Daily Report Thursday, 25 June 2020
This report shows written answers and statements provided on 25 June 2020 and the
information is correct at the time of publication (06:43 P.M., 25 June 2020). For the latest
information on written questions and answers, ministerial corrections, and written statements,
please visit: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/
CONTENTS
ANSWERS 6
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND
INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 6
Bounce Back Loan Scheme:
Hospitality Industry 6
Carbon Emissions 6
Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Renewable Energy 7
Energy Performance
Certificates 7
Hydrogen 8
Hydrogen: Investment and Job
Creation 8
Redundancy: Debenhams 9
CABINET OFFICE 10
Civil Service: Racial
Discrimination 10
Elections: EU Nationals 10
Ethnic Groups: Equality 10
Land: Public Sector 12
Marriage: Coronavirus 12
Prime Minister: Public Opinion 13
Property Development: Isle of
Dogs 13
Protective Clothing:
Coronavirus 14
Trade: Northern Ireland 14
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND
SPORT 15
Arts: Finance 15
Gambling 16
Musicians: Coronavirus 16
Orchestras: Coronavirus 17
Press Freedom 17
Tourism: Coronavirus 18
EDUCATION 19
Children and Young People:
Coronavirus 19
Children in Care 19
Children: Coronavirus 20
Children: Coronaviruse 21
Education: Ethnic Groups 22
Education: Internet 23
Erasmus+ Programme:
Northern Ireland 23
Financial Services: Primary
Education 24
Free School Meals 24
Free School Meals: Voucher
Schemes 25
Higher Education: Internet 28
Home Education: Sheffield
South East 29
Home Education:
Walthamstow 30
Schools: Bullying 30
Schools: Coronavirus 31
Schools: Finance 34
Schools: Sports 34
Sixth Form Education:
Coronavirus 35
Social Workers: Coronavirus 36
Teachers: Coronavirus 36
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND
RURAL AFFAIRS 37
Cats: Tagging 37
Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs:
Renewable Energy 37
Food: Imports 38
Forests: Commodities 39
Highly Protected Marine
Areas: Angling 39
FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 40
Afghanistan: Ethnic Groups 40
Development Aid: Poverty 40
Foreign and Commonwealth
Office: Overseas Aid 40
Marine Environment: Treaties 41
Nigeria: Religion 42
Nigeria: Violence 42
Sri Lanka: Politics and
Government 42
Sri Lanka: Water 43
Yu Wensheng 43
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 44
Asthma: Coronavirus 44
Asthma: Steroid Drugs 44
Blood Cancer: Coronavirus 44
Care Homes: Coronavirus 45
Children: Protective Clothing 47
Contact Tracing: Computer
Software 47
Coronavirus 47
Coronavirus: Children 48
Coronavirus: Death 48
Coronavirus: Disease Control 49
Coronavirus: Funerals 50
Coronavirus: Nike 51
Coronavirus: Patients 51
Coronavirus: Protective
Clothing 52
Coronavirus: Research 52
Coronavirus: Screening 53
Coronavirus: Twickenham 55
Coronavirus: Wirral 55
Cystic Fibrosis: Coronavirus 56
Dental Services: Coronavirus 56
Dental Services: Protective
Clothing 57
Department of Health and
Social Care 57
Diabetes: Coronavirus 58
Diabetes: Medical Treatments 58
Employment: Coronavirus 58
Exercise Cygnus: Care Homes 59
Gender Recognition: Health
Services 59
Health Services: Coronavirus 60
Health Services: Immigrants 60
Health Services: Protective
Clothing 61
Health Visitors: Coronavirus 61
Hearing Impairment:
Screening 61
Hospitals: Patients 62
Hygiene: Products 62
Local Government:
Coronavirus 63
Mental Health Services:
Children and Young People 63
Mental Health Services: Ethnic
Groups 64
Mental Health Services: Young
People 64
Midwives: Age 65
NHS: Disclosure of Information 66
NHS: Sanitary Products 66
Nurses: Students 66
Postnatal Care: Coronavirus 67
Protective Clothing:
Coronavirus 67
Protective Clothing: Imports 68
Protective Clothing:
Manufacturing Industries 68
Protective Clothing:
Procurement 69
Protective Clothing: Shops 71
Public Health: Coronavirus 72
Public Health: Expenditure 72
Social Services: Coronavirus 73
Spinal Muscular Atrophy:
Nusinersen 73
HOME OFFICE 74
Action Fraud 74
Asylum: Coronavirus 74
Asylum: Finance 75
Asylum: Interviews 75
British Nationality:
Assessments 76
Counter-terrorism 76
Counter-terrorism: Local
Government 76
Death Certificates: Ethnic
Groups 77
Immigrants: Finance 77
Migrant Workers: Doctors 77
Police: Stop and Search 78
Registration of Births, Deaths,
Marriages and Civil
Partnerships 78
Slavery: Detainees 78
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 79
Affordable Housing:
Construction 79
Evictions: Coronavirus 79
Funerals: Coronavirus 80
High Rise Flats: Insulation 80
Homelessness: Coronavirus 81
Housing Occupancy:
Coronavirus 82
Housing: Construction 82
Housing: Coronavirus 83
Immigrants: Finance 83
Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local
Government: Faculty 84
Social Rented Housing:
Construction 84
INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT 85
China: Overseas Aid 85
Department for International
Development: Reorganisation 85
India: Overseas Aid 85
INTERNATIONAL TRADE 86
Food: Imports 86
Trade Agreements 87
JUSTICE 87
Judiciary: Training 87
Legal Aid Scheme: Companies 88
Legal Ombudsman 89
Legal Profession: Disclosure
of Information 89
Ministry of Justice: Renewable
Energy 90
Prisoners' Release 90
Prisoners' Release:
Homelessness 91
Prisoners' Release: Housing 92
Remand in Custody 93
Reoffenders: Coronavirus 93
Social Entitlement Chamber:
Video Conferencing 94
Wayland Prison: Technology 94
NORTHERN IRELAND 95
EU Grants and Loans:
Northern Ireland 95
SCOTLAND 95
Unemployment: Scotland 95
TRANSPORT 96
Biofuels: Public Consultation 96
Department for Transport:
Public Opinion 96
Driving Tests: Coronavirus 96
M67: Bridges 97
M67: Litter 97
Public Transport: Concessions 97
Public Transport: Coronavirus 98
Railways: Franchises 98
Roads: Accidents 98
TREASURY 99
Covid-19 Education Catch-up
Fund 99
Economic Situation:
Coronavirus 100
Employment: Government
Assistance 100
Investment Income:
Coronavirus 101
Protective Clothing: VAT 101
Self-employment Income
Support Scheme 101
Third Sector: Coronavirus 102
Tourism: Employment 103
WOMEN AND EQUALITIES 104
Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups 104
Gender Recognition: Health
Services 104
Racial Discrimination 105
WORK AND PENSIONS 105
[Subject Heading to be
Assigned] 105
Department for Work and
Pensions: Correspondence 106
Employment Support
Allowance 106
Income Support 106
Pensions: Coronavirus 107
Pensions: Income 107
Personal Independence
Payment 108
Social Security Benefits:
Disqualification 109
Social Security Benefits:
Medical Assessments 110
Social Security Benefits:
Scotland 110
Thriving At Work Leadership
Council 110
Universal Credit 110
Universal Credit: Coronavirus 111
Universal Credit: Fraud 111
Work Capability Assessments 111
MINISTERIAL CORRECTIONS 112
JUSTICE 112
Prison Accommodation:
Technology 112
WRITTEN STATEMENTS 113
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND
INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 113
Energy Infrastructure Planning
Projects 113
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 113
Covid-19 update 113
HOME OFFICE 114
Surveillance Camera
Commissioner – Annual
Report 114
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 114
Planning update 114
JUSTICE 117
Final Report of the MoJ Expert
Panel on Harm in the Family
Courts and Implementation
Plan 117
Notes:
Questions marked thus [R] indicate that a relevant interest has been declared.
Questions with identification numbers of 900000 or greater indicate that the question was originally tabled as an
oral question and has since been unstarred.
ANSWERS
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Hospitality Industry
Kirsten Oswald: [62490]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will
extend eligibility for the Coronavirus Bounceback Loan Scheme to incoming proprietors of
long-established premises in the hospitality sector where the date of registration of the
business entity through that premises was after 1 March 2020.
Paul Scully:
Almost all viable UK-based businesses are eligible to apply for a loan under the
Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). You can apply for a loan if your business:
• is based in the UK;
• was established before 1 March 2020;
• has been adversely affected by coronavirus.
Whether or not a business is liable for Business Rates, or occupies business
premises, is not a consideration under the scheme.
The Government-backed loan schemes are part of a broad package of support
measures for businesses, which include the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,
deferral of VAT and income tax payments, grant funding for small businesses, and
more. For more information on the support available to them, businesses should visit
the Government’s business support website.
Carbon Emissions
Navendu Mishra: [61627]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he
plans to announce the Government’s strategy for achieving a low carbon economy in
accordance with its 2050 net zero target; and what steps the Government plans to take to
(a) deliver a cleaner, healthier environment, (b) create high skilled green jobs and (c)
build a more resilient economy.
Kwasi Kwarteng:
We are continuing to develop our net zero strategy. We have recently published the
first stage of our Transport Decarbonisation plan and have announced a £2 billion
package for cycling and walking. This will be supported by further decarbonisation
plans this year covering key sectors, including Heat and Buildings, Trees, and
Energy. We will build on our ambitious plans announced at the Budget – for example
£1bn to deploy electric vehicle infrastructure, and £800m to deliver carbon capture
and storage in the UK – to help to slash our emissions and deliver growth across the
country.
As we recover from COVID-19, the Government intends to deliver a UK economy
which is stronger, cleaner, more sustainable and more resilient.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Renewable Energy
Sir Edward Davey: [60652]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a)
solar panels and (b) wind turbines his Department's buildings (a) have in 2020 and (b)
had in each of the last five years.
Kwasi Kwarteng:
At its headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street in London, the Department has 28
solar panels which each measure approximately 1.5m x 0.5m. The number of solar
panels is the same for the last five years and for 2020. The Department does not
currently have any wind turbines at its 1 Victoria Street headquarters building, or in
the last five years.
Energy Performance Certificates
Dr Dan Poulter: [60730]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his
Department has to ensure that the EPC action plan due to be published later in 2020
ensures that off-grid homeowners are not incentivised to stay on higher carbon, cheaper
fuels to meet the minimum energy efficiency standard due to the inclusion of input fuel
cost in the EPC methodology.
Kwasi Kwarteng:
EPCs are a widely used measure of the energy performance of buildings, both in the
residential and commercial sectors, and are a key tool in promoting energy efficiency
improvements to buildings.
The EPC Call for Evidence ran from 26 July 2018 to 19 October 2018 and sought
evidence on how EPCs performed against three attributes: quality, availability, and
encouraging action to improve energy efficiency. The forthcoming Call for Evidence
Summary of Responses will outline the responses received from the Call for
Evidence, including on effectiveness of EPCs.
Alongside this, an EPC Action Plan will build on the views expressed as part of the
Call for Evidence, alongside government policy work, to set out a series of actions
which the government will take forward to maximise the effectiveness of EPCs as a
tool for the future.
The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) and Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP)
methodologies which underpin EPCs provide accurate and reliable assessments of
the Energy Efficiency Rating (EER), an indicator of the assumed energy cost per
square metre of a home, and the Environmental Impact Rating (EIR), an indicator of
the carbon dioxide emissions intensity per square metre, of a home. They are
updated regularly in line with updates to Part L of the Building Regulations. We will
keep the ratings we use under review as we develop policies and plans for improving
the energy efficiency of homes and reducing fuel poverty, including those in rural
areas.
The Clean Growth Strategy also committed to ‘phase out installation of high carbon
fossil fuel heating in buildings not connected to the gas grid, starting with new build,
during the 2020s’. In 2018 we ran an extensive programme of engagement with
industry and consumers, to seek views on how industry, government and consumers
could work together to phase out the installation of high carbon fossil fuels from
homes and businesses off the gas grid, and we will be consulting on proposals in due
course.
We will publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course which will set out the
comprehensive set of action to decarbonise buildings, joining up approaches to
improving energy efficiency of the building stock and the roll-out of low carbon
heating.
Hydrogen
Dr Dan Poulter: [60731]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his
Department plans to take to establish a UK-wide hydrogen strategy.
Kwasi Kwarteng:
The Government is committed to exploring the development of hydrogen as a
strategic decarbonised energy carrier. As such we are currently developing our
strategic approach to hydrogen and its potential to deliver against our net zero goals.
We are undertaking extensive stakeholder engagement as we develop new policy to
help bring forward the technologies and supply chain we will need to grow the UK
hydrogen economy. This includes business models to support the deployment of, and
investment in, low carbon hydrogen production and a £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen
Production Fund to stimulate capital investment. We will be further engaging with
industry on both schemes throughout the year.
Hydrogen: Investment and Job Creation
Kevin Hollinrake: [60823]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what
discussions he has had with representatives from businesses on (a) investment plans
and (b) the potential for job creation in shovel-ready hydrogen projects.
Kevin Hollinrake: [60826]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what
discussions he has had with businesses about (a) investment plans and (b) potential for
jobs in shovel-ready hydrogen projects.
Kwasi Kwarteng:
We are in regular discussions with businesses about their investment plans for
hydrogen projects, including those that are ready for very near-term deployment. In
addition we are undertaking extensive stakeholder engagement as we develop new
policy to help bring forward the technologies and supply chain we will need to grow
the UK hydrogen economy.
We recently published the Energy Innovation Needs Assessment (EINA) for
hydrogen and fuel cells which identified that up to 15,000 jobs per annum by 2050
could be created through domestic hydrogen opportunities.
We are also looking to formalise regular engagement between Government and
industry to discuss and drive development if the UK hydrogen economy. This will
consider how we can best work together to retain and expand jobs and skills in
hydrogen and related sectors; as well as developing the UK supply chain.
Redundancy: Debenhams
Theresa Villiers: [62340]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his
Department will undertake an investigation into compliance with statutory rules on (a)
notice and (b) consultation of the redundancies at Debenhams.
Paul Scully:
Employers proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant from one
establishment are required to consult employees or their representatives:
- at least 45 days before the first dismissal takes effect where 100 or more
redundancies are proposed.
- at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect where 20 or more
redundancies are proposed.
The consultation must include consultation on ways to avoid redundancies, reducing
the numbers of redundancies, or mitigating their impact. Where an employer has
failed to adequately consult with their employees about impending redundancies,
those employees may apply to an Employment Tribunal for a Protective Award.
Within the same timescales, the employer must notify my Rt. Hon. Friend the
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of the proposed
collective redundancies. Failure to notify is an offence.
If special circumstances exist making it unreasonable for the employer to comply with
the consultation or notification obligations, the employer must take such steps as are
reasonably practicable to comply.
CABINET OFFICE
Civil Service: Racial Discrimination
Steve Reed: [62437]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on the use of
non-disclosure agreements in the civil service for settling cases involving racial
discrimination or abuse grievances.
Steve Reed: [62438]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many non-disclosure agreements have
been used by each Government department for settling grievance cases in each of the
last five years.
Steve Reed: [62439]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, many non-disclosure agreements have been
used by each Government department for settling discrimination cases in each of the last
five years.
Chloe Smith:
The Cabinet Office publishes guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in the
Civil Service. This is publicly available here. It makes clear that such clauses should
not be used to prevent staff from raising or discussing allegations of bullying,
harassment or discrimination.
As part of the Government's evidence for the Women and Equalities Committee
report on the use of non-disclosure agreements in discrminination cases, we provided
details on the number of non-disclosure agreements used in the Civil Service
including those that were used in cases of alleged discrimination. This represents the
latest data we have available.
Elections: EU Nationals
Wendy Chamberlain: [62639]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether EU citizens (a) with pre-settled or
settled status and (b) without such status will be eligible to (i) stand as candidates in and
(ii) vote in local government elections in England and Wales in 2021, including the
London Assembly election.
Chloe Smith:
I refer the Hon. Member to the answers given to PQ 38882 on 27 April 2020 and to
PQ 1802 on 29 January 2020.
Ethnic Groups: Equality
Yasmin Qureshi: [62369]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Race Disparity Audit,
whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the explain or change
approach adopted by the Race Disparity Unit when working with the Department for
Health and Social Care; and what changes to that Department's policies has the unit
recommended as a result of data it has gathered since its inception.
Yasmin Qureshi: [62370]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Race Disparity Audit,
whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the explain or change
approach adopted by the Race Disparity Unit when working with the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government; and what changes to that Department's policies has
the unit recommended as a result of data it has gathered since its inception.
Yasmin Qureshi: [62371]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Race Disparity Audit,
whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the explain or change
approach adopted by the Race Disparity Unit when working with the Department for
Business Energy and Industrial Strategy; and what changes to that Department's policies
has the unit recommended as a result of data it has gathered since its inception.
Yasmin Qureshi: [62372]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Race Disparity Audit,
whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the explain or change
approach adopted by the Race Disparity Unit when working with the Ministry of Justice;
and what changes to that Department's policies has the unit recommended as a result of
data it has gathered since its inception.
Yasmin Qureshi: [62373]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Race Disparity Audit,
whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the explain or change
approach adopted by the Race Disparity Unit when working with the Department of
Education; and what changes to that Department's policies has the unit recommended as
a result of data it has gathered since its inception.
Chloe Smith:
The ‘Explain or Change’ communications campaign concluded in June last year, and
the Race Disparity Unit (RDU) continues to work with other Government departments
to address disparities. This includes working with the Department for Health and
Social Care (DHSC), Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government
(MHCLG), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Department for Education (DfE). This work includes,
for example, considering recommendations from an independent review of the Mental
Health Act, acting on the recommendations of the Lammy Review and taking forward
recommendations from the Timpson Review into school exclusions. As has been the
case under successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not
normally disclosed.
Land: Public Sector
Wera Hobhouse: [61754]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much publicly owned land has been sold
by the Government in each of the last five years.
Chloe Smith:
Details of publicly owned land sold by the Government are available on GOV.UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sales-of-government-assets
Marriage: Coronavirus
Bob Seely: [61591]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason (a) weddings and (b) weddings
with the minimum number of five people are not being allowed to be conducted during the
current stage of the easing of the covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Steve McCabe: [62286]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2020 to
Question 54003, when he plans to review the restrictions imposed as a result of the
covid-19 outbreak on weddings taking place to allow for small weddings to take place
with social distancing.
John Spellar: [62287]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to allow weddings and civil
partnership ceremonies to recommence.
Theresa Villiers: [62338]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set a date when marriages can
resume as the covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Dame Diana Johnson: [62348]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to Answer of 2 June 2020 to Question
48959, when the Government plans to lift covid-19 restrictions to allow small, socially
distant weddings to take place.
Charlotte Nichols: [62661]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to lift the marriage ban in
England.
Penny Mordaunt:
The Government understands the huge significance of weddings. We recognise that
because weddings have not been able to take place in recent months this has
caused difficulty and distress for many people. As set out in the Government’s
COVID-19 recovery strategy, published in May, the Government has been examining
how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups better to facilitate small
weddings. We have worked closely with faith leaders and local government on how
best to achieve this. The Prime Minister announced on 23 June that wedding and civil
partnership ceremonies will be able to take place in England from 4 July. People
should avoid having a large ceremony, and should invite no more than thirty family
and friends. Venues should ensure they are COVID-19 secure.
Prime Minister: Public Opinion
Judith Cummins: [62462]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the office of the Prime Minister
spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) focus groups in each month since January 2019.
Judith Cummins: [62463]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on (a) opinion
polling and (b) focus groups in each month since January 2019.
Peter Kyle: [62526]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure
that polling commissioned by Government or paid for with public funds is not (a) used for
party political purposes or (b) accessed by a political party on preferential terms.
Chloe Smith:
The office of the Prime Minister is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. Complete
information on opinion poll and focus group spending is not held centrally and could
only be provided at disproportionate costs. However, the Government routinely
publishes details of all contracts over £10,000 on Contracts Finder.
As has been the case under successive administrations, any Government research,
polling or analysis would be for official use.
Property Development: Isle of Dogs
Steve Reed: [59477]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Secretary is undertaking
an inquiry into the circumstances by which the Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government made his decision on the Westferry Printworks
development, PA/18/01877/A1 on 14 January 2020.
Chloe Smith:
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has yesterday
published a comprehensive statement to the Housing, Communities and Local
Government Select Committee on the manner in which the Westferry planning appeal
was determined, and released a comprehensive collection of associated documents
into the public domain; and I also refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s
speech in the Opposition Day Debate.
The Cabinet Secretary has not undertaken an investigation; he has written to the
Hon. Member in relation to this matter in reply to his letter. Given the Hon. Member
publicly released his original letter, I am placing a copy of this reply in the Libraries of
the House.
Protective Clothing: Coronavirus
Justin Madders: [55702]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral contribution of 28
April 2020, Official Report, column 218, how many face coverings have been produced
since 28 April 2020.
Justin Madders: [55703]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many face coverings for use by the
general population are held by Government.
Dan Jarvis: [58710]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure
that face coverings are (a) widely available to the public, (b) affordable and (c) effective in
reducing the transmission of covid-19.
Chloe Smith:
Further to the answer given to PQs 48885, 48886, 48887 on 14 May 2020, the
Government has published guidance on staying safe outside the home during the
COVID-19 pandemic:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-safe-outside-your-home/staying-
safe-outside-your-home
The guidance includes information on the use of face coverings. We are asking
people to make their own face coverings at home, using scarves or other textile items
and we have published guidance to help illustrate the process.
In terms of the wider production of PPE for use for medical purposes, Lord Deighton
has been appointed to lead the national effort to boost PPE production, and also
support the scaling up of engineering efforts for small companies capable of
contributing to supplies.
Trade: Northern Ireland
Dr Philippa Whitford: [62459]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued to
businesses on shipping goods (a) to and (b) from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK in
preparation for the end of the transition period.
Dr Philippa Whitford: [62460]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, by what date the UK Government plans to
have additional (a) staff and (b) infrastructure in place to comply with the Northern Ireland
protocol in relation to checks on products moving between Northern Ireland and the rest
of the UK.
Penny Mordaunt:
The UK Government will meet its obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol, in
line with the approach set out in the Command Paper published on 20 May, the UK’s
Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol. We will ensure that the Protocol is
implemented in a way that upholds the gains of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement,
and which protects the interests of the people and economy of Northern Ireland. We
committed in the UK’s Approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol to provide guidance
to business, including our plans for extensive support for NI businesses engaging in
new processes. We will publish that guidance during the course of this summer.
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Arts: Finance
Alex Sobel: [61773]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what additional
financial support he plans to allocate to the arts sector to protect (a) salaried and (b)
freelance workers.
Alex Sobel: [61774]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the
Government has to increase (a) funding to and (b) financial investment in the arts.
Alex Sobel: [61775]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans
to promote investment in the art sector by (a) extending and (b) improving tax relief
schemes for venues and creatives.
Alex Sobel: [61776]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what additional
financial support he plans to allocate to arts (a) venues and (b) organisations.
Caroline Dinenage:
The UK’s arts sector is one of our greatest success stories and we are doing all we
can to support it through the pandemic. We are providing unprecedented assistance
including a years' business rates holiday, government loans, the recently-extended
Self Employed Income Support Scheme, the Job Retention Scheme that hundreds of
organisations have received support from.
