Trudy Harrison Portrait

Trudy Harrison

Conservative - Former Member for Copeland

First elected: 23rd February 2017

Left House: 30th May 2024 (Dissolution)


Tobacco and Vapes Bill
24th Apr 2024 - 14th May 2024
Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill
2nd May 2024 - 8th May 2024
Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill
24th Apr 2024 - 1st May 2024
Automated Vehicles Bill [HL]
13th Mar 2024 - 19th Mar 2024
High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill
6th Mar 2024 - 13th Mar 2024
Zoological Society of London (Leases) Bill
21st Feb 2024 - 28th Feb 2024
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
7th Sep 2022 - 13th Nov 2023
Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill
18th Jan 2023 - 25th Jan 2023
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
7th Jul 2022 - 7th Sep 2022
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
16th Sep 2021 - 7th Jul 2022
Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill
15th Dec 2021 - 4th Jan 2022
Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill (England and Wales)
27th Oct 2021 - 3rd Nov 2021
European Statutory Instruments
18th Jul 2018 - 6th Nov 2019
Education Committee
11th Sep 2017 - 6th Nov 2019
European Statutory Instruments Committee
18th Jul 2018 - 6th Nov 2019


Division Voting information

Trudy Harrison has voted in 1428 divisions, and 6 times against the majority of their Party.

17 Jun 2020 - Health and Personal Social Services - View Vote Context
Trudy Harrison voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 104 Conservative Aye votes vs 124 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 253 Noes - 136
9 Jul 2019 - Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill - View Vote Context
Trudy Harrison voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 72 Conservative Aye votes vs 84 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 332 Noes - 99
27 Mar 2019 - EU: Withdrawal and Future Relationship Votes - View Vote Context
Trudy Harrison voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 59 Conservative Aye votes vs 200 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 65 Noes - 377
27 Mar 2019 - EU: Withdrawal and Future Relationship Votes - View Vote Context
Trudy Harrison voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 122 Conservative No votes vs 126 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 139 Noes - 422
19 Apr 2017 - Technical and Further Education Bill - View Vote Context
Trudy Harrison voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative No votes vs 296 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 298 Noes - 182
30 Mar 2022 - Health and Care Bill - View Vote Context
Trudy Harrison voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 72 Conservative Aye votes vs 175 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 215 Noes - 188
View All Trudy Harrison 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
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(16 debate interactions)
Theresa May (Conservative)
(13 debate interactions)
Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op))
(10 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department for Transport
(296 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(21 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018
(9,596 words contributed)
Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2023-24
(2,721 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Trudy Harrison's debates

Latest EDMs signed by Trudy Harrison

15th March 2018
Trudy Harrison signed this EDM on Monday 19th March 2018

CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN TELFORD

Tabled by: Lucy Allan (Independent - Telford)
That this House expresses concern about the scale of child sexual exploitation in Telford; notes that, in 2015-16, Telford had the highest number of child sexual offences recorded, per head of population, in each of the 317 community safety partnerships in England and Wales; recognises the horrific abuse and suffering …
42 signatures
(Most recent: 29 Mar 2018)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 18
Conservative: 16
Liberal Democrat: 2
Scottish National Party: 2
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Green Party: 1
Independent: 1
View All Trudy Harrison's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Trudy Harrison, 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.


Trudy Harrison has not been granted any Urgent Questions

1 Adjournment Debate led by Trudy Harrison

Tuesday 20th February 2024

1 Bill introduced by Trudy Harrison


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 make provision to prohibit the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 6th March 2018
(Read Debate)

Latest 27 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
4th Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Regulated Asset Base model and its potential for the nuclear sector.

We are continuing to review the viability of a Regulated Asset Base model as a sustainable mechanism for financing new nuclear projects. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out to the House on 17 January that we intend to publish our assessment of that method by the summer.

3rd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the nuclear industry.

This Government continues to believe that nuclear has an important role to play in our future energy mix as long as it provides value for money for taxpayers and consumers. Our commitment is demonstrated in us giving the go ahead for the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C. The landmark Nuclear Sector Deal, worth over £200m, was launched last June is a demonstration of the strong partnership between government and industry. Support provided by this Government through the Deal includes up to £56m for the development of advanced nuclear technologies, up to £20m for an advanced manufacturing and construction programme, and £86m for a fusion programme at Culham in Oxfordshire.

2nd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses and entrepreneurs in (a) Copeland constituency and (b) the North West.

The Government is committed to supporting all entrepreneurs to start and grow a business, it is a key aspect of our ambitious Industrial Strategy. We want to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, to create jobs and spread prosperity.

We already provide support to businesses through the www.gov.uk website. We also offer support through our Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565). Last year we helped c.31,500 businesses, 65% were entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Businesses can also access local support through anyone of the 38 Growth Hubs across England which join up local and national business support. Details of Local Growth Hubs can be found on the following webpage: www.lepnetwork.net/growth-hubs

The Start-Up Loans programme, now part of the British Business Bank (BBB), has supported nearly 61,000 entrepreneurs with loans totalling over £468m, and was extended in the autumn budget to April 2021 to enable an additional 10,000 loans to be made.

BBB programmes are currently supporting £954,419 of finance for SMEs in Copeland across 23 businesses and £1,842,918,743 of finance for SMEs in the North West across 12,484 businesses (as at September 2018).

As of February 2019, since the BBB-owned Start-Up Loans programme launched, 24 loans have been made, totalling £256,600 in Copeland and 7,561 loans have been made totalling £56,967,713 in the North West.

2nd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of workers in Copeland that have benefited from the recent living wage update.

Through the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW), the Government ensures that the lowest paid in our society are fairly rewarded for their work. April 2019’s increase to the NLW will see nearly 1.8 million workers in the UK receive a 4.9% pay rise. In the North West, 222,000 workers will directly benefit from this increase in the NLW. A full-time worker on the NLW will now be more than £2,750 better off over the year compared to when it was first announced in 2015.

The most recent available data shows an estimated 3,500 workers in Copeland who were on the NLW or NMW.

16th Nov 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to provide incentives to suppliers to use small and medium-sized enterprises directly involved in the supply chain for the nuclear industry.

For future New Nuclear projects, developers will be required to produce Supply Chain Plans. This means developers will need to show evidence that their projects will support growth in the UK supply chain, support the development of competition, and boost innovation and skills. This will provide greater opportunity for SME’s to access contracts for new build projects.

In regards to Nuclear Decommissioning, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority already uses a range of initiatives to improve the transparency of contract opportunities including:

• simplifying and standardising procurement requirements;

• holding regional and national supplier events to help providers link up; and

• running an SME mentoring scheme.

4th Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support tourism action zones.

We are working closely with the tourism industry on the proposed Sector Deal for tourism. One of the proposals put forward by the industry is the creation of Tourism Action Zones in order to take a targeted and focused approach to tackle issues, such as improving productivity and extending the tourism season. We are looking at this proposal and considering it as part of our work.

3rd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve rural broadband.

The Government’s policy is to ensure world-class broadband and mobile connectivity across the UK. We are currently implementing a number of policies to achieve this in rural areas.

£1.8 billion of public money is being invested to support vital improvements in superfast broadband coverage across the UK, including in rural areas. In December 2017, we met our target to extend superfast coverage to 95% of UK premises, and we expect to reach at least 97% by 2020.

DCMS has also put in place legislation to create a new Universal Service Obligation (USO) giving every household and business the right to request a broadband connection of at least 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) by 2020, to ensure access to decent connectivity. Ofcom are now responsible for implementing the USO. Further details, including how to apply are expected to be announced in the summer. In addition, the Better Broadband Scheme provides voucher funding to UK premises that do not have access to affordable broadband service delivering at least 2Mbps.

DEFRA has allocated £75 million of grant funding from the Rural Development Programme for England, targeted at helping to connect businesses with superfast broadband in hard to reach rural areas.

