Tag: Tom Blenkinsop

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if (a) statutory redundancy payments and (b) final salaries will be paid from the Government’s support funding package for those affected by recent redundancies in the steel industry.

Anna Soubry

I can confirm that the support package covers both of these aspects. The money allocated towards redundancies factored in payments for owed salaries and does not affect the money for training and regeneration of the local economy. I also note that without Government action, SSI workers would not have been paid their salaries in September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to address the reported shortfall of £107 million in the Department’s 2015 budget and the consequent imbalance in funding for mental health services.

Alistair Burt

With the financial controls package and help from system leads, we are working towards delivering a balanced position against the overall spending controls in this financial year, despite an unprecedented level of deficit in the National Health Service provider sector.

The NHS must now put in place cost-control measures we have introduced, like clamping down on agency spend, limiting the use of management consultants and making sure trusts have to justify the pay package of any manager who is paid more than the Prime Minister, while we continue to work with hospitals on ways to improve productivity and reduce waste.

This year, we are investing £173 million of additional money in mental health, including £30 million for services for young people with eating disorders. We are taking a targeted and phased approach to the additional investment, to enable local areas to develop additional capacity and a collaborative approach across health, education and children’s services. This is what is needed to make a real difference.

We remain committed to providing the additional £1.25 billion investment in mental health services over the next five years, as announced in the Budget 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve tests for Lyme disease to ensure early diagnosis.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England regularly review new tests for Lyme disease and participate in a Europe wide Quality Assurance programme to ensure that the most suitable tests available are used.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the rising cost of motor insurance.

Andrew Jones

A combination of legislative changes and working with stakeholders on reducing the frequency and cost of personal injury claims resulted in a 14% drop in average insurance premiums between 2012 and 2014.

This Government is determined to continue working with the insurance industry to tackle uninsured driving and reduce the cost of motor insurance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the potential costs of cleaning pollutants from SSI property in Redcar.

Rory Stewart

Officials in the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive have been working with the Official Receiver to ensure that the SSI Redcar site is closed down in a safe manner and with minimal impact to the environment and human health. The closure Plan which the Official Receiver is now implementing will deliver a ‘safe state’ position.

Government continues to work closely with all relevant parties to establish the potential costs of cleaning pollutants from the site.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide financial support to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to compensate for the loss in business rates due to closure of the Redcar steel works.

Greg Hands

The Government has announced an £80 million support package for Redcar. We are working with the local Task Force to design a package that will include funding for workers to retrain, support to start their own business, and help for local businesses to grow and create jobs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what advice the Government has received on Government intervention in the steelworks in Redcar and European Community state aid rules; and what discussions his Department has had on this issue.

Anna Soubry

I received advice from Departmental officials on the legality of supporting a steel company in difficulty. The state aid rules on giving rescue and restructuring aid to steel companies are clear and all such interventions are prohibited.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the potential role of ports on Teesside in the decommissioning of offshore oil installations.

Andrea Leadsom

We are setting up the OGA to have a strong role in the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure in the UK Continental Shelf. OGA are developing a decommissioning strategy, working closely with industry and government, to reduce the costs and increase the efficiency of decommissioning, and to encourage technology development. OGA is seeking to develop a more competitive model for decommissioning which stimulates market solutions and innovation. Decommissioning represents opportunities for UK industry to compete for business and I would encourage companies to engage to give themselves the best chance of winning contracts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what transmission charges (KW/hour) are levied by the National Grid on organisations commuting electricity from one place to another for each region of the UK in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Andrea Leadsom

Transmission Network Use of System charges are charged on £/KW basis and include a locational element to reflect the extent to which the transmission system is used to move electricity from where it is generated to the centres of demand. Details of the 2015-16 charges are in National Grid’s charging statement which can be found at this link:

http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Industry-information/System-charges/Electricity-transmission/Transmission-Network-Use-of-System-Charges/Statement-of-Use-of-System-Charges/

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