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To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce delays relating to probate claims.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce delays relating to probate claims.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps he is taking to increase access to NHS dentistry services in the South West.
What steps he is taking to increase access to NHS dentistry services in the South West.
In addition to the steps we are taking to drive up NHS dentistry everywhere, we are going further in the south-west, with NHSE commissioning additional urgent appointments. There are several hundred extra appointments every week.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. It is not sustainable for the people of West Dorset who have needed dental care for some time when there is a £400 million national underspend in the dental care budget. The NHS and local dentists tell me that the incompatibility often relates to the national dental care contract, which is up for review. When does the Minister expect a solution to be found to this contract difficulty? Will he meet me and the NHS Dorset ICB to discuss the matter in detail to find a solution?
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. It is not sustainable for the people of West Dorset who have needed dental care for some time when there is a £400 million national underspend in the dental care budget. The NHS and local dentists tell me that the incompatibility often relates to the national dental care contract, which is up for review. When does the Minister expect a solution to be found to this contract difficulty? Will he meet me and the NHS Dorset ICB to discuss the matter in detail to find a solution?
Absolutely. I am keen to continue the conversation with my hon. Friend. These issues are exactly why, this summer, we legislated to allow rebasing and to end the inflexibility he describes. We are also in the process of ringfencing local dental budgets, because we do not want to see underspends. We want to see that money going to NHS dentistry.
Will the Secretary of State join me in thanking the outgoing chief executive of the South Western Ambulance Service, Will Warrender? He came to join the service in the middle of covid, during very difficult times, and did a lot of work to help, and that comes after his 32 years of public service in the Royal Navy.
Will the Secretary of State join me in thanking the outgoing chief executive of the South Western Ambulance Service, Will Warrender? He came to join the service in the middle of covid, during very difficult times, and did a lot of work to help, and that comes after his 32 years of public service in the Royal Navy.
I am happy to join my hon. Friend; indeed, I am sure the whole House is happy to pay tribute to the exemplary public service Mr Warrender has provided, both in the Royal Navy and with the ambulance trust, and to wish him a very happy retirement.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has set targets for train operating companies to reduce operational costs for rail stations.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has set targets for train operating companies to reduce operational costs for rail stations.
This is an industry-led process. The outcomes of the consultations will not be known until the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement process has been concluded.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the safety risk assessments for the berthing in Portland Port of the Bibby Stockholm.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the safety risk assessments for the berthing in Portland Port of the Bibby Stockholm.
No individuals will be placed on the vessel unless it is safe to do so and all the legal and regulatory requirements are met.
The vessel will be managed by our supplier, under contractual terms agreed with the Home Office. The same supplier has safely and successfully managed two vessels for Ukrainian refugees for the Scottish Government over the past year.
The supplier and partners including Dorset Council, Dorset Police, Dorset Fire & Rescue and the Health & Safety Executive will ensure that the appropriate risk assessments have been completed and approved to ensure that the accommodation is safe to occupy prior to the first cohort of asylum seekers arriving.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the regulatory framework for multi-academy trusts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the regulatory framework for multi-academy trusts.
The Department provides multi-academy trusts with a high level of autonomy to drive improvement in the school sector. This approach ensures trust leaders are accountable to their trustees.
Inspection of individual schools and financial oversight from the Education and Skills Funding Agency are the two primary levers in the Department’s regulation of trusts. We publish performance information on multi-academy trusts and have powers to intervene in the event of failures of governance.
In March, the Department published the Academies Regulatory and Commissioning Review. This sets out how we will revise and consolidate our regulatory approach, so it is more proportionate, effective and risk-based, delivering regulatory oversight in a more strategic manner. It also details how the Department will support the continued transition to a self-improving system by sharing best practice and supporting trust improvement.
Finally, the Review sets out how we will reform our approach to commissioning multi-academy trusts to grow. It was followed in July by the publication of the ‘Commissioning high-quality trusts’ guidance. Together, these documents set out new, high expectations on trusts that want to grow which we will apply consistently and transparently. The result will be that standards in the trust sector will continue to rise.
Multi-academy trusts continue to improve standards in schools with poor Ofsted ratings, with 88% of schools now rated good or outstanding compared to 68% in 2010. This reflects the ability of high quality trusts to introduce effective approaches to raising standards, and to deploy the capacity and capability of the trust to target underperformance.
In the absence of any Ofsted oversight or regulation of multi-academy trusts, will my right hon. Friend tell me what mechanism is in place for a school to escalate concerns over the pooling of pupil grant funding, especially in a situation where a multi-academy trust gives a school considerably less money than the Education and Skills Funding Agency allowance for that school?
In the absence of any Ofsted oversight or regulation of multi-academy trusts, will my right hon. Friend tell me what mechanism is in place for a school to escalate concerns over the pooling of pupil grant funding, especially in a situation where a multi-academy trust gives a school considerably less money than the Education and Skills Funding Agency allowance for that school?
Academy trusts can pool their general annual grant to deliver key improvements and efficiencies across the academies in the trust. The academy trust handbook requires consideration of each school’s needs and an appeals mechanism, which can be escalated to the ESFA.
