Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the speed of development of unmanned underwater vehicles on the capability of Trident submarines to evade detection.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The submarines that carry our trident missiles will not be rendered obsolete by new technologies, including developments in unmanned underwater vehicle technology. We dedicate considerable resource to horizon scanning to assess the threats from emerging capabilities and will apply any necessary mitigations throughout the lifetime of both the Vanguard Class and the future Successor Class of nuclear deterrent submarines, to combat these future challenges. We assess that the ocean will remain a complex and challenging environment in which through the conduct of large scale anti-submarine warfare our adversaries may seek to threaten our submarines, despite advancements in technologies.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the effect will be on the pension entitlement of the Deputy Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police of her promotion to acting Chief Constable.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office does not hold information about the personal pension entitlement of any individual police officer.
Arrangements for the pensionable pay of chief officers on temporary promotion to a higher rank are set out in determinations made under the Police Regulations 2003. These state that after 28 days spent performing the duties of a chief constable, a deputy chief constable will be paid either a temporary salary (pensionable) at a rate equivalent to 90% of the higher rank’s basic pay or an honorarium (a non-pensionable payment) of an amount to be determined by the local policing body.
Pensionable pay is taken into account in calculating pension contributions and pension benefits, whereas any non-pensionable payments are not.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the role of chief superintendent for Nottingham at Nottinghamshire Police was removed on 1 May 2016; what consultation was carried out prior to that decision being made; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mike Penning
The decision on the deployment of available resources, including roles for chief superintendents, are operational matters for individual chief constables, working with their police and crime commissioners.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed increase in charges for NHS dentistry on people's ability and inclination to visit a dentist regularly.
Answered by Alistair Burt
In considering the possible impact on patients of the increased charges for 2016/17 and for 2017/18, we concluded that the existing exemptions and Low Income Scheme will protect the most vulnerable, ensuring there should be no significant impact on an individual’s inclination to visit the dentist.Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has (a) invested in and (b) made an assessment of the potential merits of acquiring unmanned underwater vehicles.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.
Specifically for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), the Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels employ a UUV for remote mine-disposal, known as the Seafox mine-disposal system. In addition, the Fleet Diving Squadron employs a small UUV for seabed searches.
It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35297, which officials from which departments attended the meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse; and whether the minutes from previous meetings of that group are made available to hon. Members.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Officials from the Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Communities and Local Government, Ministry of Justice, Department of Health, Department for Culture Media and Sport, and the Attorney General’s Office have attended meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse. Minutes of the meetings are made available to hon. Members who sit on the Inter-Ministerial Group.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which dental practices are trialling the new dental contract.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The attached list provides details of the current 79 dental practices that have signed a prototype agreement. These practices will test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease which includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice on diets and good oral hygiene.
The two practices marked with an asterisk (*) are located in Nottingham.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any of the dental practices trialling the new dental contract are located in (a) Nottingham North constituency, (b) Nottingham City or (c) local dental networks in that area.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The attached list provides details of the current 79 dental practices that have signed a prototype agreement. These practices will test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease which includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice on diets and good oral hygiene.
The two practices marked with an asterisk (*) are located in Nottingham.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34224, when the next meeting of the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse will be; and when procurement for the Centre of Expertise on Sexual Abuse is expected to (a) start and (b) conclude.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by the Home Secretary, meets every two months. The next meeting is due to take place on 17 May. We are working to commence the procurement of the centre of expertise on child sexual abuse as soon as possible. We expect the centre to be launched later this year.
Asked by: Graham Allen (Labour - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is planned that the new national centre of expertise on tackling child sexual abuse will work in connection with the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Tackling child sexual abuse is a top priority for this Government and good progress is being made on delivering the commitments made in “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” - the Government’s response to address on a national scale the failures that had been seen in Rotherham and elsewhere. We are working collaboratively across Whitehall to deliver on our commitments and will publish an update to the “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” report later this year. This will set out our progress to date on what we have achieved in tackling offending, reducing vulnerability and supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It will also set out what future steps the government plans to take.
As part of this work, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, providing a clear mandate for police forces to safeguard children and to share intelligence and best practice. We have also rolled out to all UK police forces Child abuse image database (CAID) which provides law enforcement with effective tools to search seized devices. We have delivered a £7 million uplift in funding over the financial years 2014 - 15 and 2015 - 16 for non statutory organisations which support victims and survivors of sexual abuse and have announced that the same amount will be available in 2016 - 17.
In January this year we launched a new national whistle-blowing helpline, operated by the NSPCC, for any employee who wants to raise a concern about how their organisation is dealing with a concern about a child. The establishment of the Centre of Expertise has formed part of discussions held at the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, and we are currently working towards its procurement. In terms of the Centre working with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Inquiry is independent of Government, but the Government is, and will, continue to fully co-operate with it.