Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress he has made in removing the requirement for local authorities to maintain a five-year housing land supply; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We consulted on changes to NPPF and are currently carefully considering the responses. We will set out further details later this year.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance the Planning Inspectorate has issued to planning inspectors on taking the mental health of the wider community into consideration for housing application appeals; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Planning Inspectorate does not issue guidance on this matter.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help increase the availability of labour for the defence manufacturing industry.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
With over 100 apprenticeship schemes and 20,000 apprentices under training, defence is offering exciting opportunities to grow the skills we need, including in priority areas like the nuclear enterprise. We are working to improve this further, for example through the National Shipbuilding Office collaboration with the Department for Education to grow the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who have contracted Pseudomonas whilst staying in hospital in each of the last 10 years for which data is available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises in preventing outbreak of infections such as pseudomonas in hospitals to the Department, National Health Service national, regional, and local teams, including commissioners and providers. This is done through collecting and publishing data and supporting in development and updating of Infection Prevention Control (IPC) guidance, as well as providing independent IPC, decontamination, and epidemiology expertise. This also includes provision of subject matter and health protection experts such as Consultants in Public Health Medicine who can assist healthcare providers in the control of protracted and difficult outbreaks and can offer peer support visits, and specialist and reference microbiology services accessible to all healthcare providers in the United Kingdom.
UKHSA runs surveillance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections and publishes case numbers by trust and onset setting, monthly, quarterly, and annually. UKHSA also produces a quarterly epidemiological commentary which presents trends in Gram-negative bacteraemia (including P. aeruginosa) over time.
UKHSA publishes data on Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. This includes epidemiological commentaries, which explain the data and put the results in context. Further information is available at the following link:
The following table shows the number of hospital onset cases of P. aeruginosa since mandatory surveillance began in 2017/18.
Financial year | All reported cases | Hospital onset cases |
2017/2018 | 4,308 | 1,626 |
2018/2019 | 4,186 | 1,518 |
2019/2020 | 4,345 | 1,581 |
2020/2021 | 4,291 | 1,670 |
2021/2022 | 4,334 | 1,626 |
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
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 prevent outbreaks of pseudomonas in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises in preventing outbreak of infections such as pseudomonas in hospitals to the Department, National Health Service national, regional, and local teams, including commissioners and providers. This is done through collecting and publishing data and supporting in development and updating of Infection Prevention Control (IPC) guidance, as well as providing independent IPC, decontamination, and epidemiology expertise. This also includes provision of subject matter and health protection experts such as Consultants in Public Health Medicine who can assist healthcare providers in the control of protracted and difficult outbreaks and can offer peer support visits, and specialist and reference microbiology services accessible to all healthcare providers in the United Kingdom.
UKHSA runs surveillance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections and publishes case numbers by trust and onset setting, monthly, quarterly, and annually. UKHSA also produces a quarterly epidemiological commentary which presents trends in Gram-negative bacteraemia (including P. aeruginosa) over time.
UKHSA publishes data on Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. This includes epidemiological commentaries, which explain the data and put the results in context. Further information is available at the following link:
The following table shows the number of hospital onset cases of P. aeruginosa since mandatory surveillance began in 2017/18.
Financial year | All reported cases | Hospital onset cases |
2017/2018 | 4,308 | 1,626 |
2018/2019 | 4,186 | 1,518 |
2019/2020 | 4,345 | 1,581 |
2020/2021 | 4,291 | 1,670 |
2021/2022 | 4,334 | 1,626 |
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of the Overseas Development Assistance budget was spent on accommodating asylum seekers in the UK in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest data available was published on GOV.UK on 5 April 2023 as part of the provisional Statistics for International Development (SID). In this publication, Home Office In-donor costs for 2022 were £2,382m and total HMG ODA was £12,774m, in line with international spending rules. Here is a link to published statistics The Statistics on International Development: Provisional UK Aid Spent 2022 – GOV.UK
That is why we are shifting to cheaper and basic accommodation and delivering on out plan to stop the boats – which is the enduring way to alleviate unfair pressure on communities and the British taxpayer.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of accommodating asylum seekers in the UK was in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government has been clear that the use of expensive hotels to house the unprecedented number of asylum seekers crossing the Channel is unacceptable and must end. It is costing the UK taxpayer over £6 million a day. That is why we are shifting to cheaper and basic accommodation and delivering on out plan to stop the boats – which is the enduring way to alleviate unfair pressure on communities and the British taxpayer.
A link to the most recent published figures:
https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/04/03/accommodation-sites-factsheet-april-2023/
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who have died as a result of asthma in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire, in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes the Interactive Health Atlas of Lung conditions in England profile that includes asthma metrics and compares local areas within England. The profile includes the mortality rate from asthma.
The following table shows the number of deaths for the last 10 years.
Year | Gloucestershire CCG | England |
2011 | 8 | 982 |
2012 | 8 | 1,054 |
2013 | 8 | 1,037 |
2014 | 8 | 1,045 |
2015 | 12 | 1,221 |
2016 | 13 | 1,169 |
2017 | 9 | 1,236 |
2018 | 12 | 1,333 |
2019 | 13 | 1,202 |
2020 | 10 | 1,261 |
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
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 help reduce the number of fatalities caused by asthma; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Action on chronic respiratory diseases is crucial as they are the third biggest contributor to Years of Life Lost in England. The Major Conditions Strategy will cover treatment and prevention for chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma. The Strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care, building on measures that we have already taken forward through the NHS Long Term Plan. Interventions set out in the Strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of guidance on asthma care; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Action on chronic respiratory diseases is crucial as they are the third biggest contributor to Years of Life Lost in England. The Major Conditions Strategy will cover treatment and prevention for chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma. The Strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care, building on measures that we have already taken forward through the NHS Long Term Plan. Interventions set out in the Strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity.