Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate has been made of how many rooms on the Parliamentary estate are not wheelchair accessible.
Answered by Tom Brake
The historic nature of the parliamentary estate means that newer buildings are more accessible than the older buildings for wheelchair users and people who need step-free access. While no estimate can be given of the number of rooms, those in Portcullis House and certain of the outbuildings have greater accessibility than the Palace and Norman Shaw buildings. Improving accessibility is being addressed as part of the Restoration and Renewal and Northern Estate Programmes, as well as the ongoing work across the estate.
Step-free access, as well as other access requirements, are a priority for the Commission. This year, we participated in the Business Disability Forum’s Disability Standard, which measures organisations against 10 criteria, including premises and adjustments. We increased our score from 42% in 2013 to 83%, achieving Silver accreditation. We have upgraded our membership of the BDF to Partner member, in order to make faster progress in becoming a ‘disability-smart’ organisation.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner escapes there were in (a) England and (b) Cumbria in each of the last six years.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The number of escapes for each prison in England and Wales is published annually on gov.uk.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full-time prison officers were employed in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Copeland constituency in each of the last six years.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Information on the full time equivalent staff in post in in HMP Haverigg, the only prison in Cumbria, is contained in the table below. Information on the number of prison officers in England is published regularly on gov.uk.
Full Time Equivalent Band 3-5 Prison Officers in Post at HMP Haverigg - 31 March 2011 to 2016
Date | Haverigg |
31/03/2011 | 134 |
31/03/2012 | 131 |
31/03/2013 | 113 |
31/03/2014 | 103 |
31/03/2015 | 111 |
31/03/2016 | 130 |
Safe prisons are fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system. Our dedicated prison officers, who support tens of thousands of prisoners every day, are vital to the safe running of our prisons. We have recruited 2,900 staff over the last 12 months and are taking significant action to make sure we have appropriate staffing levels. As the Justice Secretary announced today, we will be investing in an additional 2,500 prison officers across the prison estate.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what estimate she has made of the proportion of professional people working in STEM-related industries that are female.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
According to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), there were 1.26 million people employed as “science, research, engineering and technology professionals” in April 2016; and of this 1.26 million, 227,000 are female (18%).
This data is published by the Office for National Statistics at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2016provisionalresults
The Government is committed to increasing the number of women working at all levels in the STEM industries. That is why we are supporting girls to choose STEM subjects and careers by improving the quality of teaching of STEM subjects, increasing the proportion of girls’ A-level entries in maths and science. We are also raising awareness of STEM careers through the STEM ambassadors and publishing ‘Your Daughter’s Future’, online guidance to help parents support their daughter’s career choices.
The 2015/16 provisional results show that 12,000 more girls sat A-Levels in STEM subjects compared to 2010.
This data is published by the Department for Education at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-2015-to-2016-provisional
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on the physical and mental health of rail users of overcrowding on trains.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not undertake any specific assessment of the effect on the physical and mental health of rail users of overcrowding on trains. The Department recognises the need to create more capacity on the network, to relieve the overcrowding and provide a better traveling environment for passengers across the country. Recent commitments include an overall capacity boost of nearly 70% across the Trans Pennine Express franchise region during the morning peak, and nearly a 40% increase in capacity for passengers travelling into the 5 major commuter cities served by the Northern franchise (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle) during the morning rush-hour. The Northern franchise will also provide more services and more space on the Cumbrian Coast line, with timetable improvements to benefit workers at Sellafield and Whitehaven.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is on track to meet the UK target under the Climate Change Act 2008 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent from the 1990 baseline by 2050.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government remains committed to tackling climate change and to the UK’s Climate Change Act. Climate change remains one of the most serious long-term risks to our economic and national security. We have already made good progress towards our goal, with the first carbon budget covering 2008 to 2012 being met. Provisional statistics indicate that UK emissions in 2015 were 38% lower than in 1990, and 3% below those in 2014.
We are looking ahead to our emissions reduction plan which will set out how we will reduce emissions through the 2020s, keeping us on track for our 2050 target.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage commuters to use carbon-free public transport in (a) England and (b) Cumbria.
Answered by Andrew Jones
We are taking a series of measures to help commuters and others use carbon free transport, and will continue to promote public transport choices, supporting the market for innovative forms of transport and encourage a move to cleaner and lower carbon vehicles.
By improving the whole journey, how each part connects and how to better integrate those parts, more people will have the choice to use greener transport for their journeys. For instance, the £30m Low Emission Bus Scheme will be funding over 320 Low Emission Buses in England over the period 2016-19. Furthermore, with the help of nearly £30m Government funding, we have trebled the number of cycle parking spaces at stations since 2010. We are spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support ultra low emission vehicles including significant funding to support the introduction of ultra low emission taxis.
Cumbria County Council were allocated £4.89m from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for 2011 to 2015 and just under £1m for 2015-16 to deliver high quality transport and connectivity improvements from key transport gateways in Cumbria to major visitor destinations. The Growth Deal agreed between Government and Cumbria LEP in July 2014 contained over £12m of funding for five projects that promote the use of sustainable transport, which included improved access to rail stations at Maryport and Workington, along with new cycling and walking infrastructure in Carlisle, Kendal and at key visitor attractions in the National Park.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will visit Keswick to meet the Keswick Flood Action Group, the Keswick Town Council and the hon. Member for Copeland to discuss flood prevention.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I visited Keswick on 9 August 2016 and met members of the Keswick Flood Action Group. I saw and heard about both the impact of the winter floods and the programme of work on flooding prevention and resilience enhancement.
I do not have another visit scheduled but I would be glad to meet the hon. Member for Copeland and Keswick representatives next time. Meanwhile, I am keen to support the good work that the Cumbria Flood Partnership and all local parties are doing on flood prevention and preparedness for the coming winter.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to distribute money awarded by the European Solidarity Fund to flood-affected communities in the event that funds are awarded.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Government will determine how best to use any additional benefit received from the European Union Solidarity Fund once the amount of any award is known.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has given NHS trusts on the use of Office for National Statistics population projections for service planning.
Answered by David Mowat
It is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission services to meet the needs of their populations, which will include services provided by National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in most instances.
The NHS Operational Planning and Contractual Guidance (authored by NHS England and NHS Improvement) provides guidance for CCGs to help commissioning. The Department would expect commissioners to take a range of information into account including population projections.
A copy of the NHS Operational Planning and Contractual Guidance can be found at the following address: