Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inspectors work for the Animal and Plant Health Agency; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of inspectors for protecting the UK's biosecurity.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Below is the number of inspectors the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has in post at Executive Officer (EO) and Higher Executive Officer (HEO) grade, along with the number of Senior Executive Officers (SEO) who also support delivery. APHA also has apprentice plant health inspectors.
The numbers are subject to change as APHA has several vacancies which it is recruiting to fill, and has potential new starters who are going through the security checks and onboarding process. They are not included in the figures until they have started working for APHA.
Inland | Apprentice | 18 |
EO | 105 | |
Contractor | 3 | |
HEO | 102 | |
SEO | 12 | |
Imports | Apprentice | 20 |
EO | 71 | |
Contractor | 10 | |
HEO | 32 | |
SEO | 5 |
Total - 378
GB plant health services have increased the number of plant health inspection staff to service the demand for import checks in England and Wales of EU plants and plant products. Inspector levels are being monitored to ensure these meet demand and deliver checks in line with set Service Level Agreements and ensure minimal trade disruption. Border Control Posts (BCPs) are designed to handle high volumes of imported sanitary and phytosanitary goods with inspectors working shifts to carry out reliable checks which minimise friction on traffic flow. Checks at BCPs are handled by trained staff ensuring inspections are undertaken safely and efficiently.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the horticultural industry on the potential impact of EU-UK border processes on biosecurity.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the controls. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity.
Defra engages with the horticultural industry through the Plant Health Portal and Plant Health Advisory Forum.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the horticultural industry on changes to phytosanitary certificates.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra engages with GB businesses well in advance of any such changes, through the Plant Health Portal and Plant Health Advisory Forum
Any changes to the required content of phytosanitary certificates are communicated to third country trading partners via World Trade Organisation notifications and through letters directly to third country competent authorities. Such notifications are sent months in advance to ensure that third countries have time to comment on, and adapt to, the changes.
The exception to this is during emergency situations, when the high level of biosecurity risk means new requirements are implemented more rapidly.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the two year survival rate for patients with bowel cancer in Walsall; and what assessment he has made of the impact of levels of availability of robotics for cancer operations on that figure.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a specific estimate on the two-year survival rate for patients with bowel cancer in Walsall, however, the Department is focused on improving survival rates for all cancers, and on meeting all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets, so no patient waits longer than they should.
No specific assessment has been made on the impact of the levels of availability of robotics for cancer operations. However, there is a robotic assisted surgery clinical strategy for the Black Country Provider Collaborative which has increased robotic surgery access for all patients in the Black Country, particularly for renal service.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of robotics capability for cancer operations at Walsall Manor Hospital.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment is planned. There is a robotic assisted surgery clinical strategy for the Black Country Provider Collaborative which has increased robotic surgery access for all patients in the Black Country, particularly for renal service.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with businesses that trade with the EU on the potential impact of inconsistent application of border controls on the (a) time taken for goods to clear EU customs and (b) cost of exporting goods.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to tackling barriers to trade, including reducing frictions at the UK Border.
To do this we need effective dialogue with businesses. Minister Thomas and I recently hosted a roundtable to gather businesses’ views on how to improve the UK-EU trading relationship. My officials are also engaging with businesses to understand the barriers they face and how we can support them to grow and export to the EU.
DBT is also working across government to understand how initiatives like the UK Single Trade Window and the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) can improve the passage of goods.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
What discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on removing barriers to trade.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to improving the UK's trade and investment relationship with the European Union (EU). Only a few days ago I met the German Ambassador, and I recently has the pleasure of meeting with my Italian counterpart. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has had a range of positive discussions with his counterparts, including the EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and other European ministers. As a Government, we are committed to restarting the UK-EU relationship, so from the Prime Minister down, we have established ongoing and productive engagement with the European Union and Member States.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with (a) UK Biobank and (b) UK Biobank funders on the adequacy of the proportion of UK Biobank participants from BAME backgrounds.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The scientific and ethical impacts of cohort diversity on the generalisability of research findings is part of ongoing conversations on health data, including with UK Biobank. As a funder, the Government routinely engages in discussions about diversity with UK Biobank through the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research. The Department is committed to increasing participation of ethnic minority groups in health and social care research, and is working in partnership with diverse communities to ensure they have a stronger voice in shaping priorities for research, the design and delivery of research, inclusive recruitment into studies, and the mobilisation of evidence into practice.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with (a) the National Institute for Health Research and (b) other NHS funding streams on the potential merits of increasing the level of funding made available to the South Asian Biobank to help monitor (i) disease diagnoses and (ii) health outcomes from that project among people from South Asian backgrounds.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The South Asian Biobank, originally funded by the Wellcome Trust, is an international research study designed to prevent the high risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer among South Asian people. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research via a range of programmes, with eligibility criteria to support applicants to decide where to apply. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. The NIHR has provided funding for research projects associated with the South Asian Biobank through open competition, and welcomes any future applications. In addition, the NIHR provides funding to NIHR research infrastructure through open competition. The NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre and the Clinical Research Network have provided support for the South Asian Biobank.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of funding allocated to the South Asian Biobank.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The South Asian Biobank, originally funded by the Wellcome Trust, is an international research study designed to prevent the high risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer among South Asian people. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research via a range of programmes, with eligibility criteria to support applicants to decide where to apply. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. The NIHR has provided funding for research projects associated with the South Asian Biobank through open competition, and welcomes any future applications. In addition, the NIHR provides funding to NIHR research infrastructure through open competition. The NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre and the Clinical Research Network have provided support for the South Asian Biobank.