Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent trends in the level of staffing at train stations on provision for disabled passengers.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Disabilities shouldn’t stop people using our railways. Rail staff will always provide face-to-face service for passengers who need additional support. We are committed to transforming accessibility across the UK rail network, moving staff out of underused ticket offices and into the station where they can provide help where it is most needed. We are also undertaking a full accessibility audit across 2,564 stations across Great Britain to help shape future investment in accessible rail travel.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided to support (a) cycling and (b) walking activities in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (ii) north Staffordshire in the last 12 months.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We provide significant support to upper-tier councils to make it easier and safer for people to choose to walk or cycle. In the last year, we’ve given Staffordshire County Council over £595,000 in funding for active travel – it is a matter for them how that is then allocated within the county.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will provide additional support to students from low-income families to help pay for journeys to and from their (a) school and (b) other place of education in the 2022-23 academic year, in the context of the rise in inflation.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s home-to-school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local authorities must provide free home-to-school transport for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. These are known as extended rights. Guidance for local authorities on home-to-school transport is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
Local authorities must also publish a transport policy statement each year that sets out the travel arrangements they consider it necessary to make to support young people of sixth form age to attend post-16 education or training. It is for local authorities to decide on the exact level of post-16 transport support in their area, based on local circumstances and priorities. Some young people may be eligible for support from the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Further information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund.
Most central government funding for home to school transport is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. The LGFS made £54.1 billion available to local authorities in the financial year 2022/23, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This is the largest cash-terms increase in grant funding provided through the settlement in the past 10 years. The Department also provides grant funding to local authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport. This amount is £43.3 million in the 2022/23 financial year.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health care provision in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) North Staffordshire.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. In September we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will increase access to National Health Service mental health services, including in Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire. Ensuring easier access to general practice will expand this route to access mental health services.
Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand NHS mental health services in England, including in Newcastle-under-Lyme and North Staffordshire.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of increasing the period of time for which non-molestation orders can be issued.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Non-molestation orders are civil orders made by the family court to protect victims and their children from the harms of domestic abuse and there is no time limit on the duration of an order.
Non-molestation orders can be made for a specified time or until a further order is made. As non-molestation orders have no statutory minimum or maximum time limit, the duration of each order is at the discretion of the court. The duration of each order will be determined by a number of factors, including, the risks of further domestic abuse, whether the order was made on notice or without notice to the respondent, and whether there has been a follow-up hearing (known as a return hearing).
In practice, these orders are often made for a period of 6-12 months, during which time the order can be varied (including to extend it) or discharged.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with suppliers of One Alpha on the procurement of that product for people with hypoparathyroidism.
Answered by Will Quince
There have been no specific discussions. We are aware of a shortage of the one microgram capsules due to manufacturing delays, which is expected to be resolved in November 2022. There are two alternative suppliers of alfacalcidol one microgram capsules which remain in stock with no anticipated supply issues.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of anti-social behaviour in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (b) North Staffordshire, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in those areas.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community. Last year the Beating Crime Plan laid out the Government’s plan for tackling crime and ASB and committed to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’.
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides a range of flexible tools and powers to local agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour. Local areas decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances. The Office for National Statistics annually publishes anti-social behaviour incidents reported to the police by Police Force Area and no further lower level breakdown is currently available.
Police recorded ASB incidents for the West Midlands were on a steady decline pre-Covid-19 with a 40% fall in 2019-20 when compared with 2016-17. The overall number of ASB incidents in England & Wales also fell (24%) pre-Covid-19 but to a lesser degree than in West Midlands. The year to March 2022 reports a drop in ASB incidents for both England & Wales (-6%) and West Midlands (-17%) when compared to the 2019-20 (pre-Covid-19) period.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP appointments were held face-to-face in North Staffordshire in (a) 2019 and (b) 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
This information is not collected in the format requested. However, in the 12 months to August 2022, there were 5.82 million general practice appointments in the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System area, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations. Of these, 64.7% were conducted face to face.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with international counterparts on improving data sharing between international vehicle registration databases.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Transport officials engage with a range of international counterparts on issues including data sharing between international vehicle registration databases, both in the context of wider negotiations and in response to specific queries from international partners.
While it would not be appropriate to comment on the details of these conversations, the UK is committed to honouring its international obligations.
The Secretary of State for Transport has not been involved directly in discussions on this matter.
Asked by: Aaron Bell (Conservative - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road traffic collisions foreign HGV drivers have been involved in the last 10 years on UK roads.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The information requested is not available as the Department’s reported road collisions statistics are not broken down by nationality of driver.