Andrew Bingham

Conservative - Former Member for High Peak

First elected: 6th May 2010

Left House: 3rd May 2017 (Defeated)


Andrew Bingham is not a member of any APPGs
7 Former APPG memberships
Carbon Monoxide, Commercial Radio, Dance, Intellectual Property, Mountain and Cave Rescue, Mountain Rescue, Music
European Scrutiny Committee
16th Jul 2013 - 30th Mar 2015
Work and Pensions Committee
29th Nov 2010 - 29th Oct 2012


Division Voting information

Andrew Bingham has voted in 1512 divisions, and 33 times against the majority of their Party.

11 Sep 2015 - Assisted Dying (No. 2) Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 27 Conservative Aye votes vs 210 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 118 Noes - 330
11 Mar 2015 - Ark Pension Schemes - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 103 Conservative No votes vs 122 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 367 Noes - 113
23 Feb 2015 - Serious Crime Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 78 Conservative No votes vs 151 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 201 Noes - 292
24 Nov 2014 - Recall of MPs Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 71 Conservative Aye votes vs 85 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 119 Noes - 193
27 Oct 2014 - Recall of MPs Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 110 Conservative Aye votes vs 135 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 166 Noes - 340
7 May 2014 - Smoke Alarms (Private Rented Sector) - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 8 Conservative No votes vs 24 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 245 Noes - 8
5 Mar 2014 - Judgments - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 83 Conservative No votes vs 123 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 360 Noes - 104
5 Mar 2014 - Registration of Births, deaths and marriages etc - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 81 Conservative No votes vs 124 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 363 Noes - 100
5 Mar 2014 - Registration of births, deaths and marriages etc - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 83 Conservative No votes vs 123 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 366 Noes - 103
5 Mar 2014 - Marriage - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 81 Conservative No votes vs 126 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 367 Noes - 100
5 Mar 2014 - Marriage - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 84 Conservative No votes vs 123 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 365 Noes - 103
5 Mar 2014 - Marriage - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 79 Conservative No votes vs 126 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 368 Noes - 98
10 Feb 2014 - Children and Families Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 99 Conservative No votes vs 127 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 376 Noes - 107
27 Jan 2014 - European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 31 Conservative Aye votes vs 202 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 37 Noes - 243
27 Jan 2014 - European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 31 Conservative Aye votes vs 199 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 36 Noes - 240
27 Jan 2014 - European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 25 Conservative No votes vs 202 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 246 Noes - 28
7 Jan 2014 - Mesothelioma Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 12 Conservative Aye votes vs 241 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 247 Noes - 286
29 Aug 2013 - Syria and the Use of Chemical Weapons - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 31 Conservative No votes vs 240 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 272 Noes - 285
20 May 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 56 Conservative Aye votes vs 136 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 70 Noes - 375
16 Apr 2013 - Growth and Infrastructure Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 17 Conservative No votes vs 247 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 286 Noes - 259
18 Mar 2013 - Crime and Courts Bill [Lords] (Programme) ((No. 3) - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 14 Conservative Aye votes vs 244 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 40 Noes - 508
5 Feb 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 23 Conservative No votes vs 215 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 481 Noes - 34
5 Feb 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 28 Conservative No votes vs 207 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 464 Noes - 38
24 Jan 2013 - Voting Age - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 7 Conservative Aye votes vs 42 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 119 Noes - 46
31 Oct 2012 - Multiannual Financial Framework - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 51 Conservative Aye votes vs 235 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 307 Noes - 294
10 Jul 2012 - House of Lords Reform Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 89 Conservative No votes vs 192 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 462 Noes - 124
17 Apr 2012 - Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 5 Conservative No votes vs 252 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 292 Noes - 256
24 Oct 2011 - National Referendum on the European Union - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 81 Conservative Aye votes vs 209 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 111 Noes - 483
13 Jul 2011 - Youth Employment - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 24 Conservative Aye votes vs 32 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 241 Noes - 35
24 May 2011 - Eurozone Financial Assistance - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 28 Conservative No votes vs 220 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 267 Noes - 46
4 May 2011 - Sex Education (Required Content) - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 6 Conservative No votes vs 61 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 67 Noes - 61
10 Nov 2010 - Equitable Life (Payments) Bill - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 9 Conservative Aye votes vs 254 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 76 Noes - 301
13 Oct 2010 - Draft EU Budget 2011 - View Vote Context
Andrew Bingham voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 35 Conservative Aye votes vs 204 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 42 Noes - 252
View All Andrew Bingham Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Department Debates
HM Treasury
(47 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(36 debate contributions)
Department for Education
(29 debate contributions)
Department for Work and Pensions
(27 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Andrew Bingham's debates

Latest EDMs signed by Andrew Bingham

Andrew Bingham has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Andrew Bingham, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Andrew Bingham has not been granted any Urgent Questions

3 Adjournment Debates led by Andrew Bingham

Thursday 25th February 2016
Friday 18th October 2013
Tuesday 21st December 2010

1 Bill introduced by Andrew Bingham


Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading: House Of Commons
Friday 12th September 2014

Andrew Bingham has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
10 Other Department Questions
2nd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make representations to the Indian government on ways in which the UK can assist India in moving to use cleaner sources of energy.

The UK and India have a strong collaboration in clean energy and this was reflected in our recent joint statement on energy and climate change released during PM Modi’s visit to the UK (12-14 November):


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-joint-statement-on-energy-and-climate-change.


DECC, along with other government departments, will be working closely with the Government of India to implement the large number of initiatives detailed in the statement along with ongoing collaboration in clean energy, as well as following up on initiatives announced at the Paris Conference on climate change (COP21) such as Mission Innovation and the International Solar Alliance.


12th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the integrity of the marketing of IVA products; and what steps his Department is taking to regulate that practice.

BIS officials regularly discuss the operation of Individual Voluntary Arrangements with creditors, advice bodies and others with an interest in the process and a Protocol is in place to help raise standards in this area.

Where an insolvency practitioner appears to be connected to any instance of inappropriate marketing, this could be a breach of the Code of Ethics for insolvency practitioners and is referred to the appropriate authorising body. The Insolvency Service also considers whether if companies are giving misleading or inaccurate information, action to wind them up in the public interest would be appropriate. In 2013, eight companies were wound up in the public interest because of concerns about misleading marketing.

Regulation of advertising rests with the Advertising Standards Authority.

12th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many (a) large scale, (b) small scale and (c) micro-scale hydroelectric schemes are in operation in (i) the High Peak, (ii) England and (iii) the UK.

The table below shows the number of hydroelectric schemes in the High Peak, England and UK, as at the end of 2012. Data as at the end of 2013 will be available on 25 September 2014. DECC does not distinguish between small and micro-scale hydro-electricity.

High Peak

England

UK

Large-scale (>5 MW)

0

1

55

Small-scale (>= 5 MW)

6

205

614

England and UK total hydro figures in Renewable electricity in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the regions of England in 2012, Energy Trends September 2013, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-september-2013-special-feature-articles-renewable-electricity-in-scotland-wales-northern-ireland-and-the-regions-of-england-in-201

12th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the UK's (a) total and (b) renewable energy generating capacity is provided by hydroelectric power stations.

At the end of 2014 Q1, hydro-electricity represented 8.2 per cent of UK renewable electricity capacity, and 1.8 per cent of all generating capacity.

Source:

Hydro and renewable electricity capacity from table ET 6.1, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables

Total generating capacity (end-2012) from table DUKES 5.12, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

29th Aug 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Overseas Business Risk service is better shared with and promoted to businesses looking to export.

The Overseas Business Risk (OBR) service is promoted as part of UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) overall offer to UK businesses looking to develop their exports. This is done through UKTI’s network which includes International Trade Advisers, Sectoral and Overseas teams. Promotion material, such as UKTI’s First Class Export Pack, also aims to ensure UK business is aware of the service alongside outreach events and the use of social media. The OBR country pages on the GOV.UK domain are refreshed on a regular basis to provide up-to-date intelligence to UK business. A Joint Advisory Group, with very senior business representation, contributes to the development and promotion of this service.

4th Jun 2014
ICT
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department has made on the Information Economy Strategy published in June 2013.

The Industrial Strategy One Year On Progress Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306854/bis-14-707-industrial-strategy-progress-report.pdf) published on 23rd April provides an update on progress on the Information Economy Strategy. The Information Economy Council is driving forward action in several areas including addressing skills issues, barriers to growth, and the analysis and use of data sets.

As a part of our work on skills we have created Higher Apprenticeships as an alternative to traditional graduate recruitment. In IT Higher Apprenticeships there have been 420 starts in 2012/13 compared with 60 starts in 2010/11. We have also created cyber security schools programmes, apprenticeships, internships, Centres for Doctoral Training and will shortly be launching a Cyber Security Massive Open Online Course.

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to address the shortage of skilled workers in the digital and technology sector.

The Industrial Strategy One Year On Progress Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306854/bis-14-707-industrial-strategy-progress-report.pdf) published on 23rd April provides an update on progress on the Information Economy Strategy. The Information Economy Council is driving forward action in several areas including addressing skills issues, barriers to growth, and the analysis and use of data sets.

As a part of our work on skills we have created Higher Apprenticeships as an alternative to traditional graduate recruitment. In IT Higher Apprenticeships there have been 420 starts in 2012/13 compared with 60 starts in 2010/11. We have also created cyber security schools programmes, apprenticeships, internships, Centres for Doctoral Training and will shortly be launching a Cyber Security Massive Open Online Course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses were registered in High Peak constituency in each of the last five years.