Additionally, DCMS has worked closely with its arm’s-length bodies to deliver tailored
support packages at speed, including the £160m Emergency Funding Package
announced by Arts Council England, made possible by Government funding. This
intervention complements the financial measures already announced to ensure
immediate resilience of this vital sector.
The package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations, including
venues, and £20 million of financial support for individuals, including freelancers, so
they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. To date
more than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for
this emergency funding.
The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Art sector
extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19
outbreak on the sector.
On the basis of that engagement, DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to
consider the additional measures required to ensure the long-term recovery and
growth of the cultural sector. We remain committed to opening up venues as soon as
it is safe to do so and are working directly with the sector on detailed advice and
guidance.
Gambling
Andrew Rosindell: [60701]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his
Department is taking to support Adult Gaming Centres.
Nigel Huddleston:
The Prime Minister announced on 23 June that, providing they adhere to Covid-19
Secure guidelines, Adult Gaming Centres and other arcades will be able to reopen
from 4 July.
The Government has provided a package of measures to support businesses,
including Adult Gaming Centres, as announced by the Chancellor on 17 and 26
March. This includes a business rates holiday for businesses in the retail, hospitality
and leisure sectors, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, through which all UK
employers are able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’
salary, and the
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which provides loans of up to £5
million for SMEs through the British Business Bank, backed by an 80% government
guarantee.
Further support for SMEs was announced on 27 April through the Bounce Back Loan
scheme.
Musicians: Coronavirus
Stella Creasy: [62430]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her
Departments has to issue guidance to (a) singers, (b) wind and brass players and (c)
other musicians on (i) rehearsals and performances as the covid-19 restrictions are
eased and (ii) minimising risks of asymptomatic transmission of covid-19.
Caroline Dinenage:
DCMS has worked closely with the Entertainment and Events Working Group to
develop guidance which will enable performing artists to train, rehearse and perform
safely. The guidance will be published in due course and will include guidance on
minimising risk of transmission and supporting singers, wind and brass players and
other musicians to return to work in COVID-secure ways.
DCMS is also holding targeted talks with leaders in the orchestra, choral and theatre
sectors to better understand how the higher risk of activities like singing and playing
of wind/brass instruments can practically be mitigated.
Orchestras: Coronavirus
Sir Edward Davey: [59682]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he
has made on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on orchestras; and if he will make a
statement.
Caroline Dinenage:
In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including classical orchestras,
DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored
package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency
response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the
Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector. In addition,
ministers have continued to engage with leading members of the orchestral sector on
specific guidance to enable orchestras to resume live performances as soon as
possible, and how to safely resume activity within current regulations.
This package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations including
orchestras; and £20 million of financial support for individuals, including self-
employed classical musicians, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work,
in the coming months. More than 9000 individuals and organisations have been
successful in applying for this emergency funding.
Furthermore, self-employed classical musicians are among the millions of people
(including freelancers) who can now benefit from the Self-Employed Income Support
Scheme, which will provide those eligible with cash grants worth up to £2,500 per
month. We expect that the Self-Employed Income Support scheme will cover 95% of
people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.
Press Freedom
Bill Wiggin: [61436]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many members
of the public have written to his Department in support of the Save the Independent Press
campaign.
Mr John Whittingdale:
The Department has received correspondence from a range of stakeholders,
including from members of the public.
This Government is clear that newspapers play an invaluable role in the fabric of our
society and we continue to work with stakeholders from across the Press sector and
political landscape in order to ensure the effectiveness of our policies in relation to
supporting all news publishers, including independent outlets. The Government will
continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining
high-quality news journalism across the sector.
Tourism: Coronavirus
Craig Williams: [61534]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his
Department has to support the tourism sector in Mid Wales as covid-19 lockdown
restrictions are eased.
Nigel Huddleston:
We recognise that COVID-19 has significantly impacted the tourism sector across the
UK, including in Mid Wales. I hold regular discussions with my counterparts in the
Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to
assess COVID-19’s impact on tourism across the UK. We will continue to engage
with the Devolved Administrations to assess how we can most effectively support the
sector’s recovery from COVID-19.
As tourism is devolved, the Welsh Government is responsible for how and when
lockdown restrictions are eased for the tourism sector in Wales, and for targeted
financial initiatives to support the sector.
Stuart Anderson: [61594]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his
Department is taking support (a) theatres, (b) museums and (c) other tourist attractions in
Wolverhampton after the covid-19 outbreak.
Caroline Dinenage:
In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including theatres and
museums, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a
tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency
response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the
Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.
This package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations including
theatres and museums; and £20 million of financial support for individuals, including
self-employed theatre practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their
work, in the coming months. More than 9000 individuals and organisations have been
successful in applying for this emergency funding. Additionally, the National Lottery
Heritage Fund launched the £50 million Heritage Emergency Fund, and Historic
England has launched two £2 million Emergency Funds.
The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Art and Tourism
sectors extensively to ensure we fully understand the impacts of Covid-19 and remain
well placed to respond as it develops.
EDUCATION
Children and Young People: Coronavirus
Jonathan Gullis: [59639]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to
protect children and young people online during the covid-19 outbreak.
Vicky Ford:
At this deeply challenging time, it has been so important that people, especially
children, have been able to stay in touch online, but that they be able to do so safely.
We have worked with the National Crime Agency, UK Safer Internet Centre, Internet
Matters, NSPCC and many other experts to provide detailed guidance to support
schools and colleges to keep children safe online, whether in the classroom or
learning from home, and advice and signposting to high quality resources for parents
and carers to support them and their families.
Our latest guidance on protecting children and young people online is set out below:
• https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-
schools-and-other-educational-settings;
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safeguarding-and-remote-education-during-
coronavirus-covid-19;
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools;
• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-staying-safe-online ; and
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-
children-safe-online.
These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under
review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Children in Care
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [61515]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what are the current legal monitoring
requirements for children placed on short break placements.
Vicky Ford:
Local authorities are required to monitor short break placements as set out in
Regulation 48 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England)
Regulations 2010. The Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment)
Regulations 2020 amended Regulation 48 to provide temporary flexibility, allowing
visits to take place at regular intervals during a short break, as agreed with the child’s
parents (or anyone else with parental responsibility for the child) and their
Independent Reviewing Officer. The 2020 Regulations also specify that these visits
can be conducted by telephone, video-link or other electronic means.
Timings for reviews of the child’s case have also been temporarily amended by the
2020 Regulations. The responsible authority must first review the child’s case as
soon as is reasonably practicable from the start of the first placement, and
subsequent reviews must be carried out at regular intervals during any short break.
These flexibilities should only be used when necessary on a case by case basis and
only when consistent with the child’s safety and wellbeing.
Children: Coronavirus
Sir John Hayes: [61417]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that white
working class children do not fall further behind in educational outcomes as a result of the
covid-19 outbreak.
Vicky Ford:
As plans continue for a full return to education from September, we have announced
a £1 billion COVID-19 ‘catch-up’ package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching
time.
£650 million will be shared across state primary and secondary schools over the
2020-21 academic year. This one-off grant to support pupils recognises that all young
people have lost time in education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, regardless
of their income or background.
This package will make sure that every pupil, no matter their age or where they live,
gets the education, opportunities and outcomes they deserve. Whilst school leaders
will decide how it is used, the intention is that this money will be spent on the most
effective interventions.
On 19 June, the Education Endowment Foundation published a guide to help school
leaders and staff decide how to use this universal funding to best support their pupils,
which is available here:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Covid-
19_Resources/Covid-19_support_guide_for_schools.pdf.
In addition, a National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, will increase access
to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people. This will help
accelerate their academic progress and prevent the gap between them and their
more affluent peers widening.
This £1 billion package is on top of the £14.4 billion three-year funding settlement
announced last year, recognising the additional work schools will need to do to help
students to catch up.
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [61516]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to debate on 10 June, Official
Report, col 353, when will she update the House on the changes made by Adoption and
Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 445).
Vicky Ford:
I will report to Parliament before summer recess on the outcome of the work the
department has done to monitor the use of the amended regulations.
Children: Coronaviruse
Jonathan Gullis: [59638]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to
vulnerable children in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove during the covid-19 outbreak.
Vicky Ford:
We are taking a number of actions to ensure vulnerable children and young people
across the country are supported and protected during COVID-19, including in Stoke-
on-Trent and Kidsgrove. We have prioritised vulnerable children’s attendance in early
years, schools and colleges throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, and supported local
areas to improve attendance rates.
We have also ensured that local authorities can continue to support vulnerable
children through the provision of an additional £3.2 billion to cope with COVID-19
related pressures, including in children’s social care. To support contact, we are
providing laptops and tablets to children with a social worker who do not have access
to a device otherwise, either privately or through school. We are also providing 4G
wireless routers to children with a social worker at secondary school in order to
support them to maintain contact with their social worker and/or access remote
education independently at home. The department is working to provide these
devices in the shortest possible timeframe; deliveries to schools and local authorities
began in May and have continued throughout June. As of 14 June, we have shipped
over 100,000 laptops and 20,000 4G routers, including 1,433 to Stoke-on-Trent local
authority for children with a social worker and care leavers and 1,588 to Staffordshire
local authority for children with a social worker and care leavers, where Kidsgrove is
situated.
We have supported charities that provide vital services that are helping vulnerable
children and young people. This includes providing £1.6 million for the NSPCC to
expand its helpline so that adults can report their concerns about any child’s
wellbeing. We have invested more than £7 million to Barnardo’s for the See, Hear,
Respond service that offers targeted help to vulnerable children, young people and
their families affected by COVID-19 with measures put in place to stop its spread.
The Vulnerable Children National Charities Strategic Relief Fund opened in June,
and is a £7.6 million joint Department for Education and Home Office fund for national
children’s charities that offer services to safeguard vulnerable children that have
financially suffered due to the impact of COVID-19. We have also announced more
than £12 million for 14 innovation projects in social services, each taking a holistic,
family-based approach to addressing the increased risk some children and young
people are facing.
As well as these actions across the country, the department has also established
Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACT) to provide additional support to
education and children’s services in local areas, with the one for West Midlands
covering Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, which includes Kidsgrove. These teams,
which include support from Ofsted, have a particular focus on improving vulnerable
children’s attendance at education, safeguarding and wellbeing.
The department is also continuing to provide funding to the Stoke-on-Trent
Opportunity Area to provide support for vulnerable families across the city affected by
COVID-19. This has allowed for the provision of academic resources for young
people so they can continue to engage with education, and activities during the
school holidays. The department’s delivery partner – The Hubb Foundation – also
provides weekly food parcels for vulnerable families in need of support. Between April
2020 and June 2020, the Hubb Foundation delivered 70,740 individual meals and
engaged with 19,839 people, of whom 11, 789 were children, and delivered food and
activities in 32 schools across the city.
Education: Ethnic Groups
Layla Moran: [62714]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) estimate he has made of the
proportion and (b) assessment he has made of the adequacy of BAME representation
among (a) pastoral and (b) disciplinary staff in the education system.
Nick Gibb:
The Department for Education does not collect data on pastoral and disciplinary staff
within the School Workforce Census. The School Workforce Census captures data
for non-teaching staff, auxiliary staff, teaching assistants and support staff, as well as
for classroom teachers and leadership roles.
BAME teachers represented 9% of the teaching population in state funded schools in
November 2018. 9% of classroom teachers, 6% of deputy and assistant
headteachers and 4% of headteachers came from BAME backgrounds
11% of non-teaching staff were from a BAME background in November 2018. This
was 12% for auxiliary staff and 11% for both teaching assistants and other support
staff.
This data is available in Tables 5 and 6 of the publication, School Workforce in
England, 2018, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-
2018
Information for 2019 data was published on the 25 June 2020.
Education: Internet
Rachael Maskell: [62508]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to help ensure (a)
the safety of and (b) presence of a teacher at all on-line classes.
Nick Gibb:
The Department has published safeguarding guidance, both for schools and for
parents and carers, which specifically addresses online remote education. This
guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safeguarding-and-remote-education-during-coronavirus-
covid-19 and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-
keeping-children-safe-online/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-parents-and-carers-to-
keep-children-safe-online.
It states that in their regular communications with parents and carers, schools should
emphasise the importance of securing any online support for their children from a
reputable organisation that can provide evidence that they are safe and can be
trusted to have access to children.
Separate Departmental case studies guidance stresses the importance of ensuring
regular teacher contact with pupils. Not all pupils’ home environments will support
synchronous or live online remote education, meaning it will not always be possible
for a teacher to be present at all online classes. There are, however, a range of other
effective means of ensuring ongoing support and feedback between teacher and
pupil. The Department’s guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-practice-for-schools-during-
coronavirus-covid-19.
Erasmus+ Programme: Northern Ireland
Colum Ezastwood: [62694]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with the Minister for
the Cabinet Office on ensuring that Northern Ireland can continue to participate in the
Erasmus+ programme after the end of the transition period.
Michelle Donelan:
The UK will continue to participate fully in the current (2014-2020) Erasmus+
programme under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the European Union
(EU). This means that the projects successfully bid for during the current
programmes will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project.
This includes projects where funding runs beyond 2020 and the end of the transition
period.
With regards to the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), the government remains
open to considering participation in elements of the next Erasmus+ programme,
provided that the terms are in the UK’s interests. Future participation is subject to our
ongoing negotiations with the EU.
Ministers regularly meet to discuss the ongoing negotiations, including the UK’s
consideration of programmes participation. While international relations remain a
reserved matter, the UK government is committed to working closely with the
devolved administrations throughout negotiations with the EU to ensure a future
relationship that works in the interests of the whole of the UK.
In parallel, the government is continuing to develop a domestic alternative to
Erasmus+, to ensure we are prepared for every eventuality. We are working closely
with other government departments and the devolved administrations as we work
towards a UK-wide domestic alternative scheme.
Financial Services: Primary Education
Emma Hardy: [59583]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect
of covid-19 lockdown on the provision of financial education to primary school pupils by
(a) teachers and (b) voluntary organisations.
Nick Gibb:
Due to the unprecedented challenges for schools caused by the COVID-19 outbreak,
the Government understands that schools will need flexibility around the education
they are providing to their pupils. We expect schools and teachers to use their
professional judgement, and knowledge of their pupils’ educational needs and home
circumstances, to plan appropriate content that enables education to continue.
Our latest guidance on teaching children at this time is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under
review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Free School Meals
Margaret Greenwood: [61524]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of
the number of eligible pupils that did not register for free school meals in each of the
financial years since the pupil premium was introduced.
Margaret Greenwood: [61525]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the
potential merits of automatic enrolment for free school meals to ensure that all pupils
receive their pupil premium allocation.
Vicky Ford:
We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free
school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to
determine eligibility. To support this:
• we provide an Eligibility Checking System (ECS) to make the checking process as
quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities;
• we have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to
sign up for free school meals; and
• we provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal
Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including
free school meals.
The latest estimates of the number of pupils who are entitled to receive free school
meals but are not claiming them are available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm
ent_data/file/266339/DFE-RR319.pdf.
Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes
Dr Matthew Offord: [51893]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in the Hendon constituency during the school summer
holidays in 2020.
Dame Diana Johnson: [53329]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Kingston upon Hull North during the school summer
holidays in 2020.
Bob Blackman: [53409]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Harrow East constituency during the school summer
holidays in 2020.
Ian Paisley: [53427]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in during the school summer holidays in 2020; and whether
support will be available in Northern Ireland.
Jonathan Ashworth: [53439]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Leicester South constituency during the school summer
holidays in 2020.
Liz Twist: [53570]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support the
families of pupils eligible for free school meals in Blaydon constituency during the school
summer holidays in 2020.
Layla Moran: [53579]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to provide financial
support to the families of pupils on free school meals in Oxford West and Abingdon
constituency during the 2020 school summer holidays.
Abena Oppong-Asare: [53658]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals during the school summer holidays in 2020 in Erith and
Thamesmead constituency.
Steve McCabe: [53997]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Birmingham Selly Oak constituency during the school
summer holidays in 2020.
Kerry McCarthy: [54032]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Bristol East during the school summer holidays in 2020.
Kate Green: [54100]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Stretford and Urmston during the school summer holidays
in 2020.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: [54228]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Slough constituency during the school summer holidays in
2020.
Rosie Cooper: [55666]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in West Lancashire during the school summer holidays in
2020.
Robert Halfon: [55678]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Harlow during the school summer holidays in 2020.
Ms Angela Eagle: [55885]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils on free school meals in Wallasey constituency during the school summer holidays
in 2020.
Alex Norris: [57324]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will introduce a deadline for the use of
free school meal vouchers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Dr Dan Poulter: [57943]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made
of the effect on the most deprived families of the cessation of free school meal vouchers
over the 2020 summer holidays.
Dr Dan Poulter: [57944]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support he plans to make available to
the most deprived families to mitigate the cessation of free school meal vouchers over the
2020 summer holidays.
Mary Kelly Foy: [58071]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of
pupils who qualify for free school meals in County Durham during the school summer
holidays in 2020.
Vicky Ford:
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.
Afzal Khan: [59608]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who he consulted in making the decision not
to extend the free school meals voucher scheme over the school summer holidays in
2020.
Afzal Khan: [59609]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the impact assessment on
the decision not to extend the free school meals voucher scheme over the 2020 school
summer holidays.
Vicky Ford:
Provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, owing to the
coronavirus outbreak, the government fully understands that children and parents
face an entirely unprecedented situation over the summer. To reflect this, we will be
providing additional funding for a Covid-19 Summer Food Fund which will enable
families with children who are eligible for free school meals to receive food vouchers
covering the 6-week holiday period. This is a specific measure to reflect the unique
circumstances of the outbreak.
In response to Covid-19, the government has made significant wider support
available for children and families, injecting over £6.5 billion into the welfare system
to ensure people are receiving the support they need. This includes increasing the
standard rate of Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit for this year by around
£1,000 per year. On 10 June, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister confirmed an
additional £63 million to be distributed to local authorities in England to help those
who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19. A further
£3.2 billion has gone to local authorities, supporting them with frontline services.
Additionally, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are providing £16 million for food support
through charities including FareShare and WRAP. This summer, the department will
also again run the Holiday Activities & Food programme, through which thousands of
disadvantaged pupils will benefit from support.
Catherine West: [62545]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the
potential merits of extending the free school meals voucher scheme to children aged
between two and four during the covid-19 outbreak.
Vicky Ford:
Nurseries in maintained primary schools and maintained nursery schools are able to
access the national voucher scheme where they have registered pupils who meet the
benefits-related criteria, and who would usually receive education both before and
after lunch. Private settings are not covered. Eligible children should receive
vouchers at the same rate as school pupils. Newly eligible children will also be
supported if they meet the above criteria and maintained nurseries and nursery
schools should continue to accept free school meal applications.
Higher Education: Internet
Esther McVey: [59752]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the
effectiveness of online education compared to face to face learning in universities.
Michelle Donelan:
For many years, UK higher education (HE) providers have delivered education online
successfully and effectively, and a leading proponent of this has been the Open
University, which in 2018/19 was the largest UK university - with over 63,000 UK full-
time equivalent students.
The growth in the use of educational technology has enabled HE providers to
develop and grow their online offers, something which has been significantly
accelerated by the recent COVID-19 outbreak, where online provision has been key
to ensuring that effective teaching, learning and assessment have been able to
continue. A recent report [1] from the Higher Education Policy Institute, attached,
suggested the possibility that remote learning post-lockdown had brought some
closer engagement between teaching staff and students and that this had even led to
improved directed independent learning.
To support the effectiveness of continued online provision, the Office for Students
(OfS) has published information and guidance for providers and students, and the
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has also published a series of guides
to support providers to secure academic standards and to support student
achievement during the outbreak.
The OfS has made it clear that all higher education providers must continue to meet
conditions related to the quality of their courses and the standard of qualifications
they award. This means ensuring that courses are high quality, students are
supported and achieve good outcomes and standards are protected. The OfS will
monitor outcomes to assess quality, using measures such as continuation rates,
completion rates, student surveys and what students move onto after completing their
studies. They will also be polling students in the next academic year to identify any
providers or courses that are a cause for concern. This will allow for a targeted and
focused approach to tackle any areas of concern.
[1] https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Student-Academic-
Experience-Survey-2020.pdf
Attachments:
1. 59752_PDF [59752_Student_Academic_Experience_Survey_2020.pdf]
Home Education: Sheffield South East
Mr Clive Betts: [61429]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2020 to
Question 57089 on Home Education: Sheffield South East, how many laptops were
requested by Sheffield City Council for children with social workers; and how many of
those laptops have been delivered.
Nick Gibb:
The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and
disadvantaged children in England to access remote education and social care
services, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers.
We are providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise
not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, receiving support
from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social
worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections,
we are providing 4G wireless routers.
The Department has ordered over 200,000 laptops and tablets and allocated devices
to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of
eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy
trusts are best place to identify and prioritise children and young people who need
devices. The Department is working to provide these devices in the shortest possible
timeframe; deliveries to schools and local authorities began in May and will continue
throughout June. As of 14 June, we have shipped over 100,000 laptops and 20,000
4G routers, including 1,777 to Sheffield City Council for children with a social worker
and care leavers.
The Department has published information about how many laptops, tablets and 4G
wireless routers we have delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy
trusts as of 14 June, which can be viewed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-
progress-data.
Home Education: Walthamstow
Stella Creasy: [62427]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) laptops and (b) tablets have
been distributed to children in Walthamstow through the Government's scheme to ensure
disadvantaged children and young people can remote education during the covid-9
outbreak.
Nick Gibb:
The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and
disadvantaged children in England to access remote education and social care
services, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers.
We are providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise
not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, receiving support
from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social
worker at secondary school and children in Year 10 do not have internet connections,
we are providing 4G wireless routers.
The Department has ordered over 200,000 laptops and tablets and allocated devices
to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of
eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy
trusts are best place to identify and prioritise children and young people who need
devices. The Department is working to provide these devices in the shortest possible
timeframe; deliveries to schools and local authorities began in May and have
continued throughout June.
The Department has published information about how many laptops, tablets and 4G
wireless routers we have delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy
trusts as of 14 June, which can be viewed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-
progress-data.
This includes 785 devices to Waltham Forest for children with a social worker and
care leavers.
Schools: Bullying
Layla Moran: [62572]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the
effectiveness of the KiVa anti-bullying programme on tackling (a) bullying and (b) racist
bullying.
Vicky Ford:
We have not made an assessment of the KiVa anti-bullying programme. All schools
are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of
bullying. They also have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies and
monitoring approaches to best suit their environment.
Our Preventing and Tackling Bullying guidance sets out that schools should develop
a consistent approach to monitoring bullying incidents and evaluating the
effectiveness of their approaches. It also directs schools to organisations who can
provide support with tackling bullying related to race, religion and nationality. The
guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-
and-tackling-bullying.
On 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying
Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust – to help hundreds of schools and colleges build
relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying
both in person and online. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-
teachers.
The department has also made resources available through the Educate Against
Hate website. This website provides teachers, school leaders and parents with the
information, guidance and support they need to challenge radical views, including
racist and discriminatory beliefs, and is available here:
https://educateagainsthate.com/.
Schools: Coronavirus
Daniel Zeichner: [59496]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an estimate of the
amount of income lost by schools that usually raise funds through building lettings during
the covid-19 outbreak.
Nick Gibb:
The Department does not hold data specifically on the income schools generate
through building lettings.
We know that around 4% of schools’ total income is self-generated and in 2018-19
around half of this came from facilities and services. This includes letting premises
and wrap around childcare services among other things.
We recognise that over the last three months, schools may have lost some of this
income and this could put pressure on budgets.
