Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to implement the Plan for Drivers published on 2 October 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Work is underway for each of the 30 measures in “The Plan for Drivers”, with many expected to be completed by summer 2024.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on (a) which universities offer courses in nuclear (i) physics and (ii) engineering and (b) how many (A) undergraduate and (B) graduate students are on such courses.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), now part of Jisc, collects and publishes data on student enrolments and qualifications obtained at UK higher education providers. This includes data on full person equivalents (FPE) enrolled in different subject areas, categorised using the Higher Education Coding of Subjects (HECoS) system. Further information on the HECoS system is available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/hecos.
This data has been used to approximate which providers offered courses including elements of the HECoS subjects ‘Nuclear Engineering’ (HECoS code 100172) and ‘Nuclear and Particle Physics’ (HECoS code 101077) in the 2021/22 academic year, and how many FPEs were enrolled in each of these subjects. This information has been provided as an attachment.
For an up-to-date view of available undergraduate courses, including nuclear studies, please visit: https://discoveruni.gov.uk/.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using AI to produce trial transcripts.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The government is constantly assessing how to improve the efficiency within the criminal justice system, including mechanisms to accelerate trial transcripts.
We recognise the potential merits to using automated technology for trial transcriptions, including a potential reduction in the time it takes to produce a transcription and comparative value for money.
Transcriptions must achieve very high levels of accuracy (99.5%) to ensure the justice system can operate fairly and effectively. However, even software with learning capability cannot yet reliably meet the accuracy requirements for the service without human intervention.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia to provide port access.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO noted the 1 January 2024 announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which suggests that Ethiopia will recognise Somaliland's independence in return for the lease of territory along its coastline. The UK is clear that we respect Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Our position on Somaliland remains unchanged: alongside our international partners we do not recognise Somaliland as an independent state. We believe the settlement of Somaliland's status is for Somalia and Somaliland to resolve, through a consultative process. We are engaging all countries involved to call for calm and encourage dialogue.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with the Financial Conduct Authority to help ensure funeral fund providers have sufficient resources to meet their obligations.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In January 2021 the government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory remit.
The FCA has extensive experience of both conduct and prudential regulation. As part of its regulation of the sector, the FCA have introduced requirements that ensure that funeral plan providers have sufficient funds to fulfil the funeral plan contracts they have entered into.
This includes rules that require funeral plan providers to:
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1785 on Jagtar Singh Johal, whether the Minister of State for South Asia and the Indian External Affairs Minister discussed when the Indian authorities plan to decide whether to charge or release Jagtar Singh Johal.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, has raised Jagtar Singh Johal's case with the Government of India on numerous occasions. He did so most recently on 13 November with the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case, including the length of his detention and the need for a resolution. The UK Government will continue to raise our concerns about Mr Johal's case with the Government of India.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the adequacy of the telephony system on the parliamentary estate.
Answered by Charles Walker
The telephone system on the parliamentary estate is the subject of a transformative programme called the Voice Programme, and a new telephony system is due to be implemented in 2024. Modernisation of the telephony system to full Voice Over Internet Protocol is also required in preparation for the decommissioning of the analogue service provided through the Public Switched Network.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department made of the potential prevalence of RAAC in buildings (a) owned and (b) occupied by (i) NHS and (ii) other departmental staff.
Answered by Will Quince
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring into force the provisions of the Public Order Act 2023 introducing safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the military lessons to be learned from the conflict in Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
The Russia Ukraine Insights Hub identified insights at the strategic and operational level for Defence drawn from the UK's response to the war in Ukraine. These insights have informed subsequent Defence decision making. In addition to strategic insights, the single Services continue to identify lessons pertinent to their domains.