Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Maria Caulfield

Wednesday 7th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

T5. Last year, women established more than 150,000 new companies in the UK, which is twice as many as four years ago and the highest ever, yet the number of women founding businesses remains well below that of men. What steps are being taken to further support female entrepreneurs?

[Maria Caulfield]

We are committed to supporting female entrepreneurs, particularly in the high-growth sector. That is why we have launched the women-led high-growth enterprise taskforce, which has found that venture capital is a serious barrier. Currently, for every £1 of venture capital, 89p goes to companies led by men and only a penny to women. That is why getting access to venture capital and funding opportunities is a priority for female entrepreneurs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Maria Caulfield

Tuesday 1st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

3. What steps he is taking to support people with mental health conditions.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)]

The NHS long-term plan commits to investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year by the next financial year to expand and transform mental health services in England. That will be supported by an additional 27,000 mental health professionals in the workforce to deliver that transformation.

[Andrew Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I recently met the child and adolescent mental health services team in Harrogate, and they confirmed that there are long waiting lists for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism diagnosis. Will the Minister consider the criteria to help those who need the service most to get the support they need?

[Maria Caulfield]

I thank my hon. Friend, who raises a good point. He does a huge amount of campaigning in Harrogate and Knaresborough on this issue. We recognise there can be long waits for diagnosis both for ADHD and autism, and that is why we refreshed our national autism strategy last year, backed by more than £74 million to help to reduce diagnosis waiting times. NHS England is now setting out the process of how children, young people and adults might receive a diagnostic assessment much more quickly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Maria Caulfield

Thursday 14th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Jones]

To suggest that the Government are not investing in our rail network is clearly ridiculous. The Government are investing more than any other Government in British history. On the specifics of the scheme, on the West Anglia main line the right hon. Lady can look forward to seeing new trains and all the benefits that will flow from them. The investment work that has taken place, which I outlined in my earlier answer, is already starting to see benefits for the constituents she serves.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to reduce HGV traffic on rural roads.

--- Later in debate ---

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

T8.   When will we see the end of short formation trains on the Southern rail network? On the Lewes to Eastbourne stretch, we are on four-carriage trains every day. When will this misery end?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Andrew Jones)]

Officials in my Department monitor the number of short formations on Govia Thameslink Railway services as one of its performance benchmarks. There are a number of actions we can take when performance falls below agreed levels, and I am pleased that we are now seeing the lowest number of short formations on GTR since the start of the franchise. I hope that this positive trajectory continues, and I will continue to monitor it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Jones and Maria Caulfield

Thursday 8th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

2. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that rail companies provide on-board visual and auditory displays for disabled passengers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Andrew Jones)]

The provision of an audio-visual passenger information system is mandatory for all new trains, and it has been since 1999. For older trains, operators have until 1 January 2020 to fit an AV passenger system. Currently, 70% of the fleet operated on the main line has been either built compliant or upgraded to be compliant, and the rest of the fleet will be upgraded or replaced by 2020.

[Maria Caulfield]

How can we encourage staff on our railways to make announcements on the trains to help visually impaired passengers when visual displays are either not fitted on the trains or, as is the case most of the time, not working?

[Andrew Jones]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue. It is a condition of an operator’s passenger licence that it must publish a disabled persons protection policy. That covers how the needs of visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing people are met with regard to AV systems, including in times of delay or disruption. DPPPs have to be approved by the Office of Rail and Road. Additionally, disability awareness training is mandatory for all customer-facing staff and managers in train operating companies.