Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has taken steps to help ensure that left-hand drive HGV vehicles are driven safely in the UK.
Answered by Richard Holden
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) complete robust roadside inspections of heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and passenger carrying vehicles (PCV) stopped at the roadside to ensure they meet the standards required to operate on Britain’s roads. The DVSA complete checks on the drivers of those vehicles to ensure they meet the driver licensing and driver certificate of professional competence (CPC) requirements. The DVSA also complete checks to ensure drivers comply with tachograph rules and requirements to ensure they are operated safely. There is no distinction made between left-hand and right-hand vehicles; the same standards apply across all vehicles.
Individual police forces are responsible for dealing with driving offences.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many officials have been allocated to work on the Global Summit for AI Safety; and when she plans that the draft agenda for the Summit will be published.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK will host the first major global summit on AI safety this autumn, bringing together countries to agree measures needed to mitigate the most significant AI risks. Officials across the Government are working to deliver the Summit, including teams in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as well as the UK’s diplomatic network, and work continues on the exact scope and outcomes. We look forward to updating the House further as our preparations for the Summit continue.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
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 prevent patient data from being accessed by website trackers on (a) the NHS North Bristol Trust and (b) other NHS England websites.
Answered by Will Quince
Each NHS organisation is responsible for its website and for ensuring that any tracking technology used on its site meets strict legal requirements. As soon as NHS Bristol Trust became aware of this issue they engaged with the Information Commissioner’s Office and took immediate steps to protect the privacy of their website users, removing Meta Pixel from their website and strengthening the cookies consent process.
In June 2023, NHS England published guidance for all NHS organisations on website activity trackers and how to ensure they are used appropriately, including how to audit the tracking and profiling which takes place on their website. The guidance also includes links to more detailed guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Whilst NHS England does use cookies and similar technologies on its website, those technologies are not used to share patient data held by NHS England.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when her Department plans to publish the first biennial free trade agreement monitoring report.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The department has previously set out its intention to publish a biennial FTA monitoring report. The department is currently considering the approach to these reports to ensure they are robust, useful, and proportionate.
Ongoing monitoring of our FTAs helps to deliver benefits to business and inform the approach to governments future trade policies.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues on (a) costs, (b) transparency and (c) enabling comments by people affected when Highways Authorities merge schemes which require the suspension of on-street parking bays into single Traffic Regulation Orders.
Answered by Richard Holden
The Government has not issued guidance to local authorities in relation to making Traffic Regulation Orders. They must follow the procedures set out in regulations: The Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/1215) and The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/2489).
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues on when Traffic Regulation Orders are necessary for providing (a) amenities and (b) improvements on the carriageway.
Answered by Richard Holden
The Government has not issued guidance to local authorities in relation to making Traffic Regulation Orders. They must follow the procedures set out in regulations: The Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/1215) and The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/2489).
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to s.142(8) of the Highways Act 1980, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to indemnify local authorities against claims for damages caused by planters and parklets placed in the carriageway by residents in agreement with the local authority as part of the forthcoming Transport Bill.
Answered by Richard Holden
The Government has no plans at present to bring forward such legislation.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impacts of temporarily closing the Self-Assessment hotline on individuals needing advice prior to submitting information relating to their tax returns.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This quarter is the quietest for Self-Assessment (SA) queries. HMRC is piloting the temporary and time-limited closure of the SA helpline so that c.350 advisers can be moved to other work, including clearing post items, which experience heavier demand at this time of year.
The SA helpline will reopen on 4 September, five months prior to the SA filing deadline of 31 January.
Around two-thirds of all Self-Assessment calls can be resolved online by customers; piloting a seasonal Self-Assessment helpline is about positively encouraging people to use these services when they can.
This will free up HMRC advisors to help those with more urgent queries or who cannot access digital services, and to work on correspondence.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to understanding the (a) causes of, (b) symptoms of and (c) potential treatment for people's (i) injuries and (ii) other symptoms following the administration of covid-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Vaccines must be tested in a wide range of studies, including clinical trials to establish their efficacy and safety, and have a product licence, known as a ‘marketing authorisation’ before they can be made available for widespread use in humans. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NIHR has allocated over £110 million in funding for COVID-19 vaccine research that has included consideration of vaccine safety and robust monitoring of adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including vaccine side effects.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what treatment options are available through the NHS to support individuals who have had (a) injuries, (b) side effects and (c) other symptoms separate to long Covid following their covid-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care is likely to be best managed by local National Health Service specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice. Any continuing care would be met by local care services with expertise in the treatment of disease or disability, as appropriate.