Daily Report Wednesday, 23 October 2019 CONTENTS · 2019. 10. 23. · Daily Report Wednesday, 23 October 2019 This report shows written answers and statements provided on 23 October

Daily Report Wednesday, 23 October 2019

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 23 October 2019 and the

information is correct at the time of publication (06:42 P.M., 23 October 2019). For the latest

information on written questions and answers, ministerial corrections, and written statements,

please visit: http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/

CONTENTS

ANSWERS 5

ATTORNEY GENERAL 5

Attorney General: Public

Appointments 5

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 5

Biofuels: Subsidies 5

Business: Regulation 5

Climate Change: Departmental

Coordination 6

Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy:

Energy Supply 6

Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy:

Public Appointments 7

Electricity Generation 7

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing

Industries 7

Local Enterprise Partnerships:

Finance 8

Local Enterprise Partnerships:

Solent 8

Professions: Qualifications 9

Rain Forests: Amazonia 9

Thomas Cook: Insolvency 10

CABINET OFFICE 10

[Subject Heading to be

Assigned] 10

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 11

Charities: Pay 11

Citizens' Juries 11

Cybercrime 12

Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport:

Health 12

Mass Media: Regulation 13

Third Sector: Young People 14

Visual Impairment: Electronic

Publishing 15

Voluntary Work: Young People 15

EDUCATION 16

Further Education: Finance 16

GCE A-level: Hearing

Impairment 17

Pre-school Education: Finance 18

Pupil Referral Units: GCSE 18

Schools: Census 19

Sign Language: GCSE 19

Supply Teachers 20

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND

RURAL AFFAIRS 20

Amazonia: Rain Forests 20

Animal Products: Imports 21

Animals: Exports 21

Food Supply 22

Forests: North of England 22

Gun Sports: Lead 23

Peat Bogs: Fires 23

Veterinary Medicine: Drugs 24

Veterinary Medicines

Directorate 24

EXITING THE EUROPEAN

UNION 24

Business: Northern Ireland 24

Customs: Northern Ireland 25

Department for Exiting the

European Union: Public

Appointments 25

Erasmus+ Programme 25

Industry: Northern Ireland 26

FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 26

Ahmed Mansoor 26

Bahrain: Human Rights 27

Burma: Genocide 27

China: Prisoners 28

Climate Change Convention:

Glasgow 28

Hong Kong: Demonstrations 29

Kashmir: Politics and

Government 29

Malaysia: Capital Punishment 30

Syria: British Nationals Abroad 31

Syria: Detainees 32

Syria: Human Rights 32

Syria: Humanitarian Aid 33

Syria: Refugees 34

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 34

Agomelatine 34

Autism: Diagnosis 35

Cannabis: Medical Treatments 35

Cervical Cancer: Screening 37

Diabetes 38

Diabetes: Mental Health

Services 39

General Practitioners:

Pharmacy 39

General Practitioners: Rural

Areas 40

General Practitioners: Surrey 41

Health Services: Foreign

Nationals 42

Hearing: Testing 43

Hepatitis: Diagnosis 44

Hospitals: Admissions 45

Hospitals: York 46

Medicines and Healthcare

products Regulatory Agency 46

Mental Health Services:

Waiting Lists 46

NHS: Directors 47

Obesity: Children 47

Social Prescribing: Children

and Young People 48

HOME OFFICE 49

Homicide 49

Immigration: EU Nationals 50

Knives: Crime 50

Motor Vehicles: Theft 51

Police: Hampshire 51

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 51

Affordable Housing: South

Gloucestershire 51

Derelict Land 52

Housing: Construction 53

Local Government Finance 53

Ministry of Housing,

Communities and Local

Government: Health 54

Ministry of Housing,

Communities and Local

Government: Ystradffin Farm 54

National Holocaust Memorial

and Learning Centre 55

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT 55

Syria: International Assistance 55

Syria: Migrant Camps 56

Syria: Water 56

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 57

Department for International

Trade: Energy Supply 57

Department for International

Trade: Public Appointments 57

JUSTICE 58

Elections: Fraud 58

Firearms: Smuggling 58

Homicide: Children 59

Ministry of Justice: Equal Pay 59

Offenders: Females 60

Prison Officers 61

Prison Officers: Older Workers 62

Prison Officers: Women's

prisons 62

Prisoners' Release: Childcare 63

Prisoners' Release: Curfews 63

Prisoners' Transfers:

Pregnancy 64

Prisoners: Domestic Abuse 65

Prisoners: Parents 65

Prisons: Crimes of Violence 66

Prisons: Education 66

Reoffenders 67

Road Traffic Offences: Foreign

Nationals 69

Social Security Benefits:

Appeals 69

Solicitors Regulation Authority 70

Witnesses 70

TRANSPORT 71

Boeing 737: Safety 71

Bus Services: Franchises 72

European Aviation Safety

Agency 72

Railways: Franchises 72

Railways: Isle of Wight 73

Road Traffic Control: Kent 73

Roads: Sutton Coldfield 74

Rolling Stock 74

Transport: Sustainable

Development 74

Travel Cards: Isle of Wight 75

West Coast Partnership Rail

Franchise 75

TREASURY 76

Business: Taxation 76

Children: Poverty 76

Entrepreneurs' Relief 77

High Speed 2 Railway Line

and Public Expenditure 77

Small Businesses: Taxation 78

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES 79

Employment: Sexual

Harassment 79

WORK AND PENSIONS 79

Department for Work and

Pensions: Health 79


Pensions: Pay 80


Pensions: Staff 80

Pension Credit: Easington 81

Universal Credit 82

WRITTEN STATEMENTS 84

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 84

Nuclear Energy Infrastructure 84

EDUCATION 84

Teachers’ Pay and Pension

Grants 84

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 85

Heritage Update 85

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

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Attorney General: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: [1568]

To ask the Attorney General, which public appointments he is responsible for.

Michael Ellis:

The public appointments that the department is responsible for making are set out in

the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019:

https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-

Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Biofuels: Subsidies

Paul Farrelly: [929]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the

Government plans to (a) remove biomass subsidies and (b) increase support more

sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

[Holding answer 21 October 2019]: Sustainable biomass is currently eligible for

support under the Contract for Difference (CFD), the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

We have announced that all support for coal to biomass conversions will end in 2027.

The consultation on ‘Renewable Heat Incentive: biomass combustion in urban areas’

included the question of excluding new biomass installations in urban areas on the

gas grid. A government response will be published in due course. The RHI has

funding committed until March 2021 and any further funding will be a matter for future

budget-related decisions.

Sustainable biomass remains an important part of a balanced energy mix, along with

other renewables such as wind or solar.

Business: Regulation

Chris Ruane: [444]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate

she has made of the cost to the public purse of UK regulators taking on regulatory

functions currently carried out by EU regulatory bodies when the UK leaves the EU.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-10-17/1568



Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 21 October 2019]: Government’s priority is to have effective

regulatory systems. Where an EU regulatory function is repatriated then in most

cases this will be undertaken by an existing regulatory body. The National Audit

Office considers that there are 90 regulators operating in the UK. ‘Managing Public

Money’ sets out when fees and charges may be levied by a public body for a

function, or whether a function can be Exchequer-funded. Where legislation is

required to repatriate functions, further information may be found in the relevant

impact assessment or explanatory memorandum.

Climate Change: Departmental Coordination

Christian Matheson: [1708]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans

she has to ensure that all cross-departmental climate change commitments are upheld in

the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

[Holding answer 22 October 2019]: Climate change is one of the most urgent and

pressing challenges we face today and this Government is committed to tackling it

Our ambitious domestic emissions reduction targets, enshrined in UK law, will not be

affected by Brexit. These commitments, including our net zero 2050 target, go

beyond our emissions reduction commitments in EU law.

The Environment Bill – laid on the 15 th October - will establish a new, world-leading

independent regulator that will enforce our climate commitments, working closely

alongside our independent advisers, the Committee on Climate Change.

Brexit will not affect our international climate commitments. The UK is a party to the

Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement in our own right and we are bound by all the

obligations of these agreements under international law. This includes the

requirement to prepare, communicate and maintain successive Nationally

Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. We have committed to

publishing an enhanced UK NDC by February next year.

In addition to these commitments, we have recently announced that we are setting up

a new climate change cabinet committee, chaired by the Prime Minister. This

committee will galvanise efforts to tackle environmental challenges and become the

cleanest, greenest society on earth, inspiring countries around the world to follow our

lead.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy Supply

Nic Dakin: [534]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will

write to her Cabinet colleagues to (a) inform them that her Department is adopting energy

suppliers that solely use renewable energy under the Crown Commercial Service energy



frameworks for the supply of gas, electricity and liquid fuels and (b) encourage them to

adopt similar policies for their Departments.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The Department is currently working with the Government Property Agency and

Office of Government Property to contribute to a sustainable estates strategy for all

Government Departments. The Office of Government Property has oversight of the

government estates strategy, and BEIS colleagues will be contributing to the

development of their proposals for Spending Review 2020.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Appointments


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which public

appointments she is responsible for.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The public appointments that the Department is responsible for making are set out in

the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019:



Electricity Generation

Chris Ruane: [1900]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference

to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 140 on Electricity Generation, when she

plans to publish that forthcoming White Paper.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

We intend to publish an Energy White Paper in the first three months of 2020.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Nic Dakin: [155]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what

assessment she has made of the potential effect of Ofgem's Targeted Charging Review

proposals on (a) costs to the UK steel sector, (b) steel making capability, (c) the

manufacturing sector and (c) the local economy of steel producing areas.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review is seeking to ensure all parties connected to the

electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs. This is consistent with

Government’s views on the importance of an energy system that discourages free

riding and ensures a fair distribution of costs, with solutions rewarded where they

contribute to reduced system costs.

Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator, and decisions

on its review are for it to make. The analysis published by Ofgem is available at


https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf





https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/charging/targeted-

charging-review-significant-code-review, Ofgem expects total consumer costs to

reduce as a result of its proposals. Ofgem has yet to take its final decisions on the

review - it is currently considering the views and evidence provided in response to its

most recent consultation.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Finance

Stephen Morgan: [1947]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps

her Department has taken to measure the effectiveness of the disbursement of public

money by local enterprise partnerships.

Nadhim Zahawi:

In the July 2018 Review, Strengthened LEPs, Government bolstered the rules that

each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) must follow to ensure greater transparency

on how public money is spent. We continue to review the effectiveness of the

assurance and transparency model that we have in place for LEPs. The National

Local Growth Assurance Framework published in January 2019 provides guidance to

LEPs on how places should appraise, monitor and evaluate schemes to achieve

value for money, based on HM Treasury Green Book standards. Government also

receives quarterly performance data from LEPs through the Framework.



commission a review of the value for money provided by local enterprise partnerships.

Nadhim Zahawi:

In the July 2018 Review, Strengthened LEPs, Government bolstered the rules that

each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) must follow to ensure greater transparency

on how public money is spent. We continue to review the effectiveness of the

assurance and transparency model that we have in place for LEPs. The National

Local Growth Assurance Framework published in January 2019 provides guidance to

LEPs on how places should appraise, monitor and evaluate schemes to achieve

value for money, based on HM Treasury Green Book standards. Government also

receives quarterly performance data from LEPs through the Framework.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Solent


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what

assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) equity of Solent local

enterprise partnership's grant criteria in relation to the Southsea sea defence scheme.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The National Local Growth Assurance Framework is published by the Ministry of

Housing, Communities and Local Government. This Framework sets out

Government’s guidance on the assurance requirements for local growth funding as

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/charging/targeted-charging-review-significant-code-review






well as guidance for LEPs on carrying out value for money assessments on the

funding it provides.

The Solent LEP’s Local Assurance Framework is published on its website and sets

out how the LEP operates, including processes for decision-making, project approval

and monitoring. In accordance with the Framework minutes of both LEP Board and

the Funding, Finance and Performance Management Group meetings are publicly

available on the LEP website.

LEPs are also required to participate in relevant Local Authority scrutiny

arrangements to guarantee the effective and appropriate scrutiny of their investment

decisions, this is in addition to their internal scrutiny and audit arrangements.

Professions: Qualifications

Chris Ruane: [440]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many

mutual recognition agreements for professional qualifications (a) the UK has signed with

EU member states and (b) plans to sign by 31 October 2019.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 21 October 2019]: The Government has encouraged UK and EU

regulators to sign mutual recognition agreements that provide routes for recognition

for qualifications of UK and EU professionals in the event of leaving the EU without a

deal. This will ensure UK professionals are able to practise in other parties’

jurisdictions.

Rain Forests: Amazonia

Lyn Brown: [965]

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference

to the Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290776 on Rain Forests: Amazonia, what

assessment her Department has made of recent trends in the level of deforestation in the

Amazon rainforest.

Kwasi Kwarteng:

The UK is concerned by data that suggests a surge in forest fires in the Amazon

rainforest in 2019. Whilst the data is complex there is evidence that indicates this

surge in fires follows months of accelerated deforestation. In recent years we have

seen some evidence that climate change is making forest fires more frequent and

severe in Amazon countries and elsewhere. Unlike previous years when El Niño

caused severe droughts, climatic conditions were probably not a significant factor this

year’s increase in fires.

Amazon countries are established key partners for the UK in our collective efforts to

promote sustainable growth, tackle deforestation and mitigate climate change. As

stated in my response on 2 October 2019, the UK supports a number initiatives, as

part of multilateral climate funds and the UK’s bilateral relationship with several

Amazon countries, that aim to: i) improve the capacity of governments to reduce



deforestation; ii) incentivise forest protection through results based payments; iii)

enable businesses and communities to grow rural economies sustainably whilst

protecting standing forests.

These initiatives continuously monitor and implement mitigation strategies for risks,

such as increasing deforestation, in the course of their ongoing activities.

Thomas Cook: Insolvency

Ms Lisa Forbes: [1083]


make new capital grant funding available to businesses in Peterborough to generate jobs

after the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Kelly Tolhurst:

[Holding answer 21 October 2019]: The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook aims to

ensure support for employees and for the local economies most affected by the

liquidation.

The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in

partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for

those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support

former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their

own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees. It will

also provide advice and funding for businesses affected in the supply chain.


To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will take

steps to help ensure that the site of the former Thomas Cook headquarters in

Peterborough is used to generate future employment.

Kelly Tolhurst:

[Holding answer 21 October 2019]: Local partners, including Opportunity

Peterborough and Peterborough City Council, are exploring how best to create future

employment at the former Peterborough HQ site and secure future investment into

the City, working with the Thomas Cook Trust Fund and local and national property

agents.

CABINET OFFICE

[Subject Heading to be Assigned]

Mrs Pauline Latham: [900092]

What plans he has to move public sector jobs outside London.

Simon Hart:

The Government has committed to ensure that more civil service roles and public

bodies should be located in the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.




The Cabinet Office is co-ordinating this activity through the Places for Growth

programme. The Programme has identified over three thousand roles for relocation

over a phased timetable.

Patricia Gibson: [900093]

What steps he is taking to ensure that electoral registers are complete.

Kevin Foster:

The electoral registers for the June 2017 general election were the largest ever at

46.8 million people. Online registration has made registering to vote quicker and

easier than ever before. Government’s role is to ensure Electoral Registration

Officers have the tools needed to maintain complete and accurate registers.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Charities: Pay

Eddie Hughes: [1088]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her

Department has made of trends in the level of remuneration for chief executives in the

charity sector in the last five years.

Eddie Hughes: [745]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she

has made of trends in the level of remuneration for chief executives in the charity sector

in the last five years.

Nicky Morgan:

Setting executive pay is a matter for a charity’s trustees to determine, acting in the

best interests of their charity. In doing so the charity trustees need to consider a

number of factors, including securing value for money for the charity, and the impact

of their decisions on public trust. The Charity Commission for England and Wales

requires charities to include information on the number of staff receiving remuneration

in excess of £60,000, in their Annual Return. This information will be published in

income bands on the charity register. The Charity Commission also requires charities

to include information on the remuneration of their highest paid staff member. It will

use this data to make a study of pay in charities and will publish its findings, once that

work is complete.

Citizens' Juries

Vicky Foxcroft: [313]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress

her Department has made on the implementation of the Innovation in Democracy

Programme.





Nicky Morgan:

The Innovation in Democracy Programme is supporting three local authorities to trial

innovative models of deliberative democracy to involve citizens in local decision-

making. The Greater Cambridge Partnership have completed their participatory

sessions with local people, with the recommendations being delivered to the council

shortly. Test Valley and Dudley authorities will be starting their area democracy

forums this autumn.

Cybercrime

Jim Shannon: [1031]

To ask the Secretary for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, what discussions officials of

her Department has had with representatives of business organisations on funding for IT

training to help meet the demand for skills in cyber security.

Matt Warman:

Government published the Initial Cyber Security Skills strategy in December 2018.

The strategy sets out a range of proposals for addressing the cyber security skills

capability gap in the immediate term and developing the building blocks of a pipeline

for future talent. The strategy was accompanied by the publication of UK Labour

Market Research to better understand the needs of businesses. In producing the

strategy, officials engaged extensively with industry, employers, students, and

education providers through a range of events, workshops and meetings across the

UK. This engagement is ongoing, helping Government effectively work towards its

mission of ensuring businesses have access to the cyber security skills they need to

secure themselves in a digital economy.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Health

Chris Ruane: [906]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her

Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in

formulating policy; and what policies her department has introduced to improve personal

well-being in the last 12 months.

Nigel Adams:

Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics inform Health and Wellbeing

policy across the Civil Service. DCMS measures personal wellbeing through the

annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS

use for the UK population as a whole. The four personal wellbeing questions are: Life

Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found here.

Findings from the survey are used to inform our HR policies and support services. No

new policies have been introduced in the last 12 months, but we have focused on

improving the wellbeing support and services available to staff. This includes:

• Working alongside our Mental Health and Wellbeing Network to ensure that staff

with mental health conditions are supported in managing their conditions. The



network has a Senior Civil Servant (SCS) champion who supports, advises and

represents the Network at a senior level.

• Increasing the number of Mental Health First Aiders in DCMS from 22 to 32. These

champions are trained to provide support and guide people towards appropriate

professional help.

• Using external providers such as the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and

the HR Casework team to support employee wellbeing. Our HR Casework offer

has extended in the past 12 months and now includes both a dedicated line for

managers and an ‘Early Resolution Helpline’ for all employees to discuss work-

related issues which may affect wellbeing.

• Providing a health referral process which establishes the requirement for any

adjustments for employees suffering from a mental health or physical condition.

Individuals are then directed to the most appropriate provider for support.

• Launching a Menopause group as part of our Women’s network.

• Running a series of sessions on wellbeing and resilience in the workplace as part

of ‘DCMS Live’, a week of interactive learning which is available to all staff.

• Redesigning the internal DCMS intranet pages for health and wellbeing to ensure it

remains clear and accessible to all.

• Using induction materials to signpost new starters to the resources available to

them to support their wellbeing.

• Mandating ‘Wellbeing Confident’ training for all SCS (based on the PERMA model

using positive psychology techniques) which has equipped senior leaders with

tools to have open discussions about mental health and wellbeing within their

teams; and delivering team based sessions across the Department to embed this.

Mass Media: Regulation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: [934]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring

forward legislative proposals to introduce independent regulation of the media to protect

individuals from (a) invasive and (b) unethical journalism.

Nigel Adams:

We have seen great improvements in press regulation with the formation of IPSO and

Impress, which have the power to hold publications to account, including ordering

prominent corrections. Both regulators are independent of government and enforce

Codes of Practice, which include provisions on privacy and intrusion. They both

operate free complaints handling systems and low cost arbitration schemes.

Ofcom, as the independent broadcast regulator, sets rules for broadcasters to meet

in its Broadcasting Code. This includes rules ensuring that broadcasters avoid any

unwarranted infringement of privacy in the making of programmes.


Third Sector: Young People


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page

13 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what progress her Department has made

towards working with the Department for Education to develop proposals to help young

people play their part in shaping the future of our society.


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page

13 of the Government’s Civil Society Strategy, what progress her Department has made

towards building on the cross-sector partnership created by the #iwill campaign to identify

how the existing offer for young people can be improved.

Nicky Morgan:

Government is committed to providing meaningful opportunities for young people to

play their part in society. This includes creating social action opportunities to build

their skills and networks outside of school regardless of their background or

circumstances.

As announced in the Civil Society Strategy, Government is committed to ensuring

that young people have a say in the future of our society. Already, we have set up

three youth voice pilot projects to enable young people to shape national policy,

including a Youth Steering Group, Young Inspectors Group and a digital youth

engagement project. The Youth Steering Group has been working across

government to inform policy, including work with the Department for Environment,

Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial

Strategy to conduct a review on environment and climate policy.

In April 2019, government announced that it will be developing a youth offer to set out

its vision for young people. Officials have been working closely with Step Up To

Serve (SUTS), young people and #iwill campaign and youth sector partners to

develop the first stages of this work. DCMS continues to work with all relevant

Government Departments across this agenda, in particular the Department for

Education.

On 30th September, the Chancellor announced a £500million Youth Investment Fund

to support the creation of new youth centres and opportunities for young people. We

will be incorporating lessons learnt from the #iwill campaign and Fund into the

development of this new programme and will continue to work closely with SUTS and

the wider youth sector. It is a priority that the Youth Investment Fund is designed to

enable young people to have as much of a say and a choice in what activities are

available to them as possible.



Visual Impairment: Electronic Publishing

Ian Murray: [979]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she

has made of the potential benefits to (a) partially sighted and (b) blind people of (i) e-

readers and (ii) other digital reading materials; and what steps her Department is taking

to increase access to those materials.

Matt Warman:

The UK Government recognises that, although we live in an increasingly online world,

a significant part of the population remains digitally excluded, and as a Government

we are actively committed to tackling digital exclusion. In the Digital Strategy, we

committed to enabling people in every part of society - irrespective of age, gender,

physical ability, ethnicity, health conditions, or socio-economic status - to access the

opportunities of the internet.

In addition, most public libraries offer the loan of e-books and e-audio books, with

some also making available the loan of e-book readers and other technology to

enlarge the print. A number of local authorities use their website to communicate the

services available to visually impaired people from their libraries.

Libraries Connected has developed the Six Steps Promise with the Royal National

Institute for the Blind and Share the Vision to ensure libraries can support people with

reduced vision. The promise includes:

• ensuring that all blind and partially sighted customers are connected to the most

appropriate service for their reading needs and that they are able to make full use

of an accessible public library service

• using Reading Sight, a free website supporting blind and partially sighted people to

access reading and reading services

• providing local collections of accessible reading materials and information in

physical or digital formats, and be able to signpost library users to a wider range of

resources

•

Voluntary Work: Young People

Mr Jonathan Lord: [552]

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many people

participated in the National Citizen Service in each local authority area in Surrey in each

of the last three years.



Nicky Morgan:

NCS

PARTICIPANTS BY

SURREY LOCAL

AUTHORITY

DISTRICT 2015 2016 2017 2018

Elmbridge 118 145 134 114

Epson and Ewell 142 142 169 119

Guildford 194 205 235 191

Mole Valley 91 105 102 101

Reigate and

Banstead

179 147 139 189

Runnymede 63 93 90 57

Spelthorne 113 161 136 80

Surrey Heath 85 135 112 159

Tandridge 96 64 81 127

Waverley 115 115 141 151

Woking 56 125 147 113

Participation numbers for Summer 2019 are undergoing compliance checks and are

not yet available.

EDUCATION

Further Education: Finance

Ben Lake: [1770]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to allocate funding to

further education providers in England as a result of the increase in pension contributions

under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme from

1 April 2020.

Ben Lake: [1771]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding to further

education institutions in England to compensate for the increase in pension contribution



under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme from

1 April 2020 will lead to a Barnett consequential for Wales.

Ben Lake: [1772]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding will be allocated to the

Welsh Government to compensate for the additional pension contributions in the further

education sector that will be in effect from 1 April 2020.

Michelle Donelan:

[Holding answer 22 October 2019]: On 10 April, the department set out its plans to

fund further education providers in England to compensate them for the increase in

employer pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme from

September 2019 to July 2020. The details can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-scheme-employer-

contribution-grant-further-education-providers.

This grant is being made in 2 payments: one in September 2019 and one in April

2020.  Following the Spending Round announcement on 31 August, we have been

able to confirm that we will continue to provide this funding for the rest of financial

year 2020-21. The details of the allocation for 2020-21 and the amounts for the

remainder of that financial year are still to be determined, based on the most recent

data from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, and these will be announced in due

course.

The department has no plans to provide additional funding specifically for

contributions for the Local Government Pensions Scheme.  However, the government

has announced £400 million additional funding for 16-19 education in 2020-21, which

is a 7% increase in funding for education providers for this age group, in addition to

the funding for teachers’ pensions.

The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the

devolved administrations by the UK government. Under the Barnett Formula, the

Welsh government receives a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK

government spending on comparable services in England. The Barnett Formula

therefore determines changes to each devolved administration’s funding with

reference to changes in Departmental Expenditure Limit funding for the department.

The additional funding for the department in the August 2019 Spending Round will,

therefore, be reflected in the normal way in the block grant for the Welsh government.

The funding for further education pensions in 2020-21 will come partly from an

addition to the department’s allocation and partly from re-prioritisation of resources

within the baseline allocation for the department.

GCE A-level: Hearing Impairment

Sir John Hayes: [874]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department collects on the

proportion of deaf young people who have completed A-levels.



Michelle Donelan:

A record proportion of deaf young people are completing an A-level or level 3

equivalent. Information on the attainment of students with and without special

educational needs (SEN) who have completed an A level is available, but this

information cannot be broken down further by type of need.

However, the department does publish figures on level 3 attainment (i.e. achievement

of 2 or more A levels or an equivalent sized vocational qualification) by the age of 19

and this includes figures on the primary type of SEN, including the category ‘Hearing

Impairment’. The table below contains further details of this:

Percentage of pupils with SEN, who have a hearing impairment 1 , qualified to

level 3 2 by the age of 19

COVERAGE: YOUNG PEOPLE IN STATE SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND AT THE AGE OF 15

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

31.0 30.5 36.8 38.3 37.4 41.0 42.9 44.0 43.1 44.0 41.3 44.1

1. As identified in year 11

2. 2 or more A levels or an equivalent-sized vocational qualification

Pre-school Education: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to the

Maintained Nursery School budget for the financial year 2020-21.

Nick Gibb:

The Government recognises that maintained nursery schools are an important part of

the early years sector and provide valuable services to disadvantaged children.

The Government plans to spend £3.6 billion to support early education in the financial

year 2020-21 and details of how this is to be distributed across local authorities will

be issued shortly.

Pupil Referral Units: GCSE

Mr Jim Cunningham: [1888]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whats steps the Government is taking to

increase the proportion of students in pupil referral units achieving passes in GCSE (a)

English and (b) Maths.

Nick Gibb:

There are many reasons why children who attend alternative provision (AP) at Key

Stage 4 may face challenges gaining good GCSE grades in English and maths. The

Department is currently looking closely at what we need to do to ensure AP provides

high quality education and the right support for these children that will enable them to



succeed. The Department wants to be as ambitious for them as we are for all children

and young people.

As part of this the Department has already launched a £4 million AP Innovation Fund

which is delivering nine projects focused on testing ways to improve outcomes for

children in AP.

The Department will build on the best practice that my right hon. Friend, the

Secretary of State for Education and I have seen on visits to schools like Everton

Free School and London East Alternative Provision school in Tower Hamlets.

Schools: Census


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will include data on children with

disabilities in the school census.

Michelle Donelan:

It is Special Educational Needs (SEN) that is the main focus of our data collection

and dissemination in relation to children and young people. This is because our policy

is to focus efforts on the impact of conditions (some of which are disabilities) on the

educational experience of the individual and how barriers to individuals’ learning and

participation in education can be removed.

SEN is defined as a learning difficulty or a disability which calls for special

educational provision to be made for the child or young person. So, in the schools

data we publish on SEN, those pupils whose disability requires special help in school

are included in the SEN figures. We do not therefore consider it appropriate to collect

information separately on disability as well.

Sign Language: GCSE


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to expedite the

development of a GCSE in British Sign Language.

Nick Gibb:

The Government is aiming to introduce a GCSE in British Sign Language as soon as

possible, so long as it proves possible to develop a qualification that meets the

rigorous requirements that apply to all GCSEs. We are currently working with subject

experts to develop draft subject content.

The Department will be working with Ofqual to ensure that the subject content can be

assessed appropriately and will be working with stakeholders to ensure a wide range

of views are reflected. We are aiming to consult publicly on draft content next year.

Once final subject content has been published, it will be a matter for individual

awarding organisations to decide whether to develop a specification and have this

accredited by Ofqual.



Supply Teachers

Ruth Cadbury: [1702]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of a school’s budget was

spent on supply teachers in (a) The London Borough of Hounslow, (b) Greater London

and (c) England in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb:

The Department publishes the income and expenditure, including on supply teachers,

annually for local authority maintained schools and for academies.

Published schools’ Consistent Financial Reporting and Academies’ Accounting

Returns are available at the following link: https://schools-financial-

benchmarking.service.gov.uk/.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Amazonia: Rain Forests

Paul Farrelly: [83]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her

Department is taking to ensure that no products linked to Amazon deforestation are sold

in the UK.

Zac Goldsmith:

The UK Government is committed to supporting deforestation-free supply chains as

set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.

To address the footprint of products linked to deforestation, such as soya and beef,

we have established the Global Resource Initiative (GRI). Led by a taskforce

comprising of senior representatives from the private sector and civil society, the GRI

will produce a set of recommendations in early 2020 to address the impact of the

UK’s commodity supply chains. These recommendations may relate to regulatory and

policy measures, transparency, financial incentives, trade, sustainable procurement

and/or the role of the consumer. To address issues in relation to soya specifically, we

have established the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya which has recently led to

83% of the UK retail market publishing concrete sourcing policies to deliver

sustainable soya to the UK market.

The Government works in partnership with countries in the Amazon to tackle

deforestation and has invested nearly £120 million through the UK’s International

Climate Finance on projects to support sustainable agriculture, prevent forest fires

and implement the Forest Code in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes.

Following the Amazon fires the UK has pledged a further £10 million to protect and

restore the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.


https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/




Animal Products: Imports


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which countries

are allowed to import hunting trophies to the UK.

Zac Goldsmith:

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

Flora (CITES) permit system allows trade in hunting trophies of listed species, from

any country party to CITES, only when it is satisfied that the export will not be harmful

to the survival of the species. Import suspensions are in place for countries where

hunting of certain species is considered unsustainable.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it

her policy to introduce a moratorium on the importation of hunting trophies to the UK.

Zac Goldsmith:

Last month we announced that we will be consulting on whether to further restrict the

import and export of hunting trophies. We are acting to respond to the public’s

concerns and the consultation will be published in due course.

Animals: Exports

Chris Ruane: [517]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent

assessment she has made of the capacity of the veterinary industry to deal with

increased demand for Export Health Certificates in the event that the UK leaves the EU

without a deal.

Zac Goldsmith:

We recognise there will be an increased demand for Export Health Certificates

(EHCs) in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Our aim has been to support the market in meeting likely demand by increasing the

number of trained Official Veterinarians (OVs) by providing free certification training.

The number of trained OVs has increased from around 600 in February 2019 to more

than 1000 currently, there are around 250 who have registered but not yet completed

this training. We have been contacting this group, encouraging them to complete the

training as soon as possible.

In Great Britain, OVs operate in the private sector and over time we would expect the

market to match supply and demand. Understanding what this means for certifying

capacity is difficult as we cannot know how many hours a week these OVs will spend

on certifying exports and to what extent their availability will respond to price

incentives.

To support Local Authority Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) and Official

Veterinarians, we have created a Certification Support Officer (CSO) role and funded




training. CSOs will handle a number of preparatory and administrative aspects of

EHCs (checking documents, identifying products or sealing containers), freeing up

EHO or OV time and capacity to provide the final assurance required. To date, in GB,

we have 70 authorised CSOs.

EHCs for fish and fish products are primarily certified by Local Authority EHOs and

OVs mainly certify EHCs for Animals and Products of Animal Origin (POAO).

Food Supply

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: [138]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment

her Department has made of the effect on food supplies of the UK leaving the EU without

a deal.

Zac Goldsmith:

We would prefer to leave with a deal and we will work in an energetic and determined

way to deliver that better deal.

The UK food and drink supply chain contributes £121 billion to the economy and

employs four million people (12% of UK employment). Food and drink manufacturing

is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, while food and drink retail is the largest

service sector employer.

Consumers have access to a wide range of food products when they shop and this

will continue once we leave the EU. However, if key trade routes are temporarily

disrupted, there would be reduced availability and choice of certain food products,

including some of the fresh produce we import from the EU. If we have to leave with

no deal, there will not be an overall shortage of food in the UK.

While we are reliant on imports of certain fresh products at this time of year, our

market profiles clearly demonstrate strong UK winter production of many root

vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, swedes, turnips, parsnips and leeks.

Forests: North of England

Dan Jarvis: [R] [176]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will support

the delivery of the Northern Forest; and if she will make an assessment of the potential

merits of supporting that delivery through (a) the development of green investment

models, (b) Government grants, (c) developer levies and (d) contributions and other

support from offsetting planned Government infrastructure projects.

Zac Goldsmith:

As part of the Government’s ambitious 25 Year Environment Plan (YEP), we are

providing £5.7 million to support the existing Northern Forest Partnership, with

Community Forests and The Woodland Trust to accelerate and further develop the

Northern Forest. This will help plant at least 1.8 million new trees in the Northern

Forest by 2022. A minimum of 1 million of these trees are being delivered through the



Partnership Innovation Fund element of our investment. Through this approach we

are working closely with the Northern Forest Partnership to consider, develop and

test innovative approaches and policies from the 25 YEP such as Forestry

Investment Zones, natural capital, carbon off-setting and green investment financing

models.

The Government is also working with the Northern Forest Partnership to increase

planting rates, through joint working of Defra Group bodies like the Forestry

Commission (FC), with the Partnership signposting land managers to existing FC

funding.

This approach will ensure trees are planted now and kick-start the development of

the Northern Forest, helping the Partnership to realise their longer-term vision of 50

million trees over the next 25 years.

Gun Sports: Lead

Jim Shannon: [1032]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions

he has had with representatives of field sports association on reducing the level of use of

lead-shot through an increase in the use of steel-shot.

Rebecca Pow:

As far as we are aware, Defra Ministers have not had any recent discussions with

field sport organisations on reducing the level of use of lead-shot through an increase

in the use of steel-shot.

Peat Bogs: Fires

Ruth Jones: [1119]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring

forward legislative proposals to ban the burning of (a) blanket bog and (b) the peat soils

that blanket bog depends on.

Ruth Jones: [1121]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her

Department is taking to ensure compliance with the European Commission's infraction

procedure relating to the EU Habitats Directive on the protection and management of

blanket bogs in northern England Special Areas of Conservation.

Rebecca Pow:

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England

only.

The Government is committed to ceasing rotational burning on blanket bog on

European sites. Natural England has been working with landowners/managers to

enter into voluntary agreements to cease rotational burning, and surrender extant

consents to burn. The Government will set out its further plans to restore and protect

peat in the England Peat Strategy.




Veterinary Medicine: Drugs

Chris Ruane: [512]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent

assessment her Department has made of the duration of recognition of certifications by a

qualified person for batch release of medicinal products for human and veterinary use in

the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Zac Goldsmith:

The unilateral recognition of the results of batch tests carried out in the EU/EEA by

the UK will be time limited. We are not currently able to give a definite timeframe

because it is closely linked to the wider negotiations.

We are aware of the potential impact of this issue on industry and any changes to the

unilateral recognition will be communicated as soon as we are able.

Veterinary Medicines Directorate

Chris Ruane: [510]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment

her Department has made of the cost to the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate of

taking on regulatory functions currently undertaken by the EU.

Zac Goldsmith:

There will be no change to the cost to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) for

taking on the regulatory functions currently undertaken by the EU. This is due to the

VMD being a full cost recovery agency and these regulatory functions are paid for by

the veterinary pharmaceutical industry through the charges made on applications

submitted.

EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION

Business: Northern Ireland

Tom Brake: [404]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Prime

Minister's proposed EU exit deal, what assessment his Department has made of the

economic effect on businesses in Northern Ireland of the imposition of checks on both the

North-South and East-West border.

James Duddridge:

The new Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration, agreed between the UK

and the EU on 17 October, protects the economy of Northern Ireland and Ireland by

ensuring that all businesses can continue to trade easily across the North-South

border without checks or controls at, or near the border.




Customs: Northern Ireland

Ruth Jones: [1110]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he

has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government on the potential effect of customs

checks on trade across the Irish Sea.

James Duddridge:

The Government is committed to the close involvement of the Welsh Government as

we deliver an EU exit that works in the interests of the whole of the UK. While the UK

Government negotiates on behalf of the United Kingdom, we have been clear from

the start that the devolved administrations should be engaged throughout the

negotiations process.

Following the successful agreement of a deal with the EU on 17 October, the

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster spoke with Jeremy Miles AM, Counsel General

and Brexit Minister in the Welsh Government, in detail.

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union spoke to Jeremy Miles, on 2

October to discuss the Prime Minister’s letter to the President of the European

Commission regarding the UK Government’s proposals for a new protocol on

Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Latest developments were also discussed at the Joint Ministerial Forum (EU

Negotiations) on 10 October, where Lord Callanan, Minister of State for Exiting the

European Union, attended to discuss the latest developments with the devolved

administrations, including Jeremy Miles.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Public Appointments


To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which public appointments

he is responsible for.

James Duddridge:

The public appointments that the department is responsible for making are set out in

the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019.



Erasmus+ Programme

Catherine West: [1081]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions

have taken place on the UK's continuing participation in Erasmus in the event of the UK

leaving the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.




James Duddridge:

The Government values international exchange and collaboration in education and

training.

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK would continue to take part in

current EU programmes, including Erasmus+, for the duration of the transition period.

Any participation beyond this would be a matter for upcoming negotiations on our

future relationship with the EU. While the regulations for future EU programmes are

still in the process of being developed, the Political Declaration envisages the

possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation

of general terms of participation.

In the event that the UK leaves the EU with no agreement in place, the Government’s

guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK applicants for all successful

Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps bids submitted before the end of 2020.

This means UK Erasmus+ students already abroad will be able to complete their

study placements.

Industry: Northern Ireland

Tom Brake: [419]

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Prime

Minister's proposed EU exit deal, when his Department last met with representatives of

Northern Irish industry to discuss the effect on that industry of the imposition of a North-

South and an East-West border.

James Duddridge:

The department has engaged extensively with representatives of businesses,

industry groups and trade unions from Northern Ireland. This includes through the

Government’s Alternative Arrangements Business Advisory Group. Ministers are

continuing to engage with representatives from all sectors of the Northern Ireland

economy.

The Government's revised deal provides a new and unique solution for Northern

Ireland – they will continue to be part of the UK Customs Union, but with access to

EU markets without a hard border. The Government has made clear commitments to

ensure unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to the whole UK internal

market.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Ahmed Mansoor

Mr Ben Bradshaw: [859]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to

make representations to his Emirati counterpart on (a) recent reports that Ahmed

Mansoor has been tortured in al-Sadr prison and (b) Ahmed Mansoor's right to access to



healthcare during his hunger strike under UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment

of Prisoners.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

Officials have previously raised the case of Ahmed Mansoor with senior Emirati

officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

International Cooperation. The UK urges all countries to comply with their human

rights obligations and our close relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss

important issues such as human rights. Where the UK has cause for concern, we

raise these concerns at official and Ministerial level.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Preet Kaur Gill: [1149]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will

discuss human rights concerns with his Bahraini counterpart during the joint Working

Group between Bahrain and the UK on 17 October 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

During the twelfth UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group of 17 October, I discussed with

the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain a wide range of areas of bilateral co-

operation, including economic growth, security, and human rights.

Burma: Genocide

Stephen Gethins: [1056]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has

undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the evidence available for the purpose of

taking a case to the International Court of Justice on the ground that the situation in

Burma represents a violation of the UN genocide convention.

Mrs Heather Wheeler:

In March 2018, in order to establish the facts around the actions of the Myanmar

military, we co-sponsored a resolution that led to the establishment of an

independent, international Fact Finding Mission (FFM). During its mandate, the FFM

documented atrocities in Myanmar. The FFM was clear that what transpired in

Myanmar amounted to ethnic cleansing and could be genocide.

We agree that any judgment on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for

competent courts, after consideration of all the evidence, through a credible judicial

process. We are aware that The Gambia is planning on bringing a case at the ICJ on

behalf of the OIC. The British Government has not undertaken its own assessment of

the evidence available to the ICJ.



China: Prisoners

Lyn Brown: [962]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to

the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question HL17757 on China: Prisoners, if he will publish

the evidence relating to organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China provided to

his Department by (a) the World Health Organisation and (b) other international

organisations.


The World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations act

independently of the British Government, and as such we cannot disclose, nor oblige

them to disclose, the details of their work. Our most recent consultation with the WHO

relating to organ harvesting in China took place on 15 May.

We consult and share assessments with a wide range of human rights and

international organisations on the basis of confidentiality. In order to maintain working

relationships with these organisations, we do not publish details of discussions

between them and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Climate Change Convention: Glasgow

Barry Gardiner: [837]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment

his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of accommodation in

Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties.


The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has assessed the availability of

accommodation for the 26th Conference of the Parties within Glasgow and a one hour

radius of Glasgow. We are confident that sufficient accommodation is available.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether her

Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using cruise liners to

provide accommodation for attendees at 26th Conference of the Parties in Glasgow.