Companies House is only able to provide figures on the number of new companies it registered in each of these years by postcode area. As postcode areas can cross constituency boundaries, the figures below must be considered approximations.

Year

Number of Companies Registered

2009-2010

15

2010-2011

35

2011-2012

33

2012-2013

28

2013-2014

17

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small businesses in High Peak constituency have received support from the Regional Growth Fund.

We do not hold the information requested. However, businesses in High Peak constituency are eligible to bid to the Regional Growth Fund programme administered by Derbyshire County Council as well as national programmes.

16th Mar 2017
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has plans to expand the One Public Estate programme.

We want to build on the success of One Public Estate and are on track to reach 95% of English councils by March 2018. We will be announcing a further funding round in April to support more opportunities to benefit​​ ​local communities in the coming years.

20th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that smart meters are installed in areas with poor mobile signal.

The Data and Communications Company (DCC) is putting in place a communications network across GB to send and receive information from smart meters to energy suppliers, energy network operators and energy service companies in a Wide Area Network (WAN).

The DCC is contracted to provide network coverage of at least 99.25% of GB premises by the end of 2020 and to achieving at least 80% coverage of GB premises when it begins live services later this year.

Our ambition is for all domestic and small business premises to have smart meters.

30th Mar 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many successful applications for the Better Broadband Subsidy Scheme there have been in High Peak constituency since that scheme's introduction.

There have been 401 successful applications in Derbyshire to date, and 147 installations have been made following these applications. We do not have a breakdown of applications at constituency level.

22nd Mar 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) assistant, (b) athletics, (c) level one, (d) level two, (e) level three and (f) level four coaches have been licensed to coach athletics in each of the last five years.

The Government and its Arm's Length Bodies have helped deliver a strong sporting legacy from London 2012, including 1.65 million more people playing sport regularly than when London won the bid for the Games back in 2005. We have recently published our new sport strategy, 'Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation' setting out government's ambitions for a more active nation.

The number of licensed assistant coaches was 963 in 2011; 1809 in 2012; 2298 in 2013; 2513 in 2014; and 3010 in 2015.

The number of licensed athletics coaches was 137 in 2011; 271 in 2012; 381 in 2013; 489 in 2014; and 789 in 2015.

The number of level 1 licensed coaches was 3200 in 2011; 2596 in 2012; 1761 in 2013; 1336 in 2014; and 1125 in 2015.

The number of level 2 licensed coaches was 2928 in 2011; 3002 in 2012; 2775 in 2013; 2347 in 2014; and 2249 in 2015.

The number of level 3 licensed coaches was 1124 in 2011; 1173 in 2012; 1134 in 2013; 1033 in 2014; and 1026 in 2015.

The number of level 4 licensed coaches was 351 in 2011; 360 in 2012; 342 in 2013; 320 in 2014; and 312 in 2015.

Licensed coaches are those who have passed an England Athletics' qualification and currently have a valid Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in order to be able to teach under 18s. Unlicensed, or qualified, coaches can still coach adults at athletics clubs, and the number of these coaches has risen in the past five years:

The number of qualified assistant coaches was 478 in 2011; 791 in 2012; 1458 in 2013; 2473 in 2014; and 2908 in 2015.

The number of qualified athletics coaches was 8 in 2011; 13 in 2012; 59 in 2013; 110 in 2014; and 121 in 2015.

The number of level 1 qualified coaches was 14977 in 2011; 16571 in 2012; 17301 in 2013; 17668 in 2014; and 17869 in 2015.

The number of level 2 qualified coaches was 3727 in 2011; 3938 in 2012; 4172 in 2013; 4612 in 2014; and 4779 in 2015.

The number of level 3 qualified coaches was 909 in 2011; 901 in 2012; 941 in 2013; 1029 in 2014; and 1038 in 2015.

The number of level 4 qualified coaches was 195 in 2011; 205 in 2012; 215 in 2013; 231 in 2014; and 229 in 2015.

4th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of athletics coaches coaching in England in each of the last five years.

According to the latest available figures provided by England Athletics, the number of athletics coaches coaching in England currently is 51,031.

4th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of athletics coaches coaching in England.

Government recognises the critically important role that coaches play in community sport across England.

According to the latest available figures provided by England Athletics, the number of athletics coaches coaching in England over the last five years was:

Year

Total number of coaches

2014 - 2015

51,031

2013 - 2014

46,810

2012 - 2013

43,109

2011- 2012

36,077

2010 - 2011

32,367

1st Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote tourism and develop the tourism industry in England.

