The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding was allocated to each NHS Trust for children’s congenital heart disease services in each year since 1995.
Jane Ellison
Information on the amount of funding allocated to each region for providing congenital heart disease services and to each National Health Service trust for children’s congenital heart disease services is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he gives local authorities on assessing the infrastructure required for sites which are included in their site allocations process; and what steps he takes if local authorities do not adhere to that guidance.
Nick Boles
The National Planning Policy Framework and our planning guidance make clear that Local Plans should be supported by evidence to establish what level of infrastructure is needed to enable the development proposed for the area and how it will be delivered.
At examination, local authorities should justify their plan policies, including their deliverability over the plan period. Where an inspector concludes that there are fundamental issues regarding the soundness of the Plan, they will identify any conflicts between a draft local plan and national policy and regulatory process. They are able to recommend modifications to overcome these issues if they are asked to do so by the council itself.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2014-03-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Autumn Statement of 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 1106, which police service-related charities will receive funds from LIBOR fines in 2014; and what criteria are used to determine which organisations receive such funds.
Nick Hurd
In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that LIBOR fines will be invested in providing support for emergency services personnel and their dependents who are injured, suffering ill-health, or bereaved, during or as a result of active service for the public. £10 million will be sustainably invested through Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise organisations across the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the recommendations of the Leeds Children’s Heart Surgery Services Review, published on 13 March 2014, if he will make it his policy that continuing audits of performance should be conducted at all children’s heart surgery units.
Jane Ellison
NHS England and the regulators constantly monitor the outcomes at all children’s cardiac centres. This data is provided regularly by the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research. Specialised commissioning is currently reviewing the type of information that it analyses as part of the ongoing new Congenital Heart Disease Review into these services.
The comments made by Stuart Andrew, the Conservative MP for Pudsey, on Twitter on 23 October 2022.
Having given this a lot of thought and taken on the views of many constituents over the last few days, I have decided to support
Rishi Sunak in the leadership election. A detailed focus on the economy is needed, and he has that experience.
The speech made by Stuart Andrew, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the House of Commons on 22 September 2022.
I am pleased to respond to this debate and am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) for securing it. The interest shown this afternoon is testament to the importance that this club represents to the local community and to the sport of rugby as a whole. I pay tribute to him for the work that he has done. I also offer my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Nigel Huddleston), who did this job extremely well. I know that I have very big shoes to fill. I know, too, that he is now able to take a keen interest in this issue.
As we have heard today, the club has had many different forms, but can date back to Worcester Rugby Football Club, which was first established in 1871. It was a long and eventful journey to the club’s debut in the men’s top flight in 2004, under the stewardship of John Brain and Cecil Duckworth, whom my hon. Friend has talked so movingly about today. Both of them have had a lasting impact on the club and local community.
The club has gone from strength to strength and seen its talent recognised at an international level with multiple players, including current captain Ted Hill being capped for England. The dramatic extra-time premiership cup win against London Irish in May provided an unforgettable moment for all involved with the club. The success is not limited to the men’s team, however, with the Worcester Ladies team having won their inaugural premiership title in 2013 before becoming part of the Warriors group in 2016. The success has continued since then, with Laura Keates and Lydia Thompson both being named in England Women’s world cup squad this week. Off the pitch, the Warriors Community Foundation makes a significant impact around the local area, providing vital services including a positive and safe learning environment for some of the hardest to reach young people.
For all these reasons, I was pleased that the Government were able to support the club to survive the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic through the sport survival package. Like many other sectors, the sport sector suffered as a result of the essential restrictions we all lived under during the pandemic. The Government were proactive in taking action to protect the sector through the £600 million package.
The package was set up to ensure that as many sport clubs reliant on spectators survived the period of restrictions during the pandemic as possible, while also seeking to minimise the potential long-term damage to sport, with a particular focus on the importance of grassroots activity and women’s sport. That intervention was essential in maintaining professional sport in this country through such a difficult period.
However, as the nation recovers and crowds return to stadiums, it is right that the Government take a step back from providing direct financial support. The sport survival package was administered by Sport England on behalf of DCMS and all decisions for awards were taken by an independent board set up by the Department, based on a robust assessment of an individual organisation’s financial circumstances; where appropriate, security was taken to protect the taxpayer.
I know this is a time of stress and anxiety for all associated with the club, from the playing and non-playing staff to the fans who have stuck with the club over so many years. My hon. Friend the Member for Worcester described so well many of the things they have gone through recently. The match this weekend was a demonstration of the passion and commitment that so many people have for the club within the local community and I applaud everyone involved in ensuring that the fixture went ahead.
The Department is working tirelessly with the club’s directors, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union to seek the best possible outcome for all concerned. We have expended more energy on Worcester than on any other club and we will continue to do so. That has included daily dialogue with stakeholders and the club’s directors to explore all options available and to take appropriate professional advice.
While I am only in the first few hours of my time in this role, I assure my hon. Friend that I and the Secretary of State take a keen interest in this issue and that we will continue to do so and to explore every possible option. Indeed, one of my very first meetings in this role was on this matter. At this stage, we are not ruling out any options and are sending in professional advisers imminently to take a closer look at the club and potential options. If it emerges from that work that the most viable option for saving the club is to put it into administration, that is a decision we will not be afraid to take.
Of course the responsibility for governance and oversight of the game sits with the RFU and PRL, and any potential investors will need to pass the RFU’s fit and proper owner tests as part of any takeover. DCMS does not have a direct role in finding new owners or investment for the club, but we have continued to encourage all interested parties to put their offers to the current owners or administrators, should that step be taken.
I understand the frustration of supporters due to the lack of progress over the past weeks and the calls for Government action. This is clearly a fast-moving situation, and we continue to reassess all options available to us as a creditor to protect taxpayers’ money and deliver the best possible outcome for the players, staff and club on a daily basis as the situation evolves. As I have said already, we are taking action and not ruling anything out.
Any claim that Sport England or the Government are responsible for asset stripping or at any point were not working in the best interests of the club or taxpayers is incorrect. DCMS and Sport England have not been involved in the management decisions of any club to which they have lent. Those decisions were and remain, rightly, the responsibility of the directors of those clubs, and I can assure the House that the Department and Sport England thoroughly assessed all applicants’ financial information and provided clubs with strict conditions on how the funds could be utilised following an assessment of need. As my hon. Friend highlighted, any administrators appointed would also look to explore the actions of directors and the previous use of funds in any administration. Unfortunately, I cannot comment further on the specifics of individual cases, including on the issue that he has raised, because of the confidentiality obligations in the legal agreements with the club.
As this debate has clearly demonstrated, Worcester Warriors has a rich history and is a crucial part of the local community. I thank my hon. Friend for calling the debate, and thank him and other hon. Members in the area for the work that they are doing to discuss the future of that important community asset. The Department will continue to engage closely with the owners, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union to try to ensure a positive outcome for the rugby offering in Worcester. I give him a guarantee that I will take an extremely close interest as the issue develops.
The tribute made by Stuart Andrew, the Conservative MP for Pudsey, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.
It is with sadness that I offer my tribute to Her late Majesty the Queen on my behalf and that of the people of Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough.
I suppose that the first time the Queen came into my consciousness was when, as a small boy, I was standing outside the house waiting for some lady in a big posh car to go past as she marked her silver jubilee in 1977. From then on, there were many royal occasions—the jubilees, the royal weddings—when we all enjoyed street parties on our estate. I thought about those street parties when the Queen’s 90th birthday was coming up and thought that I had not seen one in our community for some time, so we decided—a group of our friends—to organise one. We were staggered when thousands of people in the community came out to celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday. We also saw that reflected on the Mall recently during the jubilee, when literally hundreds of thousands turned up. Why? Because they respected and loved her; because they recognised that this was a woman of great dedication who wanted to serve her country in the best way that she could, and that she would work to the very last day, as she committed to do all those many years ago.
Last night, a couple of us went up to the Palace, where, again, people were meeting and strangers were talking, all sharing conversations and memories about Her late Majesty the Queen. The British public were showing how much they loved her.
The Queen was there when we needed her most. Many have talked about the pandemic and when our country had those awful terrorist attacks. She has always given warm words and comfort to the victims and their families. We will remember the amazing speech that she made in the hospital in London, when she said that
“they will not change our way of life.”
I do not know about anybody else, but whenever I visit a constituent who is celebrating their 100th birthday, the card from Her Majesty the Queen is front and centre in the living room—of course, and why would it not be? It is something they are so proud to have.
Many have also mentioned schoolchildren asking, “Have you met the Queen?” For many years in this place, I was unable to say that I had, until I was honoured to be appointed as the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. I remember when I was about to be introduced to her, waiting for those doors to be opened. When they finally did, I realised that I had become a little boy again, standing there with my knees knocking and wondering how I would address Her Majesty. As others have said, she put me at ease and made me feel incredibly welcome.
As Vice-Chamberlain, I had to write the daily reports from Parliament. She liked the gossip, I understand, which is heart-warming. I was also taken hostage at the Palace, when Her Majesty came to open Parliament. I was offered a drink, and was asked whether I would like tea or coffee. One of the officials looked at me and thought, “You look more like a champagne man.” I thought, I am never going to do this again, so why not? It was a big bottle of champagne and I had a good time. A couple of months later there was a general election and I had to do it again. As Her Majesty was leaving Buckingham Palace, she turned to me and said, “You’ll have a good time again, won’t you?”
To conclude, after the awful attacks of 9/11, the Queen said to the people of America:
“Grief is the price we pay for love.”
We all loved her, which is why we are grieving, and we send our thoughts and best wishes to His Majesty the King and his family, and we say, “God save the King.”
The comments made by Stuart Andrew, the Prisons Minister, on 3 August 2022.
I am delighted work can begin on yet another modern, innovative prison that will skill-up untold numbers of offenders to live a crime-free life while making our streets safer.
The new prison at Full Sutton will also support hundreds of jobs, in construction and afterwards, representing a major boost to Yorkshire’s economy.
The comments made by Stuart Andrew, the Housing Minister, on 5 July 2022.
Street names are often a proud part of a community’s identity and hold cherished memories for those that have lived there past and present.
As part of our mission to level up across the country, we want communities to take back control so we are putting the power over street names changes into the hands of local people who would be most directly affected.
Our new laws will stop councils pushing through street names changes that communities don’t want.
The comments made by Stuart Andrew, the Housing Minister, on 21 May 2022.
Building beautiful new homes in the places they are most needed lies at the heart of the government’s levelling up mission.
Garden villages and towns are perfect examples of the vibrant, green communities we want to see right across the country and today’s funding will allow us to work hand-in-hand with local leaders and industry to deliver the high-quality new homes that we need.