provides direction and ambitions for the National Health Service through the NHS Mandate. NHS England are held to account in achieving the NHS Mandate commitments including the new mental health access and waiting time standards detailed in the NHS Mandate for 2015/16.

NHS England published guidance in February this year for clinical commissioning groups that set out how the new access and waiting time standards for mental health services are to be introduced and implemented.

Implementation of the new access and waiting time standards is supported by an £80 million funding package for 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to promote improvement in standards of mental health globally.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID’s principal approach is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. We also support research, together with specific work on mental health in some countries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the future of Wattisham Airbase.

Harriett Baldwin

The estate optimisation strategy aims to provide a more efficient and better quality Defence estate to support our Armed Forces, which will be fit for purpose for future generations.

This long-term, detailed work seeks to identify a rationalised Defence estate which more appropriately meets the needs of our Armed Forces by being of better quality, more cost effective and more efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall, by 2040.

No decision about the future of individual sites has been made at this point, other than those that have been previously announced

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Written Statement of 4 November 2015, HCWS288, whether all current junior doctors will receive an 11 per cent pay rise under the proposed new contract.

Ben Gummer

We have consistently said that average earnings will remain the same under the new contract. Basic pay would increase by an average of 11%, under our firm offer, as a result of ending banding payments and redistributing current earnings, placing more in basic pay.

This is something that the British Medical Association (BMA) said they wanted and that the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration has long recommended. All those moving fully onto the new contract would be paid on these terms.

The hon. Member will note that the BMA has now returned to direct negotiations with NHS Employers, having walked away from discussions in October 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made on implementing its response to the Eleventh Report from the International Development Committee, Session 2013-14, on Disability and development, HC 947.

Mr Desmond Swayne

In December 2014 DFID published a Disability Framework which set out how the International Development Committee’s recommendations would be addressed. In December 2015 the Secretary of State launched an updated Framework which set out how DFID would continue to build on this work. DFID recently produced a detailed review of progress on disability which will be shared with the International Development Committee soon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) apprenticeships and (b) vocational training in the haulage industry.

Robert Halfon

The Department has supported the Logistics and Supply Chain Trailblazer group in developing new apprenticeship standards for LGV drivers and Supply Chain Operators, both of which were approved for delivery in May. Both standards have been developed by employers to truly meet the needs of their sector. The new LGV Driver standard allows apprentices to gain their Category C LGV licence alongside the training and assessment for the new standard, rather than it being an entry requirement as it was under the old system.

The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has an account management function to support employers to invest in apprenticeships and they are working with some of the biggest hauliers including DHL, Kuehne, Nagel and, more recently, Wincanton. The SFA is also supporting the British International Freight Association to develop a new apprenticeship standard for international freight.

Transport and logistics is also one of the 15 technical education routes set out in the Post 16 Skills Plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-10-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal support his Department is giving to infrastructure initiatives in East Suffolk.

Greg Hands

The Government has committed to invest £100bn in infrastructure over the course of this Parliament. There are 31 projects and programmes in the East of England in the National Infrastructure Pipeline, which include the energy, transport and waste sectors. The Pipeline is a strategic overview of the level of public and private infrastructure investment planned over the rest of this decade and beyond. These projects and programmes have a total capital value of more than £6 billion, of which more than £2.5 billion is public spending.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that landlords in the private rented sector comply with the requirement for properties to be a minimum of energy efficiency rating E by April 2017.

Andrea Leadsom

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and wales) Regulations 2015 require that, subject to certain exemptions, domestic and non-domestic private rented sector landlords improve their properties to a minimum energy efficiency rating of E from April 2018.

The Department is currently developing guidance documents to assist landlords in complying with their obligations under the regulations, and to support enforcement authorities in fulfilling their duties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the sustainable development goals on the UK’s aid spending on health initiatives; and if her Department will issue a guidance note on that spending.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK played a key role in creating a set of Global Goals that are universal and inclusive and is committed to championing the goals. Delivering Global Goal 3, to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all”, will instruct the health support we provide, with priority given to ensuring that poorer, harder to reach populations achieve better access to good quality essential services. DFID’s ongoing Bilateral Aid Review (BAR) and Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) will ensure we allocate our budget in the right places and in the right way, based on solid evidence, to contribute to the delivery of the Global Goals and to achieve our manifesto commitments.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13263, whether energy produced by the proposed VikingLink project would be regarded as contributing towards the carbon reduction targets in the Climate Change Act 2008.

Andrea Leadsom

The carbon reduction target is defined in terms of the carbon intensity of generation in the UK. As such, energy imported from Denmark over the proposed VikingLink will not contribute towards the target directly. However, the link will contribute to wider decarbonisation goals by providing access to Danish wind power, and by supporting efficient use of renewable generation in the UK. Interconnection provides tools for system balancing and reduces the need for curtailment by enabling exports at times of excess generation. In this way it can maximise the contribution of domestic low-carbon generation to meeting targets and allow the most efficient use of renewable resource between the two countries.