Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve air quality on roads where air quality management zones have been designated.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Government is committed to tackling this issue and want to improve air quality and reduce pollution in towns and cities, which is good for people’s health and the environment.
£2 billion worth of measures have been announced since 2010 that will help to improve air quality by increasing the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, and supporting sustainable travel and green transport initiatives. This includes modifying over 2000 older buses and some other vehicles including taxis with pollution reducing technology on some of the most polluted roads in towns and cities in England.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that motorways violating EU noise emissions are resolved within a two-year timescale; and if he will take steps to speed-up the resurfacing work on the areas of M27 between Fareham and Eastleigh.
Answered by John Hayes
The European Noise Directive requires Member States to produce noise maps and noise action plans every five years, which have been produced by Defra. The European Noise Directive does not set any noise limits and there are no ‘EU noise emissions’ for motorways or other roads to violate.
The Highways Agency has informed me that due to the various road surface materials along the M27 between Eastleigh and Fareham, resurfacing of the road is a complex operation and it is not possible to bring the scheme forward. Resurfacing is carried out for maintenance reasons and this work is not expected to be required until 2017/18.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of school places in Hampshire; and what steps she is taking to allow children in Hampshire to walk to school.
Answered by David Laws
It is the responsibility of each local authority to balance the supply and demand for primary and secondary school places in their area and secure a place for every child of statutory age who wants one.
The Department for Education collects information from local authorities on the number of school places in state-funded primary and secondary schools and local authorities’ own pupil forecasts as part of the annual School Capacity Collection. The most recent data available relates to the position at May 2013, with primary forecasts to 2017/18 and secondary forecasts to 2019/20, and is published online at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-capacity-academic-year-2012-to-2013
Between 2009/10 and 2012/13, Hampshire Local Authority created 1,290 school places. There are 9,940 new primary places planned for delivery between 2013/14 and 2015/16 and the Department has estimated that Hampshire needs 920 additional primary places to meet anticipated demand in 2015/16. This information, along with technical notes, is published in the Local Authority Basic Need Scorecards, which is published online:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-school-places-local-authority-basic-need-scorecards
The Department provides capital funding to local authorities in line with the estimated level of need in each local authority. Hampshire has been allocated a total of £77.4 million for the period 2011-2015 and a further £11.5 million targeted basic need funding to create additional school places. The local authority has also been allocated £64.7 million for 2015-2017 to provide places needed by September 2017.
Local authorities are under a duty to promote sustainable travel and transport. The duty applies to children and young people of compulsory school age who travel to receive education or training in a local authority’s area. Local walking, cycling, and bus strategies should inform the local authority’s duty to promote sustainable school travel.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the information given to passport applicants through the 0300 passport helpline is current and in real time.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Her Majesty's Passport Office regularly reviews the guidance issued to the helpline
provider, and updates it to reflect any changes in processes or customer
requirements.
Information on the progress of applications can be provided from information
that is either live or updated daily, dependent on the nature of the enquiry.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to provide early diagnosis and treatment for patients with Barrett's oesophagus.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Our Be Clear on Cancer campaigns aim to raise awareness of the possible symptoms of cancer and to prompt people with the relevant symptoms to present to their general practitioner (GP). Following a local pilot which ran from April to July 2012, we ran a regional Be Clear on Cancer pilot campaign in February and March 2014, raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of oesophago-gastric cancer in the North East and North Cumbria. This early diagnosis campaign also aimed to identify patients with Barrett's oesophagus, a precursor to oesophageal cancer.
The campaign included television, radio, press and outdoor advertising. The findings of this pilot will be evaluated by Public Health England (PHE), who works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals, before a decision is taken on whether to roll out the campaign nationally.
Alongside supporting PHE to increase symptom awareness amongst the general population, NHS England are also working to increase cancer symptom awareness amongst healthcare professionals, and to provide support to GPs in early diagnosis of cancer and pre-cancerous conditions. In 2013-14, NHS England made £2.3 million available to support improved symptom awareness and early diagnosis.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent research his Department has undertaken on retaliatory evictions in the private rented sector.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
There is no hard evidence that retaliatory eviction is a widespread problem in the private rented sector and the English Housing Survey shows that only 9% of tenancies are ended by the landlord. However, we are aware that this is an issue for some people. We recently published a discussion document on property conditions which invited views on whether restrictions should be placed on issue of possession notices where a tenant has requested a repair. The closing date for replies was 28 March and we are now considering the responses.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of cancer awareness education in schools.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Cancer awareness is important for all young people. However, I do not believe that there should be a statutory requirement for it to be taught in schools. The Government aims to reduce prescription throughout the education system, and trusts schools to provide what is best for their students. The Department for Education does not collect data on this topic.
Schools are free to teach cancer awareness when it is relevant to the national curriculum. For example, the science curriculum requires pupils to learn about the effects of drugs on their bodies, and the importance of physical activity and a healthy lifestyle is included in the requirements for physical education. In design and technology, schools may highlight the importance of nutrition and a healthy diet. Schools may include cancer awareness as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, using suitable resources from relevant organisations. The PSHE Association has produced a suggested programme of study as guidance for teachers, and continues to highlight other sources of expertise.
Asked by: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make cancer awareness education a statutory requirement in schools.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Cancer awareness is important for all young people. However, I do not believe that there should be a statutory requirement for it to be taught in schools. The Government aims to reduce prescription throughout the education system, and trusts schools to provide what is best for their students. The Department for Education does not collect data on this topic.
Schools are free to teach cancer awareness when it is relevant to the national curriculum. For example, the science curriculum requires pupils to learn about the effects of drugs on their bodies, and the importance of physical activity and a healthy lifestyle is included in the requirements for physical education. In design and technology, schools may highlight the importance of nutrition and a healthy diet. Schools may include cancer awareness as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, using suitable resources from relevant organisations. The PSHE Association has produced a suggested programme of study as guidance for teachers, and continues to highlight other sources of expertise.