Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent in Darlington constituency in each financial year between 2019-20 and 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on spending in the Darlington constituency is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the spend of the organisations that are the closest approximation to the Darlington constituency, each year from 2019/20 to 2022/23:
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
NHS Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) | £177,000,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
NHS Tees Valley CCG | 0 | £1,293,000,000 | £1,502,000,000 | £341,000,000 |
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) | 0 | 0 | 0 | £5,171,000,000 |
The number and commissioning responsibilities of the CCGs, now ICBs, have changed during the period requested, and expenditure levels set out in the table are not directly comparable year-on-year. On 1 July 2022, the NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB replaced and took on responsibility for eight CCGs, including Tees Valley, which is reflected in the higher level of spend in 2022/23.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help preserve the historic character of North Road Station during works to increase the stepping distance between the platform and the train.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The station is still under consideration for Northern’s ongoing platform improvement programme, but all issues and aspects of the station are being assessed which will include the historic character.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on the economy of investment in Darlington railway station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The decision to provide £105m of Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) funding to deliver the Darlington Station Enhancements scheme was taken not only due to the direct journey time and reliability improvements it will provide to rail users, but also the result of the wider economic benefits it will generate for Darlington and the region, resulting from increased productivity.
These benefits will be further enhanced through complementary investment from Tees Valley Combined Authority, who are utilising a number of funding streams – including the Active Travel England Fund – to improve the public realm surrounding the station.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on appointing a provider for the new 48 place Autism Spectrum Disorder special free school in Darlington.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The application process for potential providers to operate Darlington’s new special free school has been completed. Ministers are considering the outcome before confirming the successful applicant.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the economic impact of (a) investment made and (b) financial support provided by her Department in Darlington constituency in the last four years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation spend in Darlington in financial year 2020-21 (the latest available data) was £0.55 million. The interactive innovation clusters map, available at https://www.innovationclusters.dsit.gov.uk/, provides further information about clusters in Darlington.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has no current plans to establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling. Enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.
The Government has established a joint Home Office, Department for Transport and National Police Chiefs’ Council Roads Policing Review to understand what can be done better to tackle road crime and improve road safety.
In addition, last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the powers they need to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour, including motorcycle nuisance, facing communities across England and Wales.
The plan is backed by £160m of funding and includes supporting an increased police and other uniformed presence to target anti-social behaviour hotspots. Initially we worked with 10 police force areas, including Durham Constabulary, but from April we are providing funding of £66m to every police force in England and Wales to support a hotspot enforcement approach for both anti-social behaviour and serious violence. Hotspot patrols could be used in areas where anti-social behaviour involving motorcycles is an issue.
The Government will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation, including in relation to offences involving motorcycles.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of investment in establishing a vaccine library.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Development of a vaccine library, including the adequacy of investment, will be a collaborative, global effort. The Government provides funding to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) through the Department of Health and Social Care and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The CEPI plays a key role in funding and coordinating the global research and development effort to develop a vaccine library.
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) makes a significant contribution to the development of a vaccine library through work in developing and evaluating new vaccines and vaccine technologies, some of which is funded by the CEPI.
The UKHSA is also reviewing the recommendations from the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS) report, in the context of the United Kingdom, and working across Government to strengthen our 100 Days Mission endeavours even further.
More broadly, an established clinical countermeasures programme, including vaccines, is a core component of our pandemic preparedness and response capability. The programme is informed by scientific and clinical assessment of the evidence base, and is kept under review, building on lessons learned from previous outbreaks including COVID-19.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much and what proportion of the cost of caring for an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker with special needs who has been placed in the care of a local authority is paid for by his Department.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In addition to money for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement and finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to the costs incurred by local government in looking after unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children and former UAS childcare leavers.
Local authorities supporting the greatest number of UAS children relative to their child population receive the higher rate of £143 per child per night for each UAS child. This higher rate applies to local authorities supporting UAS children totalling 0.07% or greater of their general child population. All other local authorities receive £114 per person per night for each UAS child in their care. In addition, any local authority who accept the responsibility for a UAS child from a higher rate receiving local authority will receive the higher rate of £143 per child per night. This funding is not ring-fenced, and local authorities are free to use this funding as they see fit to support children in their care.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the needs of an unaccompanied minor placed in the care of a local authority; and what assessment his Department has made of the ability of local authorities to meet those needs.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Local authorities have a statutory duty under S20 of the Children Act 1989 to look after children in need in their area. This includes unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children who either arrive in a local authority area or are transferred there under the mandated National Transfer Scheme. The National Transfer Scheme provides a mechanism for the statutory responsibility for an UAS child to be transferred from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.
The decision for any UAS child to be referred to the NTS for transfer lies with the local authorities as the child’s corporate parent. The NTS Protocol sets out the criteria for referring a child to the NTS which can be found here: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: national transfer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
When a child is being looked after by a local authority, that local authority is under a duty to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare under the Children Act 1989.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on what date will draft legislation to ban conversion practices be published.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government remains committed to protecting everyone from abhorrent and harmful conversion practices, including transgender people. The challenges of legislating in this area are considerable, and it is right and proper that this Government puts the draft Bill forward for pre-legislative scrutiny, as a further safeguard against unintended consequences.
Our draft Bill is being finalised. The Government expects to deliver a draft Bill that takes account of the independent Cass review, which is itself expected shortly.