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528904

registered interest
date	27/06/2016
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Health: Disadvantaged
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce health inequalities.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	41296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2016 answer text <p>Reducing health inequalities is a priority for this Government.</p><p> </p><p>We are acting to reduce health inequalities by addressing the social causes of ill health, promoting healthier lifestyles for all and tackling differences in outcomes of NHS services, all underpinned by legal duties.</p><p> </p><p>We have taken an evidence-based, strategic approach to reducing health inequalities, based on sound governance, accountability and good partnership working and are moving towards greater use of metrics and measurement taking more account of the action taken to respond to the latest evidence, data and trends. This approach is reflected across the health system and beyond with NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) playing their part.</p><p> </p><p>Achieving measureable and sustained reductions in health inequalities is integral to the Department’s <em>Shared Delivery Plan 2015-20</em>, and reflected in the Government’s mandate to NHS England, the NHS Constitution, NHS England’s <em>Five Year Forward View</em>, PHE’s <em>Evidence into Action</em> and supporting strategic and business plans at national and local level. NHS England’s Business Plan for 2016/17 prioritises closing the gap for groups experiencing poorer health outcomes, a poorer experience of, and access to, healthcare. PHE is supporting local and national efforts to address health inequalities by providing knowledge and intelligence, and evidence-informed tools and advice.</p><p> </p><p>The 2012 Health and Social Care Act introduced new duties on the Secretary of State, NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and Monitor to have regard to the need to reduce health inequalities in decision-making and carrying out functions. We have also made having regard to the need to reduce health inequalities a condition of the public health grant to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 30/06/2016 15:58:26 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

528905

registered interest
date	27/06/2016
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Public Health: North East
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve health outcomes in the North East.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	41297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2016 answer text <p>Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 statutory duties, Public Health England (PHE) works with local authorities to improve the health of local populations and provide services including drug and alcohol misuse as well as sexual health services.</p><p> </p><p>PHE works very closely with local authorities, and are undertaking a number of projects in the North East to improve health and address health inequalities.</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 30/06/2016 15:59:10 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

528948

registered interest
date	27/06/2016
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Transport: Infrastructure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the British steel industry to future transport infrastructure projects in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	41298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2016 answer text <p>The Department has been working closely with BIS, Cabinet Office and industry to consider how Government can help the UK steel industry meet the challenges it has been facing.</p><p> </p><p>The bulk of infrastructure projects within the Department are being delivered by the Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB), in particular, Network Rail, Highways England and HS2. Cabinet Office guidance on the approach to steel procurement has been circulated to the Accounting Officers of each ALB and procurement and commercial teams within these organisations are aware of the need to:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Signal the future pipeline of requirements on steel sourcing and best practice in pre-procurement market engagement;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Ensure there is clear visibility of opportunities at sub-contractor level where the source of steel has not been defined by a Tier 1 contractor;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Assess the health and sustainability of potential suppliers in the supply chain at selection stage, including compliance with relevant health and safety and employment legislation;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Ensure that the price or cost calculations are based on an assessment of the whole-life cost and not lowest purchase price;</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Take account of appropriate social and environmental impacts at the award stage where they are linked to the subject of the contract.</li></ul><p> </p><p>As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain for the majority of our infrastructure projects. The Department and its ALBs are complying with the Cabinet Office guidance and ensuring that, for instance, where appropriate, assessment of social and environmental impacts are considered as part of the evaluation criteria. The Department and its ALBs also positively encourage bids from British companies and are holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to win contracts.</p><p> </p><p>Activity currently underway is as follows:</p><p><br><strong>Network Rail</strong></p><ul><li>Network Rail buys approximately 120,000 tonnes of steel for rails per annum directly from British Steel in Scunthorpe, which is around 96% of Network Rail’s total aggregated demand by value.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Highways England</strong></p><ul><li>Highways England does not procure steel materials directly, however over the last five years Highways England has used a category management framework as the main method of procuring steel gantries for the Strategic Road Network.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>To date circa 95% of this steel has been drawn from British Steel in the UK, which equates to approximately 11,000 tonnes of steel. The approximate framework spend is £30 million, of which about 35% will be steel procurement i.e. raw materials, and will equate to around £10.5 million.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Crossrail</strong></p><ul><li>The 57km of steel required for the rails of Crossrail’s brand new central tunnel section is being sourced entirely from British Steel in Scunthorpe. This equates to 7,000 tonnes of steel.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Crossrail Ltd does not directly procure steel as this is undertaken by their tier 1 contractors and their supply chains. However, Crossrail keeps an oversight of its critical contracts and estimates that 85% of its supply chain providing steel to the project is UK based.</li></ul><p><strong>HS2 </strong></p><ul><li>It is estimated that HS2 will need approximately 2 million tonnes of steel over the next 10 years. The procurement for the main civil engineering works between Euston and Birmingham is now underway with procurements for the stations and rail systems expected to commence later this year and for rolling stock in early 2017. Subject to Royal Assent, the project will start construction in 2017.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain. HS2 positively encourages bids from British companies and is already holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to complete for contracts for the steel that will be needed for track, concrete reinforcements, overhead wires and other structures.</li></ul> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 30/06/2016 14:22:12 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