The GREAT Britain campaign continues to promote great British holidays at home, through the 'Holidays at Home' are GREAT campaign, and overseas. In its first 3 years of operation, it is estimated that the campaign has now generated £520.6 million in incremental spend for the domestic tourism industry and over two million domestic overnight holiday trips. It is anticipated that Visit Britain's GREAT activity will help generate an extra £305 million in incremental spend by inbound visitors (2012/13-2013/14).

We are also encouraging travel outside of London through the visa-waiver scheme for Chinese tourists, and our £10 million tourism in the North and £5 million tourism in the South West funds, which aim to create joined-up strategies for promoting these areas as top holiday destinations for international travellers.

31st Jan 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve the quality of maths teaching in primary schools.

The government is committed to raising standards in primary mathematics teaching.

We have established Maths Hubs - 35 school-led centres of excellence with a role in leading transformation of teaching based on best practice internationally. We are investing £41m to enable primary schools to introduce highly effective south-east Asian mastery teaching methods.

We are also investing in primary mathematics initial teacher training (ITT) courses, to allow trainee primary teachers to specialise in the subject.

8th Mar 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons public bodies are permitted to import meat and meat products which due to poor welfare standards would be illegal to produce in the UK.

Government Buying Standards for food and catering services are mandatory for central government and encouraged in the wider public sector. The standards require that all food served must have been produced in compliance with UK legal standards for animal welfare.

To protect the supply of food to central government and other public bodies, including prisons and the military, the only exception is for the procurement of pig and poultry meat. This means that in the event that UK market conditions impose a significant increase in costs that cannot be compensated for by savings elsewhere, pig and poultry meat must as a minimum meet EU standards and the reasons for not applying UK welfare standards must be recorded and signed off by a senior official in the organisation concerned.

8th Mar 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on implementation of the recommendations of the Bonfield report on public procurement of food; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is committed to providing food produced to British standards or their equivalent in all its canteens, restaurants and cafeterias by the end of this Parliament. Defra is working closely with other Departments and businesses to implement Dr Peter Bonfield’s Plan for Public Procurement of Food, including a balanced scorecard. The Ministry of Justice recently launched a tender for supplying food to prisons, worth £500m, which requires bids to use the balanced scorecard. Their current supplier has agreed that the 30 million portions of UHT milk served in prisons each year will be sourced from UK producers. All new Central Government food and catering contracts will use the balanced scorecard approach.

9th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the Lead Ammunition Group's final report; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is considering the Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effects of lead ammunition to human health and wildlife and will respond as soon as possible.

I am shortly due to meet the chairman of the Group to discuss their report on the 22nd March.

The Lead Ammunition Group’s report is independent of Government. It will be for the Group to decide when to publish their report.

10th Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the Uplands Stakeholder Forum hen harrier sub-group draft joint action plan.

Defra officials are currently working with Sub-Group members to finalise the Joint Action Plan with a view to publishing it as soon as possible.

26th Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of safe, affordable areas for heavy goods vehicle drivers to park and rest at night and access to toilet facilities and good quality food; and if he will take steps to ensure that capacity in such facilities is in line with demand.

A survey conducted for the Department in 2010-11 found there were over 270 parking areas within five kilometres of the Strategic Route Network, including Motorway and Trunk Road Service Areas. Facilities varied but most offered toilets and food. The survey also found that parking areas were on average full to 61% of capacity, while 41% of heavy goods vehicles were parked elsewhere.

It is Government policy that the provision of parking areas is a matter for local authorities and the private sector, who are best placed to judge local traffic conditions and needs. Parking charges are also a matter for the commercial judgement of parking operators but all Motorway Service Areas are required by the Department to offer two hours’ free parking to all vehicles.

3rd Sep 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that foreign drivers are subject to the same penalties as British drivers upon failure to produce relevant CPC documentation.

All professional drivers of lorries, buses and coaches from EU member states are required to produce the relevant CPC documentation when requested by enforcement officers. I can confirm that non-UK drivers from EU member states are subject to the same penalties as their British counterparts should they fail to do so.

2nd Jul 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the contribution of High Speed 2 to transport connectivity between communities in the East Midlands.

Under the proposed HS2 scheme, the station in the East Midlands will be separated by journeys to Birmingham and Sheffield by less than 20 minutes each. Fast and frequent shuttle services could connect Nottingham and Derby with the East Midlands Hub station with a journey time of just 12mins from Nottingham and 15mins from Derby.

Sir David Higgins' report, HS2 Plus, was published on 17th March. Government welcomes Sir David's recommendation that Phase Two should be considered holistically and integrated with classic rail investment. In order to deliver better connectivity we have now asked HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to explore a process for integrated development of Network Rail's plans with decisions on Phase Two of HS2. This will form part of Sir David Higgins' report in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of extending the triple lock guarantee to all British pensioners resident abroad; and if he will make a statement.

The triple lock guarantee is intended to reflect the circumstances of pensioners living in the UK. It means that for this Parliament the basic State Pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings or price increases or 2.5 per cent, for pensioners in the UK and for those who live overseas and currently receive an up-rated basic State Pension.

