Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to authorise the General Licence for land designated as (a) Special Areas of Conservation and (b) Special Protection Areas.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
In his appearance at the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee hearing on 2nd July 2019, the Secretary of State stated our ambition to have a robust licencing scheme in place by February 2020. The new scheme will include provisions for protected sites.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of current staffing levels in the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
It is the responsibility of individual National Health Service health and care employers to have staffing arrangements in place that deliver safe and effective care. This includes recruiting the staff needed to support these levels and meet local needs.
The NHS employs more staff now than at any other time in its 70-year history, with an increase of 78,000 full time equivalent staff since May 20101.
The interim People Plan puts the workforce at the heart of the NHS and will ensure we have the staff needed to deliver high quality care. The Plan sets out how the NHS will increase the number of nurses, doctors and other staff working in the health service. The NHS will publish a final People Plan soon after the conclusion of the Spending Review.
Note:
1NHS Digital Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics for England: latest data as at March 2019
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) financial services and (b) the wider service economy of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As a responsible Government, we have been preparing for a range of potential EU exit outcomes for over two years, including the possibility of no deal.
In November 2018 the Government published a detailed set of economic analyses on the long-term impacts of EU exit on the UK economy, its sectors, nations and regions, and the public finances.
The analysis shows that the spectrum of outcomes for the future UK-EU relationship would deliver significantly higher economic output than the no deal scenario. Every sector, nation and region would be better-off than in a no deal scenario.
The complete analysis can be found in the “EU Exit: Long-Term Economic Analysis” paper, available on the Gov.uk website in Exiting the European Union: Publications section.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the British Horseracing Authority's standards of regulation on horse welfare in British racing compared to other international racing jurisdictions.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses and the BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible.
The BHA has strong links to the international racing industry and was involved in establishing the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Horse Welfare Committee.
The Government considers that the standards of regulation, veterinary provision and facilities and fixtures at British racecourses is good. However, both I and the BHA consider that more can be done to make horseracing safer which is why I have been holding regular discussions with the BHA about this. Most recently on the 14 May, I met the BHA as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This Board was formed in March 2019 and includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare specialists. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer.
The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results and intend to stay in regular contact with both the BHA and newly appointed Horse Welfare Board to continue to press for improvements in racehorse welfare.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the standards of regulation, veterinary provision and facilities at fixtures at British racecourses regulated by the British Horseracing Authority to uphold horse welfare.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses and the BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible.
The BHA has strong links to the international racing industry and was involved in establishing the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Horse Welfare Committee.
The Government considers that the standards of regulation, veterinary provision and facilities and fixtures at British racecourses is good. However, both I and the BHA consider that more can be done to make horseracing safer which is why I have been holding regular discussions with the BHA about this. Most recently on the 14 May, I met the BHA as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This Board was formed in March 2019 and includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare specialists. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer.
The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results and intend to stay in regular contact with both the BHA and newly appointed Horse Welfare Board to continue to press for improvements in racehorse welfare.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the establishment of the new Horse Welfare Board on further improving the high standards of welfare in British racing.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses and the BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible.
The BHA has strong links to the international racing industry and was involved in establishing the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Horse Welfare Committee.
The Government considers that the standards of regulation, veterinary provision and facilities and fixtures at British racecourses is good. However, both I and the BHA consider that more can be done to make horseracing safer which is why I have been holding regular discussions with the BHA about this. Most recently on the 14 May, I met the BHA as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This Board was formed in March 2019 and includes members from across the racing industry, veterinarians and animal health and welfare specialists. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer.
The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results and intend to stay in regular contact with both the BHA and newly appointed Horse Welfare Board to continue to press for improvements in racehorse welfare.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government will recognise July as International Group B Strep Awareness Month; and what progress has been made on improving (a) prevention and (b) awareness of group B streptococcus .
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Department continues to support awareness of Group B streptococcus, alongside the wider international community.
Group B streptococcus is the leading cause of bacterial infection in newborn babies. The Government has recognised there are gaps in the evidence relating to this issue and the National Institute for Health Research has commissioned a trial to compare the clinical and cost effectiveness of universal screening compared with usual risk-based care, which will help to understand more about the potential benefits and harms of this approach.
This is a large-scale and ambitious trial, the results of which will be of interest to the United Kingdom National Screening Committee and will form one piece of the developing evidence picture to inform its future recommendations for screening for Group B streptococcus.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the vacancy rate is for nurses in (a) the NHS and (b) social care.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
Since April 2017, NHS Improvement collects vacancy rates of medical staff from individual National Health Service providers and publish them as part of its ‘Quarterly performance of the NHS provider sector’ report. The vacancy data is published for three staff groups; doctors, nurses and ‘other staff’. The report can be found in the following link:
The latest available data as at March 2019, shows there are over 39,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies across the NHS. This is a vacancy rate of 11.1%. There are 40,300 nursing and midwifery temporary staff (bank and agency) who are used to fill in these vacancies as well as short and long-term sickness absence and maternity leave.
Skills for Care estimates that in 2017/18, there are over 4,400 vacant registered nursing jobs in social care. This is a vacancy rate of 12.3%.
The interim people Plan, which was published on 3 June 2019, sets out a shared vision and plan of action to put NHS people at the heart of NHS policy and delivery and ensure the NHS has the staff it needs.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons there have been delays in the Astute Programme; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Designing and building submarines is one of the most complex activities that the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry undertakes. Historically the Astute Programme has suffered delays, as documented by the National Audit Office. Delays to the programme are predominantly due to the fact that BAE Systems and its supply chain had to re-establish the UK's nuclear submarine design, build, testing and commissioning capability following the ten-year gap after the delivery of the last Vanguard Class submarines, as well as addressing some unique technical challenges.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what effect the UK leaving the EU without a deal will have on funding of clinical drug trials; if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The United Kingdom and the European Union have a long record of jointly tackling global challenges, with strong existing links already in place between our research and innovation communities, and we want to continue this important collaboration in science, research and innovation.
The UK and the EU have agreed a flexible extension of the Article 50 period to 31 October 2019. During this extension period the UK will remain a member of the EU, with all the relevant rights and obligations. This means that the UK will continue to participate in Horizon 2020, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme, on a Member State basis. Further, this extension period provides time for the Government to seek a deal which will ensure the smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU. If ratified, the proposed Withdrawal Agreement would ensure that following exit the UK could continue to participate in EU programmes such as Horizon 2020 for the lifetime of projects. Further updates on Horizon 2020 planning will be provided in due course.
As a responsible Government, we are continuing to prepare for all scenarios. In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal at the end of this extension period, the Government has confirmed that the funding commitments made under the guarantee and the extension still stand. Through these commitments, the Government will underwrite funding for all successful competitive eligible UK bids to Horizon 2020 that are submitted before the end of the Programme. This guarantee will apply for the lifetime of projects and will provide funding for UK participation in pioneering Horizon 2020 medical research projects can continue.
Aside from our preparations for leaving the EU, the Government has demonstrated its commitment to research and innovation, including clinical drug trials, by putting it at the heart of its Industrial Strategy, setting an ambition to increase UK total research and development expenditure to 2.4% of gross domestic product by 2027. As a first step towards that we have invested an extra £7 billion in research and development up to 2021/2022. The Government invests over £1 billion in health research through the National Institute for Health Research. This provides direct funding for clinical trials and also the skills, facilities and infrastructure to undertake clinical trials in the health and care service funded by public, charity and industry funders.