Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution that fully implementing the Somerset Flood Action Plan will have on (a) road and rail transport resilience and (b) the resilience of the Hinckley Point C nuclear construction project.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Recent computer modelling has been carried out to assess the benefits of some of the works carried out under the Somerset Flood Action Plan. This indicates that, in a repeat of the weather seen in Winter 2013/14, closure of the A361 would be reduced to about three weeks instead of the nine to ten weeks in 2013/14, and the impact on the rail line from Bristol to Taunton across Northmoor would be reduced.
In terms of Hinkley C site development, licensed nuclear site operators are responsible for undertaking flood risk assessments and providing and maintaining control measures to ensure their sites remain safe from faults and damage arising from flooding. In addition Local Authorities must ensure that their off-site plan for a nuclear emergency is resilient to a range of weather conditions (e.g. those leading to, or involving, flooding or heavy snow).
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of extending rail electrification from Bristol to Taunton.
Answered by Claire Perry
No such assessment has been made. Network Rail is currently assessing the case for further electrification of the rail network. It plans to publish a draft update to the industry electrification strategy in early 2016, taking into account the outcome of the review by Sir Peter Hendy of Network Rail’s programme of rail investment.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase investment in rail infrastructure and services to provide additional public transport support for construction of Hinckley Point C nuclear power station.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has provided £2.8m funding to Somerset Council to upgrade transport links before construction begins. It will help guide the Council on the development of business cases for road, rail and public transport changes and on bidding for funding to support this, including seeking an appropriate contribution from third parties.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial counterparts on ensuring that road and rail links through Somerset are protected by stronger flood defences and mitigation measures.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department for Transport continues to meet regularly with Somerset County Council to discuss a number of issues related to transport, including resilience. The Minister with responsibility for roads, my Hon Friend, the Hon Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), recently sent a letter to all local highway authorities in England with respect to this including reminding councils of their duties in respect to clearing drains and gullies to prevent the risk of surface water flooding on the local road network . In addition the Department for Transport provided over £22 million, as part of the Government response to the flood events of 2013/14 and the Somerset Flood Action Plan. This funding helped in raising the main road into Muchelney and also installing four culverts at Beer Wall to reduce the risks of flooding and local communities being cut-off in the future.
Following flooding incidents in 2012-14,Network Rail iscurrently implementing a £31million package of schemes to improve the resilience of the Great Western route through the Thames Valley and the West of England. Work has already been completed at Whiteball Tunnel, near Taunton.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Hinckley Point C nuclear power station project is served by a road and rail network resilient to climate change.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has provided £2.8m funding to Somerset Council to upgrade transport links before construction begins. It will help guide the Council on the development of business cases for road, rail and public transport changes and on bidding for funding to support this, including seeking an appropriate contribution from third parties.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sixth form colleges provide students with a high quality education.
Answered by Nick Boles
We are introducing reforms to ensure that sixth form colleges are providing high quality academic and technical education. We are reforming A levels and technical qualifications to ensure that young people are gaining the skills and knowledge they need to progress into employment, apprenticeships or further study.
We want A levels and technical qualifications to be robust and rigorous, so that they match the best education systems in the world and keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. A levels are therefore being reviewed to ensure that the qualifications equip students for higher education and to make them linear (i.e. with the exam at the end of two years), allowing more time for teaching and learning. In addition, all technical qualifications approved for inclusion in 16-19 performance tables now meet rigorous standards and are backed by employers.
The government has recently announced an ambitious plan for reforming technical and professional education which will simplify the skills system and work with employers to ensure that young people develop the skills most needed for the economy. To deliver the reforms, the Government will work closely with an independent panel, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of ancient woodland is located within (a) national parks and (b) areas of outstanding natural beauty; and what proportion of that woodland has site of special scientific interest status.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Natural England estimates that 15% of ancient woodlandis located within national parks and 30% is located within areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs). In national parks, 29%of this woodland has site of special scientific interest (SSSI) status; in AONBs, 13% of this woodland has SSSI status.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve diabetes (a) care and (b) prevention; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Preventing diabetes and promoting the best possible care for people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government. The NHS Five Year Forward View set out a commitment to implement a National NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. This will provide lifestyle interventions for people at increased risk of type 2 diabetes to reduce their possibility of developing this condition. We are building on this programme to improve the outcomes of people with and at risk of diabetes.
For those who already have diabetes, delivery of the care processes continues to be incentivised through the Quality Outcomes Framework. It is up to individual general practitioner (GP) practices, working with their local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), to assess their own performance and take action where necessary.
We have increased transparency through the creation of an online tool which highlights variation in the prevalence and treatment of diabetes. The link can be found below:
http://healthierlives.phe.org.uk/
In addition, the CCG outcomes indicator set provides clear, comparative information for CCGs, Health and Wellbeing Boards, local authorities, patients and the public about the quality of health services commissioned by CCGs and the associated health outcomes. Through publicly sharing this information, CCGs and GP practices can see how they compare with their peers and take action where they need to improve.