Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish the latest modelling conducted by his Department or its agencies of (a) energy supply and demand and (b) network capacity constraints.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department's Energy and Emission Projections are updated and published annually; these show projected energy demand and electricity generation under policies that have been implemented and those that are planned where the level of funding has been agreed, and the design of the policy is near final.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for managing network constraints and publishing constraint forecasts: *ETYS 2023. As set out in our Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, Government is working to accelerate the build of electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity and enable a cheaper and secure energy system for Britain.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve access to neurology services for people with multiple sclerosis and (b) increase funding for research into neurological conditions.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are several initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP).
The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across the country. The report highlighted differences in how services are delivered and provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally. In addition, the NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home.
Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, most people with MS can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of MS care that patients may receive from 27 neurology centres across England. Within specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including specialist nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
The Department delivers research into neurological conditions via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2023/24, the most recent year we have data for, the NIHR spent £72.9 million on research into neurological conditions across research projects, programmes, and infrastructure.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological conditions, including MS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the average cost, as a percentage of the total paybill, of trade union facility time in the (a) public sector and (b) private sector in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Under the Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017, relevant public sector authorities are required to publish certain information annually on facility time usage in their organisation.
The most recently available data, for 2022/23, is published on gov.uk. It provides data on the total cost of facility time for public sector organisations, including as a percentage of total pay.
The Cabinet Office does not hold information on the cost of facility time within the private sector. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has made impact assessments relating to the Employment Rights Bill, which have been published on .gov.uk
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish the (a) countries of origin, (b) value, and (c) volume of imported (i) oil and (ii) gas in each year since 2010.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Annual oil and gas imports volume and value figures are published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics, Annex Table G.1: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dukes-foreign-trade-statistics
More detailed import volume data are also published in individual chapter tables.
For oil see Table 3.7: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/petroleum-chapter-3-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
For gas see Table 4.5: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/natural-gas-chapter-4-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) national and (b) local barriers to community energy projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change. Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will partner with and provide funding and support to community energy groups to roll out renewable energy projects across the UK and help develop up to 8GW of cleaner power. DESNZ’s £10m Community Energy Fund enables both rural and urban communities in England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) days and (b) hours per week (i) county, (ii) family, (iii) magistrates and (iv) youth courts were open for in 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Court opening times/hours are distinct from court sitting days/hours and are the hours in which the public can access HMCTS buildings. In practice in most ordinary working weeks, courts are open to the public for five days a week for a minimum of eight hours a day (40 hours a week), but each court building operates opening hours that suit the local operating environment. This differs for certain Magistrates Courts which hear remand cases on Saturday mornings (and some bank holidays) and are therefore open longer. We do not collect data on the specific days and hours that courts are open for. Opening hours usually start at some time between 08:30am and 09:30am and run to approximately 5:00pm. Court sitting hours, are normally 10.30am - 4.30pm but the timings of court sittings are a matter for the independent judiciary.
The Lord Chancellor has a statutory duty to ensure there is an effective and efficient system to support the carrying out of the businesses of the courts, and that appropriate services are provided for those courts. Opening hours in all courts are at the discretion of the Lord Chancellor under the Courts Act 2003.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reform the current right to roam regime.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. 2024 marked 75 years since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, which secured public access and preserved natural beauty.
This Government will continue to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, boosting people’s mental and physical health and leaving a legacy for generations to come. We will create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy. We will announce further details on our plans for improving access to nature in due course.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East discussed (a) delivering UNRWA operations in Hamas-controlled areas and (b) steps UNRWA is taking to ensure the political neutrality of its staff during their meeting on 11 December 2024.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the read-out of the meeting on GOV.UK
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is specific support for haemophiliacs impacted by the infected blood scandal.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The victims of the infected blood scandal have suffered immeasurably. It is the Government’s utmost intention to deliver what justice and compensation it can to all those impacted, as quickly as possible.
Haemophiliacs infected via National Health Service blood or blood products are eligible for financial and psychological support from the United Kingdom’s infected blood support schemes, as well as a bespoke Infected Blood Psychological Service that has been introduced by NHS England. They may also apply for comprehensive compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
As set out in the Government’s response to the inquiry’s recommendations on protecting the safety of haemophilia care in their final report, NHS England is undertaking work on a peer review of haemophilia centres, networks for haemophilia care, recombinant products, and a national haemophilia database. Work is also underway in the Department to review the support being offered to the relevant charities for the infected and affected community in England.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the size of the current court case backlog is in England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We publish court open caseloads across the criminal court, family court, and tribunals jurisdictions in the following publications:
Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2024 - GOV.UK.
HMCTS management information - September 2024 - GOV.UK.
Tribunals statistics quarterly: July to September 2024 - GOV.UK.