The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in each of the last five years have been foreign nationals.
Nick Gibb
The information requested is not collected by the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost is per patient attending at GPs’ surgeries nationally.
Alistair Burt
This information is not collected in the format requested. However, data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that the total expenditure on General Practice in England in 2013/14 was £8,753 million. NHS England estimates that there are 340 million general practitioner consultations each year. As an average, this would work out as £25.74 per patient attendance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what mechanism is in place to allow drivers voluntarily to surrender their driving licence if assessed as unfit to drive.
Andrew Jones
Drivers who decide to stop driving may voluntarily surrender their driving licence by confirming this in writing and returning their licence to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Alternatively, they may complete a form which is available on GOV.UK or from the DVLA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35770, what technical and practical barriers will prevent the Electoral Commission implementing a registration look-up tool before the EU referendum.
John Penrose
As required by legislation, all applications to register to vote are assessed by Local Authority Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). There are around 360 EROs across the UK. EROs manage and maintain separate electoral registers for their areas on a variety of different software platforms. A national registration look-up tool would require access to all of these locally held and owned electoral registers, and, if it required the creation of a central national database, could require legislative changes and raise significant data protection concerns.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of (a) salaries, (b) pension contributions and (c) indemnity costs and other associated costs of running a GP practice.
Alistair Burt
The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes an annual report on general practitioner (GP) earnings and expenses. The most recent report was published in September 2015 and covered 2013/14.
The report showed that the average income of a contractor GP working under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract, or a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract in the United Kingdom in 2013/14 was £99,800. The average total expenses for GMS or PMS contractors in the UK in 2013/14 was £173,800.
Source: GP Earnings and Expenses 2013/14, Health and Social Care Information Centre. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people (a) in general and (b) who have long-term health conditions are liable for prescription charges.
Alistair Burt
The information requested is not collected centrally. We estimate that 60% of people in England are not required to pay for their prescriptions, though it is not possible to indicate how many people on either side may have a long-term health condition. The prescription charge exemptions include exemption for those on low income, which is based on receipt of certain benefits or through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Where someone does not qualify for exemption from prescription charges, Prescription Prepayment Certificates are available. The three-month and 12-month certificates allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as they need for £29.10 and £104, respectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with on demand television providers on extending the provision of subtitles.
Matt Hancock
Yes. Furthermore, Ofcom, as the regulator for video on demand services, is currently consulting on the accessibility of on demand programme services and proposed steps to ensure their services are progressively made more accessible.
We have requested an update from broadcasters, content providers and platform operators in Spring 2017 setting out their progress in increasing the provision of access services on video on demand services.
The comments made by Royston Smith, the Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen, on Twitter on 24 October 2022.
If we are to deliver for the British people, the Conservative Party needs to show determination and unity. I have therefore decided that it is in the national interest to support Rishi Sunak to become Prime Minister and deliver for our country.
The speech made by Royston Smith, the Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen, in the House of Commons on 1 February 2021.
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I say that just for the avoidance of doubt, as I do not think the leasehold property that I own is included in this matter.
The cladding and fire safety crisis has blighted too many lives for far too long. Leaseholders bought their homes in good faith. They would have trusted the developer to build a safe home and they would have trusted the Government to ensure that it conformed with the law. Most would have needed a valuation for a mortgage and nearly all would have used a solicitor to ensure that everything was legal. Governments have encouraged them to buy by offering them incentives to do so. Buyers had every reason to expect that our building regulations were sound and could be more than forgiven for believing that modern flats built in Britain would be safe. However, the events of the past few years have shown that this is not the case. Leaseholders have had to wake up to a sobering reality that the dream of home ownership has turned into a living nightmare as they face huge bills and bankruptcy.
Let me make something clear: the Government are not to blame for this situation. This is not the fault of my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State or the Housing Minister; it is a failure of building safety regulation over many decades, involving many Governments. Regardless of what happens today, the Government have an opportunity to sort this out once and for all. They can give leaseholders the certainty and security they deserve and let the unwitting victims of this crisis once again sleep soundly in their beds at night.
The Government may feel that our amendment to the Fire Safety Bill is defective. Perhaps it does not do what leaseholders would like or it would slow the progress of the Bill. There is a simple solution, which was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman): accept our amendment, tidy it up, and ensure that it does protect innocent leaseholders.
The shadow Minister for Housing and the Leader of the Opposition said in interviews today that we should put party politics aside and work together. I could not agree more. Labour has had seven weeks to sign our amendment—seven weeks of victims of this scandal begging it to join us—and what has it done? It has done as it always does—ignored the opportunity and instead jumped on a passing bandwagon. Labour has led the victims of the cladding crisis up the hill, and now it is going to abandon them at the top.
There are options for the Government, and I know that they are working hard to find one that works, but today I ask them to accept our amendment and once and for all tell the leaseholders that it is not their fault and they will not have to pay.