Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in Stoke-on-Trent were built under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract with Transform Schools (Stoke) Limited.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Stoke Local Authority school private finance initiative (PFI) contract was signed in the year 2000 and covers 88 schools in the area. The contracts were commonplace from 1998 to 2009. The department recognises that some schools with PFI contracts face higher costs.
From the information provided by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the department understands that the 13 schools listed in the attached PDF were built under the PFI contract with Transform Schools (Stoke) Limited (TSSL). The department is also aware that other schools covered by the same contract received various levels of refurbishment. Stoke-on-Trent City Council will hold the detail relating to this.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in Stoke-on-Trent are included in the PFI contract with Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Stoke Local Authority school private finance initiative (PFI) contract was signed in the year 2000 and covers 88 schools in the area. The contracts were commonplace from 1998 to 2009. The department recognises that some schools with PFI contracts face higher costs.
Information on the Stoke-on-Trent schools in the PFI contract with Transform Schools (Stoke) Limited was provided by the local authority and can be found in the attached PDF.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on ensuring that every school in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) Talke has a defibrillator.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
On 17 July 2022, the department announced that it would be ensuring all state-funded schools in England had access to an automated external defibrillator (AEDs).
In July 2023, the department confirmed that the defibrillator programme had successfully completed the rollout of over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to this life saving first-aid equipment. This includes schools in Stoke-on-Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke.
More information about this programme is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-of-children-get-access-to-life-saving-defibrillators.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding the Government has given to (a) schools in Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd in relation to the PFI contract between Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Stoke Local Authority school private finance initiative (PFI) contract was signed in the year 2000 and covers 88 schools in the area. The contracts were commonplace from 1998 to 2009. The department recognises that some schools with PFI contracts face higher costs.
No payments are made by the department directly to Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd in relation to the Stoke PFI contract. All payments under this PFI contract to Transform Schools (Stoke) Ltd are made by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
Departmental funding for the Stoke PFI contract is sent via other organisations, rather than directly to schools, and for each of the last ten years is set out in the table attached.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress his Department has made on ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As a result of the range of measures put in place to stop the boats, reform the management of the asylum accommodation estate, and deliver alternative forms of accommodation sites, we have successfully met our ministerial commitment of closing over 50 hotels in January 2024.
We continue to work with our providers on closing further hotels across the estate and will write to local authorities and MPs when a decision to close a site has been made.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing financial incentives for businesses to manufacture medicines in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2021, the Government’s Life Sciences Vision set out our ambition to create a globally competitive environment for Life Sciences manufacturing investments. To help meet these ambitions, the Government has launched three capital grant schemes, with up to £118 million of grant funding allocated. To date, these schemes have delivered £416 million of public and private investment and helped create or secure over 1,400 jobs. We anticipate announcing the next round of grant recipients over spring 2024.
In 2023, the Government announced a further £520 million of funding for Life Sciences manufacturing. This funding, available from 2025 over five years, will help to ensure that the United Kingdom remains a world leading location for Life Sciences manufacturing investments.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying junior doctors' student loans if they (a) remain in the UK and (b) take up a registrar post.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Government currently has no plans to introduce such arrangements, it is committed to financially supporting healthcare students in England throughout their studies and keeps funding arrangements under review. In doing this, we must strike a balance between ensuring students are financially supported during their studies and making best use of money for the taxpayer.
Data from the General Medical Council shows that approximately 7% of doctors do not hold a licence to practice five years after Foundation year 2 in England, which is equivalent to around 450 doctors.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress he has made on ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers in Stoke-on-Trent.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are making significant progress in closing hotels, with 50 due to be closed by the end of January, and more in the coming months.
We are also working hard to move asylum seekers into alternative, cheaper accommodation and have successfully cleared the legacy backlog by deciding more than 112,000 cases, while maintaining the integrity of the system.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he had with his counterparts in (a) Turkey and (b) India on tackling illegal migration from those countries.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Tackling illegal migration is a top priority for this government and we continue to engage with all partners on this issue.
We have a close partnership with the government of Turkey when it comes to combatting this shared problem and discuss a number of challenges with them, including how we can continue to work together to effectively tackle Organised Immigration Crime.
We also have a close and continuous relationship with the government of India on this matter and on 13 November, the Home Secretary met the Indian External Affairs Minister to discuss joint working to tackle Illegal Migration, as well as the secondary legislation currently going through parliament to designate India as a safe country, to strengthen the immigration system and help prevent abuse, including by people making unfounded protection claims.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on reports that the Israeli Defense Forces (a) arrested Hamas terrorists responsible for the killings on 7 October 2023, (b) destroyed Hamas infrastructure and (c) recovered weapons in Jabalya.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have been in close contact with their Israeli counterparts since the outbreak of the conflict and routinely discuss the progress of Israel's actions in Gaza in their engagements. They have made clear their strong support to Israel to restore its security and remove the threat of Hamas, while reiterating that its military operations must be conducted in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.