Nadine Dorries Portrait

Nadine Dorries

Conservative - Former Member for Mid Bedfordshire

First elected: 5th May 2005


Nadine Dorries is not a member of any APPGs
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
15th Sep 2021 - 6th Sep 2022
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
6th May 2020 - 15th Sep 2021
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
27th Jul 2019 - 6th May 2020
Panel of Chairs
22nd Jun 2017 - 3rd Sep 2019
Panel of Chairs
26th May 2011 - 3rd May 2017
Health and Social Care Committee
12th Jul 2010 - 27th Jun 2011
Commons Science and Technology
1st Oct 2009 - 6th May 2010
Energy and Climate Change Committee
19th Jan 2009 - 6th May 2010
Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee
10th Mar 2008 - 30th Sep 2009
Innovation, Universities and Skills
9th Nov 2007 - 10th Mar 2008
Science and Technology Committee (Commons)
2nd Jul 2007 - 30th Oct 2007
Science and Technology Committee
2nd Jul 2007 - 30th Oct 2007
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
2nd Jul 2007 - 30th Oct 2007
Education & Skills
12th Jul 2005 - 11th Dec 2006


Division Voting information

Nadine Dorries has voted in 2240 divisions, and 43 times against the majority of their Party.

3 Apr 2019 - European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 5) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 95 Conservative Aye votes vs 203 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 105 Noes - 509
27 Mar 2019 - EU Exit Day Amendment - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 93 Conservative No votes vs 150 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 441 Noes - 105
15 Jan 2019 - European Union (Withdrawal) Act - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 118 Conservative No votes vs 196 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 202 Noes - 432
15 Nov 2016 - Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative Aye votes vs 284 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 256 Noes - 287
9 Mar 2016 - Enterprise Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 25 Conservative Aye votes vs 281 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 317 Noes - 286
24 Feb 2016 - Transitional State Pension Arrangements for Women - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 6 Conservative Aye votes vs 288 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 265 Noes - 289
7 Sep 2015 - European Union Referendum Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 37 Conservative No votes vs 276 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 285 Noes - 312
16 Jun 2015 - European Union Referendum Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 25 Conservative Aye votes vs 285 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 97 Noes - 288
27 Oct 2014 - Recall of MPs Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 110 Conservative Aye votes vs 135 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 166 Noes - 340
22 Oct 2014 - Independent parliamentary standards authority - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 5 Conservative No votes vs 185 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 384 Noes - 18
15 Jul 2014 - Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill (Business of the House) - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 9 Conservative No votes vs 210 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 436 Noes - 49
15 Jul 2014 - Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 15 Conservative Aye votes vs 224 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 56 Noes - 454
15 Jul 2014 - Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 17 Conservative Aye votes vs 193 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 25 Noes - 440
13 May 2014 - Prohibition of Unpaid Internships - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Conservative Aye votes vs 18 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 181 Noes - 19
5 Mar 2014 - Judgments - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 83 Conservative No votes vs 123 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 360 Noes - 104
5 Mar 2014 - Registration of Births, deaths and marriages etc - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 81 Conservative No votes vs 124 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 363 Noes - 100
5 Mar 2014 - Registration of births, deaths and marriages etc - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 83 Conservative No votes vs 123 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 366 Noes - 103
5 Mar 2014 - Marriage - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 81 Conservative No votes vs 126 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 367 Noes - 100
5 Mar 2014 - Marriage - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 84 Conservative No votes vs 123 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 365 Noes - 103
5 Mar 2014 - Marriage - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 79 Conservative No votes vs 126 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 368 Noes - 98
22 Nov 2013 - European Union (Referendum) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 14 Conservative Aye votes vs 244 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 15 Noes - 249
31 Oct 2013 - High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 19 Conservative No votes vs 229 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 350 Noes - 34
30 Oct 2013 - enterprise - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 16 Conservative No votes vs 218 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 290 Noes - 22
31 Oct 2012 - Multiannual Financial Framework - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 51 Conservative Aye votes vs 235 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 307 Noes - 294
12 Jul 2012 - Draft European Union Budget - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 2 Conservative Aye votes vs 199 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 141 Noes - 234
11 Jul 2012 - Sittings of the House - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 87 Conservative No votes vs 142 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 241 Noes - 256
11 Jul 2012 - Sittings of the House - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 93 Conservative Aye votes vs 139 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 267 Noes - 233
11 Jul 2012 - Sittings of the House - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 90 Conservative Aye votes vs 123 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 280 Noes - 184
11 Jul 2012 - Sittings of the House - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 39 Conservative Aye votes vs 167 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 205 Noes - 228
10 Jul 2012 - House of Lords Reform Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 89 Conservative No votes vs 192 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 462 Noes - 124
2 Jul 2012 - Finance Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 8 Conservative Aye votes vs 251 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 234 Noes - 300
19 Apr 2012 - Finance (No. 4) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 10 Conservative Aye votes vs 243 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 240 Noes - 283
18 Apr 2012 - Finance (No. 4) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 17 Conservative Aye votes vs 250 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 262 Noes - 287
18 Apr 2012 - Finance (No. 4) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 14 Conservative Aye votes vs 252 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 258 Noes - 293
12 Mar 2012 - Backbench Business Committee - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 40 Conservative Aye votes vs 141 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 105 Noes - 186
22 Feb 2012 - Annual Statements of Healthcare Costs - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Conservative No votes vs 78 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 81 Noes - 176
5 Dec 2011 - Ministerial Statements - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 15 Conservative Aye votes vs 195 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 119 Noes - 228
24 Oct 2011 - National Referendum on the European Union - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 81 Conservative Aye votes vs 209 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 111 Noes - 483
7 Sep 2011 - Health and Social Care (Re-committed) Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 94 Conservative Aye votes vs 115 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 118 Noes - 368
28 Jun 2011 - Finance Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 13 Conservative Aye votes vs 227 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 23 Noes - 473
17 May 2011 - Localism Bill - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 19 Conservative Aye votes vs 230 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 29 Noes - 279
20 May 2008 - Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 40 Conservative Aye votes vs 70 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 71 Noes - 393
20 May 2008 - Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Nadine Dorries voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 50 Conservative Aye votes vs 67 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 84 Noes - 387
View All Nadine Dorries Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Kevan Jones (Labour)
(33 debate interactions)
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Conservative)
Foreign Secretary
(29 debate interactions)
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Human Rights)
(28 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(568 debate contributions)
Department for Work and Pensions
(41 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(36 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Nadine Dorries's debates

Mid Bedfordshire Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

Black Women in the U.K. are 5 times more likely to die during pregnancy and after childbirth compared to White Women (MBRRACE, 2019). We need more research done into why this is happening and recommendations to improve health care for Black Women as urgent action is needed to address this disparity.

Matthew was taken to, ‘a place of safety’, and died 7 days later.
24 others died by the same means, dating back to the year 2000. An indicator that little was done to address the growing problems.
Something went terribly wrong with the NHS Mental Health Services provided to my son.


Latest EDMs signed by Nadine Dorries

11th April 2019
Nadine Dorries signed this EDM on Tuesday 23rd April 2019

Exiting the European Union

Tabled by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (Exit Day) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I., 2019, No. 859), dated 11 April 2019, a copy of which was laid before this House on 11 April 2019, be annulled.
82 signatures
(Most recent: 29 Apr 2019)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 70
Democratic Unionist Party: 7
Independent: 4
Non-affiliated: 1
View All Nadine Dorries's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Nadine Dorries, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Nadine Dorries has not been granted any Urgent Questions

6 Adjournment Debates led by Nadine Dorries

Tuesday 16th October 2018
Thursday 5th March 2015
Thursday 7th November 2013
Thursday 27th June 2013
Monday 23rd January 2012

3 Bills introduced by Nadine Dorries


A Bill to make provision about the security of internet-connectable products and products capable of connecting to such products; to make provision about electronic communications infrastructure; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 6th December 2022 and was enacted into law.


A Bill to make provision for the regulation of the processing of information relating to identified or identifiable living individuals; to make provision about services consisting of the use of information to ascertain and verify facts about individuals; to make provision about access to customer data and business data; to make provision about privacy and electronic communications; to make provision about services for the provision of electronic signatures, electronic seals and other trust services; to make provision about the disclosure of information to improve public service delivery; to make provision for the implementation of agreements on sharing information for law enforcement purposes; to make provision about the keeping and maintenance of registers of births and deaths; to make provision about information standards for health and social care; to establish the Information Commission; to make provision about oversight of biometric data; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Monday 18th July 2022

The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require schools to provide certain additional sex education to girls aged between 13 and 16; to provide that such education must include information and advice on the benefits of abstinence from sexual activity; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Wednesday 4th May 2011

Nadine Dorries has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1 Other Department Questions
19th Dec 2017
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on disabled access to the platforms at Flitwick station.

No such discussions have taken place.

Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises or buildings and services so that disabled customers are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, which means that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require.

The delivery of accessible transport, including disabled access at stations and transport hubs is the responsibility of the Department for Transport.

22nd Oct 2014
To ask the Attorney General, how many employees of the Crown Prosecution Service have been trained on the law on stalking to date; and what further such training is planned.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has developed two online e-Learning courses on all types of stalking. The “Cyber Crime: Cyber Stalking” course includes cyber stalking, non-cyber stalking and harassment. The “Stalking and Harassment” course (which was released in April 2014) deals specifically with stalking and harassment offences.

The CPS maintains a central record of the number of employees who have been trained on the law on stalking by way of the e-Learning courses. 1581 of its employees in post on 23 October 2014 have completed all elements of either of the e-Learning courses in the period between 1 November 2012 (the month when the Cyber Stalking e-Learning module was revised to include the new stalking offences) and 23 October 2014.

In October 2014 the CPS issued follow-up, face-to-face training material on the Stalking and Harassment offences. It can be used flexibly at a local CPS level; accordingly, its delivery is not recorded on a central database.

Although there are no current plans for new training products to be launched, the CPS will continue to train its staff in this critical area of work.

22nd Oct 2014
To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged under the provisions of section 4a of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 since 25 November 2012.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd on 23rd October 2014 (questions, 211141, 211143 and 211144). The previous answer included tables detailing the number of offences charged under Sections 4A(1)(a)(b)(i), Sections 4A(1)(a)(b)(ii) and 2A(1) of the 1997 Act broken down by each police force in England and Wales.

22nd Oct 2014
To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged under the provisions of section 2a of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 since 25 November 2012.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd on 23rd October 2014 (questions, 211141, 211143 and 211144). The previous answer included tables detailing the number of offences charged under Sections 4A(1)(a)(b)(i), Sections 4A(1)(a)(b)(ii) and 2A(1) of the 1997 Act broken down by each police force in England and Wales.

23rd Feb 2016
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many women have died from primary cervical cancer at the age of (a) 20, (b) 21, (c) 22, (d) 23, (e) 24 and (f) 25 in each year since 2003.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

11th Nov 2014
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many harassment cases were reported to the police in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the feasibility of improving disabled access to platforms at Flitwick station; and if he will make a statement.

We are committed to improving station accessibility and have continued with the Access for All programme which has delivered more than 160 accessible routes at stations. We will be making further funding available in the next Rail Control Period (2019-24) and will confirm the way in which we will deliver this as soon as possible.

For schemes such as Flitwick to be considered for this future funding it will need strong support from the industry. A proportion of third party funding would also help to weight the station’s business case.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average spare capacity was on Thameslink trains from Bedford to St Pancras during peak hours in the latest period for which figures are available.

There is no published information on the average spare capacity on Thameslink trains between Bedford and London St Pancras.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passengers travelled to London from Bedford during peak hours on East Midlands trains in the latest period for which figures are available.

There is no published information on the number of passengers travelling between Bedford and London.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level overcrowding on Thameslink trains between Bedford and St Pancras during peak times.

The Department publishes statistical information on levels of overcrowding on an annual basis. These statistics represent overcrowding levels during a typical autumn weekday peak and are available by train operator for central London stations and major cities in England and Wales.

The table below shows the average passengers in excess of capacity (PiXC) for Thameslink services arriving and departing St. Pancras International in autumn 2016, the latest period for which data are available.

Passengers in excess of capacity (PiXC) for Thameslink services at St. Pancras International; autumn 2016

AM peak arrivals (07:00-09:59)

PM peak departures (16:00-18:59)

4.3%

4.3%

Passengers in excess of capacity, or PiXC, shows the percentage of standard class passengers above a service’s capacity at its busiest point. For example, a train with a capacity of 90 carrying 100 standard class passengers has 10 passengers in excess of capacity, and its PiXC percentage is 10% (that is, 10 passengers out of 100 are over the train’s capacity).

Further disaggregation of this data i.e. for particular services or routes are not published as they are deemed to be commercially confidential.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department made of the effect on capacity of the Thameslink line between Bedford and St Pancras of East Midland line trains not stopping at (a) Bedford and (b) Luton from May 2018.

As a result of East Midlands Trains being unable to stop at Bedford or Luton at peak times, the Department expects approximately 1500 passengers from Bedford and 500 passengers from Luton to transfer to Thameslink services to London each day, from May 2018. However, passengers on this route will benefit from capacity improvements as a result of the Thameslink Programme which mean that GTR will provide around 2000 additional seats from Bedford and nearly 3000 extra seats from Luton, off-setting the extra demand.

In order to continue to provide some faster services between Bedford, Luton and London, GTR will remove some intermediate stops from a total of 4 trains in the morning and 6 trains in the evening. However, the improvements to capacity across the peak periods mean that GTR will still be able to provide more seats at intermediate stations than it does today.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the travel experiences of blind and partially sighted people; and if he will make a statement.

The Government plans to publish an accessibility action plan (AAP) to improve the travel experience of disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people. We are working with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to assess what information should go in this publication and how to update any other Departmental guidance to make it used and useful to visually impaired people and a wide audience. We plan for the AAP to be ready for wider consultation in the summer.

12th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to make travel on the Thameslink line more accessible for disabled passengers.

On the Thameslink route, the new Thameslink trains currently being manufactured will enter service later this year. The full fleet will be in service by the end of 2018. The train specification was developed to meet the latest standards and is fully compliant with accessibility standards for heavy rail (the Persons of Reduced Mobility Technical Specification for Interoperability – PRM-TSI).

To aid boarding and alighting, the Thameslink Programme is providing dedicated ramps at stations and on board the trains, in addition to raised platform areas at busy central London stations that will step free from street level to the new trains. The boarding positions will be clearly indicated for disabled users.

12th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of Govia Thameslink's ability to safely transport disabled passengers; and if he will make a statement.

We expect Govia Thameslink Railway to demonstrate its ability to carry all passengers safely through its safety management system. The Office of Rail and Road issues safety certificates for passenger operators in its capacity as safety regulator and carries out any enforcement necessary for safety issues.

3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to there being no trains available to operate services in the most recent period for which figures are available.

In rail period 1608 (18 October – 14 November) there were 448 full and 403 part cancellations attributed to rolling stock fleet causes. These figures include cancellations made for service recovery reasons where the initial incident was caused by rolling stock failure.

3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions Ministers have had with Govia Thameslink on improving the punctuality and reliability of that company's train service in the last six months.

I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.



3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve reliability and punctuality of the Govia Thameslink rail line.

I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.



3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to require improvement of the punctuality and reliability of Govia Thameslink train services.

I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.



3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.





Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

Full cancellations

1093

1331

723

706

Part cancellations

458

410

406

411

Total

1551

1741

1129

1117


The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.


3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to problems with the line infrastructure in the most recent period for which figures are available.

The latest rail reporting period was 18th October to 14th November. There were 757 full and 1,623 part cancellations attributed to Network Rail causes. The causes include infrastructure failures, poor railhead conditions, external incidents (e.g. trespass and vandalism) and adverse weather related incidents. The Department does not hold disaggregated data that shows individual causes. The latest rail reporting period was 18th October to 14th November. There were 757 full and 1,623 part cancellations attributed to Network Rail causes. The causes include infrastructure failures, poor railhead conditions, external incidents (e.g. trespass and vandalism) and adverse weather related incidents. The Department does not hold disaggregated data that shows individual causes.



3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent four time periods for which figures are available.

Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.





Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

Full cancellations

1093

1331

723

706

Part cancellations

458

410

406

411

Total

1551

1741

1129

1117


The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.


3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver illness in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.





Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

Full cancellations

1093

1331

723

706

Part cancellations

458

410

406

411

Total

1551

1741

1129

1117


The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.


3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to adverse weather conditions in the most recent period for which figures are available.

The latest rail reporting period was 18th October to 14th November. There were 757 full and 1,623 part cancellations attributed to Network Rail causes. The causes include infrastructure failures, poor railhead conditions, external incidents (e.g. trespass and vandalism) and adverse weather related incidents. The Department does not hold disaggregated data that shows individual causes. The latest rail reporting period was 18th October to 14th November. There were 757 full and 1,623 part cancellations attributed to Network Rail causes. The causes include infrastructure failures, poor railhead conditions, external incidents (e.g. trespass and vandalism) and adverse weather related incidents. The Department does not hold disaggregated data that shows individual causes.



3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to increase standards of social care; and if he will make a statement.

In July 2012, the Government set out its vision of the development of high quality care services in the White Paper, Caring for our future: Reforming care and support. This was reinforced in the Care Act. It set out clearly the care and support system we want to achieve – with the support of care and support organisations, charities, carers, volunteers and the public. The Adult Social Care Workforce programme supports delivery of this vision, through increasing capacity, improving capability and developing leadership.

On the recommendation of the Cavendish report into the failings at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, we are introducing the new Care Certificate, to help ensure that healthcare assistants, social care support workers and their employers can deliver a consistently high quality standard of care.

Health Education England, Skills for Care and Skills for Health launched the pilot for the Care Certificate on 28 April 2014. The pilot is taking place across a range of health and social care settings, and, subject to evaluation, the national introduction of the Care Certificate is planned for March 2015.

In order to make sure that people are held to account for the quality of care they provide, we are introducing measures to ensure that company directors who consent or turn a blind eye to poor care will be liable for prosecution. In the future, they and provider organisations could face unlimited fines if found guilty.

To ensure that social care providers and services employ and are run by people with the right values and skills, we are introducing a ‘fit and proper person’ test for Directors. Where the Care Quality Commission (CQC) considers a Director not to be fit to run a provider organisation, it will be able to insist on his or her removal.

The Government realised that the regulation and inspection of social care provision needed to improve. As a result, the CQC has introduced a new system of inspection of social care providers, backed by new fundamental standards of care. This new system of inspection is based on five important questions that matter most to people: whether services are safe, caring, effective, well-led and responsive to their needs. CQC inspections now result in a provider being rated on a four-point scale - ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’, for each of the five domains that it inspects. This results in clear, straightforward information that commissioners of services and the public can understand.

The new inspections are carried out by expert inspection teams, which include people who have personal experience of care. The CQC piloted the new approach from April 2014 and began to inspect and rate all providers against the new standards in October.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

Employers are responsible for ensuring that any potential employee has the required level of communication skills for their role. It is essential that a workers’ command of English should be considered as part of the recruitment process. Under CQC’s current approach to inspection and regulation, it is stipulated that workers in adult social care should be able to communicate effectively with people who use services and other staff and to ensure that care, treatment and support of service users is not compromised. This applies to all workers, whatever their background or nationality.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to work with local councils to improve their recording and reporting of complaints against providers of social care.

Each local authority is responsible for the quality of social care services it commissions. There is no national register or oversight of complaints in social care. However, local authorities are required, pursuant to the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service (England) Regulations 2009, to keep a record of each complaint received, the subject matter and outcome and timescales for responding.

They are also obliged to make a summary of this information available to the public via an annual report. The Government believes that we should be committed to ensuring the system for resolving complaints about care is compassionate, personal, responsive, timely and ensures lessons are learned.

The Department established a national complaints programme board in December 2013. A comprehensive programme has been developed with national partners, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Healthwatch England, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, the Local Government Association, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Association, to bring about important changes to the way complainants are supported and complaints are handled across the health and social care systems.

We are informed by the CQC that it is committed to strengthening its approach to assessing complaints and concerns during inspections. During an inspection, CQC inspectors will use key lines of enquiry to ascertain the standard of care. A mandatory key line of enquiry used during inspections of adult social care is whether the service routinely listens and learns from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people, and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will take steps to ensure that (a) care agencies, (b) managers and (c) individuals who have been found to be involved in the provision of sub-standard care provision are prevented from working in that industry in any local authority area.

All care agencies must register with and be inspected and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as regulator of health and adult social care services. The CQC regulates care providers against a set of registration requirements in relation to safety and quality of services. Should the CQC find a care provider is not complying with regulatory requirements, it has a range of enforcement powers which it can employ, up to and including cancelling its registration to operate.

The Department worked closely with the Home Office to set up the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The role of the DBS is to help employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups of people. The DBS provides a system of criminal records checking and barring functions, to prevent unsuitable people from being able to work with vulnerable groups in regulated work in care and health settings.

This year, the DBS has been running a programme of free events targeted at those who have a responsibility for removing individuals from posts in regulated activity where harm has occurred. The events emphasise the responsibilities of employers to make referrals for barring and explain the DBS barring and decision making processes.

The Department has reinforced this message in the safeguarding guidance issued recently under the Care Act. The guidance is very clear that safe employment practices, including the duties to refer people who have caused harm, to the DBS, are a key part of effective safeguarding policies and practice in the care sector.

In order to make sure that people are held to account for the quality of care they provide, we are introducing measures to ensure that company directors who consent or turn a blind eye to poor care will be liable for prosecution. In the future, they and provider organisations could face unlimited fines if found guilty.

To ensure that social care providers and services employ and are run by people with the right values and skills, we are introducing a ‘fit and proper person’ test for Directors. Where the CQC considers a Director not to be fit to run a provider organisation, it will be able to insist on his or her removal.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assistance the Government provides to local authorities seeking to investigate failures in the provision of social care.

Each local authority is responsible for the quality of social care services it commissions. There is no national register or oversight of complaints in social care. However, local authorities are required, pursuant to the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service (England) Regulations 2009, to keep a record of each complaint received, the subject matter and outcome and timescales for responding.

They are also obliged to make a summary of this information available to the public via an annual report. The Government believes that we should be committed to ensuring the system for resolving complaints about care is compassionate, personal, responsive, timely and ensures lessons are learned.

The Department established a national complaints programme board in December 2013. A comprehensive programme has been developed with national partners, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Healthwatch England, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, the Local Government Association, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Association, to bring about important changes to the way complainants are supported and complaints are handled across the health and social care systems.

We are informed by the CQC that it is committed to strengthening its approach to assessing complaints and concerns during inspections. During an inspection, CQC inspectors will use key lines of enquiry to ascertain the standard of care. A mandatory key line of enquiry used during inspections of adult social care is whether the service routinely listens and learns from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people, and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will publish a central register of complaints about the providers of poor-quality social care.

Each local authority is responsible for the quality of social care services it commissions. There is no national register or oversight of complaints in social care. However, local authorities are required, pursuant to the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service (England) Regulations 2009, to keep a record of each complaint received, the subject matter and outcome and timescales for responding.

They are also obliged to make a summary of this information available to the public via an annual report. The Government believes that we should be committed to ensuring the system for resolving complaints about care is compassionate, personal, responsive, timely and ensures lessons are learned.

The Department established a national complaints programme board in December 2013. A comprehensive programme has been developed with national partners, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Healthwatch England, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, the Local Government Association, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Association, to bring about important changes to the way complainants are supported and complaints are handled across the health and social care systems.

We are informed by the CQC that it is committed to strengthening its approach to assessing complaints and concerns during inspections. During an inspection, CQC inspectors will use key lines of enquiry to ascertain the standard of care. A mandatory key line of enquiry used during inspections of adult social care is whether the service routinely listens and learns from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people, and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will work with local authorities to improve oversight of agency companies providing social care to elderly and vulnerable people.

Each local authority is responsible for the quality of social care services it commissions. There is no national register or oversight of complaints in social care. However, local authorities are required, pursuant to the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service (England) Regulations 2009, to keep a record of each complaint received, the subject matter and outcome and timescales for responding.

They are also obliged to make a summary of this information available to the public via an annual report. The Government believes that we should be committed to ensuring the system for resolving complaints about care is compassionate, personal, responsive, timely and ensures lessons are learned.

The Department established a national complaints programme board in December 2013. A comprehensive programme has been developed with national partners, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Healthwatch England, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, the Local Government Association, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Association, to bring about important changes to the way complainants are supported and complaints are handled across the health and social care systems.

We are informed by the CQC that it is committed to strengthening its approach to assessing complaints and concerns during inspections. During an inspection, CQC inspectors will use key lines of enquiry to ascertain the standard of care. A mandatory key line of enquiry used during inspections of adult social care is whether the service routinely listens and learns from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people, and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has put in place to improve the level of English language proficiency required for providers of social care.

In July 2012, the Government set out its vision of the development of high quality care services in the White Paper, Caring for our future: Reforming care and support. This was reinforced in the Care Act. It set out clearly the care and support system we want to achieve – with the support of care and support organisations, charities, carers, volunteers and the public. The Adult Social Care Workforce programme supports delivery of this vision, through increasing capacity, improving capability and developing leadership.

On the recommendation of the Cavendish report into the failings at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, we are introducing the new Care Certificate, to help ensure that healthcare assistants, social care support workers and their employers can deliver a consistently high quality standard of care.

Health Education England, Skills for Care and Skills for Health launched the pilot for the Care Certificate on 28 April 2014. The pilot is taking place across a range of health and social care settings, and, subject to evaluation, the national introduction of the Care Certificate is planned for March 2015.

In order to make sure that people are held to account for the quality of care they provide, we are introducing measures to ensure that company directors who consent or turn a blind eye to poor care will be liable for prosecution. In the future, they and provider organisations could face unlimited fines if found guilty.

To ensure that social care providers and services employ and are run by people with the right values and skills, we are introducing a ‘fit and proper person’ test for Directors. Where the Care Quality Commission (CQC) considers a Director not to be fit to run a provider organisation, it will be able to insist on his or her removal.

The Government realised that the regulation and inspection of social care provision needed to improve. As a result, the CQC has introduced a new system of inspection of social care providers, backed by new fundamental standards of care. This new system of inspection is based on five important questions that matter most to people: whether services are safe, caring, effective, well-led and responsive to their needs. CQC inspections now result in a provider being rated on a four-point scale - ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’, for each of the five domains that it inspects. This results in clear, straightforward information that commissioners of services and the public can understand.

The new inspections are carried out by expert inspection teams, which include people who have personal experience of care. The CQC piloted the new approach from April 2014 and began to inspect and rate all providers against the new standards in October.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

Employers are responsible for ensuring that any potential employee has the required level of communication skills for their role. It is essential that a workers’ command of English should be considered as part of the recruitment process. Under CQC’s current approach to inspection and regulation, it is stipulated that workers in adult social care should be able to communicate effectively with people who use services and other staff and to ensure that care, treatment and support of service users is not compromised. This applies to all workers, whatever their background or nationality.

3rd Nov 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what central records are kept of complaints against social care providers; and if he will make a statement.

Each local authority is responsible for the quality of social care services it commissions. There is no national register or oversight of complaints in social care. However, local authorities are required, pursuant to the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service (England) Regulations 2009, to keep a record of each complaint received, the subject matter and outcome and timescales for responding.

They are also obliged to make a summary of this information available to the public via an annual report. The Government believes that we should be committed to ensuring the system for resolving complaints about care is compassionate, personal, responsive, timely and ensures lessons are learned.

The Department established a national complaints programme board in December 2013. A comprehensive programme has been developed with national partners, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Healthwatch England, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman, the Local Government Association, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Association, to bring about important changes to the way complainants are supported and complaints are handled across the health and social care systems.

We are informed by the CQC that it is committed to strengthening its approach to assessing complaints and concerns during inspections. During an inspection, CQC inspectors will use key lines of enquiry to ascertain the standard of care. A mandatory key line of enquiry used during inspections of adult social care is whether the service routinely listens and learns from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints.

Under the Care Act, local authorities will have a new market shaping duty, meaning that they should work with local people and communities and engage with their local care providers to facilitate a diverse supply of high quality services.

The Care Act reforms should increase transparency and support more effective competition in local care markets. This will help providers of high quality care to attract more people, and to grow and diversify their share in the market.

We have just issued statutory guidance to local authorities about their new market shaping duties. Together with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association, we are developing a series of commissioning standards to improve local authority commissioning practices and encourage more flexibility, allowing providers to engage with them in new ways. We are keen to move commissioning from a “time and task” based to an outcomes-driven activity.

26th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the Government has spent on prostate cancer research in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The following figures provide an annualised estimate of Government funding for prostate cancer research, provided by the National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Database 2009 to 2013.

2009

£

2010

£

2011

£

2012

£

2013

£

Prostate Cancer

7,895,544

7,158,048

7,095,581

9,484,685

8,276,039

These figures include only direct spend on prostate cancer research, or spend which directly supports prostate cancer research; it does not include fundamental research that could have implications for prostate cancer in the longer term.

26th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the same standard of care across the country for those diagnosed with prostate cancer.

To help reduce regional variations, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is increasingly incorporating information from accreditation and peer review programmes into its assessments of National Health Service trusts' services, including the National Cancer Peer Review Programme. The CQC also intends to use data from the national clinical audit which is being developed for prostate cancer. In addition, national statistics on waiting times experienced by patients with suspected and diagnosed cancers continue to be collected, monitored and published in order to improve equity of access to cancer services and to contribute to an improvement in survival rates.

The results of the latest national Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) from 2013 show that, whilst variations between trusts still exist, the overall range of variation for many indicators has narrowed. For example, in 2010 the proportion of patients saying that they had been given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist ranged from 92% in the highest performing trust to 59% in the poorest performing trust (33 points); by 2013 this had reduced to 97% to 76% (21 points).

NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) will be doing a suite of work across all surveys to understand what the barriers are to implementing change and to showcase best practice where real improvements can be demonstrated.

NHS England is working with NHS IQ to develop better ways of using the CPES data within the NHS in order to maximise the impact of the survey, to be able to work with successful and struggling organisations to spread best practice for example.

26th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include prostate cancer in the next Be Clear on Cancer awareness campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England.

Public Health England is actively considering potential local pilot activity specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, due to their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer.

14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his EU counterparts to support anti-corruption programmes in Ukraine.

The UK and our EU counterparts are supporting a range of anti-corruption programmes in Ukraine. The UK, through the Good Governance and Conflict, Stability and Security Funds, will this financial year provide between £7.5-8 million in funding for over 40 projects designed to improve Ukraine's governance and combat corruption.

The UK helped establish the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and we continue to provide it with both technical assistance and political support against attempts to undermine its effectiveness. The UK is also providing Ukraine with technical assistance to enable it to meet its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area requirements, some of which are linked to increased transparency and accountability.

14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of recent steps taken by the Government of Ukraine to tackle anti-corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Recent achievements have been the establishment of the ProZorro e-procurement system; the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the asset e-declaration system for all those drawing a public salary. There is still much more to do and the UK has growing concerns about attempts to undermine successful reforms, including these flagship achievements.

14th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the Government of Ukraine's policies on (a) upholding the rule of law and (b) economic transition in that country.

The UK is providing both political and practical support to this, while urging the Ukrainian authorities to maintain progress. In July 2017 the UK hosted the Ukraine Reform Conference and a meeting between leading global businesses based in the UK and Ukrainian cabinet ministers. They discussed the business environment in Ukraine and the obstacles, particularly in the judicial sector, which inhibit Ukraine's ability to attract further foreign investment.

As well as this political engagement, the UK is funding a range of technical assistance projects, including support to anti-corruption institutions, the establishment of an intellectual property rights court, and help to reform the Ministry of Finance, the management of public finances and Ukraine's tax system. The UK is also supporting small and medium sized enterprises in Ukraine.

13th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the future of the EU sanctions regime against Russia; and if he will make a statement.

The UK strongly supports the EU’s strategy for resolving the Ukraine crisis through diplomacy underpinned by sanctions pressure. Sanctions on Russia are an important way for the EU to support a peaceful resolution of the crisis through full implementation of the Minsk agreements. As the European Council made clear in March 2015, sanctions against Russia must remain in full until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.
12th Apr 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent political developments in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Ukraine has been in a political crisis since the resignation of the Economy Minister in February . Our message to Ukraine’s leaders during this time has been to stay focused on delivering reform, especially tackling corruption. The President, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament (Rada) have a shared responsibility to work together on this.

