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Written Question
Type 45 Destroyers: Guided Weapons
Thursday 23rd September 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the procurement of the interim surface-to-surface missile guided weapon to replace the Harpoon on the six Type 45 Destroyer ships until the Future Anti-Ship Missile System is serviced.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

We continue to scope options for the Royal Navy’s next surface to surface guided weapon system, alongside wider lethality requirements, to allow us to deliver on the commitments outlined in the Integrated Review. No final decisions have yet been made.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Death
Wednesday 22nd September 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

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 potential merits of splitting the reported data on covid-19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test by people who are (a) fully vaccinated, (b) single vaccinated and (c) not vaccinated.

Answered by Maggie Throup

Public Health England assessed that it would be in the public interest to publish data on COVID-19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test by vaccination status. This data is published in the weekly vaccine surveillance report, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-surveillance-report


Written Question
Type 45 Destroyers: Repairs and Maintenance
Wednesday 22nd September 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned timescales are for the completion of the Type 45 destroyer Power Improvement Package (PIP) upgrade.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

HMS DAUNTLESS, the first of class ship to receive the Type 45 Power Improvement Project (PIP) conversion, is at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead where equipment is being set to work following installation. The next phase of the programme will see HMS DAUNTLESS undertake a rigorous trials programme in harbour and subsequently at sea.

HMS DARING has been moved to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead and will be the second Type 45 Destroyer to undergo her PIP conversion.

It is planned that all six Type 45 ships will have received the PIP conversion by the mid-2020s. The programme is dependent on the availability of ships to undertake the upgrade, balanced against the Royal Navy's standing and future operational commitments.


Written Question
Type 45 Destroyers: Repairs and Maintenance
Wednesday 22nd September 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Type 45 destroyers upgrade programme.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

HMS DAUNTLESS, the first of class ship to receive the Type 45 Power Improvement Project (PIP) conversion, is at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead where equipment is being set to work following installation. The next phase of the programme will see HMS DAUNTLESS undertake a rigorous trials programme in harbour and subsequently at sea.

HMS DARING has been moved to the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead and will be the second Type 45 Destroyer to undergo her PIP conversion.

It is planned that all six Type 45 ships will have received the PIP conversion by the mid-2020s. The programme is dependent on the availability of ships to undertake the upgrade, balanced against the Royal Navy's standing and future operational commitments.


Written Question
Health Services: Contracts
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to publish details on the awarding of health contracts during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Department publishes information on all the contracts it awards, including those relating to goods and service procured in response to COVID- 19, through Contract Award Notices in the Official Journal of the European Union, Find a Tender awarded opportunity notices for each contract are also published on Contracts Finder.


Written Question
Retail Trade: Crimes of Violence
Tuesday 6th July 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of assaults on retail workers in England and Wales by local authority area, separate to the Commercial Victimisation Survey.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The Government conducted a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to understand the extent of the issue and how we can work with retailers and police to improve the response to these crimes. The Government’s formal response was published 7 July 2020 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-and-abuse-toward-shop-staff-call-for-evidence


Written Question
Cereal Products: Labelling
Monday 28th June 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing inconsistencies in the way that the nutrient profiling model scores breakfast cereal products, whereby some are scored as consumed and others are scored on a dry weight basis.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Public Health England has not undertaken an assessment. The current nutrient profile score for breakfast cereals developed by the Food Standards Agency in 2004 is calculated on 100 grams of the product as sold, on a dry weight basis.

The possible implications of applying the nutrient profiling model from per 100 gram basis to per portion basis was considered as part of the 2007 review of the effectiveness of the nutrient profiling model to reduce the exposure of children to unhealthy advertising during children’s television programming. It was recommended to retain the 100 gram base to avoid unnecessary complexity as there are few United Kingdom dietary recommendations on portion sizes and inconsistent portion sizes used on food or drink packs.


Written Question
Cereal Products: Milk
Monday 28th June 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the consumption of breakfast cereals (a) with and (b) without milk; and how that information is reflected in the nutrient profiling model.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No data is held on the consumption of breakfast cereal with milk. Consumption of breakfast cereals without milk is reported in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). The most recent NDNS report was published in December 2020 and presents findings for 2016/17 to 2018/19. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-results-from-years-9-to-11-2016-to-2017-and-2018-to-2019

The nutrient profiling model is used to identify products that are high in fat, salt or sugar in line with advertising restrictions rather than how the foods are eaten or consumption behaviour.


Written Question
Nutrition
Monday 28th June 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has conducted analysis of consumer (a) understanding of the nutrient profiling model and (b) awareness of categories that are scored as consumed compared with on a dry weight basis.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The United Kingdom nutrient profiling model (UK NPM) is a tool used by regulators, industry and stakeholders and is not consumer facing, therefore no assessment has been made of consumer understanding or awareness of categories scored as consumed compared with on a dry weight basis.

The UK NPM was developed to identify products that are high in fat, salt or sugar in line with advertising restrictions. The model is not intended to reflect how the foods are eaten or consumption behaviour.


Written Question
Cereal Products: Milk
Monday 28th June 2021

Asked by: Sarah Atherton (Conservative - Wrexham)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the health benefits of consuming breakfast cereal with milk as opposed to (a) other breakfast products and (b) not consuming breakfast.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Public Health England has not made an assessment.

The Government’s advice on a healthy, balanced diet is based on recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and is captured in the Eatwell Guide. Advice includes choosing starchy carbohydrates such as breakfast cereals that are higher-fibre or wholegrain, with less added fat, salt and sugar. In order to meet nutritional requirements, it is important to consume regular meals throughout the day. Not eating breakfast may make it more difficult to meet recommended intakes of certain nutrients, such as fibre, B vitamins, iron and folate, commonly found in some breakfast cereals, and calcium found in milk.