There are no plans to change the up-rating arrangements for UK State Pension paid to pensioners overseas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of British pensioners resident abroad whose pensions have been frozen.

The information as requested by nationality of State Pension recipient is not available.

However statistics on State Pensioners residing abroad by frozen and non frozen rate countries are available on the Department's website at:-

http://83.244.183.180/100pc/sp/tabtool_sp.html

2nd Dec 2015
NHS
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department took to promote awareness of the NHS consultation paper on the Government's Mandate to NHS England to 2020 published in October 2015.

The consultation was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 29 October 2015 (HCWS274), published online, tweeted by the Department, briefed to the Health Service Journal and circulated through a number of Departmental and NHS bulletins. They included the Health and Care Partnerships e-bulletin which is sent to over 300 health and care sector organisations, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) bulletin which goes to all CCGs, and HealthWatch England’s bulletin which goes to all local HealthWatch organisations.

15th Oct 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the availability of NHS dentist places in (a) High Peak constituency, (b) Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group and (c) Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group in each of the last five years.

NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary and secondary care dental services to meet local need. NHS England advises that oral health needs assessments for general dentistry are being conducted for areas that include Tameside and Glossop and Derbyshire.


Overall, access continues to increase with the latest access data showing 30 million patients were seen by a dentist in the 24 month period ending 30 June 2015. This is 1.7 million more patients than May 2010.


There is further to go, and this is why the Government is committed to increasing access still further through reform of the dental contract to incentivise dentists to focus on prevention as well as treatment and, by seeing patients at intervals appropriate to their clinical need, freeing up spaces for additional patients to be seen.

4th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current levels of funding within the NHS for wheelchair provision for outpatients.

Wheelchair services are the responsibility of local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). No information is currently held centrally about CCGs’ expenditure on wheelchair services or the level of service that they provide, including information about access and patient experience, that would enable the transparent assessment and benchmarking of provision for outpatients.

NHS England has recently established a new national wheelchair dataset, which went live from 1 July. This will enable the use of data in future to drive improvement in wheelchair services.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been fined for falsely claiming free prescriptions in each of the last five years.

The Prescription Exemption Checking Service is delivered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) as commissioned by NHS England. NHSBSA assumed the responsibility for this service from 17 September 2014. Prior to this date it was the responsibility of primary care trusts and NHS England Area Teams, for which no data is held.

From 17 September 2014 to 16 January 2015 5,572 patients have paid a penalty charge in full with a further 2,252 patients opting to pay the penalty charges in instalments.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has commissioned into complex regional pain syndrome.

The Department has not commissioned specific research into complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) but a range of related research is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

The NIHR Clinical Research Network is currently recruiting patients to two studies relating to CRPS:

- Development of an Electrical Sensory Discrimination Therapies device for the relief of chronic pain in CRPS. A proof of concept study

- An Intervention Trial to Investigate the Effectiveness of Visual Illusions in Manipulating Body Perception Disturbances to Reduce Chronic Pain and Improve Movement Performance

There is also an active Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Researcher-Led project (which is funded by the Medical Research Council and managed by NIHR):

- Low-dose Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (‘LIPS’) Randomised Controlled Trial.

Other research, carried out within the last two years, includes:

A Health Services and Delivery Research project:

- Meeting the support needs of patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome through innovative use of wiki technology

CRN studies:

- A Multi-Centre International Study Exploring the Patients' Definition of Recovery from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

- Visually Manipulating Body Perception Disturbances to Treat Chronic Pain: An Exploratory Study

NIHR Career Development Fellowships:

- Understanding sensorimotor integration and its role in pain. Feasibility study to evaluate the potential of multi-modal imaging systems in CRPS

- Sensorimotor conflict and its relationship to behavioural and neurophysiological variables in CRPS, FMS, arthritis and healthy volunteers

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made in treating pain since the Chief Medical Officer's annual report in 2008 called for the issue to receive greater priority.

In response to the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO’s) report 2008 report, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership working with The British Pain Society and Dr Foster undertook the first ever National Pain Audit, which launched in 2009. The findings from the three year study, which appeared in three reports, highlighted variation in service provision and made a number of recommendations for the National Health Service to improve quality of care for patients suffering from chronic pain.

Since 1 April 2013, NHS England became responsible for the commissioning of specialised pain services for patients with chronic pain. NHS England has published a service specification for patients with chronic pain that sets out what providers must have in place in order to deliver evidence-based, safe and effective services. It supports equity of access to a nationally consistent, high quality service for patients. The specification can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d08-spec-serv-pain-mgt.pdf

In the time since the CMO report, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a range of guidance to support clinicians to diagnose and treat a range of conditions causing ongoing pain, most recently publishing the 2013 guideline Neuropathic pain: The pharmacological management of neuropathic pain in adults in non-specialist settings. Finally, the British Pain Society collaborated with the Map of Medicine to produce a range of evidence-based pain care pathways, published in October 2014. These support NHS commissioners, providers and patients to access to high-quality, practice-informed care pathways that map the journey from initial presentation through to ongoing management of chronic pain. This can be accessed on the NHS Choices website at the following link:

http://www.nhs.uk/aboutNHSChoices/aboutnhschoices/partners/MapofMedicine/Pages/Introduction.aspx.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to publicise the fact that certificates of entitlement to free prescriptions for chronic and incurable conditions are time-limited.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) sent all English pharmacies and general practitioner practices a supply of posters and booklets entitled ‘Claiming free prescriptions?’ in October 2014 as part of the centralisation of the prescription exemption checking process within the NHSBSA. The poster warns patients of the consequences of claiming free prescriptions incorrectly and directs them to the booklet for more information on eligibility, which states that medical exemption certificates are valid for five years. The poster and booklet are also published on the NHSBSA website at:

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/PrescriptionServices/4666.aspx

The covering letter sent to patients by the NHSBSA along with their medical exemption certificates also references that certificates are liable for renewal, and the expiry date is printed on the certificate itself. The letter also directs recipients to the NHSBSA website and the NHS Help with Health Costs Facebook page where more information is available. The NHS Choices Help with Health Costs pages also contain information about eligibility for free prescriptions, including details on medical exemptions and certificate duration.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients with long-term health conditions which entitle them to free prescriptions have been fined for not renewing their certificates in each of the last five years.

The Prescription Exemption Checking Service is delivered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) as commissioned by NHS England. NHSBSA assumed the responsibility for this service from 17 September 2014. Prior to this date it was the responsibility of primary care trusts and NHS England Area Teams, for which no data is held.

From 17 September 2014 to 16 January 2015 a total of 1,475 patients who have declared they hold a valid certificate which indicates that they are entitled to free prescriptions due to a long-term health condition have paid a penalty charge in full with a further 898 patients who have opted to pay the penalty charge by instalments.

The NHSBSA cannot identify from the exemption checking process which patients claiming medical exemption have been sent a penalty charge notice as a result of the patient not renewing their medical exemption certificate.

For those patients who have paid a penalty charge the cause for the incorrect claim for free prescriptions is not known. There are various reasons which could include:

- expiry of current medical exemption certificate; and

- never been in receipt of a medical exemption certificate.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for pain management in each region.

The information requested is shown in the following table. These data are from hospital episode statistics and measure the time waited between decision to admit and admission to hospital. They are not the same as referral to treatment waiting times, which measure waiting times from referral to the start of consultant-led treatment by 18 treatment functions (subdivisions of consultant main specialties), but which do not include condition specific information.

The average (median) number of days waited for pain management treatment, 2012-13

Average (median) waiting time (days)

Area Team of Residence

Admissions

First Outpatient Attendances

Cheshire, Warrington And Wirral Area Team

59

46

Durham, Darlington And Tees Area Team

65

52

Greater Manchester Area Team

64

42

Lancashire Area Team

55

38

Merseyside Area Team

58

50

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne And Wear Area Team

44

49

North Yorkshire And Humber Area Team

57

55

South Yorkshire And Bassetlaw Area Team

41

26

West Yorkshire Area Team

84

54

Arden, Herefordshire And Worcestershire Area Team

49

49

Birmingham And The Black Country Area Team

47

52

Derbyshire And Nottinghamshire Area Team

47

29

East Anglia Area Team

61

50

Essex Area Team

56

55

Hertfordshire And The South Midlands Area Team

84

68

Leicestershire And Lincolnshire Area Team

63

54

Shropshire And Staffordshire Area Team

64

61

Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon And Wiltshire Area Team

56

60

Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset And South Gloucestershire Area Team

18

50

Devon, Cornwall And Isles Of Scilly Area Team

77

49

Kent And Medway Area Team

58

49

Surrey And Sussex Area Team

66

59

Thames Valley Area Team

69

56

Wessex Area Team

65

48

London Area Team

70

63

England

63

51

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Notes:

  1. The data provided are finished admission episodes (FAEs) and outpatient first attendances where the treatment specialty was either pain management or paediatric pain management.
  2. An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.
  3. Attendances at outpatient clinics. Includes first and follow-up attendances and telephone consultations, excludes did not attends and cancellations.
  4. Area Team of Residence is the area team containing the patient’s normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another area for treatment.
  5. The treatment specialty is the specialty under which the consultant responsible for care of the patient is working, which may be different to the specialty under which the consultant is registered. Care is needed when analysing HES data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as "acute"). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other recorded information.
  6. The median, rather than the mean, time waited is given as the mean can be affected by a relatively small number of records with a long time waited, however the median is less affected by this issue.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to provide care and respite funding for young adult amputees.

Information on specific funding for young adult amputees is not held centrally.

NHS England has advised that the rehabilitation and re-ablement of all patients is provided by a specialised Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) which should be consultant led. The needs of patients of all age groups are addressed including physical, psychological, social, emotional and spiritual with the emphasis on individual outcomes, independence and prevention keeping patients dexterous, mobile and safe. Secondary injuries should be minimised.

The NHS Standard Contract for Complex Disability Equipment – Prosthetics, which applies to all ages, sets out how the specialist centres should operate and the required level of service delivered. It also recognises that children, young adults, veterans and other patients require a flexible model of care which provides longer term involvement with the full MDT. The specification also recognises that child growth is a recognised clinical need.

20th Jan 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of long-term conditions which entitle patients to free prescriptions are curable.

The list of medical conditions that give entitlement to apply for a National Health Service prescription charge medical exemption certificate are:

- a permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy, or ileostomy) which requires continuous surgical dressing or requires an appliance forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential;

- diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism;

- diabetes mellitus (except where treatment of the diabetes is by diet alone);

- hypoparathyroidism;

- myasthenia gravis;

- myxoedema (that is, hypothyroidism requiring thyroid hormone replacement);

- epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy;

- continuing physical disability which prevents the patient from leaving his residence without the help of another person; and

- patients undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer or the effects of current or previous cancer treatment. (From 1 April 2009).

Clinical advice from NHS England is that the majority of these conditions are considered to be permanent, incurable conditions. Only in exceptional cases would a person have the possibility of curative treatment for one of these conditions.

14th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in High Peak constituency have had to wait more than (a) 28 days, (b) three months and (c) six months for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services in each of the last five years.

Information is not available in the format requested.

This Government is committed to ensuring mental health is treated equally with physical health and is increasing access to mental health services through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme and talking therapies.

Information on the number of patients waiting more than 28 days in 2011-12 and 2012-13 in each quarter for Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Tameside and Glossop PCT is shown in Table 1.

The information for the number of patients waiting more than; 28 days, 90 days and 180 days in 2013-14 for NHS North Derbyshire clinical commissioning group (CCG) and NHS Tameside and Glossop CCG is shown in Table 2.

14th Oct 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered midwives were employed per 1,000 births in (a) 1980, (b) 1990, (c) 2000, (d) 2010 and (e) the latest year for which figures are available.

There are now 1,158 additional whole time equivalent registered midwives compared to 2010. The following table shows the number of registered midwives per 1,000 births for each of the years requested.

Number of registered midwives per 1,000 births in England as at 30 September for each specified year

1980[1]

1990

20002

20102

20132

Registered midwives per 1,000 births

21.0

29.7

30.7

29.1

31.9

Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre

Notes:

1 Prior to 1982, midwife data is taken from the Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England (HPSSS). Data from HPSSS contains hospital-based staff only and is therefore not comparable with later years.

2 A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. The new codes classified staff according to what they do rather than the terms and conditions under which they are employed. Figures based on new occupation codes are not directly comparable with those based on the old payscale classification, therefore figures since 1995 are not directly comparable with earlier years.

3 Figures are calculated on the numbers of all still and live births in England for each specified year.

4 Figures are calculated on the full time equivalent number of registered midwives. Midwife data is as at 30 September each year.

5 Figures are rounded to one decimal place.

6 These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.

29th Aug 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of ambulances in (a) the East Midlands and (b) High Peak constituency failed to respond within their targeted response times in each of the last five years.

Information is not available in the format requested.

Information on the number of ambulance calls receiving an emergency response from the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, and the proportion of those that were responded to within the standard response time, for the last five years, is shown in the attached table.

29th Aug 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of fybromyalgia sufferers in the UK.

The Department has made no estimate of the number of fibromyalgia sufferers in the United Kingdom. As the condition is poorly understood and there is not specific diagnostic test, it is difficult to make a reliable estimate

Although there is no cure for fibromyalgia, some treatments can ease symptoms and support improved quality of life for patients. The treatments offered will depend on the severity of a patient’s condition, but may include: pharmacological pain relief; physiotherapy; dietary and exercise advice; counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy; and self-management programmes which aim to give patients the skills and confidence to manage their conditions more effectively. There are also a number of NHS Trusts that offer specialist fibromyalgia clinics, such the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath, which patients can access on referral from the clinician responsible for their care.

In each of the last three years, the Department’s National Institute for Health Research has spent £0.1 million on fibromyalgia research.

29th Aug 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulance calls from (a) the East Midlands and (b) High Peak constituency were responded to in each of the last five years.

Information is not available in the format requested.

Information on the number of ambulance calls receiving an emergency response from the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, and the proportion of those that were responded to within the standard response time, for the last five years, is shown in the attached table.

29th Aug 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on research into fybromyalgia in the last three years; and what guidance his Department gives on support to be given through the NHS for fybromyalgia sufferers.

The Department has made no estimate of the number of fibromyalgia sufferers in the United Kingdom. As the condition is poorly understood and there is not specific diagnostic test, it is difficult to make a reliable estimate

Although there is no cure for fibromyalgia, some treatments can ease symptoms and support improved quality of life for patients. The treatments offered will depend on the severity of a patient’s condition, but may include: pharmacological pain relief; physiotherapy; dietary and exercise advice; counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy; and self-management programmes which aim to give patients the skills and confidence to manage their conditions more effectively. There are also a number of NHS Trusts that offer specialist fibromyalgia clinics, such the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath, which patients can access on referral from the clinician responsible for their care.

In each of the last three years, the Department’s National Institute for Health Research has spent £0.1 million on fibromyalgia research.

24th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of reports by disability campaigners that the German government was complicit in preventing British victims of thalidomide from securing compensation from Grünenthal; and if he will make representations to his German counterpart on that matter.

No assessment has been made of the German Government's role in relation to British Thalidomide survivors and the issue of compensation from the German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal.

I met with the Thalidomide Trust on 23 June 2014. We are considering further what representations we might make in the light of this meeting. A further meeting between the Thalidomide Trust and the Minister for Europe is due to take place on 3 September.

17th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on allowing the transplant of organs from people deceased outside of hospital.

Organ donation following death outside of hospital is not broadly practiced in the United Kingdom. For organs to remain viable and suitable for transplantation, they must either be kept supplied with oxygen, blood and nutrients, or kept cold so that the metabolism of the cells is slowed right down. When someone's heart stops beating suddenly, the blood supply to organs stop and the cells begin to get starved of oxygen and nutrients and start to die. Therefore, there is a very narrow window of a few minutes between the heart stopping beating and the need for organs to be removed and preserved.

A pilot programme is underway in Edinburgh for retrieval of organs from those who suffer a witnessed cardiac arrest from which they are unable to be resuscitated and are brought within minutes to the hospital. NHS Blood and Transplant is supporting this pilot and, depending on the outcome, will support further similar initiatives.

Additionally, health care professionals need to obtain consent and get a full medical history to ensure the organs are suitable for transplantation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate has he made of the cost to the economy of untreated mental illness.

The International Classification of Diseases is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. This includes the analysis of the general health situation of population groups. It is used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems.

The Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems includes in Chapter V a detailed classification of more than 300 mental and behavioural disorders. Its publication follows extensive field-testing by more than 100 clinical and research centres in 40 countries.

Aggregate primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on mental health was £11.28 billion in 2012-13, which is 11.9% of the £94.78 billion total spend by PCTs. The estimate of expenditure on mental health does not include the majority of expenditure on primary care appointments which is recorded as a separate programme category.

It is not possible to provide an estimate of expenditure on physical health. A number of programme categories will have elements of expenditure which could be classified as non-physical, for example, learning disabilities, neurological and social care.

The Department has made no estimate of the cost to the economy of untreated mental illness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria his Department use to define illness as mental as opposed to physical.

The International Classification of Diseases is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. This includes the analysis of the general health situation of population groups. It is used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems.

The Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems includes in Chapter V a detailed classification of more than 300 mental and behavioural disorders. Its publication follows extensive field-testing by more than 100 clinical and research centres in 40 countries.

Aggregate primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on mental health was £11.28 billion in 2012-13, which is 11.9% of the £94.78 billion total spend by PCTs. The estimate of expenditure on mental health does not include the majority of expenditure on primary care appointments which is recorded as a separate programme category.

It is not possible to provide an estimate of expenditure on physical health. A number of programme categories will have elements of expenditure which could be classified as non-physical, for example, learning disabilities, neurological and social care.

The Department has made no estimate of the cost to the economy of untreated mental illness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS funding is allocated to (a) mental and (b) physical health care.

The International Classification of Diseases is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. This includes the analysis of the general health situation of population groups. It is used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems.

The Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems includes in Chapter V a detailed classification of more than 300 mental and behavioural disorders. Its publication follows extensive field-testing by more than 100 clinical and research centres in 40 countries.

Aggregate primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on mental health was £11.28 billion in 2012-13, which is 11.9% of the £94.78 billion total spend by PCTs. The estimate of expenditure on mental health does not include the majority of expenditure on primary care appointments which is recorded as a separate programme category.

It is not possible to provide an estimate of expenditure on physical health. A number of programme categories will have elements of expenditure which could be classified as non-physical, for example, learning disabilities, neurological and social care.

The Department has made no estimate of the cost to the economy of untreated mental illness.