Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the frequency of rail services (a) at Chester-le-Street station and (b) in County Durham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department works with stakeholders including Transport for the North, elected mayors, transport authorities and passenger groups, as well as train operators, to assess the demand for services. Rail North Partnership, through which the Department jointly manages Northern and TransPennine Trains’ contracts with Transport for the North, monitors operators’ planned train deployment to ensure this falls within the requirement on them to match capacity to demand within the constraints of the network.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the contribution of community pharmacies to local healthcare systems.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including by cutting red tape. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.
We are currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to support community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including by cutting red tape. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.
We are currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to improve the (a) reliability and (b) frequency of bus services in (i) County Durham and (ii) the North East in collaboration with the Mayor of the North East.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will pass the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them, including in County Durham and the North East.
We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on the government’s ambitions.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for (a) launching and (b) concluding an investigation or inquiry into the events at Orgreave in 1984.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to an investigation or inquiry into the policing of the events at Orgreave on 18 June 1984 and will consider options for delivering this. We will ensure that the House is updated as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to increase from three to five the number of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft on order for the Royal Air Force.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are currently no plans to order further E-7 Wedgetail aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
The upcoming Strategic Defence Review will consider the threats Britain faces, the capabilities needed to meet them, the state of UK Armed Forces and the resources available.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent on the Future Combat Air System Tempest programme.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has invested over £2 billion already in Future Combat Air System / Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and the associated Team Tempest R&D programme, which has positioned us to play a leading role in the GCAP. The Secretary of State this week hosted with his Japanese and Italian Ministerial counterparts to discuss progress made on GCAP, including the skills we are developing in our respective nations and the economic growth potential for the programme.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to regenerate town centres (a) in Chester-le-Street, (b) in Stanley and (c) elsewhere.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to delivering a five-step plan to support high streets and town centres across the country, including in Chester-le-Street and Stanley. We will tackle anti-social behaviour with 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs, roll out banking hubs, replace business rates with a new system of business property taxation, stamp out late payments and give communities a strong new ‘right to buy’ beloved community assets to revamp high streets and end the blight of empty premises.
The Government will also work with local partners in the North East to deliver economic growth, supporting local town centres. We will work with the North East Combined Authority on a Local Growth Plan, which will be both locally owned and aligned with the national Industrial Strategy. This is part of our plan to move power out of Westminster and put it in the hands of those with the greatest stake in our country’s future.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of a fleet of three E-7 Wedgetail aircraft in delivery of (a) sovereign AEW&C capability, (b) the UK's NATO commitments and (c) both concurrently.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The upcoming Strategic Defence Review will consider the threats Britain faces, the capabilities needed to meet them, the state of UK Armed Forces and the resources available. It will ensure a ‘NATO-first’ policy is at the heart of Britain’s Defence plans.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of recruitment and retention across the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The new Government is reviewing the adequacy of recruitment, readiness and retention efforts. Our Armed Forces face considerable challenges due to the inadequacy of recruitment and retention in recent years. We have not recruited enough people or retained enough people. This puts pressure on the availability and readiness of units within our Armed Forces and places more burden on those in service. We are determined to change this. The new Government’s work in improving retention and recruitment is part of a package of measures aimed to renew the contract between the nation and those who serve. Strength of our Armed Forces is also being considered as part of the Strategic Defence Review launched by the Prime Minister. We hope to make further announcements about retention and recruitment improvements in due course.