Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding from the National Insurance increase will be allocated to care home provision in Cumbria.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We are investing an additional £5.4 billion over three years, funded from revenues generated by the Health and Social Care Levy. Specific allocations of this funding at local authority level, including in Cumbria, have not yet been decided.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 December 2021, HCWS 452 on Asylum policy, when her Department plans to publish the data underpinning the conclusion that the benefits arising from a relaxation of the right to work policy are likely to be significantly lower than the figures claimed by Lift the Ban.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has already published the conclusion of the policy review. The Home Office is under no obligation to issue supplementary information.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Ministers in his Department have carried out official visits to Shropshire in the last 12 months to discuss the impact of trade deals, including on local farming communities.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
While no official visits have been carried out, Ministers have engaged (both online and in person) with hon. Members and farmers across Shropshire to discuss the agricultural transition plan, the impact of trade deals and other issues.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the results of the Local Government Association survey of councils, conducted before the emergency of the Omicron covid-19 variant, on the impact of returning exclusively to in-person local authority meetings.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch
The Department is reviewing the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly. Any permanent change would require primary legislation, and would depend upon Parliamentary time being available.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will bring forward legislation to enable local authorities to undertake remote meetings following the guidance issued on 8 December 2021 to work from home.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch
The Department is reviewing the responses to the consultation and the Government will respond shortly. Any permanent change would require primary legislation, and would depend upon Parliamentary time being available.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many Ministers in her Department have visited Shropshire in the last 12 months to discuss the impact of trade agreements, including on local farming communities.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year, delivering benefits for communities across the country. An impact assessment is published when the text of a new free trade agreement is laid in Parliament, which presents the economic benefits of the deal. For example, compared to the United Kingdom not having an agreement with Japan, output in the West Midlands is expected to be £56 million higher in the long run (in 2017 terms).
Our trade agreements unlock new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector and we will continue to work with producers and suppliers to make sure the sector is represented in future free trade agreements. In addition, the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission will scrutinise new free trade agreements once they are signed, providing an additional layer of independent scrutiny.
Ministers regularly visit farmers across Britain to discuss the opportunities presented by free trade agreements and the export support that the Department for International Trade can provide. For instance, the then Secretary of State for International Trade visited Shropshire in July. We continue to support farming and food businesses to seize global export opportunities through our Export Support Service, our online digital platform at GREAT.GOV.UK, and through our people dedicated to agriculture, food and drink across the United Kingdom and our global network.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government has carried out an impact assessment on the potential effect of free trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on the UK farming sector, by region.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year, delivering benefits for communities across the country. An impact assessment is published when the text of a new free trade agreement is laid in Parliament, which presents the economic benefits of the deal. For example, compared to the United Kingdom not having an agreement with Japan, output in the West Midlands is expected to be £56 million higher in the long run (in 2017 terms).
Our trade agreements unlock new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector and we will continue to work with producers and suppliers to make sure the sector is represented in future free trade agreements. In addition, the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission will scrutinise new free trade agreements once they are signed, providing an additional layer of independent scrutiny.
Ministers regularly visit farmers across Britain to discuss the opportunities presented by free trade agreements and the export support that the Department for International Trade can provide. For instance, the then Secretary of State for International Trade visited Shropshire in July. We continue to support farming and food businesses to seize global export opportunities through our Export Support Service, our online digital platform at GREAT.GOV.UK, and through our people dedicated to agriculture, food and drink across the United Kingdom and our global network.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that Eritrean (a) individuals and (b) organisations who have had sanctions recently imposed on them by the US Treasury do not relocate to the UK.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We note the statement on 12 November by the US Treasury that they have sanctioned four entities and two individuals.
Individuals designated under either autonomous UK or UN sanctions for the purposes of a travel ban may not freely travel to the UK. Where Border Force are aware of individuals that pose a threat to the UK, they can and do refuse entry and (where legislation applies) refuse Authority to Carry prior to departure.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that Eritrean individuals and organisations who have had sanctions recently imposed on them by the US Treasury do not relocate to the UK.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We note the statement on 12 November by the US Treasury that they have sanctioned four entities and two individuals.
