Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has plans to provide covid-19 vaccinations for British Nationals that are working overseas under defence infrastructure organisation contracts as part of the vaccination programme for armed forces personnel at UK sovereign bases.
Answered by James Heappey
COVID-19 vaccinations have been and will be offered to eligible UK Defence contractors across our overseas network, in line with UK timelines.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that residents living in Elmet and Rothwell constituency are able to access a NHS dentist.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement, the Chief Dental Officer for England and the British Dental Association to increase levels of service, as fast as is safely possible. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through a National Health Service dental practice, they are advised to call NHS 111 who will assist in booking an appointment at one of over 100 designated urgent care centres, which continue to stay open across Yorkshire.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether low-income parents or guardians of a child who has been instructed to self-isolate by their school will be eligible to apply for the covid-19 £500 Test and Trace Support payment.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is for people on low incomes who have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app, either because they have tested positive or because they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive. We have worked closely with local authorities to monitor the effectiveness of the scheme and have listened to feedback from charities and support groups. We are now extending the scheme to summer 2021 and expanding eligibility to cover parents and guardians who have to take time off work to care for a child who is self-isolating.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department has made available to organisations that provide support to victims of (a) domestic violence and (b) sexual abuse based in the Leeds area in each of the last three years; and if he will increase that funding in response to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
MoJ does not hold specific funding data for Leeds, as funding for local support services for victims of crime is provided to West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner covering all of West Yorkshire.
In the last three years, the funding provided to West Yorkshire PCC by the Ministry of Justice for local support services for victims of crime, including Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence is as follows:
Financial Year | Funding Allocation |
2018/19 | £2,672,833 |
2019/20 | £2,664,803 |
2020/21 | £2,712,200 |
In the last three years, the funding provided through the Ministry of Justice Rape Support Fund to rape support centres in West Yorkshire is as follows:
Financial Year | Funding Allocation |
2018/19 | £250,532 |
2019/20 | £389,005 |
2020/21 | £906,772 (inc. £323,264 COVID-19 funding) |
In 2020/21 MoJ provided an additional £770,000 in emergency COVID-19 funding to West Yorkshire PCC to provide additional support for domestic abuse and sexual violence service providers to maintain support during the pandemic.
On 1st February 2021, in addition to the core funding for local commissioning of support services for victims of crime, the Government announced a further £40m for victims’ services. This funding will include £11 million for local community-based sexual violence services and £9.7 million for domestic abuse services. It also includes £16m to expand further the availability of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers. We are in the process of agreeing the core and additional allocations for 2021-22 that all local areas will receive.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department is making on delivering superfast broadband to homes and businesses located in remote, rural areas in Elmet and Rothwell constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
We have achieved 97.55% superfast broadband coverage in the Elmet and Rothwell constituency as a whole which is above the UK and National average. This has increased more than 5% in the last 3 years.
We are, however, not resting on our laurels and have a project running in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to utilise the latest Fixed Wireless technology to further improve Gigabit broadband connectivity across the West Yorkshire region including 100 additional postcodes in the constituency.
Ultrafast (100Mbps) coverage is now at 68.87% in the Constituency and Gigabit coverage (1,000MBps) is now at 66.34%, both of which are also above the National average. This time last year Gigabit coverage in the constituency was just 11.8% so we have seen a rapid increase of the latest broadband technology in 12 months. (Source: https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/E14000689)
For Constituents in your rural areas we would draw your attention to the UK Government Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which offers vouchers of up to £1,500 for Residents (as part of a Community Scheme) and up to £3,500 for SME’s. This is to enable them to upgrade to the latest technology.https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 99590 tabled by the hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell on 6 October 2020.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hon. Member’s question will be answered as soon as possible.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps with Ofgem to amend the emerging RIIO-ED2 framework so that Distribution Network Operators are encouraged to optimise voltage in the electricity network.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The price control is a matter for the independent regulator, Ofgem.
Ofgem sets the price control with incentives to ensure Distribution Network Operators operate their networks in the most efficient manner. Ofgem have also used innovation funding to support trials and roll out of new technologies enabling Distribution Network Operators to manage voltage levels on the network to optimise system efficiency and drive down customer bills.
The independent Electricity Engineering Standards Review, jointly commissioned by Government and Ofgem, is looking at how the planning and operational engineering standards should be updated to reflect our changing electricity system. This includes considering future changes to voltage limits set out in the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to support innovative projects in the energy market to use smart meter readings to send signals to automatic voltage control devices in the primary electricity network to optimise the voltage for customers.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government welcomes innovations that can improve the quality of supply to consumers and demonstrate value for money, including the safe use of active control of voltage levels.
The Government offers support to companies seeking to bring innovative technologies to market which can help drive the transition to net zero emissions by 2050, through competitive innovation funding grants such as the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund competition. Innovation support schemes are also offered by InnovateUK and Ofgem.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) subject and (b) outcomes for each trial of a new medical device developed for the UK market since 1 January 2006.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently bound by the European Union Regulations, the Medical Devices and the In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices Regulations, and its transparency provisions and therefore cannot currently publish information relating to approved clinical investigations from 1 January 2006.
The Medicines and Medical Devices Bill currently going through parliament will give the MHRA the power to update and amend the legislative frameworks that governs human medicines, medical devices and veterinary medicines. These powers will also enable transparency to support patient safety work. Clinical investigations work will be part of these future considerations.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of air sanitisation and UV-C sterilisation units on reducing the spread of covid-19 in confined public spaces.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) has made no assessment of the effectiveness of air sanitisation and ultraviolet C (UV-C) sterilisation units on reducing the spread of COVID-19 in confined public spaces.
PHE is liaising with national and international partners on the effectiveness of UV-C for inactivating SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.
PHE will continue to review the emerging evidence.