Looking forward, we want to provide world class digital connectivity that is gigabit-capable, reliable, long-lasting and widely available across the UK. We have set ambitious targets - for 15 million premises to be connected to full fibre by 2025, with nationwide coverage by 2033. In the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, we set out our long term national strategy to meet these targets, and to ensure that rural and remote areas are not left behind. Critical to delivering this ambition, is the “outside-in” approach set out in the review, which seeks to ensure that the harder to reach, mostly rural areas which are not viable for commercial investment - are addressed at the same pace as the rest of the country.

4th Sep 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many small businesses in the North West can access broadband.

According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report, 89% of UK homes and small and medium-sized businesses are now able to receive superfast download speeds of 30 Megabits or higher, and all homes and businesses can now access broadband speeds of 2 Megabits per second. This is fast enough for everyone to gain access to every government service available online.

ThinkBroadband’s latest figures indicate that superfast coverage of 30 Megabits or higher is currently available to 94.7% of premises across the North West.

We are determined to ensure even better digital connectivity in the UK, and we announced a package of measures worth £1.1 billion at Autumn Statement 2016. This includes The Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme, which will support local bodies in stimulating the market for fibre connectivity in their areas. The six local test projects were announced on 3rd September.

The Super Connected Cities Programme, which closed in 2016, offered vouchers to SMEs to help with connectivity. Interest in connection voucher scheme was very high in the North West which resulted in over over 5590 connections being made in the region.

4th Feb 2019
What steps his Department is taking to increase the quality of apprenticeships.

New industry-designed standards are driving up quality, such as the project management apprenticeship developed by employers. We have increased off-the-job training and introduced rigorous end-point assessments so apprentices are occupationally competent. We’ve also strengthened the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers giving employers confidence apprentices will receive high-quality training.

16th Nov 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people are undertaking (a) technical and (b) non-technical apprenticeships.

It is not possible to distinguish between (a) technical or (b) non-technical apprenticeships as there is no definition of technical apprenticeship in the Individualised Learner Return. We can provide a breakdown of apprenticeship starts by apprenticeship sector area and age, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650226/201617_Oct_Apps_Level_SSA_And_Framework_Data_Tool_FINAL.xlsx.

Overall, there have been over 1.1 million apprenticeship starts since May 2015 and the Government is committed to achieving three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.

We have introduced the Apprenticeship Levy to encourage sustained employer-investment in high quality apprenticeships of all kinds. This will provide £2.45 billion for apprenticeships in England by 2020. Our apprenticeship reforms are the largest changes to apprenticeships the Government has ever made. These changes are investing in the future of millions of people of all ages and from all backgrounds.

Employers are currently designing new apprenticeships across a broad range of sectors. The Government has also established the employer-led Institute for Apprenticeships to support this and will extend the remit of the Institute to cover college-based technical education from 2018. This will ensure there is a clear route into skilled and technical occupations across a range of sectors, through both apprenticeships and T Levels.

15th Nov 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to increase the number of technical apprenticeships.

It is not possible to distinguish between (a) technical or (b) non-technical apprenticeships as there is no definition of technical apprenticeship in the Individualised Learner Return. We can provide a breakdown of apprenticeship starts by apprenticeship sector area and age, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650226/201617_Oct_Apps_Level_SSA_And_Framework_Data_Tool_FINAL.xlsx.

Overall, there have been over 1.1 million apprenticeship starts since May 2015 and the Government is committed to achieving three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.

We have introduced the Apprenticeship Levy to encourage sustained employer-investment in high quality apprenticeships of all kinds. This will provide £2.45 billion for apprenticeships in England by 2020. Our apprenticeship reforms are the largest changes to apprenticeships the Government has ever made. These changes are investing in the future of millions of people of all ages and from all backgrounds.

Employers are currently designing new apprenticeships across a broad range of sectors. The Government has also established the employer-led Institute for Apprenticeships to support this and will extend the remit of the Institute to cover college-based technical education from 2018. This will ensure there is a clear route into skilled and technical occupations across a range of sectors, through both apprenticeships and T Levels.

13th Jul 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government has made on increasing the number of apprenticeships in the North West.

There have been 71,290 apprenticeship starts recorded to date (August 2016 to April 2017) in the North West in the 2016 to 2017 academic year.

