Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people on zero-hours contracts in High Peak constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd December is attached.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will continue to consider all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from Iran-linked threats.
More than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including the IRGC in its entirety are sanctioned.
We keep the list of proscribed organisations under constant review and continue to work at pace to identify further ways to tackle Iranian state threats.
The National Security Act 2023 provides another significant toolkit in the fight against individuals working for state entities like the IRGC. The UK is now a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, including espionage, interference in our political system, sabotage, and assassination.
The Government continually assesses potential threats to the UK, and takes the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety incredibly seriously – wherever those threats may originate.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to reform NHS health and social care services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Lord Darzi's report made clear the NHS suffered from a failure to reform over the last 15 years. This government will deliver this reform with investment to turn services around.
Reform is at the heart of our health mission and will be delivered by the upcoming 10 Year Plan for Health – delivering on the three shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention.
We are also committed to building consensus on the long-term reform needed to create a National Care Service.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) support and (b) resources his Department has provided to help support GP surgeries to (i) clear patient backlogs and (ii) reduce workloads in High Peak constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP), and we are committed to fixing this crisis in GPs to secure the long-term sustainability of the National Health Service. High Peak sits within the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), where the percentage of appointments delivered within two weeks of booking is 12.7% lower than the national average.
This government has committed to fixing the front door to the NHS by shifting the focus from hospitals and into the community. We know that if patients can’t get a GP appointment, they will end up in A&E, which is worse for them, and more expensive for the taxpayer.
NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future, and we are providing £82m to fund the recruitment over 1,000 newly qualified GPs, to increase capacity and reduce workloads.
We are pleased to announce that newly qualified GPs will be included in the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment, with additional funding over 2024/25.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the recruitment and retention of GPs in High Peak constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to training thousands more GPs across the country as well as taking pressure off those currently working in the system.
Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) reports that it supports recruitment and retention in the High Peak and across Derby and Derbyshire, providing a range of initiatives. These include a new to practice scheme that supports GPs and Practice Nurses for the first two years of their career, and GP mentorship and fellowship schemes.
We have accepted the recommendations of the DDRB, the independent pay review body, in full and subject to consultation with the BMA will uplift the pay element of the GP contract by 6% on a consolidated basis, to provide practices with funding to uplift GP partner, salaried GP and other salaried staff pay by 6%.
Funding for these awards will be backdated to April 2024, and it is our expectation this funding is passed on to all salaried general practice staff.
The government recently announced changes to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme which allows primary care networks to recruit newly qualified GPs through the scheme for 24/25. This is an emergency measure whilst the government works with the profession to identify a longer term solution.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of online-only booking at railway stations on elderly travellers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no proposals for online-only booking at railway stations. Ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of our passenger-focused approach. As modern ticketing and payment methods roll out more widely on the railways, we will ensure that all passengers, including those who need to use cash or do not have access to smartphones or the internet, are able to buy a ticket across the different retail options.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of ticket office closures in railway stations on communities; and what steps she plans to take to avoid closures.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Passenger service is at the heart of our plans to improve Britain’s railways and it is clear the role that station staff play in supporting vulnerable passengers. This Government has no plans to close ticket offices and we expect train operating companies to take measures to ensure they are open at published times.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) football clubs remain community assets and (b) fans get a greater say in how they are run.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government wants to make this country the best place in the world to be a football fan. That is why the King’s Speech set out our plans for legislation to establish an independent football regulator.
The new regulator will protect and promote the sustainability of English football. The Bill will provide greater protections to club heritage and give fans more of a voice in how their club is run. It will ensure responsible owners for these community assets, by creating a new owners’ and directors’ test. It will also ensure that clubs can’t be syphoned off from the English football pyramid to set up closed-shop and breakaway leagues.
We will introduce this legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to take steps to help ensure the financial suitability of potential buyers of football clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government wants to make this country the best place in the world to be a football fan. That is why the King’s Speech set out our plans for legislation to establish an independent football regulator.
The new regulator will protect and promote the sustainability of English football. The Bill will provide greater protections to club heritage and give fans more of a voice in how their club is run. It will ensure responsible owners for these community assets, by creating a new owners’ and directors’ test. It will also ensure that clubs can’t be syphoned off from the English football pyramid to set up closed-shop and breakaway leagues.
We will introduce this legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jon Pearce (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of unoccupied dwellings in (a) Derbyshire and (b) High Peak constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department publishes data on vacant dwellings in live table 615 which can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants. This data is collated from Council Taxbase data collected from local authorities.
Data for Derbyshire can be aggregated from the district level data. Data are not available at a constituency level.