On 14 April Volodymyr Groysman, the Rada Speaker, was appointed Prime Minister together with a new Cabinet. We hope this will give the Government of Ukraine the stability it needs to deliver the security and prosperity which the people of Ukraine demand.

12th Apr 2016
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies to tackle bank fraud and scams; and if he will make a statement.

The Government takes all types of fraud, including those targeted at banks’ customers, extremely seriously.

The Home Office is the lead Government department on crime, including fraud, and crime prevention overall. In February 2016, the Home Secretary announced a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce is a collaboration of banks, law enforcement and Government. This is the first time these organisations have come together to tackle fraud, and particularly to focus on those issues that have been considered too difficult for a single organisation to manage alone. The Taskforce seeks to identify the issues that will make the biggest difference to our collective fight against fraud.

20th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the number of police officers per capita was in (a) England and Wales, (b) London, (c) the East of England and (d) Bedfordshire in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017

Table H4 of the accompanying data tables contains information on the number of police officers per capita, by police force area. Data as at 31 March 2017 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629865/police-workforce-tabs-jul17.ods
Data for previous years can be found in the relevant year’s release by following the first link.

Figures are on a full-time equivalent basis, whereby an employee who works 70% of normal hours is counted as 0.7.

20th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for increased demands on Bedfordshire Police due to the expansion of Luton Airport; and whether that assessment is reflected in the Police Funding Formula.

The 2018/19 settlement follows a period of engagement, with the Minister for Policing and Fire speaking to every force in England and Wales about the demand they face. There are significant demands on the police from the terrorist threat and from more victims of high harm, hidden crimes such as modern slavery and child sexual exploitation coming forward.


This is a strong and comprehensive settlement that will increase funding by up to £450m across the police system for 2018/19. This includes the flexibility for PCCs to increase their funding by up to £270m, which they can use to spend on local priorities. In 2018/19, if the PCC uses their precept flexibility, Bedfordshire will receive £104.3m in direct resource funding, an annual increase of £2.9m. This is £4.8m more than 2015/16.

The Government intends to maintain the protection of a broadly flat police grant in 2019/20 and repeat the same precept flexibility if the police deliver clear and substantial progress on productivity and efficiency. In this context, it is intended that the funding formula will be revisited at the next Spending Review.

20th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential change in demands on Bedfordshire Police due to changes in the level of rural crime; and whether that assessment is reflected in the Police Funding Formula.

The 2018/19 settlement follows a period of engagement, with the Minister for Policing and Fire speaking to every force in England and Wales about the demand they face. There are significant demands on the police from the terrorist threat and from more victims of high harm, hidden crimes such as modern slavery and child sexual exploitation coming forward.


This is a strong and comprehensive settlement that will increase funding by up to £450m across the police system for 2018/19. This includes the flexibility for PCCs to increase their funding by up to £270m, which they can use to spend on local priorities. In 2018/19, if the PCC uses their precept flexibility, Bedfordshire will receive £104.3m in direct resource funding, an annual increase of £2.9m. This is £4.8m more than 2015/16.

The Government intends to maintain the protection of a broadly flat police grant in 2019/20 and repeat the same precept flexibility if the police deliver clear and substantial progress on productivity and efficiency. In this context, it is intended that the funding formula will be revisited at the next Spending Review.

20th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the changes in the demands placed on Bedfordshire Police due to counter-terrorism operations; and whether that assessment is reflected in the Police Funding Formula.

The Government provides ring-fenced funding for counter-terrorism policing. We recognise the pressures on policing following the recent attacks and are in regular dialogue with policing, including National Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters (NCTPHQ), Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure the right powers, capabilities and resources are in place to deal with the threat we face. That is why we have announced that the counter-terrorism policing budget will go up by 7%, increasing by £50m from £707m this year to at least £757 million in 2018/19.


This Government also provided an additional £24m to CT policing this year to meet the costs relating to the recent terror attacks.


We have announced that the funding formula, which distributes core grant funding will be looked at again during the next Spending Review.

20th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces in England have the (a) highest and (b) lowest ratio of police officers per capita of the areas they serve.

The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017

Table H4 of the accompanying data tables contains information on the number of police officers per capita, by police force area. Data as at 31 March 2017 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629865/police-workforce-tabs-jul17.ods
Data for previous years can be found in the relevant year’s release by following the first link.

Figures are on a full-time equivalent basis, whereby an employee who works 70% of normal hours is counted as 0.7.

20th Dec 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces in England have the (a) highest and (b) lowest ratio of crimes per police officer.

The Home Office collects and publishes information which can be used to calculate the ratio of crimes per police officer for police forces in England


The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. These data are published quarterly, and the latest update for the year to June 2017 can be accessed here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/recordedcrimedataatpoliceforcearealevelincludingpivottable

The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017