Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many daily services Avanti West Coast runs under its current timetable.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Avanti West Coast run a seven train per hour timetable which equates to 264 weekday services, 244 on Saturdays, and 202 on Sundays. However, from 24 July to 8 September, Avanti has removed 20 trains a day from its weekday timetable, to enable it to run a more reliable service for its customers, minimising unplanned, short-term cancellations. This is a temporary measure and from 9 September it will return to current levels. The base position is subject to change as Avanti agrees plans to mitigate the impact of strikes and Network Rail engineering works, particularly on weekends.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Avanti West Coast on possible service reductions in (a) August and (b) September; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Avanti West Coast weekday timetables for August and September 2023 are publicly available on the Avanti website. Department officials routinely engage with Avanti and its Owning Group, including on all significant timetabling and performance decisions. We are holding them to account for matters within their control and will continue to use all contractual levers to drive the best outcomes for passengers.
As previously advised to line-of-route MPs, to help maintain the progress it has made so far, Avanti has been taking steps to build in greater resilience in key periods. Given the continued disruption arising from a greatly increased annual leave burden, Avanti is temporarily suspending a limited number of targeted services between 24 July and 9 September 2023. These temporary reductions, spread across its routes and targeted at times of least impact, will help prevent short notice cancellations for passengers, giving them confidence that what they see in the timetable will run reliably. It’s important to note that, throughout this period, Avanti will continue running more services than last year.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government plans to bring forward a health disparities white paper in 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Major Conditions White Paper, that we announced on Tuesday, will apply a geographical lens to address disparities in outcomes. This will support the levelling up mission to extend healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035 and narrow the gap between areas by 2030.
As the Major Conditions White Paper will therefore cover many of the same areas as a document focused on health disparities, we will no longer be publishing a separate White Paper.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made on the availability of prison places in 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The Ministry of Justice continually monitors the availability of prison places and will ensure availability of places sufficient for the requirement.
Following a sharp increase in the adult male prison population in the autumn we formally activated Operation Safeguard, working alongside the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to provide additional capacity as a precautionary measure as needed, to ensure the smooth running of the prison estate. No police cells have yet been used.
To ensure ongoing availability, we are delivering 20,000 additional, modern prison places, the largest prison build programme in a century. We have already delivered over 3,100 of these additional places to date.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been provided through the National Tutoring Programme in Blackburn in each month since it that programme was launched.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department does not hold information on Tuition Partners or Academic Mentors in the required format at constituency level.
School-led tutoring grant allocations by school and local authority for the academic year 2021 to 2022 have been published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071234/School_Led_Funding_Publication_File_flat_values_v1.ods
Payment information relating to School-Led Tutoring for the academic year 2021 to 2022 will be published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency once the reconciliation process has been completed for that period.
School-led tutoring grant allocations for the academic year 2022 to 2023 have been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-ntp-allocations-for-2022-to-2023-academic-year.
Between November 2020 and June 2022, over two million tuition courses were started. The Government has committed more than £1 billion to support tutoring over academic years 2020 to 2023/24, during which we aim to offer up to six million tutoring courses.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP practices were open in Blackburn in September 2022; and how many there were in September 2013.
Answered by Will Quince
In September 2013 there were 23 practices registered in Blackburn, with 18 practices registered in September 2022.
Practices close for a variety of reasons, including practice mergers or retirement. A reduction in practice numbers does not mean a reduction in the quality of care. When a practice does close, patients are informed and advised to register at another local practice of their choice. Practices and commissioners must put in place appropriate measures to ensure that the affected patients have access to general practice services.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent fully qualified GPs (excluding GPs in training grade) were practicing in Blackburn in September 2022; and how many there were in September 2013.
Answered by Will Quince
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP Speciality Trainees have been recruited in East Lancashire as part of Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme 2021-2022 and what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the numbers recruited to that scheme to meet local demand.
Answered by Will Quince
No trainees were recruited as part of the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in 2021/2022 in East Lancashire. In the 2022/2023 scheme, 38 training places have been offered in East Lancashire.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of GPs in Blackburn.
Answered by Will Quince
We are working with NHS England, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England, including in Blackburn. This includes measures to improve recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.
The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new schemes, alongside continued support for existing recruitment and retention schemes for the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, the New to Partnership Payment and the Supporting Mentors Scheme. General practitioners in Lancashire and South Cumbria also have access to the national GP Career Support Hub. It provides information, guidance and support on career development, learning, mentoring, appraisals, career options and flexibility, wellbeing, pay and pensions.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other steps her Department is taking to help tackle NHS workforce shortages in Blackburn constituency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention, including in Blackburn.