525523

registered interest
date	15/06/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Students: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that universities offer disabled students levels of support which take account of recent changes to the disabled students' allowance.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40680
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or mode of learning. In the last academic year we saw record entry rates to higher education, including among those from disadvantaged backgrounds</p><p> </p><p>Higher Education Institutions have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities. They have a clear legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.</p><p> </p><p>To support Higher Education (HE) providers to prepare for the changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances that come into effect from academic year 2016/17, the Department has supported the establishment of a sector-led group ofstakeholders. The group’s focus is to communicate with senior leaders of HE providers, to help provide information about institutions’ responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students, and to encourage HE providers to develop inclusive learning environments.</p><p>In addition, universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged groups, including disabled students - up significantly from £404 million in 2009.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson grouped question UIN 40681 question first answered 27/06/2016 08:48:25 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

525524

registered interest
date	15/06/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Students: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to increase accessibility to university buildings for disabled students.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or mode of learning. In the last academic year we saw record entry rates to higher education, including among those from disadvantaged backgrounds</p><p> </p><p>Higher Education Institutions have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities. They have a clear legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.</p><p> </p><p>To support Higher Education (HE) providers to prepare for the changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances that come into effect from academic year 2016/17, the Department has supported the establishment of a sector-led group ofstakeholders. The group’s focus is to communicate with senior leaders of HE providers, to help provide information about institutions’ responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students, and to encourage HE providers to develop inclusive learning environments.</p><p>In addition, universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged groups, including disabled students - up significantly from £404 million in 2009.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson grouped question UIN 40680 question first answered 27/06/2016 08:48:25 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

524638

registered interest
date	13/06/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Apprentices: Tees Valley
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report by Lord Heseltine, entitled Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published in June 2016, recommendation 6.6.7, whether he plans to devolve responsibility for the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers to the Tees Valley Combined Authority.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40293
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is available until the end of the 2016/17 academic year to incentivise smaller employers to offer apprenticeships. The AGE grant will be devolved to The Tees Valley Combined Authority from this August. They will be free to vary the criteria associated with the grant (e.g. size and sector of business) to meet local needs.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 27/06/2016 16:10:47 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

524705

registered interest
date	13/06/2016
answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
answering dept id	63
answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
hansard heading	Carbon Capture and Storage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications for Government policy on carbon capture and storage (CCS) are of the decision not to proceed with the CCS Commercialisation Commission.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40370
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government has not closed the door on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and believes it has a potentially important role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK. We are clear that CCS is currently too expensive and its costs must come down. We continue to work with wider industry to help develop CCS cost efficiently in the UK, including through the joint Government-industry CCS Development Forum, which I co-chair. We will set out our approach to CCS in due course, informed by the findings from Lord Oxburgh’s CCS Advisory Group.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 27/06/2016 09:35:40 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

524419

registered interest
date	10/06/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Skilled Workers: North East
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of the withdrawal of funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills on the Government's analysis of skills shortages in the North East.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40241
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2016 answer text <p>In the context of needing to make savings in non-participation budgets to allow the core adult skills participation budgets to be protected in cash terms, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities.</p><p> </p><p>Following these discussions, we have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal and decided that these products will be maintained. We are currently working with the Commission to transfer the management of these to BIS, and we will work users on how information from these surveys will be disseminated in the future including the provision of regional and local information.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 15/06/2016 08:57:55 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

524481

registered interest
date	10/06/2016
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Bridges: Tees Valley
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 9.2.7 of the report by Lord Heseltine, Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published in June 2016, if he will make it his policy to provide a new strategic road Tees crossing.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40244
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2016 answer text <p>The first Road Investment Strategy (RIS) recognises that tackling congestion on the A19 is a priority and includes a scheme to widen the A19 between the A1027 (Norton) and A689 (Wynyard).</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Tees Valley Combined Authority and the local authorities are working in partnership with Highways England to identify options for a new crossing of the Tees to enhance the road network. The Combined Authority has made a bid to the Department’s Large Majors scheme for 2016/17 to develop proposals. The results of bids into this fund are due to be published in July 2016.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Highways England has begun gathering evidence to support the development of the second RIS period which commences in 2020/21. The evidence from Lord Heseltine’s Report will be taken into account in this process.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harrogate and Knaresborough answering member printed Andrew Jones question first answered 15/06/2016 10:43:22 answering member 3996 label Biography information for Andrew Jones
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

524191

registered interest
date	09/06/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	Apprentices: Tees Valley
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of apprentices in the Tees Valley area (a) went on to work full-time with the employer with which they trained and (b) were subsequently unemployed in the last year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
uin	40117
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Statistical data broken down by region on (a) apprentices working full-time for the employer with which they trained or (b) were subsequently unemployed, is not available.</p><p> </p><p>Latest Apprenticeship Evaluation Learner Survey 2016 data show that 9 out of 10 of all recent apprenticeship completers were in employment 12-20 months after completion. And 72% of those in employment were with the same employer with whom they completed their apprenticeship.</p><p> </p><p>Information on Apprenticeship starts by region and local authority is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509995/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.XLS" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509995/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.XLS</a></p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 14/06/2016 16:08:05 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop