Tag: Tania Mathias

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of aircraft on nitrous dioxide levels in Greater London.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Air quality emission levels by mode are only compiled at a national level by the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. Its estimates are updated annually. Emissions from road vehicles are by far the greatest source of nitrous dioxide levels in Greater London.

The main impact of aviation on ground local air quality relates to emissions during the landing and take-off phase up to about 3000 feet. Above this height the oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter which can cause respiratory problems get dispersed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the government of Saudi Arabia on the death sentence for Ashraf Fayadh.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of, and concerned about, the case of Palestinian national Mr Ashraf Fayadh. We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and strongly support freedom of expression in every country. We regularly make the Saudi Arabian authorities aware of our views, and will consider suitable opportunities for raising our concerns over this case.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people with a (a) physical disability, (b) mental disability and (c) physical and mental disability in (i) the UK and (ii) Twickenham constituency.

Justin Tomlinson

a) and b) Based on the latest available figures from the Department’s Family Resources Survey 2013/2014, an estimated 11.9 million people in the UK reported a disability. The table below provides more detailed information about the types of impairment that disabled people reported.

Table 1: Disability prevalence disaggregated by impairment type UK, 2013/14

	Millions of individuals
Impairment type	2013/14
Vision	1.5
Hearing	1.7
Mobility	6.5
Dexterity	3.4
Learning	1.5
Memory	1.9
Mental health	2.1
Stamina/breathing/fatigue	4.5
Social/behavioural	0.8
Other	1.8
All with at least one impairment	11.9

Source: Family Resources Survey 2013/14

Respondents can report, and be affected by, more than one type of impairment.

c) Using the FRS an estimated 2.7 million people in the UK reported both a physical and mental disability. This estimate includes all individuals currently living in private households. It does not include individuals living in communal establishments (e.g. care homes).

For the purposes of this analysis, the following categories have been classified as physical disabilities;

Vision, Hearing, Mobility, Dexterity, and Stamina/Breathing/Fatigue.

The following categories have been classified as mental disabilities;

Learning, Memory, Mental Health, and Social/Behavioural

Note that disabilities classified as "other" have not been included in part c).

The department cannot provide figures in the format requested for Twickenham.

Aggregate level estimates of people with disability aged 16-64 in Twickenham can be found on the Nomis website based on the Annual Population Survey: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/select/getdatasetbytheme.asp?opt=3&theme=&subgrp=

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to maintain a military presence on the site of Kneller Hall in Whitton.

Mark Lancaster

The decision to release Kneller Hall was confirmed as part of the Ministry of Defence’s land release announcement on 18 January 2016. Whilst the site will not be released before 2018, there are no plans to maintain a military presence (people permanently living and working) at the site once it has been released.

I am keen to reinforce the Military relationship with the Kneller hall site, utilising our historic links with Twickenham Borough Council who have signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant, pledging specific support for the Armed Forces Community.

We have also previously committed to continue to hold concerts at Kneller Hall in order to continue the association of the area with the Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings in the British Red Cross research paper, Don’t stop at 999, published in September 2016, on preventable deaths; and what steps he is taking to ensure that basic first aid education is included in the Government’s public health strategy.

Mr Philip Dunne

No specific assessment of the implications of the recent Red Cross research – Don’t Stop at 999 has been made. However, it is recognised the timely application of first aid can help minimise the impact of injuries, as well as health conditions such as heart attacks and strokes, and contribute to avoiding preventable deaths.

The NHS Choices website contains information for the public on first aid responses to various injuries and health incidents. In addition, the Government is making available another £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England. This builds on last year’s funding of £1 million, which provided almost 700 more publicly accessible defibrillators in communities across England and increased the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The national Act Fast campaign also aims to raise awareness of the symptoms of stroke, teach people what to look out for in themselves and others, and encourage those who notice the symptoms to call 999. Since Act Fast launched in 2009, it is estimated that an additional 47,000 people reached hospital within the vital three-hour window and over 5,000 fewer people became disabled as a result of a stroke.

Local authorities in England have the lead responsibility for identifying and meeting needs for local interventions to improve the health of their populations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a fundraising preference service on the work of the charity sector.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Fundraising Preference Service, recommended by the Etherington reviewinto fundraising, will re-balancepower back to individuals and help them to press the ‘reset’ button on their relationship with fundraisers, giving them control over the fundraisingcommunications they receive from charities. It will stop people being inundated withrequests which they do not wish to receive and it will stop charities wasting resources oncommunicating with people that do not wish to hear from them. It also seeks to underwritepublic trust and confidence in charities which is vital to the sector’s work.

A working group involving charities is being established to develop the detailed plans for theimplementation of the service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what budget his Department has allocated for cycling-related road improvements in each of the next five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will set out the Government’s plans for investing in cycling and walking.

The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking, with SR2015 announcing funding support ofover £300m. This includes delivering the £114m Cycle City Ambition programme in full, which includes improved cycling infrastructure on roads, and a new ‘Access’ fund for sustainable travel building on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. In addition, the Road Investment Strategy for 2015-20 includes plans to improve 200 sections of the roads network for cyclists. All other funding streams will be considered as part of the process for developing the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

It is also worth noting that from within the record £6 billion to be allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.

SR2015 also announced an additional £250m for a potholes action fund, which will benefits both motorists and cyclists.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value is of a personal independence payment in (a) the UK and (b) Twickenham constituency.

Justin Tomlinson

Information on average weekly payments of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not published but can be calculated from the available claimant data extractable from Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/) and the amount of benefit paid by component combination. At the end of January 2016 the average amount payable to PIP recipients in Great Britain was £88.70 per week and £88.14 per week in the Twickenham parliamentary constituency.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year and will be a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans for clause 187 of the Investigatory Powers Bill to apply to (a) class bulk personal datasets and (b) specific bulk personal datasets; and if she will take steps to ensure that the protection provided under that clause will encompass all types of warrants, as specified in the Investigatory Powers Bill, in the case of medical records.

Mr John Hayes

Clause 187 of the Investigatory Powers Bill applies to specific BPD warrants and provides that, where one of the purposes of the warrant was to authorise the retention or the retention and examination of health records, the warrant may only be issued in exceptional and compelling circumstances.

On 5 July the Government tabled an amendment to the Bill which would make clear that class BPD warrants could not be used to retain, or retain and examine, bulk personal datasets that consist of, or include, health records.

Protections for other parts of the Investigatory Powers Bill relating to medical professionals and confidential information relating to an individual’s health will be provided for in the statutory codes of practice made under the Bill. Draft codes detailing these protections were published on introduction of the Bill in March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of schools and sixth form colleges not accepting students who have failed to achieve a C grade in English and mathematics GCSE on availability of places for students who are required to resit those examinations.

Robert Halfon

Post-16 providers are responsible for setting entry requirements to their post-16 courses, and can specify a C grade or higher in English and mathematics GCSE in entry requirements to level 3 courses such as A levels or Tech Levels. When setting entry requirements for specific courses, schools and sixth form colleges consider the level of English and mathematics a young person will need to possess in order to successfully study the course.

Government funding ensures that there is a place available for every young person at a local provider. If a student would benefit from support to identify a suitable place in post-16 education and training,there will be various sources of advice, including from the local authority.

At the end of 2015 the proportion of 16 and 17 year olds in education and work based learning (apprenticeships) was 90.9%, the highest participation figure since consistent records began in 1994.