Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to ensure appropriate arrangements are made available to safeguard vulnerable women who participate in criminal justice proceedings.
Answered by Phillip Lee
I am committed to making the process of going to court simpler, easier, and more sympathetic to victims. My department’s court reform programme will make sure victims and witnesses, both male and female, continue to be treated with respect throughout the process. For example, the digitisation of the courts services is having a positive impact on victims by providing the ability to give video evidence rather than facing the trauma of attending court.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the National Pollinator Strategy.
Answered by George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given the hon. Member for Eastleigh, Johnny Mercer, on 4 February 2016, PQ UIN903446.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of people in Wales are involved in regular sport.
Answered by Alun Cairns
Sport is a devolved matter in Wales and is therefore the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
However, the Sport Wales’ Active Adult Survey 2014 found that 72% of adults in Wales had participated in sport and physical recreation within the previous four weeks of being surveyed.
Furthermore, their School Sport Survey 2015 found that 48% of children in Wales were participating in sports three or more times a week.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase diagnosis rates of familial hypercholesterolemia.
Answered by Jane Ellison
NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) are working to raise the profile of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) and break down the barriers to genetic testing.
NHS England’s national clinical director (NCD) for heart disease chairs an FH steering group which comprises representatives from relevant stakeholder organisations. This group, with funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), has established FH specialist nurses in many areas of England, aimed at increasing FH cascade testing so that more affected families can be identified. The NCD has worked closely with BHF in their appointment of the FH Nurses, and with the other major charity in this field - HEART-UK. Software to support cascade testing and provide a database for FH is available and will be increasingly used in England as FH services are established.
NHS England has also identified FH as a possible condition that it could focus on as part of the work looking into personalised medicine and how the National Health Service might make better use of increased genetic testing.
Furthermore, the Healthcare Public Health Team at PHE is working in collaboration with national and local partners and experts in the field through an FH Steering Group chaired by the National Clinical Director for Cardiology, and led by the BHF, to develop a systems approach to the detection and management of FH.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Italian model of cardiac screening for young people involved in sport.
Answered by Jane Ellison
There are a number of questions relating to the effectiveness of the Italian programme that are not available in published literature. The screening programme had been asked previously to provide unpublished data and information but have not to date done so. I wrote to the Italian government again in February 2016 with no response received. Departmental officials will continue to follow this up.
The most recent review of risk of sudden cardiac death reviewed published evidence and literature relating to a variety of programmes including that in Italy;
http://legacy.screening.nhs.uk/suddencardiacdeath
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Sport England's (a) implementation of the strategy to tackle inactivity and (b) use of funding for that purpose.
Answered by David Evennett
Government is determined to tackle physical inactivity. Around one in two women and a third of men in England are damaging their health through a lack of physical activity.
In December 2015, Government published ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation", which set out a new vision for a successful and active sporting nation, with a strong focus on reaching inactive people and helping them to get moving in ways that suit them.
Sport England's new strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’, published on 19 May, is consistent with, and takes forward, the Government's vision and relevant recommendations from Sporting Future, including those on inactivity. It sets out the organisation's plans for tackling inactivity, including by tripling its current investment to over £250m over 4 years, making it the largest single national investor in tackling inactivity. As part of that it will create a new, dedicated fund of £120 million to tackle inactivity over the next four years, building on the insight gained from pilots of their Get Healthy Get Active fund.
Government will report annually on progress in implementing 'Sporting Future'.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 9722, what proportion of land is now covered by a local plan.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
239 of 338 local planning authorities (71%) have an adopted Local Plan and 287 (85%) have published a Local Plan. Approximately 67% of England’s land area is covered by adopted Local Plans and 87% covered by published plans.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of local authorities have a dedicated Armed Forces Champion.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
407 Local Authorities at district level and above have signed Armed Forces Covenant pledges although signing the Covenant is not a mandatory requirement for these bodies. These are voluntary commitments as is the nomination of a Covenant Champion. Ministry of Defence officials are in contact with Covenant Champions for 287 Local Authorities some of whom will act as representatives for other Local Authorities in their area. Among those Local Authorities who do not have a champion, there are those who do have a dedicated point of contact for Covenant issues.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many parish councils were created in the last Parliament.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Department for Communities and Local Government received notification of some 40 newly created Parish Councils during the last Parliament.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of protection within the National Planning Policy Framework for ancient woodland.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
The existing protection for ancient woodland in the National Planning Policy Framework is strong. The Framework is clear that planning permission should be refused for development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including ancient woodland, unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location clearly outweigh the loss.