Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff were moved from Great British Railways Transition Team to (a) Network Rail, (b) DfT Operator and (c) her Department following the disbandment of the Great British Railways Transition Team on March 31, 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 31st March 2025 GBRTT had 208 employees. Since this date 31 people have left the legacy organisation's employment, and 12 people have joined or are joining; resulting in 189 employees. The remaining 189 employees have almost all moved into Network Rail, except for four people who are working at DfTO and one person who has re-joined DfT.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the cost to the public purse of the higher-rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment for the (a) London Congestion Charge, (b) Ultra Low Emission Zone charge, (c) Dart Charge, (d) Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel charge, (e) Tyne Tunnel toll, (f) M6 Toll, (g) Humber Bridge toll and (h) Mersey Gateway Bridge toll.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold this information. The only undertaking cited that is operated by National Highways on behalf of the Department is Dart Charge, and while National Highways records the number of crossings made by vehicles exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, it does not know the reason why a vehicle is exempt.
The other undertakings cited are the responsibility of the relevant local authority or group of authorities, except the M6 Toll, which is a privately owned asset without any recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of post-mortem imaging scans that have been carried out in the Isle of Wight coroner area in each of the last five year; and in how many of those cases imaging was not able to determine the cause of death.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Coronial post-mortem examinations are carried out on a fee paid basis by specialist practitioners from within the cadre of pathologists in England and Wales who undertake post-mortem work.
In the last five years, the number of post-mortem examinations relating to the Isle of Wight coroner areas which used less invasive techniques (including, but not limited to, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans) was:
Year | PM with Less Invasive Techniques | PM Less Invasive Techniques Only |
2024 | 2 | 1 |
2023 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 1 | 1 |
2021 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 0 | 0 |
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of cases in the Isle of Wight where the cause of death was not revealed by imaging techniques, where they were used.
The Government acknowledges the significant challenges currently affecting post-mortem pathology services across England and Wales. It is firmly committed to driving meaningful progress on this complex, cross-cutting issue as a matter of urgency. This includes engagement with relevant Ministerial colleagues to identify and implement a sustainable, long-term solution.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many road-traffic fatalities were recorded by the Isle of Wight coroner in each of the last five years; for each case, on what dates a forensic collision investigator’s report was (a) commissioned and (b) completed; and whether the inquest has been held.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The annual number of short-form inquest conclusions of “road traffic collision” for each coroner area in England and Wales is available in the Coroner Statistics which are published each May for the preceding calendar year (Coroners and burials statistics - GOV.UK).
The number of such conclusions (and, therefore, relevant completed inquests) recorded in the Isle of Wight coroner area in each of the last five calendar years is as follows:
2024 – 1
2023 – 1
2022 – 2
2021 – 1
2020 – 0
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on related investigations. However, the coroner will typically suspend their investigation into a death pending the completion of any related investigatory processes, primarily to avoid duplication of process.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Deputy Director for 10 Year Health Plan Engagement's, Change NHS website blog, entitled, Ensuring the Plan represents everyone, what discussions his Department has with (a) travelling communities and (b) their representatives.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In building our 10-Year Health Plan, we ran one of the biggest public engagement exercises the National Health Service has ever run, including a large number of consultation events including eight in-person deliberative events with the public and seven with staff, culminating in a national summit, these events were attended by over 3,700 people. A further 17,000 people attended partner-led workshops across over 600 events. As part of these events, we aimed to include the voices of all patients, including patients whose voices are seldom heard in policy development.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has held discussions with (a) foreign migrants and (b) asylum seekers on the proposed NHS 10-Year Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In building our 10-Year Health Plan, we ran one of the biggest public engagement exercises the National Health Service has ever run, including a large number of consultation events including eight in-person deliberative events with the public and seven with staff, culminating in a national summit, these events were attended by over 3,700 people. A further 17,000 people attended partner-led workshops across over 600 events. As part of these events, we aimed to include the voices of all patients, including patients whose voices are seldom heard in policy development.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with sex workers on the proposed NHS 10-Year Health Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In building our 10-Year Health Plan, we ran one of the biggest public engagement exercises the National Health Service has ever run, including a large number of consultation events including eight in-person deliberative events with the public and seven with staff, culminating in a national summit, these events were attended by over 3,700 people. A further 17,000 people attended partner-led workshops across over 600 events. As part of these events, we aimed to include the voices of all patients, including patients whose voices are seldom heard in policy development.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to increase the number of pathologists able to undertake coronial post-mortem examinations on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Coroner services are funded and administered by one of 74 lead local authorities. Coronial post-mortem examinations are carried out on a fee paid basis at the request of the coroner by specialist practitioners from within the cadre of pathologists in England and Wales who undertake post-mortem work. The Ministry of Justice does not currently hold data on the number of practitioners carrying out this work in individual coroner areas, but we are undertaking a data collection exercise to better understand the spread of provision across the 74 areas.
The Government acknowledges the significant challenges currently affecting post-mortem pathology services across England and Wales. It is firmly committed to driving meaningful progress on this complex, cross-cutting issue as a matter of urgency. This includes engagement with relevant Ministerial colleagues to identify and implement a sustainable, long-term solution.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on (a) levels of pathologists engaged by the Isle of Wight coroner and (b) how those appointments were made.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Coroner services are funded and administered by one of 74 lead local authorities. Coronial post-mortem examinations are carried out on a fee paid basis at the request of the coroner by specialist practitioners from within the cadre of pathologists in England and Wales who undertake post-mortem work. The Ministry of Justice does not currently hold data on the number of practitioners carrying out this work in individual coroner areas, but we are undertaking a data collection exercise to better understand the spread of provision across the 74 areas.
The Government acknowledges the significant challenges currently affecting post-mortem pathology services across England and Wales. It is firmly committed to driving meaningful progress on this complex, cross-cutting issue as a matter of urgency. This includes engagement with relevant Ministerial colleagues to identify and implement a sustainable, long-term solution.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to he Written Ministerial Statement on 14 October 2024, HCWS127, what progress she has made on reforming the Animals in Science Regulator to ensure that licence holders are compliant with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is in the final stages of delivering a comprehensive programme of regulatory reform to strengthen the Animals in Science Regulation Unit and ensure robust compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). The reforms are designed to enhance protections for animals used in science whilst supporting a high performing, transparent regulatory environment.
As part of this programme the number of Inspectors is increasing from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025. This expansion will improve the Regulator’s capability to provide oversight, conduct inspections and support licence holders in meeting their statutory obligations.
The reform programme includes a number of key elements: Enhanced governance through the establishment of a new governance board that will advise the Department on the Regulator’s performance; Specialist roles in the Regulator to focus on data, regulatory performance and quality monitoring to improve delivery of protections to animals; Improved Guidance to provide greater clarity and further revisions are in progress; and, Audit reform where a revised approach for the programme of audits of licensed establishments is under consideration which will allow the Regulator to better ensure compliance by effectively targeting resource in alignment with its objectives.
These reforms reflect the Government’s strong commitment to continuous improvement in regulation and assuring that the UK remains a global leader in science and innovation.