Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress she has made on increasing the number of tests carried out at community diagnostic centres.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
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 job losses at the Alstom manufacturing plant in Derby on (a) future rolling stock competitions, (b) value for money in procurement and (c) businesses in the supply chain supporting the plant.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
We are in close discussion with Alstom about its plans for the future of its Derby site and about the potential for redundancies among its workforce. While any decision about the future of the Derby site is ultimately for Alstom, we are giving careful consideration to the potential impacts of this on future rolling stock competitions, our ability to secure value for money through procurements, and on businesses within the rail supply chain supporting the plant, as well as the implications for the local economy and employment. My officials are also leading a cross Whitehall task force to develop appropriate mitigation plans in the event of redundancies.
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the implications for her polices of the planned installation of a (a) sub-sea electricity generation and (b) storage connection between the UK and Morocco by 2030.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is interested in the Xlinks UK-Morocco Power Project, which is a proposed large scale onshore wind, solar and battery storage site in Morocco that would exclusively supply renewable power to the GB grid via high voltage direct current subsea cables.
The Government recognises the potential of the project and is now developing an Outline Business Case, which is a more detailed phase of evaluating – without commitment – the viability and merits of the project and how it could contribute to the UK’s energy security.
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent progress his Department has made on the proposed Xlinks renewable energy interlink with Morocco.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is interested in the Xlinks project and has established a dedicated team within the department to consider – without commitment – the viability and merits of the proposal to understand how it could contribute to the UK’s energy security.
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prudential Regulation Authority's Consultation, CP 16/22, on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact of the SME lending proposals on banks based in the (a) EU and (b) UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is currently consulting on its proposals for Basel 3.1. This includes its proposals for deleting retained EU law including that which relates to the prudential rules on secured and unsecured SME lending. The detailed implementation of the Basel package however, has been delegated to the UK’s expert regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA is also consulting and has requested information from firms on specific measures including those relating to SME lending.
The Government continues to work with the PRA and businesses closely to understand the impact of the proposed changes, including for competitiveness with the EU and the impact on SME lending. This includes monitoring the EU’s proposals, which also have not yet been finalised.
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prudential Regulation Authority Consultation CP 16/22 on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposals for SME lending on the balance of risk on (a) secured and (b) unsecured loans.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is currently consulting on its proposals for Basel 3.1. This includes its proposals for deleting retained EU law including that which relates to the prudential rules on secured and unsecured SME lending. The detailed implementation of the Basel package however, has been delegated to the UK’s expert regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA is also consulting and has requested information from firms on specific measures including those relating to SME lending.
The Government continues to work with the PRA and businesses closely to understand the impact of the proposed changes, including for competitiveness with the EU and the impact on SME lending. This includes monitoring the EU’s proposals, which also have not yet been finalised.
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans she has to expand the UK’s trade and investment relationship with Taiwan.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer my hon. Friend for South Derbyshire to the answer I gave to my Rt hon. Friend for Haltemprice and Howden on 14 June 2021, UIN: 12938
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women were known to be pregnant while on remand or serving a sentence in HMP Foston Hall in each quarter from 31 March 2015 to 30 September 2020 (a) in total and (b) by ethnicity.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
HMPPS does not collect or hold centrally, quality assured data in the form requested.
However, as part of our fundamental review of policy relating to pregnancy, Mother and Baby Units and women experiencing separation from children up to two in prison, we have committed to providing national pregnancy data in the future. We expect to complete this review this summer. Further information on the review, including our findings and resulting reforms regarding data collection, can be found in our summary report published in July 2020: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905559/summary-report-of-review-of-policy-on-mbu.pdf
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
What steps he is taking to improve the quality of civil service apprenticeships.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Civil Service will be launching a new Apprenticeships Strategy in the new financial year. The first phase will have delivered 30,000 apprenticeships by April. In this strategy we will focus not just on numbers but on the quality of training on offer to ensure that departments are better equipped to nurture talent in house and in plugging skills gaps
To this end, we recently published the "Curriculum and Campus for Government Skills", with the goal of setting the highest standard in vocational training for all Civil Servants, including apprentices.
Asked by: Heather Wheeler (Conservative - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the relative competitiveness of the UK automotive industry.
Answered by Anna Soubry
In November last year the Automotive Council published a comprehensive report called The International Competitiveness of the UK Automotive Industry.
The report is intended to illustrate where the UK has a competitive advantage over other countries, and to identify where additional attention from government and industry is needed. It will assist the Automotive Council in ensuring it focuses its resources on the areas that will offer the greatest return for the UK automotive sector, and in ensuring that the UK remains one of the most attractive places for investment.