Where schools have members of staff delivering these services, we have advised
that they should first look to redeploy these staff or use existing budgets to absorb the
cost. Having looked at all other options, schools can then consider using the
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to ease this pressure. The Department has
provided additional guidance for schools in this situation:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-
for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-
support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.
Alex Sobel: [59589]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to
schools and teachers on dealing with children refusing to abide by two metre social
distancing requirements.
Nick Gibb:
It is important for schools to be calm and disciplined environments, where everyone
follows the rules. As outlined in the guidance published on 11 May, schools should
update their behaviour policy to reflect the guidance on protective measures,
including any new rules and routines. It should also include appropriate
consequences (such as sanctions and rewards), so that teachers can ensure pupils
understand the rules and can enforce them rigorously. The disciplinary powers that
schools currently have, including exclusion, remain in place. Teachers will be aware
that current circumstances may affect the emotional wellbeing of some pupils in ways
that affect behaviour, and schools will need to ensure a proportionate response to
situations that may arise. The guidance published on 11 May is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-
schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools.
Some children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, may
need extra support to ensure new norms and routines around protective measures
and personal hygiene are clearly understood.
Dr Luke Evans: [59619]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy that all children will
return to school at the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
Nick Gibb:
We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the
scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we
know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with
their peers, carers and teachers.
We are working to bring all children and young people back into education in
September and engaging with stakeholders to achieve this.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under
review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Rachael Maskell: [62510]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure the
adequacy of staffing levels at schools while the covid-19 restrictions are in place.
Nick Gibb:
We are monitoring staffing levels in schools through our daily schools census, and
have published guidance to support schools to maintain adequate staffing levels and
deploy staff whilst COVID-19 restrictions are in place. This guidance is available
here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-
schools-about-temporarily-closing#staffing-levels-and-deployment.
National data on staffing levels in educational establishments since 23 March is
published weekly and at the time of responding, it covers data up to 18 June. The
latest data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-
statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-
covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-25.
The data is collected from individual education establishments and the published
figures include estimates for non-response.
Rachael Maskell: [62512]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to
schools that do not have the physical space to deliver full-school education safely by
September 2020.
Nick Gibb:
We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the
scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we
know how important it is for their wellbeing to have social interactions with their
teachers and friends. Our intention is for all children to return to school from
September.
Within the next two weeks, we will publish further information and guidance to help
schools prepare for September. We will be guided by the latest scientific advice and
are working with the sector to ensure our guidance provides schools with the further
details they need, including any protective measures that may be necessary to keep
children and teachers as safe as possible, alongside school buildings and estates
considerations.
Layla Moran: [62573]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet with (a) teachers, (b)
headteachers, (c) relevant experts, (d) unions and (e) opposition politicians in the coming
days to achieve a consensus on a national plan for the reopening of schools.
Nick Gibb:
The Department will continue to work with a wide range of sector representatives to
develop a plan for all children to return to schools in September. This engagement
includes meetings with teachers and headteachers through the Department for
Education’s reference groups; meetings with expert advisors from the sector;
meetings with scientific experts; meetings with teaching and support staff unions; and
engaging with politicians from across the political spectrum.
Schools: Finance
Layla Moran: [62574]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the additional £650 million of
funding for school catch-up plans, announced on 19 June 2020, is derived from funding
reallocated within his Department or additional funding allocated to his Department.
Nick Gibb:
Children and young people have experienced unprecedented disruption to their
education during lockdown. The Government has therefore announced a package of
support for schools to help children and young people make up for lost teaching time,
with extra support in the form of a tutoring programme for those who need it most.
The universal catch up premium will provide £650 million to help schools make up for
lost teaching time. We are currently working with HM Treasury to finalise funding
arrangements for the £1 billion catch-up package.
Layla Moran: [62575]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled
Billion pound Covid catch-up plan to tackle impact of lost teaching time, published on
gov.uk on 19 June 2020, what steps he is taking to help ensure that head teachers have
the autonomy to make decisions on how the £650 million for primary and secondary
schools is spent.
Nick Gibb:
Schools are receiving a £650 million catch up premium to make up for the education
that has been lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Education Endowment
Foundation has published a COVID-19 recovery guide to support school leaders and
staff. It provides guidance and information on the most effective strategies to catch up
on lost education, and will allow schools to decide on how to best use this funding to
support their pupils and their outcomes. The guidance can be found here:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/covid-19-support-
guide-for-schools/.
We know that each school will have different needs as a result of this outbreak and
we trust headteachers to make the appropriate decisions for their students to ensure
that this money is spent wisely.
Schools: Sports
Seema Malhotra: [61501]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has for the funding of school
sport in the academic year 2020-21.
Nick Gibb:
The Government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan set out a range of measures
to ensure that all children have access to high quality PE and sport sessions during
the school week and opportunities to be physically active throughout the school day,
to help them do the 60 minutes a day of physical exercise recommended by the Chief
Medical Officer.
The Government has provided £2.4 million in funding to support this activity in 2019-
20 and has worked with Active Partnerships, teaching schools and sport providers to
support children to take part in activities that encourage good physical health.
Physical activity is important for children’s physical and mental wellbeing and will be
especially important for children who have had restricted opportunity to exercise while
at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department has published online
educational resources approved by subject experts for schools and parents to help
children to learn at home, including for PE:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-
resources/online-science-pe-wellbeing-and-send-resources-for-home-education.
The Department is working to ensure that schools are fully supported as they re-open
and are able to give pupils opportunities to be physically active during the school day.
The Department will confirm arrangements for the primary school PE and Sport
Premium in the 2020-21 academic year as soon as possible.
Sixth Form Education: Coronavirus
Andrew Gwynne: [62341]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to
support sixth form education in (a) England and (b) Greater Manchester during the covid-
19 outbreak.
Andrew Gwynne: [62342]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has
made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on sixth form students in (a) England and (b)
Greater Manchester.
Nick Gibb:
The Government wants to get all children and young people back into education as
soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn. We
know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with
their peers, carers and teachers.
From the week commencing 15 June, the Department has asked schools with sixth
forms and further education providers, which includes sixth form colleges, to offer
some face-to-face support to pupils in Year 12 and to 16-19 students in the first year
of a two-year study programme. Remote education should, however, remain the
predominant mode of education for these students at this time. This applies schools
in all parts of England.
Whilst we are unable to welcome back more sixth form students at this time, we have
recently announced that other students under 19 years old can be offered a face-to-
face meeting before the end of the summer term, where it would be beneficial. As
long as this happens in line with wider protective measures guidance, and guidance
on the numbers of pupils permitted on-site at any one time, we would encourage this
where possible.
Our priority is to ensure that sixth form students can progress as planned, including
starting university, moving into apprenticeships or securing a job.
We have published a planning guide for secondary schools (including those with sixth
forms) to help school leaders to prepare and decide arrangements, which is available
here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-
of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-secondary-schools.
We have also published guidance for further education providers, which is available
here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-
further-education-provision/maintaining-education-and-skills-training-provision-
further-education-providers.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) continues to be in regular dialogue
with all sixth form colleges in Greater Manchester to establish their plans to continue
to support sixth form learners.
Social Workers: Coronavirus
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [61514]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children’s’ social workers have
been (a) shielding and (b) in self isolation in each month since the start of the covid-19
outbreak.
Vicky Ford:
The information requested is not held centrally.
Teachers: Coronavirus
Rachael Maskell: [62511]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number of
former teachers that will return to the profession to help tackle problems with capacity as
a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Nick Gibb:
Former teachers returning to teaching make a significant contribution to teacher
supply - in 2018 there were approximately 16,400 full-time equivalent former teachers
who returned to the profession in state funded schools after a break. Furthermore,
since 2011 there has been an 11% increase in the number of former teachers
returning to the profession. This data is publicly available in the ‘School workforce in
England: November 2018’ publication, which can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-
2018.
In light of COVID-19, our efforts to encourage former teachers back to the profession
are prioritising initiatives that can be implemented quickly to capitalise on any
potential increased interest in the profession from former teachers.
We are using our current programme for former teachers, such as the Return to
Teaching Adviser Service (RTTA), to support these efforts. The RTTA service
provides one-to-one support to former teachers interested in returning to teach
maths, physics and modern foreign languages. The RTTA service assists these
former teachers with their applications, helps them prepare for interviews, and
signposts them to the further support such as the provision of Teacher Subject
Specialism Training.
We are exploring what more can be done to encourage former teachers back to the
profession in the current climate.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Cats: Tagging
Scott Benton: [61621]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the potential merits of the compulsory micro-chipping of cats.
Victoria Prentis:
The Government is committed to improving the welfare of cats and has a manifesto
commitment to introduce compulsory microchipping of cats. In October 2019 Defra
published a call for evidence on compulsory microchipping for cats, which attracted
over 3,000 responses. We are in the process of assessing the responses with a view
to publishing the summary of them in due course.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Renewable Energy
Sir Edward Davey: [60655]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a)
solar panels and (b) wind turbines his Department's buildings (a) have in 2020 and (b)
had in each of the last five years.
Victoria Prentis:
Defra has 83 sites with solar panels and six sites with wind turbines or direct drive
wind pumps.
We also have 104 operational solar panels that directly power equipment such as
remote cameras and sensors.
We have taken the department to mean those entities covered by our greening
Government commitments. However, we are waiting for responses from Kew and the
Forestry Commission.
Table 1: Year of installation
TYPE PRE 2015-16 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-2020
Solar Panels 68 sites 0 sites 0 sites 9 sites 5 sites 1 site
Wind 6 sites
We do not hold the information on the dates the operational panels for remote
equipment were installed.
Food: Imports
Alex Davies-Jones: [62697]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the potential merits of establishing a food standards commission to
ensure that the standard of international food imports is equivalent to existing UK food
standards.
Alex Davies-Jones: [62698]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent
discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on maintaining the current standards of
food imports.
Alex Davies-Jones: [62699]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is
taking to ensure that British farmers are not financially affected by food imports produced
to lower food safety standards than those required in the UK.
Victoria Prentis:
Our manifesto is clear that in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on
our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. The EU
Withdrawal Act will transfer all existing EU food safety provisions, including existing
import requirements, onto the UK statute book.
We are already engaging with the agricultural sector as part of our trade discussions.
We have not ruled out additional groups, and there is clear scope to review, re-task
and reinforce what we have.
The Secretary of State regularly discusses a wide range of issues with Cabinet
colleagues, and the Government will continue to work closely with the National
Farmers’ Union and other relevant stakeholders across the food chain to understand
the concerns about the impact of new trade deals. The Government has in place a
range of stakeholder groups to feed into our policy development on trade. These
include the Strategic Trade Advisory Group, the Agri-Food Expert Trade Advisory
Group and various supply chain groups.
Defra has developed the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group, which allows
officials in Defra and the Devolved Administrations to monitor UK agricultural
markets, to share the latest stakeholder information and to provide warning of
atypical market movements. It will help prepare the evidence base for the cause and
possible range of interventions that may be needed in specific markets.
Forests: Commodities
Kerry McCarthy: [62334]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment
the Government has made of the potential merits of the recommendation of the Global
Resource Initiative Taskforce's report of March 2020 on the introduction of a mandatory
due diligence obligation on companies that place commodities and derived products that
contribute to deforestation on the UK market.
Rebecca Pow:
We are carefully considering all the options recommended in the Global Resource
Initiative Taskforce’s report, including a mandatory due diligence obligation, and will
set out our response in due course.
Highly Protected Marine Areas: Angling
Sir Charles Walker: [62335]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to
the Benyon Review Into Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), if he will take steps to
ensure that, as in the case of motorised boating, scuba diving, surfing, and personal
watercraft, recreational anglers will continue to have access to HPMAs and not be
excluded along with mineral extraction, dredging, commercial fishing; and if he will make
a statement.
Victoria Prentis:
We welcome the publication of the Review into Highly Protected Marine Areas
(HPMAs) on 8 June 2020, which is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highly-protected-marine-areas-hpmas-
review-2019. We will consider Richard Benyon's report and issue a formal response
to him in due course. The panel recommended that HPMAs would represent the
upper end of environmental protection and should exclude all extractive activity,
including recreational sea angling, to allow for full ecosystem recovery.
Defra recognises the importance of recreational sea angling to the economy, its
benefits to the health and welfare of society, and the contribution anglers and angling
bodies make to environmental improvements. We appreciate and understand the
concerns raised by the recreational sea anglers since publication of the Benyon
Review. We note that the report describes the opportunities that could arise as a
result of HPMA introduction, including for recreational fisheries, such as spillover for
anglers in adjacent areas. In introducing HPMAs, we note the Panel's
recommendation to designate pilot sites by placing them within existing Marine
Protected Areas. We would consider the socio-economic impact of HPMAs on all
sectors, including recreational sea angling, before any decision to designate a site.
Extensive consultation will take place before any decisions are made.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Afghanistan: Ethnic Groups
Royston Smith: [61541]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his
Department is taking to ensure those responsible in Afghanistan for the (a) attack on a
maternity hospital and (b) other targeted attacks on the Hazara community are brought to
justice.
Nigel Adams:
The UK Government was appalled by the attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul last
month. The Foreign Secretary and the Minister for South Asia, Lord Ahmad of
Wimbledon, publicly condemned the attack. The UN Security Council made clear the
need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible
acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, in its statement of 13 May.
We commend this. We continue to support the Afghan National Defence and Security
Force (ANDSF), helping them combat the threat from insurgent groups. All ethnic and
religious groups, including the Hazaras, have equal rights and an important role to
play in Afghanistan's political decision-making. At the Human Rights Council (HRC),
the Afghan Government accepted our recommendation that they establish an
independent mechanism to assess how security protection can be improved for
religious and ethnic minorities.
Development Aid: Poverty
Jonathan Edwards: [62386]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his
Department plans for it to remain Government policy that it should meet the poverty
reduction obligations as set out in the International Development Act 2002 after his
Department merges with the Department for International Development.
James Cleverly:
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will continue to be guided by
our responsibilities under the International Development Act, including a commitment
to poverty reduction. The work of UK aid to reduce poverty will remain central to the
new department's mission.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Overseas Aid
Preet Kaur Gill: [59555]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his
Department's share of the Official Development Assistance will decrease in the event of a
decrease in GNI.
James Cleverly:
The UK government made the commitment, underpinned by law, to spend 0.7% of its
Gross National Income each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Since
this commitment is linked to the size of the economy, the level of ODA spend will
increase or decrease in line with GNI. Discussions are ongoing on where changes
might occur. HM Treasury allocates ODA budgets to departments and is responsible
for making changes to these.
Preet Kaur Gill: [59556]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his
Department is signing new funding agreements for projects funded by Official
Development Assistance.
James Cleverly:
The UK has a legal commitment to spend 0.7% of its Gross National Income (GNI)
each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Since this commitment is
linked to the size of the economy, the level of ODA spend will increase or decrease in
line with GNI. The Government reviews the ODA funding it allocates to projects on a
regular basis in order to ensure delivery of its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on
ODA.
Marine Environment: Treaties
Patrick Grady: [62492]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a senior
UK Government Minister plans to attend the fourth session of the Inter-Governmental
Conference when it is re-scheduled.
Patrick Grady: [62493]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the
Government plans to invite any representatives from the Scottish Government to join a
delegation to the fourth session of the Inter-Governmental Conference when it is
rescheduled.
James Duddridge:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs have been closely involved in the negotiation of a new
Implementing Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of
areas beyond national jurisdiction - the BBNJ Agreement - as an important step
forward in addressing the challenges that the ocean faces. The UK is pressing for an
ambitious Agreement. It will be a key mechanism in enabling the designation of at
least 30 per cent of the global ocean as Marine Protected Areas by 2030.
Unfortunately, due to the impacts of COVID-19, the fourth session of the Inter-
Governmental Conference, scheduled for 23 March to 3 April in New York, was
postponed. The UK is supportive of re-scheduling the fourth session for the earliest
possible opportunity that will enable all delegations to be present for the negotiations
in New York. The precise make-up of the UK delegation will need to take into account
any social distancing measures that may be in place for the re-scheduled session,
but it will be a strong delegation. The UK also strongly supports intersessional work,
which is vital to ensure that we maintain momentum towards the successful
conclusion of these important negotiations.
Nigeria: Religion
Ruth Jones: [61802]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will introduce
mandatory training for staff of his Department in Nigeria on (a) patterns of discrimination
and conflict with religious characteristics and (b) how religion and religious actors interact
with the societal and conflict context.
James Duddridge:
[Holding answer 24 June 2020]: Our staff are encouraged to develop an
understanding of religion and its role within society, including in conflict situations and
in countries like Nigeria where religion is important to most people's identity. Specific
training on religion is available to all staff through the FCO's Diplomatic Academy. In
addition, our Nigerian local staff provide first-hand insight into the role of religion and
religious actors within Nigerian society, including conflicts affecting the country. We
also use expertise from the FCO's Africa Research Group and conflict-prevention
experts.
We are now working on an enhanced training offer related to religion as part of our
commitment to implement the recommendations made in the Bishop of Truro's
independent review. This work is being led by the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for
Freedom of Religion or Belief, Rehman Chishti MP.
Nigeria: Violence
Andrew Rosindell: [60702]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his
policy to provide (a) financial, (b) technical and (c) capacity building support to the
Government of Nigeria to help the implementation of the recommendations of the report
entitled, Nigeria: Unfolding Genocide, published by the APPG for International Freedom
of Religion or Belief on 15 June 2020.
James Duddridge:
We welcome the APPG's report and the detailed analysis it provides on the complex
issues of intercommunal violence across multiple states of Nigeria and acts of
terrorism committed by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa in North East
Nigeria. The UK Government strongly condemns all acts of violence in Nigeria. We
are considering the report and its recommendations in detail and I will provide a full
response in due course.
Sri Lanka: Politics and Government
Stephen Kinnock: [62442]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what
representations he has made to his Sri Lankan counterpart on the composition of
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s appointment of a new presidential task force which has
the stated aim of building a secure country, disciplined, virtuous and lawful society.
Nigel Adams:
We are monitoring political and human rights developments in Sri Lanka very closely
and have active discussions with the government on a range of issues, including the
link between democratic values and international standing. The UK is a member of
the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and has
long supported Sri Lanka's commitments under UNHRC resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and
40/1 on accountability and reconciliation. The UK will lead the core group again at the
upcoming Human Rights Session in June.
Sri Lanka: Water
Sammy Wilson: [60726]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what
representations he has made to his Sri Lankan counterpart on the contamination of the
water supply in the Jaffna Peninsula from the Chunnakam Power Plant.
Nigel Adams:
We are aware of the challenges Sri Lanka faces around water management and
quality and the unique challenges faced by communities in northern Sri Lanka. Staff
at the British High Commission in Colombo have raised the issue of water quality
during regular visits to the North. A number of public bodies in Sri Lanka, including
the national water supply and drainage board, have conducted tests and
compensation was offered to those affected by water pollution caused by the
Chunnakam Power plant. We will continue to engage with local government in the
North to ensure these concerns around water management and quality are
understood, and that measures are taken to ensure clean water.
Yu Wensheng
Stephen Kinnock: [61718]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what
representations he is making to the Chinese government about the imprisonment of
human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng following a secret trial.
Nigel Adams:
[Holding answer 24 June 2020]: We are deeply concerned by reports of lawyer Yu
Wensheng's sentencing to four years in prison. Yu's detention, secret trial, and lack
of access to a lawyer of his choosing, raise serious concerns over the rule of law, due
process, and judicial transparency in China. We have raised Yu's case directly with
Chinese officials, and issued multiple statements of concern about his sentence. The
Foreign Secretary raised human rights concerns with his Chinese counterpart, State
Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on both 9 March and 8 June.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Asthma: Coronavirus
Alex Norris: [58767]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with severe
asthma are on the shielded patients list.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 16 June 2020]: This information is not held in the format requested.
Asthma: Steroid Drugs
Alex Norris: [58766]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the number of high
dose steroids a severe asthma patient would be prescribed for including that category of
condition in the shielded patient list during the covid-19 outbreak is in line with the
recommendation made by the Royal College of Physicians in Why asthma still kills: the
National Review of Asthma Deaths.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 16 June 2020]: The decision to include people with severe
respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease on the shielded patient list was taken by expert
doctors in England who identified specific medical conditions that, based on what we
knew about the virus so far, would place someone at greatest risk of severe illness
from COVID-19.
These were signed off by the UK Senior Clinicians Group (including the four United
Kingdom Chief Medical Officers and clinical leadership at NHS England and NHS
Improvement, NHS Digital and Public Health England).
Blood Cancer: Coronavirus
Martyn Day: [53532]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the effect on health outcomes of (a) delayed and (b) cancelled treatments for patients
with (i) multiple myeloma and (ii) other blood cancers during the covid-19 pandemic.
Jo Churchill:
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published data on Friday 5 May 2020
showing that there has been no significant increase in excess mortality from cancers
with a moderate survival rate between January to May 2020.
NHS England and NHS Improvement issued clear guidance that essential and urgent
cancer treatments must continue. Local systems and Cancer Alliances were asked to
identify ring-fenced diagnostic and surgical capacity for cancer, so that referrals,
diagnostics and treatment can be brought back to pre-pandemic levels at the earliest
opportunity to minimise potential harm, and to reduce the scale of the post-pandemic
surge in demand.
Care Homes: Coronavirus
Thangam Debbonaire: [49727]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department
has issued to care homes on the (a) clinical and (b) other criteria that should be taken
into account on whether a resident with symptoms of covid-19 should be taken to hospital
for treatment.
Helen Whately:
[Holding answer 2 June 2020]: Guidance on supporting care home residents who
may require hospital care is set out in the ‘Admission and Care of Residents during
COVID-19 Incident in a Care Home’ guidance published on 2 April 2020. This
includes assessing the appropriateness of hospitalisation as per the resident’s
treatment plan, following infection prevention and control guidelines for patient
transport, and informing the receiving healthcare facility that the incoming patient has
COVID-19 symptoms.
Our Adult Social Care Action Plan, published on 15 April 2020, confirms that where a
care home resident is suffering from more severe COVID-19 symptoms, the
individual may need to be admitted to hospital. Decisions should always be made in
line with clinical need.
Additionally, on 1 May 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement published a letter:
‘COVID-19 response: Primary care and community health support care home
residents.’ The letter reiterates that secondary care providers should accept referrals
and admissions from care home residents where clinically appropriate.
This is an unprecedented global pandemic and we will continue to review our
guidance in line with the latest scientific advice.
Alexander Stafford: [52633]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to
ensure the rollout of large-scale, rapid testing for covid-19 in cares homes in Rother
Valley constituency.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
We are rapidly upscaling our satellite testing capabilities to provide a more agile and
flexible method of testing in care homes.
Under the satellite model, we distribute test kits to a National Health Service trust or
care facility that has a pressing need, and then collect and process the resulting
swabs through the COVID-19 National Testing Programme labs.
For all constituencies across England, including Rother Valley, we have delivered
whole care home testing to all care homes for over 65s and people with dementia
and from 7 June rolled out whole care home testing to all other adult care homes.
Rosie Cooper: [59197]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings
published by Age UK on 10 June 2020 that some care home residents are being required
to pay extra fees to cover costs associated with the covid-19 outbreak, what assessment
he has made of the (a) implications of those findings for his policies on adult social care
and (b) likelihood that the inability of care home residents to meet those extra costs could
precipitate care home closures.
Helen Whately:
Where individuals are not eligible for financial support from their local authority, they
make their own arrangements for care services and pay the fees. This is known as
being a ‘self-funder’. The fees are set out in a contract between the individual and the
care provider. The Government has no say in these private arrangements.
A local authority must regularly reassess a person’s ability to meet the cost of any
charges to take account of any changes to their income and assets.
We recognise the pressures that COVID-19 is placing on the social care system. We
have already provided £3.2 billion to local authorities and have made a £600 million
Infection Control Fund available to care homes to allow them to take additional steps
to reduce the spread.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to shape their whole local
markets to ensure that they are sustainable, diverse and offer high quality care and
support for people in their local area. The Care Act places a duty on local authorities
to ensure that people continue to receive the services they need if their adult social
care provider is no longer able to carry on delivering services.
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [61508]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what scientific evidence was
used to support the policy that covid-19 tests were not provided to care homes with
residents under 65.
Helen Whately:
[Holding answer 23 June 2020]: We initially prioritised testing for homes that
specialise in caring for older people and those living with dementia in line with Public
Health England and Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies advice, as they are at
higher risk of adverse consequences if they get the virus.
All adult care homes can now access whole care home testing for all residents and
asymptomatic staff through a digital portal.
Children: Protective Clothing
Sir Edward Davey: [54852]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any steps are being
taken to enable personal protective equipment to be reused by the NHS and care sector.
Jo Churchill:
This is an international challenge that many countries are experiencing. We are
working around the clock to give the National Health Service and social care sectors
the personal protective equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak.
Public Health England published ‘COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE)’
updated guide on 17 April. This advises that suitable decontamination arrangements
for some PPE items should be obtained from the manufacturer, supplier or local
infection control. This guidance also included advice on when PPE can be reused.
Contact Tracing: Computer Software
Steve McCabe: [60679]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will endorse
a covid-19 symptom study app similar to those endorsed by the Scottish and Welsh
governments.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 22 June 2020]: Project OASIS is a combined effort between NHSX
and the jHub to create a much clearer picture of the public’s experience with COVID-
19 by incorporating data from multiple third party symptom tracker apps commonly
used by the public with the National Health Service’s own internal data. The data will
be used by the NHS to understand the spread of COVID-19 at a national and local
level.
Sarah Jones: [60847]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the validity of reports that the NHS track and trace app will not work in (a) Croydon, (b)
London and (c) other densely populated areas.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 22 June 2020]: Following rigorous field testing and a trial on the Isle
of Wight, we have chosen to bring forward a solution that brings together the work
that NHSX and Google/Apple have carried out separately. This is an important step
that will bring together the necessary functionality required to carry out contact tracing
across all parts of the United Kingdom.
Coronavirus
Caroline Lucas: [43878]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the decision of
19 March 2020 that covid-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious
disease (HCID), whether the 4 nations public health HCID group and Advisory Committee
on Dangerous Pathogens considered the availability of personal protective equipment in
their review of their interim recommendation in January 2020 to classify covid-19 as a
HCID.
Jo Churchill:
Neither the four nations public health high consequence infectious disease (HCID)
group nor the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) considered the
availability of personal protective equipment when reviewing the interim
recommendation of January 2020 to classify COVID-19 as a HCID.
Recommendations provided by both the four nations public health HCID group and
the ACDP on the classification of COVID-19 were based entirely on the scientific
evaluation of the HCID criteria, which considers disease characteristics and the
response required to manage the disease. The use and availability of specific
personal protective equipment is not a criterion.
Coronavirus: Children
Rachael Maskell: [52179]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has
had with the Secretary of State for Education on the covid-19 testing of children under
five years of age in the context of the reopening of schools, nurseries and childcare
settings.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 4 June 2020]: The phased reopening of schools for some year
groups from 1 June is crucial to getting the country back on its feet. Testing
symptomatic children is fundamental to this success. This will also be supported by,
but is not dependent on, the NHS Test and Trace service. Testing will remain
available to any child who develops symptoms of COVID-19 or who lives with
someone who does in England and Wales.
Coronavirus: Death
Rachael Maskell: [56051]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in each
country in Europe have (a) been infected by Covid-19 and (b) died of Covid-19; and how
many of those people are BAME.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 11 June 2020]: Data are not available in the format requested.
Catherine West: [56096]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people that died of
non-covid-19 causes in (a) care homes and (b) the community saw a GP in the week
before they died (i) in person and (ii) via video in each week from 2 March to 4 May 2020.
Jo Churchill:
The data is not available in the format requested.
Coronavirus: Disease Control
Paul Bristow: [46815]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has
to help ensure that people in shielding isolation during the covid-19 outbreak have access
to rehabilitation services after their isolation.
Jo Churchill:
As our understanding of the virus increases, the Government continues to review the
emerging evidence. We will continue to listen to our medical advisers on the level of
clinical risk the virus presents to different groups of people at different points in time.
The next review will take place the week commencing 15 June 2020. As part of this,
we will consider the next steps for shielding beyond 30 June. The Government will
continue to ensure support is available for those who need it for as long as people
are advised to follow shielding guidance.
Caroline Lucas: [52648]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government’s criteria
are for the application of the precautionary principle in relation to public health risks; on
what occasions the precautionary principle has been applied to tackling covid-19
outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Jo Churchill:
The precautionary principle is conventionally used to “advise caution in the uptake of
innovations with known benefits but uncertain or unmeasurable downsides”. The
public health response to COVID-19 considers all available scientific evidence, as
well as expert scientific advice. Where there is scientific uncertainty, it is not unusual
for public health authorities to take a reasonable but precautionary approach, such as
buying ventilators and creating Nightingale hospitals.
Dame Diana Johnson: [57103]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library a
copy of the relevant scientific advice upon which the current shielding guidance for the
clinically vulnerable is based.
Jo Churchill:
The scientific advice supporting the original Government policy on shielding is
contained in the minutes published by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies
on 10 March 2020 and is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/sage-minutes-coronavirus-covid-19-response-
10-march-2020.
A copy is also attached.
As our understanding of the virus increases, the Government continues to review the
emerging evidence. We will continue to listen to our medical advisers on the level of
clinical risk the virus presents to different groups of people at different points in time.
At each review point for the social distancing measures, we will also review the risks
for the clinically extremely vulnerable and assess whether the shielding period needs
to be extended or whether it is possible for the shielding guidance to be eased
further. We will base our assessment on clinical advice from our medical experts, and
the best data available about the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community.
Chi Onwurah: [59765]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his
Department has made of the role that temperature screening cameras in public places
could play in helping the safe lifting of the covid-19 lockdown.
Jo Churchill:
Thermal screening was considered by expert committees including the Department’s,
New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group. The findings were that
thermal screening would be of limited benefit and that it was not the best use of
public health resource. From that work, we would conclude that temperature
screening cameras in public places are unlikely to be an effective means of protecting
places as many cases are asymptomatic and of the symptomatic cases not all will
experience fever as a symptom, and therefore would not be identified through
temperature checks.
Justin Madders: [60783]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce
(a) immunity passports or (b) other systems of health certification for covid-19.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
In order to fully understand the potential of any certification we first need to improve
our understanding of how the immune system responds to infection with the COVID-
19 virus.
COVID-19 is a new disease and the science around ‘immunity’ to the virus remains
uncertain. We do not, for example, know how long an antibody response to the virus
lasts nor whether having antibodies means one does not transmit the virus to others
In order to gain answers to these critical scientific questions, the United Kingdom
Government is conducting some of the biggest seroprevalence surveys in the world –
using lab-based tests to monitor the number of people that are presenting an
antibody response and how this response changes over time.
Coronavirus: Funerals
Darren Jones: [55114]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government plans to
issue revised guidance for managing a funeral during the covid-19 outbreak; and what
changes the Government plans to make to that guidance.
Jo Churchill:
Public Health England (PHE) is keeping all guidance related to COVID-19 under
review, including ‘Managing a funeral during the coronavirus pandemic’. PHE
updates guidance as new evidence emerges and legislation is updated.
Updated guidance will be published shortly.
Coronavirus: Nike
Ian Murray: [49657]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he was made aware of
the Swindon Nike store and Sunderland Head Office being sanitised after the covid-19
outbreak at the Nike Conference in Edinburgh in February 2020.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 2 June 2020]: Public Health England (PHE) did not have any
contact with the Nike Factory Store Swindon.
PHE North East were contacted by the Head Office in Sunderland on 2 and 3 March
2020 to report illness amongst employees attending the Nike conference. The Head
Office was referred to Health Protection Scotland as the lead organisation in the
incident response.
Coronavirus: Patients
Nadia Whittome: [52639]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to
tackle the delay in medical professionals adding patients that are clinically vulnerable to
covid-19 to the shielded patients list.
Jo Churchill:
Only clinically extremely vulnerable people are included on the shielded patient list.
Following the update to shielding guidance on 31 May 2020, the National Health
Service has written to general practitioners (GPs), NHS trusts and commissioners
asking them to continue to maintain the shielded patient list, using the existing criteria
and processes.
GPs or specialists are able to add individual patients to the list where they consider
them to be clinically extremely vulnerable. They may also remove people from the list
where they believe someone has been identified in error through the national
process, or if they no longer think someone is clinically extremely vulnerable. This
should only ever be done in consultation with the patient and other clinicians where
appropriate.
Anyone who is concerned about whether or not they should be shielding, should
contact their doctor to discuss.
Coronavirus: Protective Clothing
Sir Christopher Chope: [47172]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library the
background material on which the Deputy Chief Medical Officer announced on 20 March
2020 that the country has a perfectly adequate supply of personal protective equipment,
PPE.
Jo Churchill:
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer’s comments on 20 March referred to specific
problems with deliveries to National Health Service trusts, in line with Public Health
England Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Guidance at that time. Further
distribution problems arose soon after and at the daily COVID-19 press conference
on 31 March the Deputy Chief Medical Officer apologised and acknowledged that
soon after her comment on 20 March, problems with distribution had returned.
Systems set up to supply 226 NHS trusts have had to increase their operations in a
matter of weeks to provide drops of critical equipment to 58,000 healthcare settings
including general practitioners, pharmacies and social care providers. This required a
huge scaling up of our logistics capability.
Mr Kevan Jones: [54015]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the adequacy of supplies of personal protective equipment in the event that the covid-
19 reproduction (R) rate rises above 1.
Jo Churchill:
We have massively expanded our supply of personal protective equipment (PPE)
from overseas and domestically. We have contracted with over 100 new suppliers
able to deliver at the scale and pace the United Kingdom requires. We are continuing
to sign further deals to make our position more secure. We recently secured a further
3.7 billion gloves to help meet the expected demand and we are building up UK
manufacturing capability. We have signed contracts for over 2 billion items of PPE
through UK-based manufacturers, including aprons, facemasks, visors and gowns.
We are confident in the stocks and sources of supply of PPE to meet the needs of
health and social care over the next 7 and 90 days.
Coronavirus: Research
Steve McCabe: [60680]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to
commission research into the long terms effects of covid-19 on people whose symptoms
last longer than three weeks.
Helen Whately:
The Department invests over £1 billion a year in health and care research through the
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The following calls are currently open
to researchers to submit proposals on the long-term effects of COVID-19.
The NIHR Recovery and Learning Call will fund research to better understand and
manage the health and social care consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic
beyond the acute phase. The research will focus specifically on health outcomes,
public health, social care and health service delivery and to mitigate the impact of
subsequent phases and aftermath.
This follows on from the UK Research and Innovation-NIHR Rapid Response Rolling
Call for COVID-19 research (closing at the end of June), which funds projects that
could make a significant contribution to the understanding, prevention and/or
management of the COVID-19 outbreak within 12 months.
Coronavirus: Screening
Dr Dan Poulter: [51840]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of how (a) older and (b) vulnerable residents in (i) sheltered accommodation and (ii)
limited access to transportation should access testing for covid-19 in a safe and
convenient manner.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
We offer a range of testing options, including drive-through centres, home delivery
and mobile testing units, as well as satellite testing for specific groups such as care
homes. We are continually working to improve and widen access to testing and are
working with local areas to increase the avenues through which all people and, in
particular vulnerable groups, can be tested.
Grahame Morris: [51868]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public
purse is for each contract for the running of a UK covid-19 testing centre; and how many
tests each such centre has carried out.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 4 June 2020]: We do not publish testing data broken down by site.
As of 3 June 2020, there are 156 operational test locations which consist of a
combination of many different types of site from large multi-lane drive-in sites to
single van mobile test facilities to walk-in city centre locations. They are staffed by a
number of different commercial organisations and the armed forces. Each of the
contracts spans multiple disciplines.
Rosie Cooper: [53346]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion
of covid-19 home testing kits are sent out and not returned in (a) each region and (b) the
UK.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 8 June 2020]: As of 3 June 2020, 62% of Home Test Kits had been
returned. This figure is on an upward trajectory and the seven-day rolling average is
significantly higher than the year-to-date figure.
It is not currently possible to break down return rates on a regional basis.
Caroline Lucas: [53380]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of Government-
provided covid-19 swab kit tests sent in the post are (a) returned and (b) correctly
administered.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
As of 3 May 2020, 62% of home test kits had been returned. This figure is on an
upward trajectory and the seven-day rolling average is significantly higher than the
year-to-date figure.
Of those tests returned, over 98% have been correctly administered.
Afzal Khan: [53608]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to ensure that people who do not have a car and therefore cannot access drive-
through covid-19 testing centres may be tested for covid-19.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
Drive-through testing sites are only one of a number of routes to access testing.
Those without a car can order a test directly to their home quickly and easily.
Afzal Khan: [53609]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his
Department has made of the accuracy of home testing kits for covid-19.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
All Home Testing Kits go through rigorous external scientific and clinical review
process before being put into use.
An increasingly broad range of international peer reviewed evidence demonstrates
that self-swabbing for COVID-19 is just as effective as clinician-administered
swabbing.
Afzal Khan: [53610]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) medical evidence his
Department has considered on and (b) recent assessment his Department has made of
the reliability of (i) nasal and (ii) throat swabs taken for at-home testing kits for covid-19.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
All home testing kits go through rigorous external scientific and clinical review
process before being put into use.
An increasingly broad range of international peer reviewed evidence demonstrates
that self-swabbing for COVID-19 is just as effective as clinician-administered
swabbing.
Afzal Khan: [53611]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment
his Department has made of the accuracy of home testing kits for covid-19 and tests
conducted by healthcare professionals.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
All home testing kits go through rigorous external scientific and clinical review
process before being put into use.
An increasingly broad range of international peer reviewed evidence demonstrates
that self-swabbing for COVID-19 is just as effective as clinician-administered
swabbing.
Kenny MacAskill: [59889]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the covid-19 diagnostic
antibody tests being (a) evaluated and (b) supported by the Government contain animal-
derived antibodies.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 22 June 2020]: The Government is backing efforts to develop a
homegrown antibody test. A business consortium, UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-
RTC), including Oxford University, Abingdon Health, BBI Solutions and CIGA
Healthcare has launched, in order to design and develop a new antibody test to
determine whether people have had the virus. The development of this test will not
involve testing on animals.
Coronavirus: Twickenham
Munira Wilson: [52530]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many tests have been
carried out in the Twickenham Stadium covid-19 testing site each day since its
establishment; and what its daily testing capacity has been on each of those days.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
We do not publish data broken down by test centre. As of 1 June, 54 Regional
Testing Sites were open nationwide.
Coronavirus: Wirral
Ms Angela Eagle: [55884]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the average
mortality rate for covid-19 per 100,000 people is higher in Wirral than the average
mortality rate in (a) North West of England and (b) the UK.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 11 June 2020]: The variation in incidence and mortality rates
between national, regional and upper tier local authority level is influenced by a range
of factors including the epidemiology of the disease and risk factors such as
demography and behaviour. Other local factors causing variability in the number of
tests carried out can also affect the observed mortality rates. These factors include
the number of people accessing testing, and the number of tests that are carried out
in the investigation and control of local incidents and outbreaks.
Public Health England has published a rapid review to better understand how
different factors such as ethnicity, deprivation, age, gender and obesity can impact on
how people are affected by COVID-19. The Disparities in the risk and outcomes of
COVID-19 review can be viewed on the GOV.UK website at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-review-of-disparities-in-risks-
and-outcomes
Cystic Fibrosis: Coronavirus
Kerry McCarthy: [40528]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support the Government
plans to make available for people with cystic fibrosis and others who are extremely
vulnerable who may be required to shield after lockdown restrictions in response to the
covid-19 outbreak are modified for the rest of society.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 4 May 2020]: The shielding guidance in England has been updated
to advise that, from 1 June 2020, those shielding may wish to consider spending time
outdoors once a day.
As part of the next review point, we will consider the arrangements for shielding
beyond 30 June. We will also review the risks for the clinically extremely vulnerable
and assess whether the shielding period needs to be extended or whether it is
possible for the shielding guidance to be eased further. We will base our assessment
on clinical advice from medical experts and the best data available about the
prevalence of COVID-19 in the community.
The Government will continue to ensure support with essential supplies, medicines,
social contact and basic needs is available for those who need it for as long as
people are advised to follow shielding guidance.
Dental Services: Coronavirus
Julian Sturdy: [51921]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to ensure that all dental practices can access the (a) personal protective and (b)
other equipment they require to safely resume routine dental services when covid-19
lockdown measures are eased.
Jo Churchill:
NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that National Health
Service dentistry outside urgent care centres will begin to restart from 8 June with the
aim of increasing levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety.
The letter outlines that practices need to consider the Public Health England
guidance on infection control protocols and personal protective equipment (PPE) in
order to deliver care in a way that is safe, operationally deliverable and allows dental
practices flexibility to do what is best for patients and their teams.
Dental Services: Protective Clothing
Nick Fletcher: [55136]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has
made an assessment of the level of risk of dentists using FFP2 masks instead of FFP3
masks when carrying out dental work; and what discussions he plans to have with
representatives from insurance providers to ensure that dental practices using FFP2
masks are insured.
Jo Churchill:
A risk assessment specifically relating to dentists using FFP2 instead of FFP3
respirators has not been made.
Government guidance for dentists states that FFP3 respirators are advised for all
aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) to prevent inhalation of aerosols. Some dental
work is classed as AGPs. The Health and Safety Executive carried out a rapid review
of the evidence of the effectiveness of FFP3, FFP2 and N95 masks earlier this year.
The review stated that FFP2 and N95 respirators offer protection against COVID-19
and so may be used if FFP3 respirators are not available. Further information is
available at the following link:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/news/face-mask-equivalence-aprons-gowns-eye-protection-
coronavirus.htm
Department of Health and Social Care
Sir Edward Davey: [58609]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the dates of
meetings (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had with (i) Professor Kevin Fenton, (ii)
Professor John Newton and (iii) Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of NHS Providers since
February 2020.
Sir Edward Davey: [58610]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings (a) he and
(b) his Ministers have had with (a) Professor Kevin Fenton and (b) Professor John
Newton.
Edward Argar:
The Department of Health and Social Care ministers have meetings with many arms-
length body officials and stakeholders in the conduct of their ministerial duties.
Diabetes: Coronavirus
Alex Norris: [59874]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the vulnerability of people with diabetes to covid-19.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 22 June 2020]: Those with diabetes are already on the wider
clinically vulnerable list and should be strictly following social distancing measures.
The guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely
vulnerable from COVID-19 has been developed by expert doctors identifying specific
medical conditions based on what we know about the virus so far. We will continue to
keep this evidence under review.
In addition, general practitioners and hospital specialists have been asked to
recommend other patients follow shielding guidance, based on clinical judgement and
an assessment of each individual’s needs.
Diabetes: Medical Treatments
Chris Green: [52076]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what processes are in place to
monitor variation in the prescribing of technologies for people with diabetes in formularies
throughout England.
Jo Churchill:
There are a variety of processes used to monitor prescribing patterns and variation in
the prescribing of technologies for people with diabetes. These are based on
community pharmacy reimbursement data and include tools such as Open
Prescribing, which is publicly available on the NHS Business Services Authority’s
ePACT2 platform and PrescQIPP.
Employment: Coronavirus
Theresa Villiers: [59382]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the potential merits of deploying temperature checks more extensively to reduce the
risk of covid-19 being spread in workplaces which are re-opening as lockdown restrictions
are eased.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 18 June 2020]: Thermal screening at ports of entry was considered
by expert committees including the Department’s, New and Emerging Respiratory
Virus Threats Advisory Group. The findings were that thermal screening would be of
limited benefit and that it was not the best use of public health resource. From that
work, we would conclude that temperature checks are unlikely to be an effective
means of protecting workplaces as many cases are asymptomatic and of the
symptomatic cases not all will experience fever as a symptom, and therefore would
not be identified through temperature checks.
Exercise Cygnus: Care Homes
Sir Mark Hendrick: [57913]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Exercise
Cygnus that took place in 2016, what the findings of that exercise were in relation to care
homes; and whether any recommendations for that sector were (a) identified and (b)
implemented as a result of that exercise.
Helen Whately:
The lessons identified as a result of Exercise Cygnus continue to be considered by
the Government and a range of stakeholders, including expert advisory groups and
local emergency planners.
Taking the recommendations from Exercise Cygnus, the Department commissioned
further work on pandemic influenza preparedness from the Association of Directors of
Adult Social Services. This was completed in the spring of 2018 and included advice
and guidance on planning for a pandemic, which was circulated to Directors of Adult
Social Services.
Gender Recognition: Health Services
Steve McCabe: [53998]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13
March 2020 to Question 27500 and with reference to the Answer of 6 June 2019 to
Question 259019 on Gender Recognition: Clinics, what assessment his Department has
made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on NHS England’s pilot of new gender
dysphoria services for adults.
Jo Churchill:
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation
Trust, have been awarded the contracts for two new adult gender dysphoria services
in London which are now in mobilisation phase.
A separate tender process for a new service in Greater Manchester will conclude by
the end of June 2020.
All services will be evaluated as pilots over a period of up to three years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not significantly delayed the planned commencement
of the pilot services.
NHS England and NHS Improvement is still assessing the impact of the NHS
responding to the COVID-19 pandemic on the waiting times for a number of clinical
services, including gender dysphoria services.
Health Services: Coronavirus
Olivia Blake: [45518]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to
provide adequate supplies of FFP3 face masks to health and dentistry workers.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 18 May 2020]: We are working around the clock to give the National
Health Service and social care sector the equipment and support they need to tackle
this outbreak.
We recognise the huge demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) stocks,
which is why the Government is working to expand supply from overseas and
improve domestic manufacturing capability. We published a PPE Plan on 10 April,
setting out clear guidance on who needs PPE and in what circumstances they need
to use it; and how sufficient supplies will be secured and distributed to the front line.
The plan can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-personal-
protective-equipment-ppe-plan
The Government is working closely with industry, the NHS, social care providers and
the army to ensure that PPE is delivered to those who need it.
From Monday 8 June all NHS practices were able to start, at their own pace, seeing
patients again once they have appropriate social distancing and other safety
measures in place. PPE for dentists is being made available through their business
as usual wholesalers. We have also set up new distribution routes for dentistry to
ensure continuity of supply for all urgent dental care centres and have placed them
on the list of priority areas to receive supplies from Local Resilience Forums. PPE for
dental practices will include equipment necessary for aerosol generating procedures.
Health Services: Immigrants
Sarah Owen: [61809]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Prime Minister's
announcement of 21 May 2020, on the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS workers
will include the dependants of NHS workers.
Edward Argar:
[Holding answer 24 June 2020]: Department of Health and Social Care and Home
Office officials are working at pace to implement the announcement for removing
health and care workers from the Immigration Health Surcharge and further
information will be available shortly.