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that Revenue Support Grant allocations are fair.
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that Revenue Support Grant allocations are fair.
Revenue Support Grant funding is allocated via a fair assessment of local authority need and is but one part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.
My right hon. Friend will know from my constant lobbying of him that it is my belief that the revenue support grant mechanism is inherently unfair and means that rural authorities such as Dorset, and particularly in West Dorset, receive little if any revenue support grant compared to the tens of millions that many urban areas, such as Wandsworth, receive. Will my right hon. Friend kindly tell me what he is doing to restore that balance and fairness for rural areas?
My right hon. Friend will know from my constant lobbying of him that it is my belief that the revenue support grant mechanism is inherently unfair and means that rural authorities such as Dorset, and particularly in West Dorset, receive little if any revenue support grant compared to the tens of millions that many urban areas, such as Wandsworth, receive. Will my right hon. Friend kindly tell me what he is doing to restore that balance and fairness for rural areas?
My hon. Friend has absolutely made this case on multiple occasions, both to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and to myself. He is a champion for West Dorset and for rural communities in general. We will continue to work with local MPs who are concerned about this, but I would just gently point out that the primacy and the desire of the local government sector in this financial year has been for clarity and consistency, which is what we have provided to them through the local government financial settlement this year.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to use Diocesan Clergy Stipend funds.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to use Diocesan Clergy Stipend funds.
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration will know that Portland port, although in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax), is very close to the constituency border of West Dorset. My constituents in Chickerell and wider West Dorset are becoming increasingly concerned about the absence of information on the risk assessment and on the additional resources that will be made available to Dorset Council and Dorset police. Has he any further information that he can share with the House today?
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration will know that Portland port, although in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax), is very close to the constituency border of West Dorset. My constituents in Chickerell and wider West Dorset are becoming increasingly concerned about the absence of information on the risk assessment and on the additional resources that will be made available to Dorset Council and Dorset police. Has he any further information that he can share with the House today?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the manner in which he has defended his constituents on this difficult issue. Although housing asylum seekers in more rudimentary accommodation such as barges is undoubtedly in the national interest, we are acutely aware of the challenges faced by the local communities in which they will be moored. That is why we are working closely with Dorset Council, with the hon. Gentleman and with my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax).
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 3 May.
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 3 May.
Q8
.
Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con):
The Conservative police and crime commissioner in Dorset has delivered 174 new police officers, quadrupled the rural crime team and made Dorset the sixth safest county. Given that recorded crime is 34% higher under Labour police and crime commissioners, does the Prime Minister agree that only Conservatives can be trusted to keep local communities safe and to make sure that offenders face the justice they deserve?
Q8
.
Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con):
The Conservative police and crime commissioner in Dorset has delivered 174 new police officers, quadrupled the rural crime team and made Dorset the sixth safest county. Given that recorded crime is 34% higher under Labour police and crime commissioners, does the Prime Minister agree that only Conservatives can be trusted to keep local communities safe and to make sure that offenders face the justice they deserve?
My hon. Friend is right. It is a simple statement of fact: crime is lower in areas that have Conservative police and crime commissioners. I am delighted that Dorset has been selected as one of the areas to pilot our new immediate justice scheme, which will deliver swift and visible punishment, so that victims of antisocial behaviour know it will be treated seriously and with all urgency.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
In recent times, we have had a good number of fatal road accidents in West Dorset: on the A3066, at Mosterton; on the A30 between Sherborne and Yeovil; and on the A35. A year or so ago, I lost one of my best friends from primary school in a fatal car accident between Sherborne and Dorchester. Recently, I have set out and set up my road safety taskforce in West Dorset to address this issue. May I ask the Minister to confirm the standards and conditions he would expect local authorities and indeed National Highways to meet when it comes to white lines, cat’s eyes, signage and the like?
In recent times, we have had a good number of fatal road accidents in West Dorset: on the A3066, at Mosterton; on the A30 between Sherborne and Yeovil; and on the A35. A year or so ago, I lost one of my best friends from primary school in a fatal car accident between Sherborne and Dorchester. Recently, I have set out and set up my road safety taskforce in West Dorset to address this issue. May I ask the Minister to confirm the standards and conditions he would expect local authorities and indeed National Highways to meet when it comes to white lines, cat’s eyes, signage and the like?
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Obviously, my heart goes out to all of those affected, including the family of his friend. My understanding is that there were two incidents in 2021 on the roads in his constituency where a police officer attended and said a contributory factor was a poor or defective road surface. This is up to the local authorities; they have a statutory duty to maintain their roads. There should also be a proper inspection scheme for all of the areas that he talks about. The Department encourages good practice in highway maintenance through our
“Well-managed Highway Infrastructure” code of practice. I would be delighted to meet him to discuss road safety further.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending the South Western Railway contract on customers.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending the South Western Railway contract on customers.
The impact on customers is the primary consideration in the award of National Rail Contracts. Having considered all options available to us, this extension provides the best outcome for customers in the South West of England and provides a bridge towards future Passenger Service Contracts under GBR.