Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times in ambulance and emergency departments in Yorkshire.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services sets out the range of measures being taken to reduce ambulance and emergency department waiting times, including in Yorkshire.
Backed by £1 billion of dedicated funding, we delivered 5,000 additional core hospital beds in 2023/24 and will maintain this capacity expansion in 2024/25. Ambulance trusts received £200 million of additional funding in 2023/24 to increase deployed hours and reduce response times, which will also be maintained this year.
Since we published our plan there have been significant improvements in emergency care performance, including in Yorkshire. In 2023/24, average Category 2 ambulance response times in Yorkshire were over nine minutes faster compared to the previous year, a reduction of 23%, and performance against the four-hour standard for accident and emergency care improved in each integrated care board area in Yorkshire.
The NHS Planning Guidance, published in March, commits to further improvements in emergency care performance in 2024/25, with more information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/operational-planning-and-contracting/
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on ensuring that the concerns of objectors are considered during the development of new onshore wind projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises there are a range of views on onshore wind, which is why we have ensured community views must be considered. In September 2023, the Government made changes to planning rules in England to ensure that the planning impacts identified by the affected local community are appropriately addressed and the proposal has community support.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's timescales are for (a) the completion of repairs to the Ouse bridge on the M62 near Goole, (b) the removal of the temporary speed limit and (c) the full reopening of all lanes to traffic in both directions in that area.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways are due to complete repairs on the Ouse bridge by September 2024 when the temporary speed limit will be lifted, and all lanes opened to traffic in both directions. Whilst there will be some residual work after all the lanes open, it will not impact road users.