Health Services: Protective Clothing
John Redwood: [38402]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which body is responsible for
giving regulatory approval for a (a) new design of PPE clothing and (b) new supplier's
PPE product.
Jo Churchill:
A cross-Government personal protective equipment sourcing unit, staffed by over 400
people, is securing new supply lines from across the world and has published
rigorous standards against which purchases will be made.
The Health and Safety Executive and the Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency are responsible for giving regulatory approval. Further information
is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-specifications-for-personal-
protective-equipment-ppe
Health Visitors: Coronavirus
Catherine West: [58040]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an
assessment of the effect of the redeployment of health visitors on the wellbeing of babies
and families during the covid-19 outbreak.
Jo Churchill:
With the onset of COVID-19 some public health nurses were redeployed into
hospitals where their expertise was most needed to care for acutely ill patients. It is
important that these nurses return to help mitigate the negative impacts of the
pandemic on families with young children.
The ‘Restoration of community health services for children and young people: second
phase of NHS response’ is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-19-prioritisation-within-
community-health-services-with-annex_19-march-2020/
Public Health England will also work with local authority commissioners and service
providers to support the return of health visiting teams.
Hearing Impairment: Screening
Daisy Cooper: [56171]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the potential merits of including hearing screening in the NHS Health Checks
programme offered to people from the ages of 40 to 74.
Jo Churchill:
In May 2019, the NHS Health Check Expert Scientific and Clinical Advisory Panel
(ESCAP) received a content review proposal to consider amending the NHS Health
Check to include hearing loss. ESCAP members recognised the importance and
impact of hearing loss as a public health issue, and it was agreed that the group
would await the outcome of the United Kingdom National Screening Committee’s (UK
NSC) review of evidence on hearing screening, before considering changes to the
programme. The UK NSC recommendation on hearing loss screening in adults is still
currently under review.
Public Health England has been commissioned to deliver an evidence-based review
of the NHS Health Check programme. This externally chaired review will consider
and make recommendations on future changes to the content of the NHS Health
Check.
Hospitals: Patients
Mr David Davis: [54855]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS
patients were triaged under the Frailty Index mechanism in (a) March, (b) April and (c)
May 2020.
Jo Churchill:
NHS Digital publishes primary care data about the cumulative number of registered
patients aged 65 years or over who have had a frailty assessment using the
Electronic Frailty Index or any other appropriate assessment tool, up to the end of the
reporting period. The data is reported quarterly on a cumulative basis as part of the
General Medical Services / Personal Medical Services core contract data collection.
The latest available publication covers the reporting period up to 31 March 2020. This
is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/gp-contract-
services/2019-20
Hygiene: Products
Dr James Davies: [58745]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had
discussions with the Health and Safety Executive on including in Government guidance
on approved hand sanitisers products that have an alcohol content of less than 60 per
cent proof; and if he will make a statement.
Jo Churchill:
Public Health England has not had any discussions with the Health and Safety
Executive on the use of hand sanitisers products that have an alcohol content of less
than 60% proof. The scientific evidence shows that alcohol-based hand sanitisers
with ethanol at concentrations of at least 70% and up to 90% are effective against
most enveloped viruses, such as COVID-19, within 30 seconds. At 95% the virucidal
activity of ethanol covers the majority of clinically relevant viruses. Isopropyl alcohol
has a similar but less virucidal range of activity.
Local Government: Coronavirus
Mr Stephen Morgan: [55009]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to
ensure that local authorities at risk of an increase in covid-19 cases in their areas are
able to procure adequate numbers of body bags; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Stephen Morgan: [55010]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is
taking to engage with local authority leaders on the supply of body bags.
Mr Stephen Morgan: [55011]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is
taking to mitigate the potential effects of a national shortage of body bags in the event of
a second spike in covid-19 cases.
Jo Churchill:
The Government published “Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment
(PPE) plan” on 10 April. It incorporates guidance on who needs PPE and when they
need it, routes to ensure those who need it can get it at the right time and sets out
actions to secure enough PPE to last through the crisis. PPE includes aprons, eye
protectors, face masks, gloves, gowns, hand hygiene, clinical waste bags and body
bags.
Since publication of the plan, the Government has massively expanded both our
supply of PPE from overseas and our domestic manufacturing capability, which will
deliver at the scale and pace the United Kingdom requires and ensures that we build
and maintain a domestic base for the future.
The Government has also published PPE guidance for those involved in the care and
management of the deceased and has authorised the release of millions of PPE
items to local resilience forums to help them respond to urgent local spikes in need
across the adult social care system and some other frontline services, such as
mortuary and funeral services, where providers are unable to access PPE through
their usual, or dedicated wholesaler routes.
Mental Health Services: Children and Young People
Sir Oliver Heald: [60643]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has
made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on waiting lists for CAMHS.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
There is broad consensus that there is the potential for an increase in demand for
children and young people’s mental health services as a result of the effects of the
pandemic. We are working with the National Health Service and a wide range of
stakeholders to assess potential need over the coming weeks and months and to
plan accordingly.
Mental health services are still open and working to support people with mental
health issues through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Our community, talking
therapies and children and young people’s services have deployed innovative digital
tools to connect with people and provide ongoing support.
Mental Health Services: Ethnic Groups
Alexander Stafford: [61633]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to ensure the adequacy of the provision of mental health services for BAME
children.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
We want to ensure that all children, including those from a black, Asian and minority
ethnic (BAME) background, can access services according to clinical need. National
Health Service mental health services have remained open throughout the COVID-19
pandemic and our community, talking therapies and children and young people’s
services have deployed digital tools to connect with people and provide ongoing
support.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with BAME experts and
others to support rapid knowledge and information sharing to encourage timely
access to NHS mental health services, and just as importantly, good BAME
experiences within those services.
The Government has provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health
charities to support adults and children. This includes charities that offer some
support to BAME communities, such as the What? Centre.
Mental Health Services: Young People
Catherine West: [58038]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has
to increase mental health service provision for 18-25 year olds who have reported mental
health issues relating to the lockdown due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: Mental health services remain open and are working
to support people with mental health problems through the COVID-19 pandemic and
beyond. The Government and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working
closely with mental health trusts to ensure those who need them continue to have
access to mental health services, including 18-25 year olds. For those with severe
needs or in crisis, NHS England has instructed all National Health Service mental
health trusts to establish 24 hours a day, seven days a week mental health crisis
lines, clearly accessible from trust websites as an urgent priority. Mental health
providers are using digital and virtual channels such as helplines and video
consultations, to keep delivering support and manage the impact of self-isolation on
staff and patients. In addition, we have published official guidance on mental health
and wellbeing on GOV.UK and promoting this through Every Mind Matters.
Midwives: Age
Kerry McCarthy: [61678]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age profile is of NHS
midwives; and how many NHS midwives in each age category are (a) UK nationals and
(b) nationals of an EU member state.
Helen Whately:
[Holding answer 24 June 2020]: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community
Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and
clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care, general
practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.
The following table shows the age profile and nationality of National Health Service
midwives in hospitals and CCGs as at December 2019, the latest available data.
Other and Unknown includes staff with a nationality group of European Economic
Area, Rest of World or Unknown.
. ALL NATIONALITIES UNITED KINGDOM EUROPEAN UNION
OTHER AND
UNKNOWN
All age bands 26,863 24,186 1,346 1,331
Under 25 1,712 1,637 51 24
25 to 29 3,621 3,256 300 65
30 to 34 3,744 3,364 286 94
35 to 39 3,417 3,089 187 141
40 to 44 3,198 2,877 155 166
45 to 49 2,991 2,658 121 212
50 to 54 3,685 3,326 77 282
55 to 59 3,027 2,720 85 222
60 to 64 1,235 1,067 69 99
65 and over 233 192 15 26
NHS: Disclosure of Information
Justin Madders: [60784]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has
made of the adequacy of protections for NHS whistle-blowers and their ability to publicly
raise concerns on (a) gaps in healthcare provisions and (b) other matters without adverse
repercussions.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
Speaking up is vital for ensuring patient safety and quality services. The Employment
Rights Act 1996, amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, gives legal
protection to all workers who speak up whether in private or public. In addition, the
Government established an independent National Guardian to drive cultural change
across the National Health Service so that speaking up becomes business as usual.
Legislation and cultural change are designed to create an environment of trust and
we have seen some progress. The National Guardian’s latest Freedom to Speak Up
Index showed that 82% of trusts had made it easier to speak up since 2015. If NHS
workers feel uncomfortable raising concerns through their line management or clinical
lead, they can speak to their Freedom to Speak Up Guardian or to regulators. NHS
workers should be thanked for speaking up and never face detriment for doing so.
NHS: Sanitary Products
Stella Creasy: [61488]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has
made of the level of need for period product provision in NHS facilities.
Edward Argar:
[Holding answer 23 June 2020]: The Department is not aware of any assessment of
the level of need for period product provision in National Health Service facilities
having been undertaken.
However, NHS England announced in March 2019 that providers of NHS-funded
inpatient hospital services will offer period products to every hospital in-patient who
needs them (including for long-term inpatients)
This is under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract.
Nurses: Students
Olivia Blake: [60894]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many student nurses in (a)
Yorkshire and Humber and (b) the UK were given paid placements in the NHS as part of
recruitment measures to address the covid-19 crisis; and what proportion of those
placements will end on or before 31 July 2020.
Helen Whately:
[Holding answer 22 June 2020]: As at 29 May 2020, 26,355 nursing and midwifery
students had opted into paid placement as part of the COVID-19 call to arms.
Student placement numbers are not available by region.
Year 3 students will be paid until at least 31 July 2020. Any Year 3 student who still
has hours to complete will be paid until September to allow them to do this.
Any year 2 students on placement until 31 July will be paid and after this, normal non-
paid placements will be re-introduced along with Year 1 students.
Postnatal Care: Coronavirus
Munira Wilson: [60870]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assesssment his
Department has made of the effect of covid-19 outbreak on the (a) physical health, (b)
mental health, and (c) safety of new mothers.
Ms Nadine Dorries:
[Holding answer 22 June 2020]: The Government is working closely with research
programmes learning from cases of pregnant women and new mothers with COVID-
19 to be able to respond quickly and appropriately.
To promote the safety of pregnant women during this pandemic, NHS England and
NHS Improvement have developed guidance for the temporary reorganisation of
intrapartum maternity care, launched a ‘Help Us to Help You’ communications
campaign to encourage women to contact their midwife whenever they have any
concerns, and is supporting the increase in virtual appointments with initiatives such
as distributing 16,000 blood pressure monitors for pregnant women with hypertension
to use at home. National Health Service specialist perinatal mental health services
remain very much open for business and for those with severe needs or in crisis, all
NHS mental health trusts have been instructed to establish 24 hours a day, seven
days a week mental health crisis lines.
Protective Clothing: Coronavirus
Tim Farron: [48378]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of
the number of civil servants working on procurement of personal protective equipment for
(a) the NHS, (b) social care settings and (c) workplaces where employees are required to
be physically present for work during the covid-19 outbreak.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 2 June 2020]: As set out in the ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal
protective equipment (PPE) plan’ published on 10 April, we have taken a centralised
approach to the procurement of PPE, to limit the potential for different parts of the
health and social care sector to compete against each other and push prices up
further
The Government has set up a cross-Government PPE sourcing unit, now staffed by
over 400 people, to secure new supply lines from across the world and has published
rigorous standards against which purchases will be made.
Ruth Jones: [57364]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of personal
protective equipment procured by the Government during the covid-19 outbreak has been
manufactured by UK businesses.
Jo Churchill:
There has been limited domestic manufacture of personal protective equipment
(PPE) to date. Lord Deighton is leading the Government effort to unleash the
potential of British industry to manufacture PPE for the health and social care sectors.
We have identified opportunities and sourced new supply channels for materials to
make PPE at pace, enabling new manufacturing to commence. The Government is
also working to support the scale-up of engineering efforts for small companies
capable of contributing to supplies.
The Government has signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE
through United Kingdom-based manufacturers, including aprons, facemasks, visors
and gowns and has already taken delivery of products from new, certified UK
manufacturers. These will contribute to the national effort to meet the unprecedented
demand for PPE.
Protective Clothing: Imports
Gareth Thomas: [37411]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of the (a)
Chinese and (b) Indian companies selling medical (i) surgical gowns, (ii) masks and (iii)
other personal protection equipment that her Department has visited to source such
supplies for the UK during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Jo Churchill:
A cross-Government personal protective equipment (PPE) sourcing unit, staffed by
over 400 people, is securing new supply lines from across the world and has
published rigorous standards against which purchases will be made. Department for
International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Office teams around the
world are seeking new supplies, lobbying governments to lift export restrictions and
getting crucial deliveries back to the United Kingdom.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in particular the embassy in Beijing, have
supported us in relation to procurement activity in China. However, we do not hold
records centrally of visits made by local Department for International Development or
Foreign and Commonwealth Office official to individual suppliers of PPE in either
China or India.
Protective Clothing: Manufacturing Industries
Rachel Hopkins: [38984]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has
had with the British companies manufacturing personal protective equipment for
European countries on the production of that equipment for the UK.
Jo Churchill:
We have allowed personal protective equipment (PPE) exports by private companies
where such exports do not undermine the level of PPE within the United Kingdom,
and no PPE has been issued from pandemic supplies to other countries.
Lord Deighton is leading the Government effort by British industry to manufacture
PPE. The Government is currently in contact with over 350 potential UK
manufacturers and has signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE
through UK-based manufacturers. More new manufacturers are expected to commit
to producing PPE in the coming weeks.
Rachael Maskell: [39578]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many UK companies he
has commissioned to manufacture (a) ffp2 and (b) ffp3 masks since 1 March 2020; and
what the average weekly output of those manufacturers is for each mask type.
Jo Churchill:
The Government announced on 15 May that more than 70 million FFP2 and FFP3
face masks will be manufactured in the United Kingdom and delivered to frontline
health and care workers following an agreement with global technology company
Honeywell. Production will begin as early as July and up to 4.5 million masks will be
produced each month. Honeywell will produce 60% FFP3 and 40% FFP2 masks, but
these percentages are moveable depending on requirements. Honeywell will produce
more than 70 million face masks, creating 450 new jobs.
Protective Clothing: Procurement
Andrew Rosindell: [39490]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to
reduce the time taken to (a) respond to and (b) process offers to supply personal
protective equipment from (i) British and (ii) foreign suppliers.
Andrew Rosindell: [39492]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion
of offers to supply personal protective equipment during the covid-19 outbreak have been
responded to within (a) 24 hours and (b) a week in the lastest period for which figures are
available.
Jo Churchill:
All offers receive an immediate automated response and follow up contact once the
team have assessed the offer.
We are identifying new sources of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) from
overseas markets, diversifying the United Kingdom’s sources of supply and
strengthening the UK’s supply chains for the long term.
Department for International Trade and Foreign and Commonwealth Office teams
around the world are seeking new supplies, lobbying governments to lift export
restrictions and helping get crucial deliveries back to the UK.
The Government has processed over 23,000 cases from over 15,000 suppliers and
has contracted with 150 of them. In addition, we are in contact with over 350 potential
manufacturers and have signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE
through UK-based manufacturers. More new manufacturers are expected to commit
to producing PPE in the coming weeks.
Beth Winter: [44057]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) quantity and (b) types
of personal protective equipment the Government has procured from the 3M factory in
Darlington.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 12 May 2020]: We do not hold that information as our contracts with
existing manufacturers, such as 3M, do not normally specify in which factory they are
made. Lord Deighton is leading efforts to increase the domestic supply of personal
protective equipment (PPE). Contracts have been signed for over 2 billion items of
PPE through United Kingdom-based manufacturers, including facemasks, visors,
gowns and aprons.
Helen Hayes: [49071]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of
the (a) value of Government PPE procurement contracts and (b) proportion of personal
protective equipment orders fulfilled in each year since 2016.
Helen Hayes: [49072]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the value was of
Government PPE procurement contracts for each country supplier; and what proportion
of personal protective equipment orders were fulfilled in the 2018-19 financial year.
Helen Hayes: [49073]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of
the (a) amount and (b) value of outstanding Government personal protective equipment
procurement contracts.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 2 June 2020]: There are a number of channels by which personal
protective equipment (PPE) is sourced by National Health Service providers. This
includes sourcing it independently as well as provision through a central procurement
model for a number of years. During the period covered by this question, the NHS
Supply Chain created in 2006 underwent a restructuring in April 2018 with the
creation of Supply Chain Coordination.
Furthermore in March 2020 a new dedicated unit was set up to focus on securing
supplies of PPE. This unit identified PPE suppliers from across the globe to meet the
increasing demand for a growing list of PPE products. We have now contracted with
over 150 suppliers able to deliver at the scale and pace the United Kingdom requires.
The multiple channels, changes to structures, administrative practices and routes to
source PPE mean that meaningful comparable figures for the years specified are not
available.
Robert Largan: [52619]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will undertake a review of
how NHS procurement rules could be changed to benefit domestic manufacturing of
personal protective equipment.
Jo Churchill:
Lord Deighton is leading the Government effort to unleash the potential of British
industry to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) for the health and
social care sectors. This will build on the manufacturing opportunities the
Government has already identified and contribute to the national effort to meet the
unprecedented demand. The Government is also working to support the scale-up of
engineering efforts for small companies capable of contributing to supplies. The
Government have now signed contracts for over 2 billion items of PPE through United
Kingdom-based manufacturers, including aprons, facemasks, visors, gowns and
aprons, ensuring we build and maintain a domestic base for the future.
Protective Clothing: Shops
Catherine West: [59240]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his
Department has made of the potential merits of making mandatory the use of face
coverings in shops in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 17 June 2020]: From Monday 15 June passengers must wear a
face covering when travelling on public transport in England by bus, coach, tram,
ferry, hovercraft, cable car, aircraft and domestic and international train.
Guidance remains to work from home if you can and avoid public transport where
possible, but face coverings can help people protect one another in environments
when social distancing is more difficult.
The Government has considered the potential merits of making face coverings
mandatory in public places, such as shops. However, as the Secretary of State for
Transport set out last week, the difference is that in a shop you may pass somebody
but for a short period of time. However, on public transport you could be next to
somebody for a long period of time. The guidance for shops is to not let the shop
become overcrowded and to put measures in place to help maintain social
distancing, but we do not have the same environment for public transport. Our
guidance remains that we advise people to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces
where social distancing is not possible, this could include indoor crowded areas such
as some shops.
Public Health: Coronavirus
Thangam Debbonaire: [57249]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government has
taken to ensure that health guidance on covid-19 for people with underlying conditions
has been made available in community languages.
Jo Churchill:
Public Health England provides health guidance for the public on households with
possible COVID-19 infection and shielding advice for COVID-19 for people with
underlying health conditions. This information has been translated into the following
languages: Bengali, French, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian,
Simplified Chinese - Mandarin, Traditional Chinese - Cantonese, Urdu and Welsh.
Public Health: Expenditure
Afzal Khan: [57353]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent from
ring-fenced public health budgets in each year since 2012.
Jo Churchill:
The following table shows the ring-fenced grant in each year since inception in
2013/14, together with the movement in public health reserves each year (the amount
unspent). Data for 2012 are not available as the grant has only been in existence
since 2013/14.
Spend from the ring-fenced public health budgets, 2013/14 – 2018/19
YEAR
RING-FENCED GRANT
(£ BILLION)
MOVEMENT ON
RESERVES CARRIED /
FORWARD (£ BILLION)
NET SPEND FROM
GRANT IN THE YEAR (£
BILLION)
2013-14 2.66 0.21 2.46
2014-15 2.79 0.11 2.68
2015-16 3.03 -0.06 3.09
2016-17 3.39 -0.01 3.40
2017-18 3.30 -0.01 3.31
2018-19 3.22 0.00 3.22
Total 18.40 0.24 18.16
Notes:
1. 2019/20 data has not yet been published.
2. The grant was increased on 1 September 2015 to include public health spend on
Children’s 0-5.
3. The above figures include Manchester local authorities who have received their
grant through a Business Rates Retention pilot since 2017/18.
4. These data are published at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-
financing
Social Services: Coronavirus
Munira Wilson: [53634]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which suppliers the
Government has contracts with to provide personal protective equipment to social care
providers.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 8 June 2020]: The Government has massively expanded both our
supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) from overseas and our domestic
manufacturing capability.
The Government has contracted with over 100 new suppliers able to deliver at the
scale and pace the United Kingdom requires and is building up UK manufacturing
with signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE through UK-based
manufacturers, including facemasks, visors, gowns and aprons. This includes
companies such as: Survitec; Bolle; Jaguar Land Rover; Don & Low; and Burberry.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Nusinersen
Sir Christopher Chope: [57898]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many sufferers of spinal
muscular atrophy have not yet received the drug spinraza for which they are eligible
following the decision of NICE; and if he will make a statement.
Jo Churchill:
[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: As at June 2020, the number of patients receiving
Spinraza for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy treatment is 162. NHS England
and NHS Improvement do not hold information on the number of eligible patients who
have not yet received the drug Spinraza.
The National Institute for Health and Social Care and NHS England and NHS
Improvement took advice from clinical experts and reviewed the potential impact of
COVID-19 on the delivery of Spinraza. As a result, there may be a delay for adult
patients who have not yet been assessed. Access to treatment will resume once the
current restrictions and limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted.
HOME OFFICE
Action Fraud
Rehman Chishti: [27627]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken
to improve Action Fraud's performance.
James Brokenshire:
As the National Lead Force for fraud, the City of London Police (CoLP) are
responsible for the performance of the Action Fraud service. Together with the City of
London Corporation, CoLP commissioned an independent review led by Sir Craig
Mackey QPM into the standards, culture and management of Action Fraud. The
findings and recommendations of that review were published on 24th January:
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/Pages/police-authority.aspx
Working with the City of London Corporation, the NCA and Home Office, the City of
London Police will address Sir Craig’s recommendations regarding Action Fraud and
the NFIB.
In addition, as part of the 20/21 police funding settlement, City of London Police
received additional funding to allow them to recruit additional staff for the Action
Fraud call centre. Despite the current challenging circumstances, work has continued
to recruit and develop remote training for these additional staff at pace.
Asylum: Coronavirus
Stuart C McDonald: [61728]
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department, pursuant to to the Answer of 7 May
2020 to Question 42081 on Asylum: Detention Centres and the Answer of 19 May 2020
to Question 46686 on Asylum: Housing, if he will publish the guidance issue by Public
Health England to the Home Office that informed (a) the decision on 27 March 2020 to
pause asylum support cessations and evictions and (b) the current review of this pause to
be completed by end of June 2020.
Chris Philp:
We have been working closely with National and Local health Colleagues throughout
the pandemic to inform our approach. PHE guidance focused initially on the
provision to self-isolate and social distance and, in the review, to follow MHCLG
guidance in relation to moving home and social bubbles which was supported by
PHE. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-
coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak and - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-
from-outside-your-household.
We also sought specific advice in relation to the pause of asylum support cessations
and the subsequent review.
Asylum: Finance
Liz Saville Roberts: [61747]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure
that (a) Asylum Support rates receive a £20 covid-related uplift in line with universal credit
and (b) backdate that uplift to March 2020; and if she will make it her policy to reinstate
asylum support to at least 70 per cent of mainstream income support.
Chris Philp:
We have been reviewing the level of the cash allowances provided to asylum seekers
who would otherwise be destitute, as we do each year to ensure that they remain
capable of meeting their essential living needs.
As a result of this work, the standard allowance has been raised to £39.60 per week
from £37.75 per week, an increase of around 5%. This increase is significantly higher
than the current general rate of inflation, which Office of National Statistics data
shows was only 0.5% in the 12 months period to May.
The level of the allowance is not linked to social security benefits.
In addition to the allowance, we also provide free accommodation, with utilities and
council tax paid for and there is free access to the NHS and free access to education
for their children.
The UK has a generous record in supporting asylum seekers. Last year, we made
around 20,000 grants of asylum or protection (one of the higher figures in Europe), as
well as offered protection to 3,000 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children – the
highest number of any country in Europe. In addition, we have directly resettled
around 20,000 people from the most dangerous areas of the world (especially
Syrians) in the UK over the last 5 years. Finally, we spend around £14 billion per year
in Overseas Aid, helping millions of people around the world. This is the highest
amount of any country in Europe and we are the only G7 country to meet the 0.7% of
GNI Overseas Aid target
Asylum: Interviews
Daniel Zeichner: [59790]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when asylum seeker interviews
that have been put on hold in response to the covid-19 outbreak will restart.
Chris Philp:
Asylum Operations have secured a digital solution that can support remote
interviewing and are working with delivery partners to enable the use of this
technology. Asylum Ops remain committed to restarting substantive asylum
interviews as soon as they can establish a process that allows the participants -
applicants, representatives, interpreters and interviewers - to do so safely.
British Nationality: Assessments
Patrick Grady: [62495]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17
June 2020 to Question 57247 on British Nationality: Assessments, how long after testing
resumes will applications for indefinite leave continue to be held.
Kevin Foster:
We have plans in place to conclude applications in process as quickly as possible
once customers submit their certificates. Once test centres are fully reopened and
services have resumed to a level where they can again meet demand, we expect that
customers will submit their certificates within a reasonable timescale.
Counter-terrorism
Yasmin Qureshi: [23626]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to clause 20 of
the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, whether a timetable has been
agreed for the (a) application, (b) interview and (c) appointment process to appoint a
reviewer for the Prevent programme in order to achieve the 18-month timeframe set by
that statute.
James Brokenshire:
The Government is committed to the Independent Review of Prevent and launched a
full and open recruitment competition to appoint the next Independent Reviewer of
Prevent on 27 April 2020. Applications closed on 22 June 2020. Interviews are due to
take place in July. The successful candidate will be announced in due course.
We have included in the Counter Terrorism and Sentencing Bill a measure to remove
the existing statutory deadline for the Review set out in the Counter Terrorism and
Border Security Act 2019 while maintaining the legislative commitment to undertake
it. This is to ensure that the new Reviewer has sufficient time to complete the Review.
The Government aims for the Review to be completed by August 2021.
Counter-terrorism: Local Government
Neil Coyle: [59484]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all Prevent strategy
projects commissioned by local authorities are also directly approved by her Department.
James Brokenshire:
To help monitor the impact, effectiveness and value for money of local Prevent
delivery, local authorities in receipt of Home Office Prevent funding submit quarterly
returns to the Home Office. These provide evidence of local Prevent activities,
outcomes, issues and expenditure. These returns are not publicly available.
Death Certificates: Ethnic Groups
Sarah Owen: [62647]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has
to include ethnicity on death certificates.
Kevin Foster:
The statistical information currently recorded in a death registration (and
subsequently on certificates) is determined by the Office for National Statistics and
prescribed by law. There are currently no plans to record ethnicity.
Immigrants: Finance
Fleur Anderson: [62713]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what covid-19 related funding
and support is available to people with Leave to Remain.
Chris Philp:
The Government has published advice and information about the support available to
migrants with Leave to Remain during the coronavirus pandemic:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-
living-in-the-uk.
Most migrants with Leave to Remain in the UK are subject to no recourse to public
funds (NRPF). Successive governments have set the threshold for migrants
qualifying for public funds at Indefinite Leave to Remain, reflecting the strength of
connection to the UK of those who hold this status. However, many of the measures
introduced to support people through the coronavirus pandemic, including the
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and protections for renters, are available to those
with NRPF.
Individuals whose basis of stay in the UK is based on their family life or human rights
can apply to have the NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’
application if there are exceptional circumstances in their case relating to financial
circumstances.
Migrant Workers: Doctors
Abena Oppong-Asare: [62693]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date she plans to
commence the NHS surcharge exemption for migrant doctors.
Kevin Foster:
The Government is committed to introducing the NHS surcharge exemption as soon
as practicable.
The Prime Minister has confirmed that health and care staff who have paid the fee
since 21 May will be refunded.
Police: Stop and Search
Mike Amesbury: [62580]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many notices have been
issued by police forces in England under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public
Order Act 1994 in each of the (a) last three months for which such information is available
and (b) corresponding three months in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2018.
Kit Malthouse:
The Home Office is currently collecting information on authorisations made under
section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and the data will be
published in due course.
The Home Office routinely collects and publishes statistics on the number of stop and
searches under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Data
are published annually in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’
statistical bulletin, the latest of which can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-
and-wales
The next bulletin is due to be published in October 2020.
Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships
Steve Reed: [62440]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department
has issued to local authorities on the reopening of registry offices to enable people who
wish to marry to formally give notice.
Kevin Foster:
The local registration service in England and Wales has been advised that notices of
intention to marry or form a civil partnership can be taken where these can be safely
delivered in line with public health and local authority guidelines.
Slavery: Detainees
Paul Blomfield: [62421]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to
regularly publish data on the number of victims of modern slavery in immigration
detention.
Chris Philp:
The Home Office currently publishes a range of data on immigration detention. This
covers people detained under immigration powers and includes information such as
nationality, age, sex, place and length of detention, cost of detention, pregnancy in
detention and reports made by a medical practitioner under rule 35 of the Detention
Centre Rules 2001.
Following the then Home Secretary’s statement in Parliament in July 2018, which
committed to publishing more data on immigration detention, the Home Office have
since been undertaking a review. This review is still ongoing and will consider all
elements of data important to the Home Office and the Public.
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Affordable Housing: Construction
Tim Farron: [62365]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
plans he has for the funding of the Affordable Homes Programme.
Christopher Pincher:
The Government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has
made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to
deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range of tenures,
including Social Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy.
Building on this, we announced at Budget 2020 that we are investing £12 billion to
build affordable homes between 2021/22 and 2025/26. This will be the biggest cash
investment in affordable housing for a decade.
This new 5-year investment will deliver additional affordable housing, help people to
own their own home, and build social rent homes to help families and those most at
risk of homelessness in areas of the country where affordability pressure is acute. A
mix of different tenures is vital to meet the needs of a wide range of people, and to
allow the sector to build the right homes in the right places.
Evictions: Coronavirus
Caroline Lucas: [61459]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will
make it his policy to extend the ban on evictions for commercial tenants who miss rent
payments during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Christopher Pincher:
On 19 June, the Government announced the extension of the moratorium on
commercial lease forfeitures, as well as extensions to other measures protecting
tenants for a further three months. These measures will provide businesses with the
certainty they need as they begin to reopen.
The announcement confirms that in order to protect tenant businesses during this
period government:
• Has extended until 30 September the moratorium on forfeitures of commercial
lease.
• Will temporarily limit the use of statutory demands (made after 1 March 2020) and
winding up petitions (presented from Monday 27 April) until 30 September.
• Has also extended limits on use of Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery to 30
September, and increased the threshold of rent owed before CRAR can be used to
189 days.
Government also published a Code of Practice for the commercial property sector in
collaboration with key representative bodies. The Code will reinforce and promote
good practice amongst landlords and tenants as they deal with the issues caused by
COVID-19.
Funerals: Coronavirus
Zarah Sultana: [62651]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
steps his Department is taking to support local authorities to provide live-streaming of
funerary services during the covid-19 outbreak.
Mr Simon Clarke:
It is only right that families have a final opportunity to pay their last respects to those
they love at this incredibly difficult time. On 17 April I sent a letter to local authorities
outlining how they can develop safe and sensitive ways for funerals to take place,
including live streaming and deferred memorial services. On 18 April, £1.6 billion of
funding was also made available to support local authorities with the costs of
responding to COVID-19, including costs associated with death management. This
funding will support councils to continue to deliver innovative solutions which make
funerals accessible to the bereaved, where they cannot physically attend.
High Rise Flats: Insulation
Apsana Begum: [61614]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which 20
buildings with ACM cladding systems in Tower Hamlets were identified as unlikely to
meet Building Regulations yet to be remediated in the Government’s monthly Building
Safety Update statistics, published on 11 June 2020.
Christopher Pincher:
We are unable to publish any individual building data, including the names of the
buildings in Tower Hamlets with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building
Regulations that are yet to be remediated. This reflects the position of the
Government not to reveal the identity of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe
ACM cladding systems on public safety grounds.
Homelessness: Coronavirus
Tim Farron: [62362]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether
he plans to allocate additional funding to local housing authorities to help those
authorities procure accommodation for (a) rough sleepers and (b) homeless people and
families as part of the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Luke Hall:
On 24 May we announced radical plans to provide thousands of long-term, safe
homes for vulnerable rough sleepers taken off the streets during this pandemic. This
commitment will be backed by £160 million this year through accelerating plans for
the £381 million announced for rough sleeping services at Budget, bringing the total
to £433 million over the lifetime of this parliament. The Government is increasing the
revenue support of the total programme by 37 per cent to make sure that the rough
sleepers have the support they need to stay off the streets for good. This funding will
support up to 6,000 rough sleepers into longer term accommodation, with 3,300 units
of this accommodation becoming available in the next 12 months. Homes England, in
partnership with MHCLG, have pledged to work hand-in-hand with leading housing
associations and local authorities to deliver this.
On 24 June an additional £105 million was announced for local authorities to enable
them to best support the c15,000 people placed into emergency accommodation
during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is on top of the £433 million announced
on the 24 May. Together, these funding streams will enable us to deliver a
comprehensive Next Steps and Recover Strategy which will support thousands of
individuals to stay safe during the pandemic and ultimately to turn their lives around.
Further detailed information on the process to allocate funding is being co-produced
with partners and will be published in due course.
Both before and during the pandemic the Government has also put in place
significant funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over 2020/21,
including:
• £112 million was allocated this year for the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI), an
increase of £26 million on 2019/20 funding. We will work with areas to consider
how the RSI work will change to reflect the different levels of need and response
needed as a result of COVID-19.
• £3.2 billion has been provided to support councils to respond to the coronavirus
pandemic, which includes providing support for vulnerable rough sleepers.
• This is in addition to £3.2 million in targeted funding for councils to support
vulnerable rough sleepers.
For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments are
available. There is already £180 million in Discretionary Housing Payments available
for local authorities to distribute for supporting renters with housing costs in 2020/21
including an additional £40 million to tackle affordability pressures in the private
rented sector. We have increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal
Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that they are set at the 30th percentile of
market rents. This is an important policy that will benefit 1.6 million people.
Housing Occupancy: Coronavirus
Shabana Mahmood: [57940]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on financial support for
people living in multi-generational households who may be unable to return to work as
covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Christopher Pincher:
[Holding answer 15 June 2020]: The Secretary of State regularly meets with the
Chancellor to discuss the Government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We
have set out an unprecedented package of financial support to help the country
through the coronavirus pandemic, and multi-generational households are able to
access these, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Self
Employed Income Support package and Statutory Sick Pay. This support continues
to be provided, with the CJRS running until the end of October. The Government has
also confirmed an additional £63 million for local authorities to help those who are
struggling financially due to the impact of COVID-19. This will allow authorities to step
in and provide discretionary financial help to those facing severe hardship due to
covid-19 and help them to pay for food and other necessities.
Housing: Construction
Mary Glindon: [60753]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will
make the accessible and adaptable standard M4(2) Category 2 the mandatory baseline
for all new homes.
Christopher Pincher:
Government will consult shortly on accessibility of new homes. The consultation will
consider making higher accessibility standards mandatory, recognising the
importance of suitable homes for older and disabled people.
Tim Farron: [62363]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
estimate his Department has made of the (a) potential number and (b) redundancies to
date in the residential construction sector due to the reduction in housebuilding during the
covid-19 outbreak.
Christopher Pincher:
The ONS publishes survey data on a fortnightly basis on the proportion of the
construction workforce that has been furloughed, off sick owing to coronavirus, or
made redundant. Data for the housing construction subsector is not available.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/datasets/bus
inessimpactofcovid19surveybicsresults
The Government has put in place a number of measures to support the construction
industry during the response to COVID-19. Many construction firms have made use
of the Job Retention Scheme for their employees and apprentices, alongside
Government-backed loans and tax holidays.
It remains as important as ever to invest in the skilled workforce to build the homes
this country needs. My department is working with the Department for Business,
Energy and the Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education, and the
Construction Industry Training Board to support the industry to continue to recruit and
train during this time.
Housing: Coronavirus
Thangam Debbonaire: [60811]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
assessment his Department has made of the need for free specialist housing rights
advice as a result of the economic consequences of the covid-19 outbreak.
Luke Hall:
We understand that COVID-19 will have had an impact on people and their housing.
This is why we have published guidance for people to navigate through this difficult
time. There are also existing routes for people to get support on housing
Leaseholders may benefit from seeking free initial advice via the Leasehold Advisory
Service (LEASE), the specialist advisory body funded by the Department to provide
assistance to leaseholders. Information on leasehold matters can be provided
through the website ( https://www.lease-advice.org/ ), via a telephone appointment
with one of LEASE’s advisers (020 7832 2500) or by email ( [email protected] ).
Social and private renters can contact Citizens Advice or Shelter for free, impartial
advice about their housing rights. Individuals who are eligible for legal aid may also
contact Civil Legal Advice for free and confidential advice.
Immigrants: Finance
Stephen Timms: [62253]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant
to the Answer of 16 June 2020 to Question 903194 on Immigrants: Finance, what funding
streams local authorities are permitted to use to offer financial support to people with no
recourse to public funds; and if he will make a statement.
Luke Hall:
No recourse to public funds (NRPF) is a condition imposed on someone due to their
immigration status. Section 115 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 states that a
person will have ‘no recourse to public funds’ if they are ‘subject to immigration
control’
A person with NRPF is prohibited from accessing specified benefits and public
housing. These are set out in section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
More information is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-funds--2/public-funds.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Faculty
Sarah Olney: [61554]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
procurement process was undertaken before the award of contracts to Faculty Science
Ltd; what work that company has been contracted to provide; and for how long that
company will use the personal data it has been granted access to.
Luke Hall:
The contract with Faculty was awarded following a robust selection process through
the Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud Digital Marketplace in line with its
published processes, further details of which can be found at:
www.gov.uk/guidance/g-cloud-buyers-guide.
The company has been awarded a call-off contract for the provision of data science
services, more specifically helping the Department to analyse data in real time
allowing it to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on local communities and respond to
emerging issues at pace. In line with the legal obligations under the Framework
Agreement, Faculty must stop using any data they have been granted access to as
part of this contract when the contract expires.
Social Rented Housing: Construction
Tim Farron: [62364]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of the construction of
social housing to the economic recovery of the UK after the covid-19 outbreak.
Christopher Pincher:
The delivery of new social housing will contribute to economic recovery, in particular
by supporting construction activity. The Government is committed to increasing the
supply of social housing in view of the social and economic benefits this will generate.
We have made £9 billion available through the Affordable Homes Programme to
March 2022 to deliver approximately 250,000 new affordable homes in a wide range
of tenures, including Social Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy. We
announced at Budget that we will invest £12 billion to build affordable homes
between 2021/22 and 2025/26 – the biggest cash investment in affordable housing
for a decade.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
China: Overseas Aid
Preet Kaur Gill: [62554]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official
Development Assistance her Department has spent in China in each of the last five
years.
Nigel Adams:
The Department for International Development (DFID) does not spend Official
Development Aid (ODA) bilaterally in China, nor has it done in any of the last five
years. China does, however, receive ODA through multilateral institutions that DFID
provides core funding to. The Statistics on International Development (SID) provides
data on this at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm
ent_data/file/878406/Table-A10-7April2020.ods
Department for International Development: Reorganisation
Anna McMorrin: [62561]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has
made of the potential effect of merging her Department with the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office on the UK’s ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by
2030.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan:
The UK remains committed to the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs will
play an important role in post-COVID-19 recovery, recognising the connection
between healthy lives, healthy societies and a healthy environment. As the Prime
Minister affirmed on 28 May, we owe it to future generations to build back better,
basing our recovery on a fairer, greener and more resilient global economy, and to
get our shared goals back on track, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
India: Overseas Aid
Preet Kaur Gill: [62556]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official
Development Assistance her Department has spent in India in each of the last five years.
Nigel Adams:
The Department for International Development (DFID) invests in and partners with
India to promote prosperity, reduce poverty and address climate change, while
generating returns and creating trade, investment and other partnership opportunities
for the UK.
Financial Aid to India ended in 2015. DFID deploys technical assistance and
expertise to stimulate mutual prosperity and generate new markets. DFID uses
Development Capital Investment to invest in Indian companies, alongside co-
investment from Indian Government bodies, with the returns coming back to HMG in
due course. Thus far £63.43 million has been returned.
In the past five years DFID has spent the following amounts in India. Data for 2019
will be published in the Autumn.
2015 2016 2017 2018
Technical
Assistance
£86,757,207 £32,092,840 £22,164,717 £23,518,884
Development
Capital
Investment
£33,606,105 £22,115,930 £25,526,321 £21,812,215
Financial Aid £30,027,560 £0 £0 £0
Total £150,390,872 £54,208,770 £47,691,038 £45,331,099
India also receives ODA through multilateral institutions to whom DFID provides core
funding. Information on all UK ODA spend is published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-
development/about/statistics.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Food: Imports
Alex Davies-Jones: [62700]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of
the need to introduce a trade, food and farming standards commission to ensure food
imports continue to meet existing UK food standards after the transition period.
Mr Ranil Jayawardena:
The approach of HM Government to food standards in trade deals is clear. We
remain firmly committed to upholding our high environmental, food safety and animal
welfare standards. Having left the EU, we will decide how we set and maintain our
own laws, standards and regulations. We will remain global leaders in environmental
protection and animal welfare standards, maintaining the high-quality of our produce
for consumers at home and overseas.
The United Kingdom’s food standards, for both domestic production and imports, are
overseen by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland. These
agencies provide independent advice to HM Government and the devolved
administration in Scotland respectively. They will continue to do so in order to ensure
that all food imports comply with the United Kingdom’s high standards.
Decisions on our standards are a matter for the United Kingdom and will be made
separately from any trade agreement. HM Government will stand firm in trade
negotiations to make sure that any future trade deals live up to the values of farmers
and consumers across the United Kingdom.
Trade Agreements
Sarah Olney: [62548]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure
(a) ethical and (b) resilient supply chains are prioritised in (i) her Department's policies
and (ii) future trade agreements.
Sarah Olney: [62549]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will take steps to ensure that
the UK is a global champion of (a) ethical trade and (b) doing business with integrity.
Sarah Olney: [62550]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure
that supply chains are free of slavery and human trafficking in new trade deals.
Mr Ranil Jayawardena:
The United Kingdom is a trading nation and global value chains drive prosperity,
through specialisation, innovation and cheaper products.
We will continue to work with business to fully understand global supply chains that
they are part of – and the opportunities to build in further resilience for the future. Our
future trade agreement programme will reduce barriers to trading with new markets,
and help provide more resilience in doing so. Alongside this, the United Kingdom will
tirelessly fight protectionism and unfair trade practices, including through the G20 and
in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Britain’s values are clear. We are committed to working with international partners
and businesses to tackle modern slavery in global supply chains, as HM Government
believes it is vital that trade is not based on the exploitation nor abuse of workers.
JUSTICE
Judiciary: Training
Sir Edward Davey: [62266]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is provided to the judicary on
supporting people in court with learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement.
Chris Philp:
Responsibility for judicial training rests with the Lord Chief Justice and with the Senior
President of Tribunals and is exercised through the Judicial College.
To preserve judicial independence, the judiciary and professional staff in the Judicial
College are responsible for the design, content, and delivery of judicial training.
The Judicial College provides training on vulnerable litigants including those with
learning disabilities for judges and magistrates sitting in criminal, family and youth
courts. In addition, the Equal Treatment Bench Book contains specific guidance for
the judiciary on how to identify and accommodate court users with learning
disabilities.
Legal Aid Scheme: Companies
Karl Turner: [R] [62409]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential
merits of amending the Standard Monthly Payments received by legal aid firms to support
those firms during the covid-19 outbreak.
Karl Turner: [R] [62410]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of
the covid-19 outbreak on the number of housing legal aid providers.
Karl Turner: [R] [62411]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential
merits of allowing legal aid firms to bill more than twice in 12 months for money owed on
cases.
Alex Chalk:
Firms can elect to be paid by either Standard or Variable Monthly Payments,
according to which model may be most advantageous to them. The MoJ continues to
review the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on legal aid providers and to
consider what more might be done to support them. The Legal Aid Agency has
published the details of the current options for financial relief available to providers
during the COVID-19 outbreak at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-relief-for-
legal-aid-practitioners.
The number of active housing legal aid providers is published by the Legal Aid
Agency online, and has remained largely static since the beginning of the COVID-19
outbreak. The outbreak has affected the volume of work available to housing legal aid
firms, and we are closely monitoring this impact.
At present housing advice is available at 434 offices in England and Wales. The
volume of providers holding legal aid contracts at any given time is subject to change
due to market forces and other factors. From March to the present date, 7 offices in
total have ceased to provide housing services, due to reasons not specifically
associated with the effects of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Justice held a consultation on increasing the number of requests for
payment on account that may be made per year. The consultation closed on 16 June
2020, and the limit will be increased from two to four permissible within a twelve-
month period. This will be implemented once the necessary updates to infrastructure
are completed, and the impact of this change will be kept under review.
Legal Ombudsman
Zarah Sultana: [62649]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department ensures that the office of
the Legal Ombudsman does not discriminate against people suffering from mental health
issues during the decision making process.
Alex Chalk:
The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is an arm’s length body – which administers
the Legal Ombudsman scheme (LeO) – and makes decisions in relation to cases
considered under the scheme independently of, and without influence from, the
Ministry of Justice.
We are aware that LeO staff receive training on reasonable adjustments and have
Dedicated Vulnerable Customers Champions to identify customers who may need
additional assistance or reasonable adjustments to access its service. This includes
adjustments for mental health reasons.
The OLC also has a service complaints process, of which the last stage is escalation
to the Service Complaint Adjudicator who is appointed by the Board and independent
of the OLC.
Legal Profession: Disclosure of Information
Zarah Sultana: [62650]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of
the prevalence of use of non-disclosure agreements by legal professionals; and what
steps his department is taking to help ensure that non-disclosure agreements are not
misused.
Alex Chalk:
The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government and legal
professionals are regulated by a number of regulators including the Solicitors
Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Legal professionals
must comply with a detailed Code of Conduct, which ensures that high standards of
conduct are met.
The SRA has issued guidance via a warning notice to all regulated individuals and
entities on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The SRA warning notice
confirms that they consider NDAs to be improperly used if they prevent a person from
reporting misconduct, making a protected disclosure, reporting an offence or
cooperating with criminal activity. The SRA has also been taking enforcement action
against solicitors over the misuse of NDAs.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its
response to views on consultation on confidentiality clauses. This proposes new
legislation to further protect consumers in the provision of such legal services and
deter rogue practice.
Ministry of Justice: Renewable Energy
Sir Edward Davey: [60666]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) solar panels and (b) wind
turbines have been installed on each of the buildings on his Department's estate in each
of the last five years.
Chris Philp:
The Ministry of Justice is committed to reducing its carbon emissions on a trajectory
to Net Zero by 2050 or sooner; and has already reduced its total emissions by 44%
by 2019-20 compared to 2009-10.
Renewable energy generation will be a key part of the Ministry’s Net Zero Carbon
Strategy. We have purchased 977 solar panels in 2019 and 1307 in 2020 for
installation in 2020-21; and have firm plans to generate even more renewable energy
over the next two years. Surveys at 100 prisons will be completed this financial year
to identify the best opportunities for future installation of renewable technologies.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice installed solar panels at three sites in 2015, 2016
and 2019; and a wind turbine at one site in 2018. Solar panels or wind turbines are
installed at a further 12 sites on the Department’s estate, but these were fitted prior to
the period in question.
Prisoners' Release
Daisy Cooper: [61807]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure
the adequate provision of (a) accommodation and (b) support for prisoners on release.
Lucy Frazer:
Everyone leaving prison should have somewhere safe and secure to live;
accommodation enables offenders to hold down a job and reduces the likelihood of
them reoffending.
We have invested an additional £22m per annum over the remaining life of the
Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contracts to deliver an enhanced Through
the Gate resettlement service to people leaving prison to prepare them for release.
The enhanced service includes the requirement that CRCs complete specific,
tailored, tasks to help prisoners to secure and maintain settled accommodation, gain
employment and manage debt and their financial affairs. During the Covid period
most of this support is being provided remotely. After a prison sentence, service
users are supervised and supported by Probation Officers in the Community.
As part of its Covid-19 pandemic response, Her Majesty Prison and Probation
Service (HMPPS) have set up seven Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPTs) to
coordinate the sourcing of accommodation for those offenders released early, in
order to ensure no offender is released early without accommodation in place. It has
also put in place an ‘Exceptional Delivery Model’ for CRC services during the current
Covid-19 crisis to ensure that the support an individual requires to address their
criminogenic needs will still be provided during this period.
Additionally, Government has now decided that because of public health concerns
and public protection considerations, there is a need to provide accommodation for a
larger cohort of prison leavers. The Ministry of Justice has secured up to £8.5 million
to support individuals at risk of homelessness on their release from prison for up to
eight weeks and help to move on into permanent accommodation. This scheme was
originally due to run until 26 th June; however, we have recently undertaken our first
review and, following this, have extended the scheme until 31 July.
Prisoners' Release: Homelessness
Liz Saville Roberts: [62542]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2020 to
Question 58798 on Prisoners' Release: Homelessness, what estimate he has made of
how much funding will be required to support the provision of accommodation for all
individuals released from prison who are at risk of homelessness after 26 June 2020.
Lucy Frazer:
The Ministry of Justice has secured up to £8.5 million to support individuals at risk of
homelessness on their release from prison for up to eight weeks and help to move on
into permanent accommodation. This scheme was originally due to run until 26th
June. We have recently undertaken a first review and, following this, have extended
the scheme until 31 July.
This project will help ensure vulnerable ex-offenders at risk of homelessness will get
the vital support they need to stay safe during the COVID-19 period and find suitable
accommodation and continue their rehabilitation during the pandemic. This will help
improve outcomes for ex-offenders and increase the chances of seeing fewer victims
of crime in the future.
Liz Saville Roberts: [62543]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2020 to
Question 58798 on Prisoners' Release: Homelessness, how much funding his
Department has received to support the provision of accommodation for all individuals
released from prison who are at risk of homelessness.
Lucy Frazer:
The Ministry of Justice has secured £8.5 million to support individuals at risk of
homelessness on their release from prison for up to eight weeks and help to move on
into permanent accommodation. This scheme was originally due to run until 26 June.
We have recently undertaken a review and, following this, have extended the scheme
until 31 July.
This project will help ensure vulnerable ex-offenders at risk of homelessness will get
the vital support they need to stay safe during the COVID-19 period and find suitable
accommodation and continue their rehabilitation during the pandemic. This will help
improve outcomes for ex-offenders and increase the chances of seeing fewer victims
of crime in the future.
Prisoners' Release: Housing
Liz Saville Roberts: [62544]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2020 to
Question 58798 on Prisoners' Release: Homelessness, whether his Department has a
long-term plan to address the lack of accommodation for prison leavers; and if he will
make a statement.
Lucy Frazer:
It is vital that everyone leaving prison has somewhere stable and secure to live. This
provides a platform for ex-offenders to be able to access the services and support
needed to turn their backs on crime for good. In a series of measures, the
Government has demonstrated its commitment to addressing that need.
Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service
(NPS) are required to facilitate access to housing for the offenders under their
supervision. This includes working together with local partners to help offenders find
and maintain accommodation as part of a package of support tailored to meet their
individual needs.
We have invested an extra £22 million per annum over the remaining life of the CRC
contracts to ensure that CRCs deliver an enhanced “Through-the-Gate” service for
offenders leaving prison. Alongside this investment we have introduced a new
“Through-the-Gate” specification which will ensure that CRCs complete specific
tasks, including helping every prisoner to secure and maintain settled
accommodation.
In addition, through the Government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy we are investing up
to £6.4 million in a pilot scheme to support individuals released from three prisons:
Bristol, Leeds and Pentonville. Services have been in operation within all three areas
since last summer, with the first individuals now being supported into accommodation
following release. When the pilot has been evaluated, we will analyse the lessons
learned and this will inform future provision of accommodation for all ex-offenders.
HMPPS are well underway to developing an Accommodation Framework that sets
out their responsibilities, their partners responsibilities and a framework for how to
build on success and work together with partners to ensure that offenders are able to
access and maintain settled accommodation.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Government has decided that, because of
public health and public protection considerations, there is a need to provide
accommodation for a larger cohort of prison leavers. While this scheme is an
immediate response to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness during this
period, we are keen to utilise the learning gathered from it to help develop longer-
term improvements. We will draw on that learning as we develop and roll out our
wider reforms to probation services.
Remand in Custody
Mr David Lammy: [62280]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prioritise cases in
which a person on remand has a Custody Time Limit that (a) has expired and (b) is about
to expire.
Chris Philp:
HMCTS is working closely with the Judiciary and criminal justice agencies to ensure
that cases that need to be prioritised can be. The introduction of emergency
legislation enabling the courts to make greater use of audio and video technology for
any preliminary hearings where appropriate, has ensured that priority cases,
including custody cases, have been heard.
The prioritisation of cases and trials is a judicial decision and the senior judiciary has
issued the following guidance:
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Note-on-Listing-Magistrates-
SPJ-DSPJ-14.04.20-FINAL.pdf
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/27032020_Protocol-for-CTL-
cases_FINAL-signed-1.pdf
Reoffenders: Coronavirus
Ms Lyn Brown: [61698]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders who have been recalled to
prison since the practice of quarantining new entrants was introduced have spent the
entire period of their recall in isolation.
Lucy Frazer:
Prisons in England and Wales have closely followed guidance issued by Her
Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and public health authorities to
protect prisoners and staff. Building on best available evidence to protect the most
vulnerable and reduce transmission of infection, new cohorting strategies were
developed by HMPPS (advised by public health authorities) and implemented from
31 March. This strategy includes quarantining new arrivals to prisons in reverse
cohorting units (RCU).
We do not hold the requested data centrally. However, new receptions into prison
from court and recalls have only been accepted into prisons where there is adequate
space for them to be held separately for 14 days. If the period of recall is 14 days or
less a prisoner would be required to spend their entire period of recall in an RCU.
Social Entitlement Chamber: Video Conferencing
Ian Murray: [62390]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to provide the option of hearings
by video link for all appeal hearings in the Social Entitlement Chamber (First-tier Tribunal
(Social Security and Child Support)).
Ian Murray: [62391]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals in the Social Entitlement
Chamber (First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support)) have been heard by
video link during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Chris Philp:
HM Courts & Tribunals Service is working hard to keep our justice system functioning
during this unprecedented public health emergency. We are focusing on priority
cases, changing working practices and introducing new procedures to minimise risks
to the judiciary, staff and all those who use our courts and tribunals.
In line with government guidance, face to face hearings in the First-tier Tribunal
(Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) have been replaced with telephone
hearings and the use of other remote hearing technology to facilitate as many
hearings as possible being held remotely. All parties to the hearings are being
contacted directly to confirm new hearing arrangements.
After a number of successful tests, arrangements are currently being made to
introduce and make available Cloud Video Platform (CVP) hearings in all SSCS
Tribunal regions. The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter for the
judge who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice. In considering
the suitability of video/audio, judges will consider issues such as the benefit type
under appeal, the nature of the matters at stake during the hearing and any issues
the use of video/audio technology may present for participants in the hearing.
The latest period for which official statistics about SSCS appeals are available is up
to March 2020. Up until that time no SSCS hearings had taken place by video link
due to Covid-19.
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Wayland Prison: Technology
Ms Lyn Brown: [57936]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May to Question
41404 on Prison Accommodation: Technology, when his Department plans to publish the
report on the digital technology pilot at HMP Wayland, undertaken by research team led
by Dr Emma Palmer.
Lucy Frazer:
The report titled: ‘Evaluation of digital technology in prisons’, is going through final
assurance processes and we expect to publish in the coming weeks.
NORTHERN IRELAND
EU Grants and Loans: Northern Ireland
Colum Eastwood: [62696]
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking
to ensure that EU structural funding for Northern Ireland is replaced by other Government
funding after the end of the transition period.
Mr Robin Walker:
The UK Government is committed to strengthening the Union, levelling up every part
of the UK and has committed to replacing EU Structural Funds with the UK Shared
Prosperity Fund. The Government recognises the importance of reassuring local
areas on the future of local growth funding and of providing clarity on the UKSPF. We
remain committed to creating the UKSPF to succeed European structural funds and
provide vital investment across the UK as we support the recovery, renewal and
levelling up of local economies following Covid-19. Now we have left the European
Union, we have an opportunity to replace European structural funds with a UKSPF
which binds together the whole of the United Kingdom, tackling inequality and
deprivation in each of our four nations. The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed
to, at minimum, matching current levels of funding for each nation from EU structural
funds.
Over the coming weeks, the Government will be assessing the impact of Covid-19
and how best to support economic recovery. We will need to work closely as one
United Kingdom to understand the changing needs of local and regional economies
and tailor our response to the impact of Covid-19. We have a real opportunity through
the UKSPF to design a fund that is driven by domestic priorities. The Government will
set out further plans for the fund at the Comprehensive Spending Review.
SCOTLAND
Unemployment: Scotland
Chris Elmore: [61551]
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on trends in the level of unemployment in
Scotland in the last three years.
Mr Alister Jack:
I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on a
range of matters, including trends in the level of unemployment in Scotland.
The UK Government recognises that this is a challenging time for Scotland. This is
why the Chancellor has committed an unprecedented package of support. This
includes a range of loan schemes and grants and, in particular, the Job Retention
and Self-Employment Support Schemes which have protected the incomes of almost
800,000 people in Scotland – more than a quarter of the workforce. I am delighted
that the Job Retention Scheme has now been extended to October.
TRANSPORT
Biofuels: Public Consultation
Matt Vickers: [60892]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2020 to
Question 46196, on Biofuels: Public Consultation, if his Department will publish the (a)
responses to the consultation received from the public and (b) the Government's
response and next steps before the 2020 summer recess.
Rachel Maclean:
As is the normal practice the Department will publish a summary of all responses to
the consultation. The Department is working hard to publish this summary, as part of
the Government response setting out next steps, as early as possible this year.
However, taking into account that the consultation only closed last month it will not
possible to publish the Government response before summer recess.
Department for Transport: Public Opinion
Judith Cummins: [62466]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on (a)
opinion polling and (b) focus groups in each month since January 2019.
Chris Heaton-Harris:
The information requested could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
Driving Tests: Coronavirus
Owen Thompson: [62521]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Driver
and Vehicle Licensing Agency on extending provisional driving licence expiry dates in
response to the unavailability of driving tests during the covid-19 outbreak.
Rachel Maclean:
Provisional driving entitlement is usually valid until a driver reaches the age of 70 and
the photocard must be renewed every ten years. There are no plans to extend these
dates.
Customers can renew their photocard licence online or by post. The Driver and
Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services have continued to operate as
normal throughout the pandemic. However, paper applications are taking longer to
process as they must be dealt with in person and the DVLA currently has a reduced
number of staff on-site to comply with social distancing requirements and ensure staff
safety.
M67: Bridges
Andrew Gwynne: [60714]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timescale is for the reconstruction of
the bridge at St Anne’s Road, Denton at Junction 2 of the M67; and if he will make a
statement.
Rachel Maclean:
The timing of the delivery of the project is subject to a number of factors involving
other parties. Highways England intends to commence survey work between July and
December 2020.
Enabling works, including opening the closed section of St Anne’s Road to allow
implementation of the diversion route, are intended to start in April 2021.
The aim is to start the main demolition and construction work in October 2021, with
construction lasting for two years.
M67: Litter
Andrew Gwynne: [60713]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Highways
England on removing litter on the Junction 2 on-sliproad to the M67 in Denton.
Rachel Maclean:
The Secretary of State for Transport has had no such discussions with Highways
England on removing litter at Junction 2 on-slip road to the M67 in Denton.
Highways England have confirmed that any restoration measures are required to take
place within the timescales set out in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. This
states that any areas with special circumstances that falls below grade B, such as
carriageways, verges and central reservations of motorways and trunk roads, must
be restored back to grade A standard within twenty-eight days or as soon as
reasonably practicable. Highways England expect to remove litter from the entry slip
road within the next three weeks.
Public Transport: Concessions
Sarah Olney: [62551]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he undertook an equality impact
assessment of the suspension of free travel for under-18s in London.
Rachel Maclean:
The Department for Transport is working with Transport for London to identify how
the temporary suspension of free travel for under 18s in London can be implemented.
This includes undertaking an equality impact assessment of the proposal.
Public Transport: Coronavirus
Munira Wilson: [62646]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made requests to (a) train
operating companies and (b) Transport for London to undertake customer surveys to
estimate the level of demand for public transport as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are
eased.
Chris Heaton-Harris:
The Secretary of State has not asked train operating companies nor Transport for
London to undertake customer surveys to estimate the level of demand for public
transport as restrictions are eased.
Demand for public transport is being monitored daily through ticket sales data, and
through tube entries/exits and bus boarding numbers for Transport for London. This
gives a more granular and time-sensitive assessment of demand than would be
possible through surveys. This information is published each week on the gov.uk
website and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-
use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic
Railways: Franchises
Ms Karen Buck: [60673]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether each train company with a franchise
agreement has been asked by his Department to undertake a review of its approach to
capital spending in relation to (a) asset maintenance and (b) enhancement.
Chris Heaton-Harris:
The Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) require operators to act in a
commercial manner in relation to the management of revenues and costs.
Roads: Accidents
Bill Wiggin: [62308]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents involving cars
there were in Herefordshire in 2019.
Bill Wiggin: [62309]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents involving
motorcycles there were in Herefordshire in 2019.
Bill Wiggin: [62310]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents involving bicycles
there were in Herefordshire in 2019.
Bill Wiggin: [62311]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents involving
pedestrians there were in Herefordshire in 2019.
Bill Wiggin: [62312]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents involving lorries
there were in Herefordshire in 2019.
Rachel Maclean:
The latest annual published statistics are for 2018. Detailed final data on reported
personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2019 will be published in
September 2020.
The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving cars, injured
pedestrians, pedal cycles, motorcycles and HGVs in Herefordshire in 2018 can be
found in the below table:
REPORTED ROAD ACCIDENTS BY ROAD USER TYPE INVOLVED,
HEREFORDSHIRE, 2018
Road user type involved Number of accidents
Car 1 302
Injured pedestrian 42
Pedal Cycle 41
Motorcycle 40
HGV 15
Source: DfT, STATS19
1. Includes cars and taxis
TREASURY
Covid-19 Education Catch-up Fund
Ian Murray: [62389]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnett consequentials are for
Scotland with regards to the £1 billion education catch-up fund announced on 19 June
2020.
Steve Barclay:
Any new funding for the Department for Education will have the Barnett formula
applied to it in the usual way.
Economic Situation: Coronavirus
Ms Angela Eagle: [62305]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of
the long term financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak on (a) women, (b) BAME workers,
(c) self employed workers and (d) gig economy workers.
Jesse Norman:
It is too early to assess the long-term financial impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on
individual groups, but the Government recognises the challenges that the current
crisis is posing to all groups in society, including the most vulnerable.
The Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support, including the
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme,
and increases to Universal Credit. This has helped protect incomes, jobs, and
support those most in need.
The Government remains committed to supporting the lowest-paid workers and
helping unemployed people go back into work, and the Government is continuing to
review what can be done to support those most vulnerable to job loss and to aid the
UK’s economic recovery.
Employment: Government Assistance
Sir David Amess: [62244]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he plans to offer new
starters who cannot claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and have (a)
been denied furlough pay by their previous employer and (b) are not eligible for universal
credit.
Jesse Norman:
It has not been possible to include in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
individuals for whom HMRC had not received a Real Time Information submission
notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March, as this
would have significantly increased the risk of fraud.
Individuals with sufficient National Insurance contributions who have lost their job
may be entitled to support from the welfare system, notably new style Jobseeker’s
Allowance, which does not assess capital or partner income.
The Government has introduced wider measures to support those who may be in
difficulty during the Covid-19 crisis, including mortgage holidays, a pause on
evictions, hardship funds from local authorities, and help with utility bills.
Investment Income: Coronavirus
Bill Esterson: [62422]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of whether
companies have paid dividends while in receipt of the Government's covid-19 support
packages.
Kemi Badenoch:
Government support is aimed at businesses in genuine need. Our current measures
are well-targeted at such businesses, bearing in mind the need to act very quickly to
deliver this unprecedented package. We expect everyone to act responsibly and in
the spirit of the package, and only claim and use support as intended. The
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for example provides compensation for
the cost of paying furloughed workers –money that goes directly to the pockets of
workers who might otherwise lose their jobs, whilst Business Rates reductions and
Local Authority grant schemes are targeted at sectors which are facing severe
hardship. The Government is keeping all measures under constant review.
Companies borrowing more than £50million through the Coronavirus Large Business
Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) or accessing the Covid Corporate Financing
Facility (CCFF) beyond 19 May 2021, face restrictions on dividend payments, capital
distributions and senior pay.
Protective Clothing: VAT
Dave Doogan: [62601]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential
merits of making items of personal protective equipment exempt from VAT (a) in the short
term to support businesses in protecting staff and customers as covid-19 lockdown
restrictions are eased and (b) permanently to support health spending over the longer
term.
Jesse Norman:
A temporary zero-rate of VAT applies to sales of Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) for protection from infection from 1 May 2020 until 31 July 2020. The
temporary relief has been introduced as an urgent response to the coronavirus
emergency. Its main objective is to relieve businesses, particularly in the healthcare
and residential care sectors, of the burden of tax on essential infection protection
equipment needed to deal with the emergency.
All taxes are kept under review and Government will reassess the situation in the
future.
Self-employment Income Support Scheme
Paul Blomfield: [62420]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that taxpayers
who are unable to make an application for the Self Employment Grant Scheme
themselves can have their application submitted by a third party already appointed as
their agent.
Jesse Norman:
The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) helps those adversely
affected by COVID-19. By midnight 21 June 2020, HMRC had received 2.6m claims
representing a total of £7.6bn claimed.
HMRC recognise the important role that agents play in supporting people who are
self-employed. Due to the speed at which HMRC are delivering the SEISS it has not
been possible to offer agents the ability to claim on behalf of their clients. However,
the process has been designed to be as simple as possible, and HMRC do all the
calculations for taxpayers.
Anyone who cannot apply online can contact HMRC by telephone to submit their
claim.
Third Sector: Coronavirus
Andrew Gwynne: [62343]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy
of the Government's financial support to organisations in the voluntary, community and
social enterprise sectors during the covid-19 outbreak.
Kemi Badenoch:
The Government has announced unprecedented support for public services, workers
and businesses to protect against the current economic emergency. Organisations in
the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors continue to have access the
support packages that the Government has made available.
The Government has set out a £750 million package of support for charities providing
key services and supporting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 crisis. Part of
the funding for charities is being disbursed with £360 million directly allocated by
government departments. The most up to date information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-
sector#government-financial-support-for-charities. Our aim is to get funding to those
in greatest need as soon as possible.
Charities also have access to cross-cutting support already announced including the
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which enables them to furlough staff with the
government paying 80% of wages, and VAT deferral.
Organisations that are not eligible for the charity support package could be able to
access the other substantial government support that has been made available.
Support for organisations in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors,
remains under constant review.
Tourism: Employment
Anna McMorrin: [62560]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect jobs in the (a)
travel and (b) tourism industries, which operate domestic and overseas school trips,
beyond the current scheduled end date of the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme and
to allow companies to plan for the future in the event restrictions on (i) domestic and (ii)
overseas school trips remain in place.
Kemi Badenoch:
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to
protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of
guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Travel and tourism businesses continue
to have access to a range of support measures including, but not limited to:
• A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality
businesses in England
• Small business grant funding (SBGF) of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small
business rate relief or rural rate relief
• The retail, hospitality and leisure grant fund (RHLGF)
• A Discretionary Grant Fund for Local Authorities in England
• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
• The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
• The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBL) for small and micro enterprises
• VAT deferral for up to 12 months
• The Time To Pay scheme, through which businesses in financial distress, and with
outstanding tax liabilities, can receive support with their tax affairs
• Protection for commercial leaseholders against automatic forfeiture for non-
payment until June 30, 2020 – with an option for the Government to extend if
needed.
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses
can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to
apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out
our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a
cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. On 23
June the Government announced that elements of the tourism industry in England,
such as hotels and guesthouses – that meet the required social distancing and public
health measures – can reopen from 4 July. Options for overseas travel are currently
being reviewed.
WOMEN AND EQUALITIES
Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups
Apsana Begum: [61616]
To ask the Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, with reference to Public Health
England's report, Beyond the data: understanding the impact of covid-19 on BAME
groups, published June 2020, what plans he has to to implement the recommendations
on reducing the risk to black Asian Minority Ethnic, BAME, people catching and dying of
covid-19.
Kemi Badenoch:
On 4 June the Government announced its next steps following the Public Health
England (PHE) Report, ‘Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19’, which
was published on 2 June.
PHE also engaged with a significant number of individuals and organisations within
the BAME community to hear their views about the impact of COVID-19. This work
informed a separate report, ‘Beyond the Data: understanding the impact of COVID-19
on BAME groups’, which was published on 16 June 2020.
Many of the recommendations from the second report are already in train. For
example, NHS Employers has published – and continues to update – robust
occupational risk assessment tools; and the Race Disparity Unit continues to work to
with Covid teams across Departments to improve communications, outreach and
engagement with ethnic minority communities. Furthermore, many of the
recommendations are being taken forward through the terms of reference published
on 4 June. This includes steps to assess and improve the quality of data collected by
ethnicity; and further strengthening and improving public health communications to
ensure they can reach and inform all communities across the country.
It's critical that Government takes into account the voices of people who are impacted
by our actions. It's also critical that Departments base their actions on robust
evidence, so that we can be sure that they will have a positive impact.
Gender Recognition: Health Services
Barbara Keeley: [62358]
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on reducing waiting times for NHS gender
identity services.
Kemi Badenoch:
As with many issues, the Government Equalities Office and Department for Health
and Social Care continue to engage on this matter.
We are aware that waiting times for Gender Identity Services are currently very long
and we are working with NHS England to help address this. In 2019, NHS England
began work on changing services to establish a more modern, flexible care model to
support adult transgender people. Procurement is underway and clinics meeting new
service specifications will be in place in this year, subject to changes caused by the
COVID-19 response. The intention is to move routine gender identity service away
from specialist centres, to more local provision.
Racial Discrimination
Kate Osamor: [62534]
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will publish the (a) terms of
reference for and (b) names of the (i) chair and (ii) commission members of the
commission on race.
Kemi Badenoch:
On 14 June, the Prime Minister announced a new Commission on Race and Ethnic
Disparities. The Commission will drive forward work to understand why disparities
exist, what works to address disparities and what does not, and will present
recommendations for action across Government and other public bodies, bridging the
gap between data and policy. It will report by the end of the year. The aim of the
Commission is to set out a new, positive agenda for change - balancing the needs of
individuals, communities and society, maximising opportunities and ensuring fairness
for all. The terms of reference, and names of the chair and commission members will
be published in due course.
WORK AND PENSIONS
[Subject Heading to be Assigned]
Mr Barry Sheerman: [903799]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure
that health and safety standards are maintained in meat processing plants throughout the
UK.
Mims Davies:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcement of the Health
and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in Great Britain. HSE Northern Ireland has a similar
responsibility in Northern Ireland.
HSE is not the regulator of food safety. The regulatory lead for public health matters,
such as responding when workers in meat processing plant test positive for Covid-19,
remains with public health bodies.
HSE has published guidance on health and safety in meat processing and other food
businesses and regulated standards in this industry through operational activity,
including inspections and investigating concerns raised by workers and incidents
where there has been harm: https://www.hse.gov.uk/food/index.htm.
During the pandemic, HSE has worked with other government departments to
provide additional guidance on health and safety risk controls appropriate to food
production businesses, including meat processing:
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/adapting-food-manufacturing-operations-
during-covid-19.
Department for Work and Pensions: Correspondence
Marion Fellows: [49728]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time
was for Ministers of her Department to respond to correspondence from hon. Members in
each month in the last two years.
Mims Davies:
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Department has a target of responding within
20 working days where a response is required.
As you will understand, the Department is currently dealing with unprecedented
volumes of correspondence due to COVID-19. The Department ensures that urgent
cases raised by hon. Members are prioritised, and is taking steps to provide
substantive responses in as short a time as possible.
All correspondence received from hon. Members is being reviewed and will be
responded to as soon as possible.
Employment Support Allowance
Debbie Abrahams: [59468]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of
claimants in receipt of employment support allowance died between (a) March and May
2020 and (b) March and May 2019.
Justin Tomlinson:
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at
disproportionate cost.
Income Support
Debbie Abrahams: [59469]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of
claimants in receipt of income support died between (a) March and May 2020 and (b)
March and May 2019.
Debbie Abrahams: [59470]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of
claimants in receipt of jobseeker's allowance died between (a) March and May 2020 and
(b) March and May 2019.
Mims Davies:
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at
disproportionate cost.
Pensions: Coronavirus
Ms Angela Eagle: [62304]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department
has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the future retirement income of (a)
women, (b) BAME workers, (c) self employed workers and (d) gig economy workers.
Guy Opperman:
Helping people to save for their futures remains a key priority for this Government.
We have put in place an unprecedented package of support to strengthen job and
income security during the emergency to help workers, including those
disproportionately affected, to better manage costs during the crisis, while supporting
longer term financial resilience.
We are monitoring the impacts of covid-19 on workplace pension participation and
saving levels and are working closely with the pensions industry and across
government to understand the impact of the emergency. However, at this stage, it is
not possible to draw robust conclusions on the impact of covid-19 including the
impact on the self-employed, women and BAME.
Pensions: Income
Ms Angela Eagle: [62301]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department taking
to tackle the gap in pension income for (a) people who are BAME, (b) women and (c) low
paid earners.
Ms Angela Eagle: [62302]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department
made of the potential merits of lowering the annual earnings necessary for auto-
enrolment to the National Insurance lower earnings limit of £6240.
Ms Angela Eagle: [62303]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is
taking to increase the proportion of BAME workers who are part of the workplace
pensions system.
Guy Opperman:
The level of earnings at which workers are automatically enrolled (the earnings
trigger) is subject to an annual statutory review. The review includes analysis of the
equalities impact and an assessment of reducing the trigger to the National Insurance
threshold.
Since 2014/15, the annual reviews have concluded that the earnings trigger be frozen
at £10,000. People earning below the trigger have a right to opt in, and if they are
earning above the lower earnings limit (£6,240 in 2020-21) they will receive an
employer contribution.
Automatic enrolment has hugely increased women’s pension participation,
participation across all ethnic groups, and among lower earners. Among eligible
women in the private sector, participation has increased from 40% in 2012 to 86% in
2019, equal to men. Among eligible employees in the private sector earning between
£10,000 and £20,000, 19% were participating into a workplace pension in 2012. As of
2019, this rate had increased to 79%, a 60 percentage point increase.
Personal Independence Payment
Debbie Abrahams: [59467]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of
total claimants in receipt of personal independence payment died between (a) March and
May 2020, and (b) March and May 2019.
Justin Tomlinson:
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is claimed by people with a range of health
conditions and disabilities, many of which are degenerative or life limiting and the
Department treats the death of any claimant sympathetically. The cause of death of
claimants to PIP is not collated centrally by the Department.
Table 1 below shows for each month from March 2019 – May 2019 and March 2020
– April 2020: (a) The number of PIP claimants with entitlement to PIP who died
having had entitlement on the last day of each month.
(b) The total number of PIP claims with entitlement on the last day each month.
(c) The percentage of claimants entitled to PIP who died in each month which is
calculated by dividing (a) the number of claimant deaths in each month by (b) the
total number of PIP claims with entitlement in the same month.
Note that April 2020 is the latest month for which data is available.
Table 1: Summary of PIP claimants with entitlement who died from March 2019
– May 2019 and March 2020 – April 2020
MONTH
Mar-19 Apr-19 May-19 Mar-20 Apr-20
(a) Number of
PIP Claimant
Deaths
4,650 4,580 4,460 5,880 6,180
(b) Total PIP
Claims with
2,098,090 2,113,170 2,134,400 2,455,300 2,485,60
0
MONTH
entitlement
(c) Death rate of
PIP claimants
with entitlement
0.22% 0.22% 0.21% 0.24% 0.25%
Source: PIP ADS and Customer Information System and Stat-Xplore
Notes:
• This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to
future revision.
• PIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants, and
is for both new claims and DLA reassessment claims.
• Data for the number of claimant deaths has been sourced from the PIP ADS and
the Customer Information System and data for the number of total PIP claims with
entitlement has been sourced from Stat-Xplore.
• Number of claimants has been rounded to the nearest 10 and the data for the
death rate of claimants has been rounded to the nearest 0.01%.
• Claimants’ dates of death are as recorded on the system at 12 th June 2020 and
may be subject to retrospection.
• GB only
Under the Social Security (Notification of Deaths) Regulations 2012 and s125 of
Social Security Administration Act 1992 date of death is provided to the Department
for all registered deaths. Additionally, next of kin also provide information on the date
of death of an individual and this information is used appropriately in the
administration of Departmental benefits.
Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
Kirsten Oswald: [62486]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will extend the temporary
suspension of sanctioning in the welfare system beyond 30 June 2020.
Mims Davies:
We made the decision to temporarily suspend the requirement for face-to-face
Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, New Style
Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), old-
style JSA and ESA, and Income Support.
Arrangements after the 30th June will be communicated in due course.
Social Security Benefits: Medical Assessments
Philip Davies: [61450]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to
review the suspension of face-to-face (a) work capability and (b) personal independence
payment assessments during the covid-19 outbreak.
Justin Tomlinson:
Our priority throughout this health emergency continues to be to protect the public
and staff, while ensuring people get the benefits they are entitled to quickly and
safely. Face to face assessments remain suspended while we review what activity we
can gradually start reintroducing in line with the latest public health advice. We will
confirm next steps as soon as possible.
Social Security Benefits: Scotland
Ian Murray: [62392]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of (a)
universal credit and (b) legacy benefits in Scotland had awards that were reduced by the
tariff income rules (i) before and (ii) after the covid-19 pandemic was declared.
Will Quince:
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Thriving At Work Leadership Council
Andy McDonald: [62441]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has made to
include trades union representation on the Thriving at Work Leadership Council.
Justin Tomlinson:
The Leadership Council was originally formed to provide an opportunity for senior
business leaders to drive implementation of the core standards from the Stevenson /
Farmer review. It is an independently-chaired body. As membership is reviewed and
evolves there may be scope to consider additional representatives.
Universal Credit
Debbie Abrahams: [59771]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of
claimants in receipt of the limited capability for work component of universal credit died
(a) from March to May 2020 and (b) from March to May 2019.
Justin Tomlinson:
This information is not readily available and could only be provided at
disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit: Coronavirus
Rushanara Ali: [43914]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish her Department's
assessment of the effect of the £20 a week uplift to universal credit during the covid-19
outbreak.
Will Quince:
[Holding answer 15 May 2020]: The Department has insufficient data at this time to
estimate the effect of increasing the four standard allowances in Universal Credit by
£20 a week in 2020/21.
Universal Credit: Fraud
Derek Twigg: [62300]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, at what stage his Department's
investigations into cases of universal credit scams for claimants in Halton constituency
are; and when those claimants will have their benefits restored.
Will Quince:
The Department does not hold this data by constituency and to provide it would incur
disproportionate costs.
Work Capability Assessments
Philip Davies: [61453]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work capability
assessments have been completed in each month since 1 February 2020.
Justin Tomlinson:
Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment
(WCA) outcomes are published quarterly. The latest figures covering the number and
outcome of completed initial and repeat WCAs, by month of completed assessment
up to December 2019, can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-
outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment
Additional breakdowns of the ESA WCA figures can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance for users is available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
The statistics for completed assessments to March 2020 and June 2020 will be
published in September and December 2020 respectively.
Statistics on Work Capability Assessments for Universal Credit claimants are
intended for publication in the near future as Official Statistics.
MINISTERIAL CORRECTIONS
JUSTICE
Prison Accommodation: Technology
Ms Lyn Brown: [41404]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if an evaluation of the pilots of in-cell technology
in (a) HMP Wayland and (b) HMP Berwyn has been completed.
An error has been identified in the written answer given on 7 May 2020. The correct
answer should have been:
Lucy Frazer:
The University of Leicester completedpublished their Evaluation of Digital
Technology in Prisons, (Palmer, Hatcher and Tonkin) in 2019, which covered the
pilots in HMP Wayland but did not includeand HMP Berwyn. The intention is to
publish this shortly.
The pilots saw the introduction of laptops to both prisons which give access to prison-
related notices, communication and rules, mental health advice and education
materials. Prisoners also have some access to self-service tools, which helps to
reduce the administrative burden on prison staff. This platform is monitored daily for
usage and through digital feedback from prisoners and staff.
The evaluation indicated found that staff and prisoners viewed the presence of
digital technology as an incentive for good behaviour and the implementation of the
technology, particularly the in-cell telephones, was seen to have had reduced the
potential for tension on the wings, and perceived levels of conflict.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Energy Infrastructure Planning Projects
Minister of State (Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth) (Kwasi Kwarteng):
[HCWS315]
This Statement concerns applications made by Orsted Hornsea Project Three (UK)
Limited and Norfolk Vanguard Limited for development consent for the installation,
operation and maintenance of, respectively, the proposed Hornsea Project Three and
Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Farms, their related offshore infrastructure off the coast
of Norfolk and their related onshore electrical connections within that county.
Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a
decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the Examining Authority’s
report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline.
Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a Statement to
Parliament to announce it. The statutory decision deadline for Hornsea Project Three
offshore wind farm was re-set by Written Ministerial Statements on 8 October 2019 and
23 January 2020. The deadline for the decision on the Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind
farm was reset by Written Ministerial Statement on 23 January 2020. The reset deadline
for both applications was 1 June 2020.
The Secretary of State has decided to set a new deadline of 1 July 2020 for deciding
these two applications to allow further consideration to be given to the environmental
information received by the Secretary of State following consultation on both applications.
The decision to set the new deadlines for these applications is without prejudice to the
decisions on whether to grant or refuse development consents for them.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Covid-19 update
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock): [HCWS312]
Reducing healthcare-associated COVID-19 infection is a top priority. Today, the NHS has
set out plans for testing of NHS staff. This includes continuing to prioritise testing of all
NHS staff with symptoms, asymptomatic regular testing of staff in situations where there
is an incident, outbreak or high prevalence and regular surveillance testing across all
staff. Under the risk-based approach advised by clinical experts, we are continually
reviewing clinical evidence to ensure regular testing of asymptomatic staff is undertaken
where appropriate. The CMO’s advice is that this is currently best done through a survey,
which monitors prevalence in NHS staff. This survey, which will be expanded over the
coming months, helps us to determine where wider asymptomatic staff testing is needed.
Clinical advice is to focus intensive asymptomatic testing in those areas or settings
identified to have high prevalence. This dynamic approach which responds to risk is
essential as when prevalence is very low, the risk of misleading results is higher and this
can undermine the value of testing. We will continue to keep clinical advice under review.
I also want to clarify a point on the predominant reason for the minority of positive cases
that do not go into the NHS test and trace scheme. On June 17 th I set out that they are
largely in-patients in hospital and therefore testing and tracing in the normal sense does
not apply. Testing and tracing is different for hospital in-patients than for the general
public, as contact tracing is usually done by the hospital rather than by NHS Test and
Trace contact tracers. Local hospital infection control teams are often best placed to do
the contact tracing for inpatients as these individuals may not be in a position to be able
to communicate their contacts and hospitals will have a clear list of patients on wards,
staff and shift patterns. This is standard practice for other infections. The data from these
hospital in-patients do enter the NHS Test and Trace system. Positive cases who are not
contacted by the contact tracing system are either those who do not respond to repeated
attempts to make contact (through phone, SMS and email contacts) or for whom NHS
Test and Trace has incorrect contact details. Further data will be set out by NHS Test and
Trace tomorrow in the normal way.
HOME OFFICE
Surveillance Camera Commissioner – Annual Report
The Minister of State for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service (Kit Malthouse):
[HCWS314]
My Rt Hon Friend the Home Secretary is today laying the 2018/19 Annual Report of the
Surveillance Camera Commissioner before the House, as required by section 35 of the
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
The Surveillance Camera Commissioner is an independent role appointed under section
34 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
The Annual Report covers the exercise of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s
statutory functions over the year to 31 March 2019 and provides a comprehensive update
on the progress made against the National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England
and Wales, which the Commissioner published in March 2017.
Copies of the report will be available from the Vote Office.
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Planning update
Minister of State for Housing (Christopher Pincher): [HCWS316]
Responding to Covid – 19 – temporary measures to ease restrictions on the
planning system
Today the Government has introduced the Business and Planning Bill in
Parliament. The Bill responds to the Covid-19 emergency and brings forward
temporary changes to the planning system to support economic recovery. This
statement sets out supporting temporary measures that the Government proposes
to ensure the planning system continues to operate effectively.
Online inspection of documents
The effects of Covid-19 mean that it is not possible for everyone to enter public buildings
safely to access certain planning documents made available for inspection. The
Government has made clear [Written Ministerial Statement, 13 May 2020 ‘ Virtual working
and planning – Responding to Covid – 19 Restrictions ’] that online inspection of
documents should be the default position. It has already made secondary legislation
providing temporary flexibility for consultation and publicity requirements for planning
applications under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA) and for
Environmental Impact Assessment development under the TCPA in relation to
environmental statements.
This statement makes clear, for the regimes addressed below, how the Government
expects local authorities, applicants and the Mayor of London to meet the requirements
for making documents available for inspection by the public whilst social distancing
restrictions apply. Everyone involved in the planning process is expected to engage
proactively in the move to online inspection of documents and to consider the practical
measures needed to ensure fair participation. When it becomes possible for documents
to be made available for inspection in public buildings again, then the Government
expects this to be done as soon as practicable.
Compulsory purchase orders (CPOs)
There are requirements in the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 for newspaper and site
notices to provide details of a place where copies of CPOs and associated maps can be
inspected, both prior to submission of the CPO to the confirming authority and when it is
confirmed. Provisions in secondary legislation requiring inspection of documents are
similar, and in some cases require documents to be provided on request. It is the
Government’s view that these legislative requirements can be satisfied by the acquiring
authority making a copy of the order and map available for inspection on a website. Hard
copies of documents should be provided by the acquiring authority on request. The
Government has published updated planning guidance in relation to the compulsory
purchase process which can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-
covid-19-compulsory-purchase-guidance.
Development consent orders (DCOs)
The Planning Act 2008, relating to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP),
requires that at the pre-application stage the Statement of Community Consultation must
be made available for inspection. At the post-consent stage, where a Development
Consent Order grants authority to acquire compulsorily an interest in land, the Act
requires that a copy of the DCO must be made available for inspection.
It is the Government’s view that these requirements can be met by making documents
available for inspection online. It expects applicants to take reasonable steps to ensure
that anyone wishing to view the documentation can find these documents online. Hard
copies should be made available by the applicant on request.
For the NSIP regime there are other provisions in secondary legislation relating to
consultation and publicity requirements. The Government intends to bring forward
secondary legislation shortly to replace temporarily the requirement for documents to be
made available for inspection in a place, with a requirement for documents to be made
available online.
Planning appeals
For planning appeals there are provisions in secondary legislation for consultation and
publicity requirements, and the Government is considering whether these should be
amended to enable more to be undertaken by digital processes, similar to the flexibilities
already brought in for planning applications under the TCPA. The Government expects
local planning authorities, appellants, the Planning Inspectorate and other parties to be
proactive in their use of digital processes for consultation and publicity.
Local development documents
When preparing Local Development Documents, local planning authorities are required to
make certain documents available for inspection at their principal office, and other places
that they consider appropriate, and provide copies of the plan or strategy to a person that
requests one. In addition, local planning authorities must publish the document on their
website. The Government intends to bring forward secondary legislation shortly to
remove temporarily the requirement for local planning authorities to make these
documents available for inspection at their offices and other places, as well as the
requirement for these documents to be provided on request. Local planning authorities
will need to ensure that these documents are made available on their website.
Spatial development strategies
The Business and Planning Bill amends the provisions in the Greater London Authority
Act 1999 that require the Mayor of London to make the Spatial Development Strategy
(SDS) available for physical inspection at certain locations and to provide a copy on
request.
The Bill will remove these requirements provided that the Mayor makes the current SDS
available by appropriate electronic means. The Mayor will be required to have regard to
any guidance issued by the Secretary of State on arrangements that may be appropriate
for those who do not have internet access.
There are also similar provisions in secondary legislation that apply for the Mayor of
London and combined authorities who have been conferred the power to make a spatial
development strategy. The Government intends to bring forward secondary legislation
shortly to temporarily disapply requirements for these documents to be made available for
inspection at their offices and enable them to be made available online.
Extending development consents
The Business and Planning Bill includes a provision to extend certain planning
permissions and consents under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. There are
already established routes to make changes to DCOs and it is the Government’s view
that these routes can be used to extend commencement periods in certain
circumstances. Developers can submit applications for non-material or material changes
to the relevant Secretary of State. The Secretary of State can also make a material
change to a DCO in exceptional circumstances. The Government expects developers to
take proactive steps to ensure that applications to extend DCOs are submitted in
sufficient time and the Government will actively engage with any such applications.
JUSTICE
Final Report of the MoJ Expert Panel on Harm in the Family Courts and
Implementation Plan
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Chalk): [HCWS313]
In May 2019, the Ministry of Justice established a panel of experts to lead a review into
how the family courts deal with risk of harm to children and parents in private law children
cases involving domestic abuse and other serious offences. The panel held a call for
evidence over the summer of 2019, which received submissions from over 1,200
individuals and organisations with experience of the family justice system. As well as
receiving testimonies through written submissions, the panel held a series of focus
groups and roundtables across England and Wales. It is due to the wealth of evidence
gathered that the panel took the necessary time to evaluate and discuss their findings,
which I now present to the House.
I would first like to acknowledge the dedication of all those who work in the family justice
system. I have seen first-hand how they have to make difficult decisions about the best
interests of the child with the information available to them. It is a challenging job at the
centre of an often painful dispute between two parents, and I hope that our
implementation plan will reassure them that we value their commitment and will support
them in their roles.
But there is more to do. I welcome the panel’s report, and am incredibly grateful to all
panel members for their time and expertise. I have carefully considered their conclusions
and am determined to take action to improve the experience of survivors of domestic
abuse in our family courts.
This report lays bare many hard truths about long-standing failings in the family justice
system, especially in protecting the survivors of abuse and their children from harm. It is
not a comfortable read. The testimonies in the report show that there are some
fundamental issues that we must address in order to improve the experience and ensure
the safety of all participants in the family justice system.
I want to make it clear that this is not acceptable, and that while these issues largely
predate this Government, we have a strong and unwavering commitment to ensure
domestic abuse survivors are better protected. This is not only to help those who have
been directly affected, but also for their children, who should always be at the heart of
any decision made in the family court.
The publication of this report provides a unique opportunity for the family justice system
to reform how it manages cases involving children. The report is the springboard for the
actions we will take to better protect and support children and domestic abuse victims
throughout private family law proceedings.
The Domestic Abuse Bill will enable us to make some of the immediate changes called
for in the panel’s report, alongside other measures which will help to ensure that victims
have the confidence to come forward and report their experiences. As recommended by
the panel, we will use the Bill to extend automatic eligibility for special measures to
victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. The Bill will also ban cross-examination by
perpetrators of domestic abuse in the family courts.
We also have committed to invest more widely in support for victims of domestic abuse,
including £35 million announced alongside the Bill to support victims and their children,
and an additional £76 million of extra funding that we announced to support survivors
of domestic abuse, sexual violence, modern slavery and vulnerable children and their
families during the current pandemic.
But we acknowledge that, in light of the panel’s findings, this does not go far enough. And
that is why we are publishing an Implementation Plan alongside this report. This details
the first steps we will take across the family justice system to take forward the
recommendations of the panel and make the changes that are needed.
In response to hearing that the adversarial nature of the family courts can contribute to
further harm to victims of abuse or their children, I am pleased to announce that we will
trial a different ‘investigative’ approach within our forthcoming pilot of Integrated Domestic
Abuse Courts. This approach will seek to ensure that all parties in proceedings are safe
and able to provide evidence on an equal footing, without the retraumatising effects of
being in court with an abusive ex-partner.
We are committed to making it easier for judges to apply ‘barring orders’, under section
91(14) of the Children Act 1989, to prevent abusive ex-partners repeatedly dragging a
victim back to court.
We will also look to improve how the family courts gather the wishes and feelings of the
children at the heart of proceedings, to ensure no child is overlooked during the process.
Alongside this, I acknowledge the panel’s conclusion that the presumption of parental
involvement can detract from the child’s welfare and safety, and so will review this
urgently.
Finally, we are working with colleagues across the family justice system to improve
training on domestic abuse, to address gaps where appropriate, and to provide
professionals with the tools to effectively support vulnerable parties.
The report is built upon the direct experiences of hundreds of victims of domestic abuse
who responded to our call for evidence. There will be many others who were unable to
speak out, and I want to thank each person who came forward and provided their
testimony to the panel. Each had a unique experience, but together they showed that this
is a problem that thousands of people experience. Thanks to them, we have a unique
opportunity now to address these issues in a meaningful and long-lasting way.
The report and Implementation Plan can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/assessing-risk-of-harm-to-children-and-
parents-in-private-law-children-cases