Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on whether an email, image of a signed letter written by an applicant or a physical signature are required for a letter of authority.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using funds released by the cancellation of the second phase of HS2 for (a) a new Silverstone International train station for the Grand Prix, (b) improving bus services and (c) other infrastructure in South Northamptonshire constituency.
Answered by Huw Merriman
On 4 October, the Prime Minister outlined plans for using funds released by the cancellation of the HS2 Phase 2a, HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg and HS2 East. Further details can be found in the published document “Network North: Transforming British Transport”. This includes a commitment to reallocate funding to deliver long-term settlements for 13 local authorities in the Midlands, including West Northamptonshire, which will help deliver a range of transport investments in these areas.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a Silverstone International railway station following the cancellation of the second phase of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the cancellation of the second phase of HS2, my Department is working through the detailed implications of this decision on the London to West Midlands section of the railway, including an assessment of the scope of the railway. The proposal for a station at Silverstone will form part of that assessment.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to require utilities companies to coordinate the digging up of roads and pavements to (a) minimise inconvenience to residents and (b) ensure a good quality of surfacing.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
Government recently published a plan for drivers which included support for further Lane Rental schemes, which reduce roadworks by incentivising utilities to avoid the busiest roads at the busiest times helping to reduce inconvenience for residents. The Department is to consult on requiring local authorities with Lane Rental schemes to use at least 50% of any surplus on pothole repairs or resurfacing poor quality roads and encourages all local transport authorities to get a Lane Rental Scheme if they don’t already.
The efficient co-ordination of street and road works is one of the most important aspects of street works legislation. Section 60 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) sets a duty on utility companies to use their best endeavours to minimise inconvenience to residents when carrying out street works. In 2020 the Department launched the digital service Street Manager for highway authorities and utility companies within England to plan and manage street works. To further help utility companies fulfil their duty to co-operate in this process, a substantial update to the code of practice for coordination of street works was published earlier this year.
An update to the ‘Specification of the reinstatement of openings in highways’ (SROH) was also published in 2020, outlining the standards for reinstating streets after completing street works. Utility companies must reinstate the street once the work is finished, in-line with these standards. We introduced new regulations in April 2023 that introduced performance-based inspections of reinstatement to improve quality and compliance.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to respond to the actions raised as result of the Minister for Rail and HS2's visit to South Northamptonshire on 4 April 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman
I have written a response to the Right Honourable Lady, the Member for South Northamptonshire, which she has now received, with an update on the matters raised during the visit to her constituency and in a subsequent communication from her.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to mark the seventh anniversary of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.
Answered by Leo Docherty
On 23 June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. Since leaving the EU, we have made progress in many areas both as an independent nation and through continued partnership with the EU, including on Ukraine. We are committed to maximising the opportunities of the TCA and working with our European partners to tackle global threats and challenges.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS dentistry appointments that were available in (a) Towcester, (b) Brackley, and (c) South Northamptonshire constituency in each year between 2018 and 2022.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
The requested data is not available. In July 2022, we announced a package of improvements to the National Health Service dental system, detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care across England. The changes we have implemented include ensuring dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, and greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver more NHS treatment, while enabling full use of the dental team.
These changes came into effect towards the end of 2022. However, we know that we need to do more and continue to build on these reforms. We will be announcing our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system later this year.
NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System planned to take place later in 2023.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of NHS dentistry services in (a) Towcester, (b) Brackley and (c) South Northamptonshire constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
The requested data is not available. In July 2022, we announced a package of improvements to the National Health Service dental system, detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care across England. The changes we have implemented include ensuring dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, and greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver more NHS treatment, while enabling full use of the dental team.
These changes came into effect towards the end of 2022. However, we know that we need to do more and continue to build on these reforms. We will be announcing our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system later this year.
NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System planned to take place later in 2023.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England is taking to improve dentistry services in (a) South Northamptonshire constituency and (b) Northamptonshire.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
The requested data is not available. In July 2022, we announced a package of improvements to the National Health Service dental system, detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care across England. The changes we have implemented include ensuring dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, and greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver more NHS treatment, while enabling full use of the dental team.
These changes came into effect towards the end of 2022. However, we know that we need to do more and continue to build on these reforms. We will be announcing our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system later this year.
NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System planned to take place later in 2023.
Asked by: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists are registered in (a) Towcester, (b) Brackley and (c) South Northamptonshire constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
The requested data is not available. In July 2022, we announced a package of improvements to the National Health Service dental system, detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care across England. The changes we have implemented include ensuring dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, and greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver more NHS treatment, while enabling full use of the dental team.
These changes came into effect towards the end of 2022. However, we know that we need to do more and continue to build on these reforms. We will be announcing our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system later this year.
NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System planned to take place later in 2023.