Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the cumulative days of fishing by vessels carrying (a) bottom trawls, (b) dredges and (c) other bottom-towed gear in the UK’s 63 offshore benthic MPAs in 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The designation and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Estimates of fishing effort in offshore MPAs are made as part of the Marine Management Organisation’s (MMO) work to assess and manage the impacts of fishing in all English offshore MPAs. These estimates have been published in economic and fisheries assessments on GOV.UK alongside byelaws for the first two stages of the MMO’s four stage programme to manage fishing activity in all English offshore MPAs. MMO is currently undertaking further analysis covering 43 offshore MPAs which will be published in due course, alongside consultations on any proposed byelaws.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of fishing by China’s state-sponsored distant water fleet in the (a) Andaman Sea and (b) Gulf of Thailand.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to engaging with other countries, including China, to sustainably manage fisheries, protect ecosystems and combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. We support ocean protection through appropriate funding. For example, at the G7 Leaders Summit in Cornwall, the Government pledged £500 million to create our Blue Planet Fund to help developing countries protect the ocean from pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. We also push for multilateral action internationally, including through Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, the Convention of Biological Diversity and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. The UK remains committed to international law and UNCLOS.
China is building a network of fishing bases in developing countries across four continents. Comprising ports, boats, and fish processing plants, the bases service China's distant-water fleet: an armada of over 4,600 vessels (potentially many more) that operates in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 42 countries and accounts for 14 percent of worldwide marine catch by value.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many 24-hr interventional radiology services are available in the North Central London area; and at what locations are those services.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Twenty-four-hour interventional radiology services are available on site in two hospitals in the North Central London area, namely the Royal Free Hospital and University College London Hospital. There are agreed referral pathways in place between providers across North Central London to access these services.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban fishing using bottom trawling apparatus in marine protected areas.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Devon, on 22 January 2024, PQ UIN 9706.
A byelaw restricting the use of bottom-towed fishing gear in 13 Marine Protected Areas mentioned in that answer came into force on 22 March 2024.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the NHS' planned timetable is for a decision on the Start Well public consultation on the future of maternity, neonatal and children’s surgical services in north central London.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Start Well public consultation on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal, and paediatric surgical services in North Central London closed on Sunday 17 March 2024. The responses received will now be analysed by an independent research agency, who will produce a report for the consulting bodies, North Central London Integrated Care Board, on behalf of the local integrated care system, and NHS London Specialised Commissioning. This report will be published and, along with a wide range of evidence and information, will be used to develop a decision-making business case for consideration by the integrated care board.
North Central London Integrated Care Board expect it will take some months to develop the decision-making business case. The meeting will be held in public, with further details published later this year.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to publish all responses made to the Start Well public consultation on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal and children's surgical services in North Central London.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Start Well public consultation on proposed changes to maternity, neonatal, and paediatric surgical services in North Central London closed on Sunday 17 March 2024. The responses received will now be analysed by an independent research agency, who will produce a report for the consulting bodies, North Central London Integrated Care Board, on behalf of the local integrated care system, and NHS London Specialised Commissioning. This report will be published and, along with a wide range of evidence and information, will be used to develop a decision-making business case for consideration by the integrated care board.
North Central London Integrated Care Board expect it will take some months to develop the decision-making business case. The meeting will be held in public, with further details published later this year.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the Department has made of (a) induction rates and (b) Caesarean rates in the North Central London area in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Population health trends in North Central London (NCL), including historic birth rates and the future projected population size, have informed proposals to improve maternity and neonatal services included in the NCL Integrated Care System’s (ICS) Start Well programme.
Modelling to inform the proposals included in the NCL Start Well programme has considered changing population demographics. This has included looking at changes to the size and birth rate of the populations living in NCL, as well as the complexity of births, which has included looking at factors such as caesarean rates.
The Department, along with NHS England, recognises that the foundations of lifelong health are built during pregnancy, at birth, and in childhood. This is why the NCL ICS’s Start Well programme has taken a population health approach, looking at data relating to ethnicity and deprivation, and impact on maternity outcomes across all units in NCL, including the Royal Free Hospital.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of birth rates in North Central London in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Population health trends in North Central London (NCL), including historic birth rates and the future projected population size, have informed proposals to improve maternity and neonatal services included in the NCL Integrated Care System’s (ICS) Start Well programme.
Modelling to inform the proposals included in the NCL Start Well programme has considered changing population demographics. This has included looking at changes to the size and birth rate of the populations living in NCL, as well as the complexity of births, which has included looking at factors such as caesarean rates.
The Department, along with NHS England, recognises that the foundations of lifelong health are built during pregnancy, at birth, and in childhood. This is why the NCL ICS’s Start Well programme has taken a population health approach, looking at data relating to ethnicity and deprivation, and impact on maternity outcomes across all units in NCL, including the Royal Free Hospital.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of women who have experienced medical complexities associated with pregnancy when accessing maternity care services in (a) north and (b) central London in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department does not hold this information in the format requested. The North Central London Start Well programme has considered changing population demographics, including the birth rates of the populations living in North Central London and the complexity of births. This information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of indices of deprivation of women who access maternity services at the Royal Free Hospital.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Population health trends in North Central London (NCL), including historic birth rates and the future projected population size, have informed proposals to improve maternity and neonatal services included in the NCL Integrated Care System’s (ICS) Start Well programme.
Modelling to inform the proposals included in the NCL Start Well programme has considered changing population demographics. This has included looking at changes to the size and birth rate of the populations living in NCL, as well as the complexity of births, which has included looking at factors such as caesarean rates.
The Department, along with NHS England, recognises that the foundations of lifelong health are built during pregnancy, at birth, and in childhood. This is why the NCL ICS’s Start Well programme has taken a population health approach, looking at data relating to ethnicity and deprivation, and impact on maternity outcomes across all units in NCL, including the Royal Free Hospital.