Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What progress the Government has made through international co-operation on tackling climate change.
Answered by James Duddridge
The G7 Leaders Summit was a critical point as we work towards COP26 in Glasgow later this year. The G7 collectively committed to achieve net zero no later than 2050, and to halve our collective emissions and protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What steps his Department is taking to support victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Domestic abuse is a top priority across Government, and we are determined to transform the response to this abhorrent crime.
We passed our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill on 29 April and our forthcoming Victims’ Bill will further transform victims’ experience of the criminal justice system and we have provided unprecedented funding for domestic abuse since the pandemic began, including £51m boost for specialist support services to support victims through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the estimated timeline is for the covid-19 vaccination programme to work through each priority level; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
To increase transparency and accountability on vaccine targets, comprehensive data is published daily and weekly to track progress with the vaccination roll out. This data is available at the following link:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
On 20 February we set new targets for the acceleration of the vaccination programme to offer all adults over 50 years old a first dose by mid-April, covering priority cohorts one to nine and the rest of the adult population by the end of July. We are on track to meet those targets.
There is no specific daily United Kingdom wide daily target for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The UK COVID 19 Delivery Plan includes an estimate of the population numbers who need to be vaccinated by mid-April and the end of July and is available at the following link:
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the clinically extremely vulnerable (a) are a priority for and (b) have safe access to a covid-19 mass vaccination programme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to the priority groups including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old and health and care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and individuals aged 16 to 64 years old with certain underlying health conditions. Those conditions are set out in the advice of the JCVI published on 30 December at the following link:
Consideration has been given to vaccination of household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals. However, at this time there is no data on the size of the effect of COVID-19 vaccines on transmission. Evidence is expected to accrue during the course of the vaccine programme, and until that time the committee is not in a position to advise vaccination solely on the basis of indirect protection.
By 15 February we aim to have offered a first vaccine dose to everyone in the top four priority groups identified by the JCVI:
- all residents in a care home for older adults and their carers;
- all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers;
- all those 75 years of age and over; and
- all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What progress the Government has made through international co-operation on tackling climate change.
Answered by James Duddridge
Climate is a priority for the FCDO. The Foreign Secretary and FCDO Ministers raise climate change in their international engagements. Teams are engaging and influencing countries across the globe. We deploy ODA effectively for climate outcomes.
In December the UK co-hosted the Climate Ambition Summit at which 75 leaders came forward with ambitious, new commitments around climate action.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
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 effectiveness of the 111 clinical assessment service for users; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The clinical assessment services that support NHS 111 ensure that callers are given the appropriate self-care advice, treatment or referral to another service.
Each clinical assessment service is locally commissioned and locally provided, and their clinical and operational effectiveness is subject to constant review by clinical commissioning groups.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the supply of the Pfizer vaccine in the event that the transition period ends without a deal on the future relationship with the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The UK has put in place a number of measures to facilitate trade with the EU beyond the end of the transition period and to avoid any adverse impact to vaccine supply beyond 1 January 2021.
The Government has worked with COVID-19 vaccine suppliers to support them with robust contingency plans.
If necessary, we will use alternative supply routes and Government procured freight capacity, in line with current Government advice.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on his approval of the Sussex IFCA by-laws; what his timeframe is for that approval; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) Nearshore Trawling Byelaw and the Netting Byelaw have both been submitted to Defra requesting final approval.
Defra is currently reviewing the full byelaw package for both byelaws, including reviewing evidence in the impact assessment and results of the byelaw consultation, in accordance with our statutory guidance.
No decision has yet been taken by the Department on whether to confirm either Byelaw. An update will be provided when the final Defra consideration process is concluded.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Channel Nitrogen Oxide Emissions Control Order Area on particulate matter emissions in (a) the Channel, (b) East Sussex and (c) Eastbourne; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The English Channel and North Sea will become a Nitrogen Oxide Emissions Control Area from 1 Jan 2021, applying the highest level of internationally agreed NOx controls for ships built after that date in the region – termed IMO Tier III.
The Department undertook extensive modelling of the likely impacts on UK air quality in support of the designation of the area in 2016, and the impact of the measure will be kept under review through the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.
While specific reductions for regions have not been analysed, on a per-ship basis the new standards will represent an 80% reduction in NOx emissions from existing Tier I vessels, with significant reductions in secondary particulate matter formation expected.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
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 potential merits of community pharmacies assisting with the roll-out of covid-19 vaccinations to ensure (a) timeliness and (b) safe access to vaccinations for the clinically extremely vulnerable; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The National Health Service stands ready to deliver each COVID-19 vaccination programme as soon as the vaccine is authorised for use by the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The?planning?for?effective models of delivery includes?the consideration of settings?such as community pharmacies to support rollout.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Programme is engaging with senior pharmacy sector representatives from the Department, NHS England, and NHS Improvement regarding the community pharmacy sector’s role in the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.