Individuals designated under either autonomous UK or UN sanctions for the purposes of a travel ban may not freely travel to the UK. Where Border Force are aware of individuals that pose a threat to the UK, they can and do refuse entry and (where legislation applies) refuse Authority to Carry prior to departure.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many new vets have been trained and recruited to help process animal health export certificates prior to consignment since 31 January 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Over this period the net increase in Official Veterinarians (OVs) qualified to sign Animal Health Certificates was 308. In January 2021 the total number of OVs authorised to sign Animal Health Certificates for the export of dogs, cats and ferrets was 7,588 rising to 7,896 in November 2021.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials in her Department have had discussion with their US counterparts on entities and individuals that have contributed to the crisis and conflict in Eritrea.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We continue to closely engage with the US and other partners in the international community on the full range of human rights issues in Ethiopia.
On 6 November we issued a joint statement with the US and 15 other countries welcoming the joint investigation report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Ethiopia Human Rights Commission on Human Rights violations and abuses in Tigray. All parties to the conflict should accept and implement the findings and recommendations. It is critical that all those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law referenced in the report are held to account, and the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea should ensure there are credible investigations.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding was allocated to the UK Resettlement Scheme for (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) was announced in 2019 and was due to launch in April 2020. However, due to the pandemic and the associated resettlement pause (between March 2020 and December 2020), the scheme launched in March 2021 following the completion of Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
The overall funding package for UKRS includes a year one tariff of £8,520 per refugee resettled, for direct local authority costs. The package also includes additional support for educational and medical needs.
The Government also provides additional ESOL funding to enhance the English language skills of adults to improve their resettlement and integration experience and employability. Funding for years two-five is also allocated on a tariff basis, tapering from £5,000 per refugee in year two, to £1,000 per refugee in year five. Additionally, there is an exceptional cases fund to assist the most vulnerable refugees.
Overall, this is a substantial level of funding which enables local authorities to support the vulnerable refugees they resettle as they rebuild their lives in safe and secure surroundings, among supportive communities in the UK.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the nationalities of all individuals who have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats since 1 January 2021.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Home Office statisticians are currently developing systems to publish statistics on small boats and will confirm these plans in the near future.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish decision-making guidance for applications for family reunion under paragraph 319X of the Immigration Rules.
Answered by Kevin Foster
To strengthen existing policy including Paragraph 319X, we will provide additional clarity in the Immigration Rules on the exceptional circumstances where we would grant leave to a child seeking to join a relative in the UK.
We expect to lay the changes in Spring 2022. This will be accompanied by relevant guidance material.
Questioner: Tim Farron (LDEM - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the North West Ambulance Service's average response time has been for (a) category 1 calls, (b) category 2 calls, (c) category 3 calls and (d) category 4 calls in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Edward Argar
The following table shows the average ambulance response times for the North West Ambulance Service for Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 calls in hours, minutes and seconds in each of the last 12 months. Information on Category 4 calls is unavailable from May 2021 due to a reporting error.
| Category 1 | Category 2 | Category 3 | Category 4 |
October 2020 | 8:03 | 45:40 | 2:18:38 | 2:59:01 |
November 2020 | 7:51 | 28:57 | 1:23:30 | 2:29:16 |
December 2020 | 7:36 | 26:29 | 1:17:46 | 2:56:38 |
January 2021 | 8:12 | 35:35 | 1:44:39 | 3:37:39 |
February 2021 | 7:12 | 21:04 | 49:52 | 1:48:36 |
March 2021 | 7:13 | 20:44 | 56:37 | 2:05:39 |
April 2021 | 7:29 | 23:52 | 1:21:43 | 3:08:16 |
May 2021 | 7:51 | 27:13 | 1:52:11 | 4:23:45 |
June 2021 | 8:19 | 38:15 | 3:18:28 | - |
July 2021 | 9:02 | 56:16 | 4:07:48 | - |
August 2021 | 8:42 | 49:05 | 3:14:19 | - |
September 2021 | 9:12 | 57:12 | 3:46:43 | - |
Source: NHS England