Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to HGV driving tests.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has put in place a number of measures to increase driving tests for heavy goods vehicle drivers.
These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners.
The aim is to increase testing capacity as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining a COVID-secure service for customers and examiners.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the findings were of the Midlands Pilot of the Voluntary Right to Buy Scheme; and whether there is a timeline for the full implementation of that scheme.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Midlands Voluntary Right to Buy Pilot was subject to a full independent evaluation, the findings of which were published in February 2020. The pilot's evaluation confirmed the scheme fulfilled its goal of testing the 'portable discount', presented good value for money, and successfully enabled over 1,800 people to own their own homes. The evaluation also highlighted some of the challenges in the pilot's administration. The final pilot sales will conclude this calendar year.
The full independent evaluation of the Midlands Pilot of the Voluntary Right to Buy is available on www.gov.uk. We are currently reviewing the findings, which will be used to inform future policy and decisions on further implementation.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what clinical trials underway in (a) the UK and (b) elsewhere in the world the Government is monitoring for the purposes of assessing the effectiveness of ivermectin as a treatment for covid-19; and what the timeframes are for the reporting of those trials.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department is closely monitoring the evidence on the case for ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. On 23 June, the PRINCIPLE clinical trial platform announced that ivermectin would be investigated to generate robust data on its effectiveness in treating adults aged 18 years old and over who are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19. We will closely monitor the data from this trial, as well as emerging clinical trials worldwide to expand our evidence-base on the efficacy of ivermectin. We expect that data will become available from trials throughout 2021 and 2022 and will be reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many extant planning permissions there are which permit the construction of fracking sites.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government does not collect data at this level of detail. We do collect statistics on applications for oil and gas development but without distinguishing the method (such as hydraulic fracturing) by which the oil or gas is extracted from the ground. The data is publicly available and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-planning-application-statistics.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned timetable is for the conclusion of the trials of ivermectin as a potential treatment for covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department has been closely monitoring the evidence on the case for ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. A recent collection of small studies show some positive indications that ivermectin may act as a treatment for COVID-19. However, further high quality, larger-scale studies are still needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of this treatment. We will continue to closely monitor the data from further emerging clinical trials worldwide to expand our evidence-base on the efficacy of ivermectin in treating COVID-19.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what herbicide and sprout suppressants have been approved by his Department for use in the UK following the ban on the use of CIPC; and whether his Department has issued guidance to farmers switching from using CIPC to alternative herbicide and sprout suppressants.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
The Government is aware that the loss of chlorpropham (CIPC), has left a gap in availability of products to control sprouting in stored potatoes, and that in some situations, particularly where potatoes are intended for processing, there are no similarly effective solutions currently available.
Before an alternative pesticide can be used, its active substance must be approved and the pesticide product itself must be authorised. Decisions on approval and authorisation are based on an assessment of the risks posed to people and to the environment. Such decisions are devolved and so are taken by the relevant government or by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on its behalf.
The active substance 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene (1,4-DMN) is an alternative to chlorpropham (CIPC). At present there is no authorised product. The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have granted an emergency authorisation allowing the limited and controlled use until 31 May 2021 of the 1,4-DMN product, 1,4-Sight, to prevent sprouting of harvested potatoes. This emergency authorisation is granted in recognition of the need for sprout suppression and the lack, in certain circumstances, of alternative means of control. The application for full authorisation is being considered by the HSE. Advice on the availability and use of alternative products is provided by industry bodies.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made has made of whether pink sputum should be part of the critical illness assessment in the NHS pathway review.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
NHS Pathways includes specific questions designed to determine if any blood has been coughed up by a patient. These questions are continually reviewed in order to enhance and refine the product. The NHS Pathways team is currently reviewing whether asking a caller about ‘pink frothy sputum (or phlegm)’ in the relevant symptomatic pathways is required in the context of the wider critical illness assessment.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using pirfenidone and nintedanib for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Answered by Jo Churchill
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for producing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether medicines represent a clinical and cost-effective use of resources.
NICE has published guidance recommending nintedanib and pirfenidone as options for treating adults with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis if the person has a forced vital capacity between 50% and 80%. NICE is currently considering whether an update to this guidance is required and expects to inform stakeholders of the outcome early this year.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan, what progress his Department has made in investigating whether more can be done on to improve the M1 smart motorway between Junctions 30 to 35 (Sheffield).
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We have committed £500 million to deliver smart motorway safety improvements across the strategic road network. The Secretary of State has asked Highways England for a one-year on report since the Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan was published, setting out the progress in delivering the 18-point Action Plan and identifying actions that can be delivered early. He has asked for the report by 12 March 2021 so any accelerated works can rapidly be put in place.
For the M1 J32-35a, Highways England will commence the installation of SVD in February 2021 and it is expected to be operational in Summer 2021.
For the M1 J28-31, Highways England are expected to start the installation of SVD in August 2021 and it is expected to be operational by March 2022.
All emergency areas now have a new bright orange road surface and new, more frequent signs have been installed.
Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to help reduce and discourage littering on roads and major highways.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In the 2017 Litter Strategy, the Government set out a number of commitments to tackle roadside litter through education, improved infrastructure and enforcement.
We have already given councils new powers to hold the keeper of a vehicle responsible for litter thrown from it by issuing a civil penalty, carried out a pilot survey of roadside cleanliness on those parts of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which are litter-picked by local authorities and engaged over 100 of those authorities in research to explore associated issues, challenges and good practice.
We expect to publish a report on our findings later this year. This work is ongoing and will also support future updates to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse.
On other parts of the SRN the responsibility for cleansing lies with Highways England, who have committed to their vision of a network predominantly free from litter, without compromising safety and delivered affordably, in their own Litter Strategy, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-england-litter-strategy
We will continue to promote anti-littering messages where possible, as we have done recently via social media and dedicated campaigns such as ‘Respect the Outdoors’.
On behalf of Defra and MHCLG, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have recently published guidance for local authorities and Business Improvement Districts in England on the provision of litter bins, which includes a section on ‘Highways, laybys and rest stops’. We are also making £2 million available in the form of grants to local authorities to improve the provision of litter bins.
The Right Bin in the Right Place guidance is available at https://wrap.org.uk/content/binfrastructure-right-bin-right-place .