Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to ensure that non-domestic properties used by community groups and clubs can become more energy efficient.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government has a range of policies aimed at improving the energy efficiency of non-domestic properties such as those used by community groups and clubs.
Where the community buildings are owned by the public sector, they are eligible for energy efficiency reduction funding through the Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme. The capital pot for England stands at £385 million by the end of 2020/21. This funding, managed by Salix Finance, has delivered over 17,000 projects, significantly improving energy performance in the public sector. There is also the rural community energy fund which supports local communities in developing and designing energy projects locally. These projects can include community and club buildings.
We have also put in place minimum energy efficiency standards in the non-domestic rental sector. The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 require landlords of non-domestic properties to improve their building’s energy performance to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E. We consulted in October 2019 on raising the minimum standard to an EPC B by 2030, where cost effective. This is expected to cover up to 85% of properties in the non-domestic rental sector.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on referrals for brain tumours; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Health Service is now working on the restoration and recovery of all cancer services. We are encouraging anybody with symptoms that could be indicative of cancer to contact their general practitioner (GP). GPs will continue to refer on to cancer pathways in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance so that patients can be managed appropriately. Cancer Alliances are working with the NHS to ensure diagnostic services are available to carry out necessary investigations.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department have made on rolling out the CARE brand.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In April 2020, the CARE brand was transferred to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from the CARE Badge Community Interest Company.
When this transfer took place, the Government purchased the remaining stock of badges held by the previous brand owner. These were distributed at no cost to social care providers or members of the workforce. Additional badges have been procured and we expect to be able to start delivering them in July.
We also launched the CARE app on 6 May, which provides the social care workforce with advice, guidance, and mental health and wellbeing support, amongst other things, during this difficult time.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of properties have access to superfast broadband in North East Derbyshire constituency.
Answered by Matt Warman
According to the independent body Thinkbroadband, currently 96.39% of premises in North East Derbyshire constituency have access to superfast broadband - up from 37% in 2013. 26.6% of premises have access to gigabit broadband. Only 1% of premises in North East Derbyshire constituency have access to less than 2Mbps.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on improving the home buying and selling process since his Department's consultation on that topic closed in December 2017.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We have worked with industry on a range of measures to make the process quicker, cheaper and less stressful. For example, we published "how to " guides to lead consumers through the process, ensured estate agent referral fees are transparent, set an 10 day turnaround for searches and started work to test reservation agreements which will increase commitment between buyers and sellers.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce on-street parking congestion on public roads in residential areas.
Answered by George Freeman
The responsibility for traffic management on local roads rests with the relevant local authority, as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be met effectively. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide on the nature and scope of their on-street parking policies and to balance the needs of residents, emergency services, local businesses and those who work in and visit the areas.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the safety of smart motorways compared with that of motorways with a hard shoulder.
Answered by George Freeman
The Secretary of State announced on 24 October that the Department for Transport will carry out an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about smart motorway safety. This will include assessing the safety performance of smart motorways and conventional motorways with a hard shoulder.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on negotiations with Vertex Pharmaceuticals on access to Orkambi and Symkevi in England.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
NHS England and NHS Improvement have been leading negotiations with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and have made a revised and improved offer to Vertex that would provide immediate funding for Orkambi and Symkevi in advance of a positive assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This would be in addition to expanded access to Kalydeco which is already funded by the National Health Service for certain patients. However, Vertex has refused to engage with the NICE process and is yet to accept the NHS England and NHS Improvement offer.
The Government fully supports NICE and NHS England and NHS Improvement in seeking to ensure access for patients to effective and innovative medicines at a price that represents value to the NHS, and it is not for Ministers to intervene in this process. The Department’s approach remains to strongly urge Vertex to accept NHS England and NHS Improvement’s generous offer, but in the absence of a deal, we have asked NHS England and NHS Improvement to continue to explore all options to ensure patients can access treatments as soon as possible.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will be meeting the Chief Executive of Vertex again in the coming weeks to discuss what the barriers are to an agreement and how the situation can be resolved.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of journeys made from Dronfield train station to Manchester Piccadilly train station in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.
Total number of station entries and exits, 2017-18 financial year
Station name | Entries and exits |
Dronfield | 202,622 |
Manchester Oxford Road | 8,558,308 |
Liverpool Lime Street | 16,032,460 |
Manchester Piccadilly | 27,724,962 |
Additional years are available at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of journeys made from Dronfield train station to Liverpool Lime Street train station in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Passenger demand flows between specific stations and on specific routes are not publicly available as this data is commercially sensitive. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish data on the estimates of the total number of passengers entering and exiting each station in Great Britain.
Total number of station entries and exits, 2017-18 financial year
Station name | Entries and exits |
Dronfield | 202,622 |
Manchester Oxford Road | 8,558,308 |
Liverpool Lime Street | 16,032,460 |
Manchester Piccadilly | 27,724,962 |
Additional years are available at the following link:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage/