Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public telephones (a) are currently in operation and (b) have been removed in Northern Ireland in the last five years.
Answered by Matt Hancock
BT currently operates 1612 payphones in Northern Ireland.
We do not hold have historic data on removals for Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which chronic illnesses and severe conditions exempt employment and support allowance claimants from regular medical reassessments.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2016 to Question UIN 48978.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will detail how his Department provides support for a not-for-profit training programme for drivers in administering first aid; and how many drivers this programme has trained.
Answered by John Hayes
The Department has provided a grant payment of £70,000 to Driver First Assist for its 2016-17 programme.
Driver First Assist is a not for profit organisation training large goods vehicle drivers to provide lifesaving first aid and manage the scene at a road traffic collision prior to the arrival of the emergency services. So far the organisation has trained 738 drivers to act as first responders.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to respond formally to the Soil Association's Save Our Anti-Biotic campaign.
Answered by George Eustice
No formal response will be made. On 16 September 2016 the Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. The response outlines future plans and ambitions to reduce the need for antibiotics and tackle antibiotic resistance.
We continue to work with a wide-range of stakeholders and use emerging, scientifically sound evidence to develop policy.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to minimise the use of antibiotics in livestock management.
Answered by George Eustice
On 16 September 2016 the Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
The response includes clear commitments to reducing the need for antibiotics in livestock. We have committed to work closely with different individual sectors to ensure that appropriate sector specific reduction targets are agreed by 2017. This will ensure that future reductions are greatest where there is most scope, and that they are underpinned by improvements which focus on encouraging best practice and responsible use of antibiotics.
This work aligns with the actions already set out in the Government’s Five-Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, including improving the stewardship of existing antibiotics, improving infection prevention and control and optimising prescribing practice.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made of the public health danger posed by the use of antibiotics for agricultural purposes.
Answered by George Eustice
Representatives from Defra sit on the European Medicines Agency’s ad hoc Antimicrobial Expert Group (AMEG). The group is comprised of experts on human and animal health.
In 2013, AMEG assessed the risk posed to human health by the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Their assessment was revised in 2016 following the discovery of bacteria resistant to colistin, a last resort antibiotic in human medicine. They recommended that colistin was classified as a critically important antibiotic to human health and called for a reduction of its use in veterinary medicine.
AMEG will continue to assess emerging evidence and bring recommendations where necessary.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by the British Red Cross, entitled Are pre-hospital deaths from trauma and accidental injury preventable?, published in September 2016, what steps she is taking to ensure that young people have the opportunity to learn basic first aid at school.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Schools are free to teach first aid, and may choose to do this as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, which is a non-statutory curriculum subject. This is reflected in the PSHE Association’s non-statutory programme of study, which includes first aid.
When teaching first aid, many schools draw on the expertise of reputable organisations, such as the British Red Cross, the British Heart Foundation and St John Ambulance.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by the British Red Cross, entitled Are pre-hospital deaths from trauma and accidental injury preventable?, published in September 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that first aid education is included in the Government's road safety strategy.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Advice on “First aid on the road” is contained in Annex 7 of The Highway Code. Driver’s knowledge of first aid is tested as part of the driver theory test and many professional drivers take first aid training. The Department is providing support for a not-for-profit training programme for drivers in administering first aid.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has to pursue co-ordinated North-South renewable energy projects that take advantage of the North-South electricity interconnector.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Non-nuclear energy is devolved in Northern Ireland and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has discussed with Executive Ministers and the sector increasing the security of supply, the costs to consumers and meeting the UK’s renewables commitments.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the governments of (a) Egypt, (b) Saudi Arabia and (c) United Arab Emirates on the removal of restrictions on press freedom in these countries and the Middle East.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We regularly raise our concerns over press freedoms with the Egyptian authorities both in London and in Cairo. The Prime Minister raised the detention of journalists including the trial of the Al Jazeera journalists with President Sisi during his visit to the UK in November 2015. I raised press freedoms and freedom of expression with the Egyptian Ambassador earlier this month.
We also regularly make our views on freedom of expression known to the Saudi Arabian Government. We continue to underline to the UAE that people must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues and exercise the right to freedom of thought. We believe that reforms, including meeting citizens’ aspirations for greater participation, will be the guarantor of longer-term stability in the region.