Earlier years’ data for starts by region can be found in the apprenticeships FE data library:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/586183/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xlsx

Data for apprenticeship participation by region is also available in the apprenticeships FE data library:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624357/apprenticeships-participation-by-region-and-sector-subject-area.xlsx

More detailed geographical data on apprenticeship starts and achievements are available in the apprenticeships FE data library tools:

Starts: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624428/apprenticeships-geography-data-tool-starts-v1.xlsm

Achievements: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624585/apprenticeships-geography-data-tool-achievements-v1.xlsm


3rd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the prospects of UK farmers as a result of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

As part of our preparations to leave the EU, we have carried out a rigorous programme of analytical work that has assessed the impact of various EU withdrawal scenarios on the UK farming sector.

Part of that programme has included modelling work co-funded between the four UK agricultural departments. In August 2017 FAPRI-UK published this analysis in the report “Impacts of Alternative post-brexit trade agreements on UK agriculture: sector analyses using the FAPRI-UK model”. It considers the impact of different trading scenarios on many farming commodity sectors. The full report is available on Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute website –

https://www.afbini.gov.uk/sites/afbini.gov.uk/files/publications/FAPRI-UK%20Brexit%20Report%20-%20FINAL%20Clean.pdf

In addition, the Evidence and Analysis Paper, which accompanied the publication of the Agriculture Bill, provides analysis of the various ways farmers are likely to be affected by the movement from the area-based payments of the Common Agricultural Policy to being rewarded for the public goods they produce under Environmental Land Management (ELM). Further information can be found here –

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-for-food-farming-and-the-environment-policy-statement-2018

This analysis only applies to England, as agricultural policy in the UK is devolved, and it is for each administration to decide its approach and what measures it should adopt according to its evaluation of the situation which pertains to its area. For details relating to the rest of the UK, please contact the relevant devolved administration.

2nd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the potential extinction of red squirrels in the UK.

This is devolved matter and the below information relates to England only.

The Government is committed to protecting and expanding red squirrel populations and tackling the threats that grey squirrels pose to them. The Forestry Commission works with Natural England and other conservation organisations and projects to help protect red squirrel enclaves and to allow the populations to expand.

The Forestry Commission also undertakes a number of actions to protect red squirrels from the impact of grey squirrels as outlined in the grey squirrel action plan for England. These actions include Countryside Stewardship funding for landowners who choose to help protect red squirrels within designated reserves.

Defra, in partnership with the United Kingdom Squirrel Accord, has also provided funding for work by the Animal and Plant Health Agency for the development of a fertility control method for grey squirrels. This research continues to show promise as one potentially effective and humane method to control grey squirrel numbers in the longer term.

23rd Jul 2018
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons it was decided (a) to include razorbills and (b) not to include common guillemots as an additional feature of the Cumbria Coast Marine Conservation Zone in the Government's June 2018 consultation on sites proposed for designation in the third tranche of Marine Conservation Zones.

The inclusion in Marine Conservation Zones of highly mobile species, such as seabirds, is considered where it can be demonstrated that it would help meet the conservation objectives for that species. Numbers of razorbill at this site have shown a significant decline in recent years and their inclusion is therefore warranted. Numbers of common guillemot, by contrast, have more than doubled at this site over the same period and it was therefore decided that there was insufficient justification to include them as a feature in this Marine Conservation Zone. We look forward to receiving views on our proposals through the consultation, which will inform our final decisions.

21st Nov 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government has invested in Cumbria to reduce the risk of flooding downstream of reservoirs in each of the last five years.

The Environment Agency has strategic oversight of all sources of flooding and coastal erosion, including reservoir flooding. The Environment Agency also has a regulatory role in managing flood risk with reservoirs and works to make sure reservoir owners effectively manage their own flood risk.

Where appropriate, reducing the risk of flooding downstream from reservoirs is integrated within flood risk management schemes. The Environment Agency does not collect separate financial information for measures to reduce this specific flood risk.

The Government is committed to reducing flood risk and has made the following capital investment to flood and coastal erosion risk management in Cumbria in each of the last five years:

2012/13

£ 4.3 million

2013/14

£ 2.4 million

2014/15

£ 2.1 million

2015/16

£ 3.0 million

2016/17

£ 14.3 million

21st Nov 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that water companies invest in flood mitigation.

On 13 September, the Government issued a strategic policy statement to Ofwat. This set out clear priorities for Ofwat to secure the water industry’s long-term resilience to flooding, drought, and other risks, and to protect vulnerable customers. The policy statement makes clear that we expect Ofwat to challenge companies to assess the resilience of their systems and infrastructure against flooding and take proportionate steps to improve resilience where required.

21st Nov 2018
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to support exporters based in Cumbria.

Businesses across Cumbria have access to the full range of DIT support. International Trade Advisers from our whole North West team operate throughout the county, deployed according to the specific needs of each customer. This support is also underpinned by our full UK and global network, with DIT teams overseas, sector specialists and the Exporting is GREAT Digital Hub. UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, can also help businesses in Cumbria win, fulfil and get paid for their overseas sales.

We encourage and help businesses to start, increase or sustain exporting activity, and this support includes 1-1 advice, trade missions, exhibitions, workshops and other activities. Additionally, free support is available to them from 92 DIT Northern Powerhouse Export Champions.

The trade needs of businesses of all sizes in Cumbria will be further addressed through the Export Strategy. This sets out how the government will support businesses to make the most of the opportunities presented by markets around the world. Launched in August 2018, we consulted with over 200 businesses to develop the Strategy, which will see DIT join up across government, with local partners and with the private sector to break down barriers to exporting. The strategy sets out how DIT will Encourage; Inform; Connect; and Finance UK businesses with the potential to export.

21st Nov 2018
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the potential effect on passengers of the RMT Union's Saturday strikes on the Cumbrian Coast Line service.

I share the frustrations of passengers on Northern whose journeys have been repeatedly disrupted by the actions of the RMT. This dispute is not about safety – the independent rail regulator has said driver controlled doors on trains are safe.

4th Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support maternity services.

Our programme of transformation in maternity services will make the National Health Service one of the best places in the world to give birth by supporting maternity services to deliver safer more personalised care for mothers and babies.

The NHS Long Term Plan built on the progress to implement the findings of the national maternity review set out in ‘Better Births’ in 2016, and commits us to continue to work with midwives, mothers and their families to implement the ‘continuity of carer’ recommendation. This will mean that, by March 2021, most women will receive continuity of the person caring for them during pregnancy, during birth and postnatally. Within this, 75% of women from black and minority ethnic groups and disadvantaged communities will have continuity of carer by the end of 2023-24, as the evidence suggests that it particularly improves outcomes for this group.

We also aim to improve safety by rolling out the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle to every maternity unit in England in 2019. The Bundle supports services in reducing still births, with a new focus on preventing pre-term birth. Every trust in England with a maternity and neonatal service is now part of the National Maternal and Neonatal Health Safety Collaborative, which is supporting practical improvements to make care safer in all maternity units. Through this, we are supporting a culture of multidisciplinary team working and learning, vital for safe, high-quality maternity care. By 2022-23 pre-term birth clinics, Fetal Medicine Services and Maternal Medicine Networks will be rolled out nationally to provide access to more specialist expertise to women, babies and the clinicians caring for them.

To underpin the improvements to care, the NHS Long Term Plan committed to the digitisation of maternity information so that by 2023-24 all women will be able to access their maternity notes and information through their smart phones or other devices.

In March 2018, the Department announced plans to train more than 3,000 extra midwives over four years. The Government is providing extra funding for clinical placement costs for 650 students in 2019-20 with planned increases of 1,000 in the subsequent years. The Maternity Workforce Strategy was published in March 2019 by Health Education England to outline how the requirements of Better Births and the ambition to halve stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths by 50% by 2025, would be met. This will be achieved through retaining experienced and skilled maternity staff, as well as supporting employers to upskill and develop their workforces through new roles and new ways of working. This includes rolling out the ‘Maternity Support Worker’ role with a national competency, education and career framework; and new routes to becoming a registered midwife, including via apprenticeships.

29th Oct 2018
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding additional domestic medical student places to meet growing NHS demand in (a) Cumbria and Lancashire and (b) England.

The Government has announced a near record increase of an additional 1,500 medical school places for domestic students in England – 630 started this September, with a further 690 starting in 2019/20 and the final 180 in 2020/21. This expansion will also deliver five brand new medical schools in Sunderland, Lancashire, Chelmsford, Lincoln and Canterbury. This has meant an additional 171 places for domestic students in the North West, 81 of which started this September.

On the back of the additional £20 billion additional National Health Service funding, NHS leaders are currently producing a long-term plan that will include proposals for the NHS workforce, training and leadership, which the Government will consider and respond to in due course.

Steve Barclay
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
13th Jul 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequacy funding for the final stage of construction of the West Cumberland Hospital.

The West, North and East Cumbria Sustainability and Transformation Project has made an application for funding for the West Cumberland scheme from the additional £325 million capital funding announced in the spring budget earlier this year. An announcement on the successful applications will be made shortly.

10th Jul 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department gives to NHS trusts and hospitals to improve the recruitment and retention of (a) maternity unit, (b) paediatric unit and (c) other hospital staff.

National Health Service trusts are responsible for the recruitment and retention of their workforce to ensure safe staffing levels. There are no specific, separate programmes for maternity and paediatric units. The Department commissions Health Education England (HEE) to work with the NHS to ensure there is sufficient future supply of staff to meet the workforce requirements of the NHS in England. Details are in its Workforce Plan for England 2016-171.

The NHS is employing more clinical staff than ever before with, for example, 307,491 nurses, midwives and health visitors (up by more than 7,000 since 2010) and HEE has over 52,000 nurses in training with forecasts for more than 40,000 additional nurses by 2020. It will be for NHS trusts to work with HEE, nurses and other clinical staff to decide how their careers develop. This could include specialising in maternity, paediatrics or other hospital services.

The number of nurses providing “early life” care which includes maternity and paediatric services is 24,446 full time equivalents (March 2017), a rise of 3,250 (15.3%) since 2010.

The Department commissions NHS Improvement to lead the national programme to develop and deliver NHS safe staffing improvement resources for specific care settings which would include maternity, paediatric and other hospital services. NHS Improvement is working with trusts to support the development of trust improvement plans for retaining their clinical workforce through, for example, ensuring trusts demonstrate leadership and culture support, and nurture staff in an environment of continuous learning for the benefit of patients.

The Department is also leading work with NHS England, HEE and others to do more to retain clinical staff through, for example, working with the NHS to improve opportunities for flexible working. The Department is also working with the Care Quality Commission to see how staff welfare issues can be included in hospital inspections so progress can be tracked.

Note:

1https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/HEE%20commissioning%20and%20investment%20plan%202016-17_0.pdf

29th Nov 2017
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has made an estimate of the number of Daesh fighters and supporters who have returned to the UK from both Iraq and Syria since January 2017.

Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half have returned and approximately 15% are now dead. This number includes all those of national security concern, not just those affiliated with Daesh. Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security. Due to national security we cannot provide a further breakdown of the figures.

2nd Apr 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to provide support for victims of domestic violence.

This Government is absolutely committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse.

The Ministry of Justice provides £68m in funding each year to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to provide support services to victims of crime. Of this, PCCs reported spending approximately £23.5 million in 2017/18 on services for victims of domestic abuse; these include tailored specialist support and advocacy through trained Independent Domestic Violence Advisors as well as practical and emotional support, risk assessment and safety planning.

In the Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, we committed to developing a new delivery model for victim support services, including services for domestic abuse victims, to increase availability of victim services through more joined up and sustainable funding.

Compensation also plays an important part in providing end-to-end support for victims of violent crime, including victims of domestic abuse. The Government funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme exists to compensate victims who suffer serious physical or mental injury as a direct result of a violent crime.

The Ministry of Justice is also working jointly with the Home Office on the Domestic Abuse Bill which was published in draft on 21 January 2019, alongside an accompanying package of over 120 non-legislative measures. Improving support for victims sits at the heart of this work and we have also provided an additional £20 million to support organisations working to combat domestic abuse and to support victims.

Edward Argar
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice