Ronnie Campbell

Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts in Blyth Valley constituency in each month for academic years 2009/10 to 2013/14 and for 2014/15 August to October (provisional).

Table 1: Apprenticeships Starts in Blyth Valley Parliamentary Constituency by Month (2009/10 to 2013/14 and 2014/15 Aug-Oct Provisional)

Source: Individualised Learner Record

Notes:

1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10; n/a represents months where data are not yet available.

2) Q1 2014/15 covers August 2014 to October 2014; 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 academic years cover August to July.

3) Provisional data are subject to change and should not be compared with data from previous academic years.

Disabled Student Allowances will continue to be available to students who need support whilst studying. Higher Education Institutions will remain obliged to make any reasonable adjustments. Having a degree improves employment outcomes and research shows that over the long term graduates earn on average substantially more than non-graduates.

Rail is a safe mode of travel and the frequency of train accidents involving passenger or workforce fatalities in the UK is at its lowest ever level with 2015-16 being the ninth year in succession without any such fatalities.

The following non-crash related fatalities have occurred on the rail network since 2014:

The information requested could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System collects information on the number of people receiving substitute prescribing interventions for substance misuse in England, but does not distinguish between methadone and other drugs such as buprenorphine which are also recommended for the treatment of opioid drug misuse by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Figures for adults receiving a prescribing intervention in Northumberland for the last three years are presented below. Treatment figures are only available at local authority level, so the requested figures for the Blyth Valley constituency are not available. Information on methadone maintenance spending is not collected centrally.

Source: National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS)

The Department does not collect data on numbers of agency nurses working in the National Health Service.

We have written to Brian Flood, Chair of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Table M9 of the Office for National Statistics' release on EU Government Deficit and Debt of March 2014 sets out the Government's activities undertaken to support financial institutions during the financial crisis. The release is available at:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_358053.pdf

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 June 2016 to Question 39116 to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry).

Northumberland County Council submitted representations to the Secretary of State in January outlining how it proposes to accelerate the preparation of its Local Plan. Their current timetable proposes that the Local Plan will published for consultation in winter 2018 and submitted for examination in summer 2019, but we have asked the Council to accelerate this timescale based on advice from the Planning Advisory Service.

Responsibility of resources for preparation of the Local Plan is with the County Council. Government has provided £2 million funding to the Planning Advisory Service to provide support to local authorities for the period 2017-2019.

Northumberland County Council submitted representations to the Secretary of State in January outlining how it proposes to accelerate the preparation of its Local Plan. Their current timetable proposes that the Local Plan will published for consultation in winter 2018 and submitted for examination in summer 2019, but we have asked the Council to accelerate this timescale based on advice from the Planning Advisory Service.

Responsibility of resources for preparation of the Local Plan is with the County Council. Government has provided £2 million funding to the Planning Advisory Service to provide support to local authorities for the period 2017-2019.

Northumberland County Council submitted representations to the Secretary of State in January outlining how it proposes to accelerate the preparation of its Local Plan. Their current timetable proposes that the Local Plan will published for consultation in winter 2018 and submitted for examination in summer 2019, but we have asked the Council to accelerate this timescale based on advice from the Planning Advisory Service.

Responsibility of resources for preparation of the Local Plan is with the County Council. Government has provided £2 million funding to the Planning Advisory Service to provide support to local authorities for the period 2017-2019.

According to the Homes and Communities Agency, at the end of 2013/14 the average level of rent arrears among larger housing associations was 3.6 per cent, an improvement from 4.1 per cent over the previous quarter.

A comprehensive framework of civil remedies and criminal offences is available to deal with stalking and harassment. This framework was strengthened by this Government by amendments to the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 made by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which introduced new stalking offences. These offences are designed to address specific stalking behaviour as opposed to harassment more generally. The new offence under section 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 covers a course of conduct which causes serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on the day-to-day activities of the victim. This recognises the overall emotional and psychological harm that stalking may cause to victims, even where there is no explicit fear of violence. The maximum penalty for the section 2A offence is six months' imprisonment and for the section 4A offence the maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment.

The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants sentenced for criminal offences by Police Force Area in England and Wales. The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for offences related to harassment and stalking (relating solely to racially or religiously aggravated stalking with or without fear of violence under Section 32 (1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998) in the Northumbria Police Force Area from 2008 to 2012 can be viewed in the table. The Northumbria Police Force Area covers Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland and Northumberland.It has not been possible to separately identify those offenders in the county of Northumberland.

There were new triable-either-way offences for stalking introduced by Sections 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, as inserted by Section 111 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which commenced on 25th November 2012. Between this point and the end of December 2012, there were no defendants proceeded against in England and Wales under this.