The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made an assessment of the potential

merits of using cruise liners. Our expectation is that there will be sufficient

accommodation within Glasgow and the surrounding region for attendees.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what executive

authority the President of the 26th Conference of the Parties, UN Climate Conference will

have over staff within the his Department that are working on climate diplomacy.






The British Government are aware of the need for strong and coordinated senior

ministerial governance on COP26. The Prime Minister will chair a new Cabinet

Committee on Climate Change attended by the Foreign Secretary. The COP

President will report to the Prime Minister and will be based in the Cabinet Office,

working closely with the newly established COP unit. We anticipate appointments

being made to this unit from across Whitehall Departments.



he has made of the level of energy and climate change policy staffing resources his

Department requires to host the COP26 UN Climate Conference in 2020.


COP26 will require a whole-of-government effort, including strong diplomatic

engagement. Both UK-based and locally-engaged staff across the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office's network will continue to hold climate change diplomacy as a

personal priority, and it will remain a Priority in our Embassies and High

Commissions. We will be increasing our network of climate attaches.

Hong Kong: Demonstrations

Mrs Madeleine Moon: [935]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions

he has had with his Hong Kong counterparts on the use of excessive police force against

protesters.


We remain seriously concerned by the situation in Hong Kong and recent violent

clashes between protesters and the police. It is essential that protests are conducted

peacefully and within the law, and that the response of the authorities is

proportionate. On 9 August, the Foreign Secretary spoke at length to the Hong Kong

Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, about the police response to recent protests, and the

UK Consul-General in Hong Kong is in regular contact with the authorities, including

on this issue. We have made clear our view that there must be a robust, credible and

independent investigation into events in Hong Kong. An inquiry is an important step in

healing divisions and rebuilding trust that will support the process of dialogue and

resolution.

Kashmir: Politics and Government

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: [1065]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what

representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the restoration of the autonomy

of Kashmir and Jammu; and what pressure the Government will apply to encourage an

end to the violation of human rights in that region.





We are monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely and are in regular contact with the

Governments of both India and Pakistan. Regarding representations to India

specifically, the Prime Minister has spoken to Prime Minister Modi about the situation,

underlining the importance of maintaining dialogue. The Foreign Secretary has raised

his concerns about the situation with the Indian Minister for External Affairs Dr

Jaishankar. The Minister for the Commonwealth, UN and South Asia has also had

regular engagement with the Indian High Commissioner, and discussed Kashmir with

the Indian Minister of Minority Affairs during his visit to New Delhi this month.

We recognise that there are human rights concerns in both India-administered

Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. We encourage all states to ensure

domestic laws are in line with international standards. Any allegation of human rights

abuse is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly,

transparently and independently.

The Government’s longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a

lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes

of Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or act as mediator. We

encourage India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue and find lasting, diplomatic

solutions to maintain regional stability.

Malaysia: Capital Punishment

Stephen Gethins: [1720]


he has had with his Malaysian counterpart on the (a) consistency with international

human rights laws and conventions and (b) application to people on death row of

alternative sentences to the mandatory death penalty in that country.


We have been supporting the Malaysian Government's ambitions to ratify UN

instruments on human rights, reform security legislation and abolish the death

penalty. The former Foreign Secretary the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt discussed our

support for human rights reforms in Malaysia, including on the death penalty with his

counterpart Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah during his visit to Kuala Lumpur 3-4

January.

We welcomed the Malaysian Government's announcement, in October 2018, of its

plan to abolish the death penalty. The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt

Hon Mark Field MP, urged early progress during his visit to Malaysia that month.

The abolition bill has been postponed until the next sitting of the Malaysian

Parliament. We have been using every opportunity to encourage Malaysia to pass it

as soon as possible.

It is a longstanding policy of the British Government to oppose the death penalty, in

all circumstances, as a matter of principle. The Malaysian Government is fully aware


of our position and we continue to raise our objection to capital punishment at the

highest levels.

Syria: British Nationals Abroad

Preet Kaur Gill: [1143]


he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development on the repatriation

of British children from north east Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

The Foreign Secretary has discussed the repatriation of British children from north

east Syria with Cabinet ministers including the Secretary of State for International

Development, and these discussions are ongoing. The Foreign Secretary has made

clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and

orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention, subject to national security

concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to provide

assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.

Ian Murray: [982]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his

Department has to repatriate British children trapped in north east Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any

British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are brought to our attention,

subject to national security concerns. The UK has no consular presence within Syria

from which to provide assistance, but we carefully consider all requests.

Our advice to any British national abroad who needs emergency help from the British

Government is to contact the nearest British Embassy or Consulate, which in this

case will be outside Syria. If a minor is unable to do so, a request can be made on

their behalf. British nationals can also call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

(FCO) in London 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The number is clearly advertised on

FCO Syria Travel Advice pages.

Ian Murray: [983]


has he had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the repatriation of

British children trapped in north east Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

The Foreign Secretary has discussed the repatriation of British children from north

east Syria with Cabinet ministers including the Home Secretary, and these

discussions are ongoing. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government

will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria, who are

brought to our attention, subject to national security concerns. The UK has no




consular presence within Syria from which to provide assistance, but we carefully

consider all requests.

Syria: Detainees

Caroline Lucas: [972]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it

her policy to return British nationals detained in Syria to the UK; and if he will make a

statement.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

The British Government is clear that those individuals who have fought for, or

supported Daesh, whatever their nationality, should face justice and accountability

through prosecution in the most appropriate jurisdiction. That will often be in the

region where their alleged offences have been committed. The Government takes

these responsibilities extremely seriously which is why, working closely with

international partners, we are pursuing all efforts to address this threat and establish

pathways for effective prosecution.

Caroline Lucas: [973]


he has made of level of risk to UK nationals detained in Syria and sent for trial in Iraq of

(a) torture and (b) the death penalty; if he will make it her policy to oppose the transfer of

any UK detainees from Syria to Iraq for trial; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

Any decision in relation to the continued detention, transfer or prosecution of

detainees is ultimately a matter for authorities under whose jurisdiction the individuals

are detained. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, as a matter of

principle. We have human rights concerns relating to the trials in Iraq's domestic

courts of Iraqi nationals suspected of support for Daesh: we regularly raise these

concerns, including our opposition to the death penalty, with the Iraqi authorities.

Syria: Human Rights

Stephen Twigg: [1881]

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his

Department is taking to strengthen mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable for

violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

The UK is committed to highlighting the appalling violations of international

humanitarian and human rights law in Syria and to seeing those responsible for the

most serious crimes held to account in the most appropriate jurisdiction. We continue

to support the UN Commission of Inquiry's investigations into human rights violations

and abuses in Syria and the work of the UN International Impartial and Independent

Mechanism (IIIM) which is gathering evidence for the prosecution of persons

responsible for the most serious crimes under international law in Syria. The UK has




contributed over £9 million since 2012 in support of Syrian and international efforts to

gather evidence and assist victims of human rights abuses and violations, including

£950,000 to the IIIM.



he has had with his Turkish counterpart to ensure that the Turkish authorities respect

international humanitarian law in northern Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

We are seriously concerned about reports of violations of International Humanitarian

Law during the military offensive by Turkish forces and their Syrian allies. We expect

all parties to respect their obligations towards civilians and under International

Humanitarian Law. The Foreign Secretary conveyed this message to the Turkish

Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on 10 October and the Prime Minister made this clear to

President Erdogan on 20 October.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will submit a

request to the UN Security General to expand the scope of the UN Board of Inquiry for

Syria beyond north west Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

Having repeatedly called for scrutiny into the multiple attacks on UN-supported or

deconflicted civilian infrastructure in north west Syria, we have welcomed the

establishment of the UN Board of Inquiry. Since the same issue does not apply

elsewhere in the country, we will not be calling for the UN Secretary General to

expand the scope of the Board of Inquiry beyond north west Syria. The UN’s

International Commission of Inquiry on Syria continues to have the mandate to

investigate violations of international human rights law throughout the country.


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what

representations he made to (a) parties to the conflict in north east Syria and (b) countries

that have borders with Syria on keeping cross-border points (i) open and (ii) accessible to

humanitarian aid (A) workers and (B) supplies.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

We joined EU partners in a statement urging all parties to ensure the protection of

civilians and unhindered, safe and sustainable humanitarian access throughout Syria

including for humanitarian aid workers and supplies. We have also repeatedly called

on all parties to uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. We

are in close contact with the authorities in Turkey and in Iraq, including in the

Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on the situation in north-east Syria including on the need for

humanitarian access. We continue to monitor the situation closely.





To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is the

Government's policy to support the renewal of UN Security Council Resolution 2165.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

The UK is committed to the renewal of Resolution 2165, which allows much needed

aid to be delivered cross-border into Syria. British officials will soon begin discussions

with likeminded countries on the UN Security Council on the renewal, and will also be

consulting international non-governmental organisations.

Syria: Refugees


To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is

taking to help ensure that Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey are not repatriated

to Syria against their will.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

We have been clear in our public statements and in our engagement with Turkey and

Syria's other neighbours, that any return of refugees to Syria must be voluntary and

in line with international law. We do not support forced returns and would not support

returns to areas that have not yet been declared safe by the UN.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Agomelatine

David Linden: [712]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what steps he is taking to

ensure the adequacy of the supply of Agomelatine in the event that the UK leaves the EU

on 31 October 2019 without a deal.

Edward Argar:

The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European

Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the uninterrupted

supply of medicines and medical products, including those for use in the treatment of

depression, once we have left the EU.

The Department, as part of our EU exit preparations, is implementing a multi-layered

approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply, which consists of stockpiling

where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory

requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to

improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption

Response to manage potential shortages. Further details can be found at the

following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-

government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plans




https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plans



There is no evidence of any supply shortages being related to leaving the European

Union. We are aware that one supplier of generic agomelatine 25mg tablets

discontinued supplies in July 2019. However, we can confirm that supplies of

agomelatine 25mg tablets are currently available from several other suppliers in

volumes that are sufficient to meet normal United Kingdom demand. All patients who

require agomelatine should be able to obtain a supply from their pharmacy.

Autism: Diagnosis

Rosie Duffield: [1936]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to

reduce waiting times for (a) referral to a specialist for autism diagnosis and (b) an initial

assessment for autism and autism spectrum disorders.

Caroline Dinenage:

No one should have to face long waits for an autism assessment. We expect services

to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality

standard which recommends that the length of time between referral and a first

appointment to start an assessment should be no more than three months.

We are determined to drive up performance nationally. We will use data on autism

diagnosis waiting times, available for the first time later this year, to hold local areas

to account where waiting times exceed the NICE standard.

Whilst a diagnosis of autism should happen as soon as possible, it is important to

recognise that formulating a diagnosis is often complex and can involve different

professionals and agencies.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: [1918]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for

medical cannabis have been issued on the NHS since the rescheduling of cannabis-

based products.

Jo Churchill:

Cannabis-based products for medicinal use were rescheduled on 1 November 2018

to allow clinicians on the General Medical Council’s ‘Specialist Register’ to prescribe

cannabis-based products for medicinal use, where clinically appropriate and in the

best interest of patients.

NHS England and NHS Improvement is using extant systems to monitor use of the

newly rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in

England. In England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and

associated costs in primary care and the volume of products used and associated

cost in secondary care. NHS England’s and NHS Improvement’s Controlled Drug

Accountable Officers are also collecting local intelligence in both the National Health

Service and independent sector.



Ronnie Cowan: [1919]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prescriptions for

medical cannabis were issued on the NHS from November 2017 to November 2018.

Jo Churchill:

NHS England and Improvement is using extant systems to monitor use of the newly

rescheduled unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use in England. In

England, these systems monitor the number of items dispensed and associated costs

in primary care and the volume of products used and associated cost in secondary

care. NHS England’s and NHS Improvement’s Controlled Drug Accountable Officers

are also collecting local intelligence in both the NHS and independent sector.

The NHS Business Services Authority is only able to provide information on

prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines that have been prescribed and submitted

to the NHS Business Services Authority. It does not hold information on prescriptions

for cannabis-based medicines which have been issued but not fulfilled.

The following table shows the number of items for Nabilone and Sativex (licensed

cannabis-based medicines) and unlicensed cannabis-based medicines that were

prescribed on an National Health Service prescription, dispensed in the community

and submitted to the NHS Business Services Authority for reimbursement between

November 2017 and November 2018.

MONTH

LICENSED CANNABIS-

BASED MEDICINES

UNLICENSED CANNABIS-

BASED MEDICINES

Nabilone Sativex

November 2017 44 174 0

December 2017 58 202 0

January 2018 54 171 0

February 2018 44 158 0

March 2018 47 182 0

April 2018 48 145 0

May 2018 45 183 0

June 2018 42 157 0

July 2018 48 170 2

August 2018 54 161 0

September 2018 45 172 1

October 2018 50 164 0


MONTH

LICENSED CANNABIS-

BASED MEDICINES

UNLICENSED CANNABIS-

BASED MEDICINES

November 2018 46 175 2

Total 625 2,214 5

Unlike NHS primary care where all dispensed prescriptions are processed centrally

for payment, this is not the case for secondary care. This information is collected by a

third party and not routinely published.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Christian Matheson: [1906]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had

with members of the UK national screening committee on amending NHS guidelines to

allow cervical smear test samples from under 25s to be examined if a GP requests an

examination.

Jo Churchill:

A cervical smear may not be the most appropriate test for patients presenting with

symptoms. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (UK NSC)

encourages all women who have concerns about their health or who present with

symptoms to contact their general practitioner (GP), who will then decide on the most

appropriate next steps and diagnostic tests.

There have been no discussions with members of the UK NSC in amending National

Health Service guidelines to allow cervical smear test samples from under 25s to be

examined if a general practitioner requests an examination.



reduce waiting times for cervical screening test results.

Jo Churchill:

The Government recognises that it is important that women are informed about their

cervical screening results as soon as possible and that they are aware when they

receive their results that they are independent of any onward referral for further

investigative tests if needed.

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is introducing testing for human

papillomavirus (HPV) as the primary test carried out on cervical screening samples

and this is due to be implemented across England by 2020. As a result of the move to

HPV primary screening, cervical screening providers have experienced difficulties in

meeting the 14-day TAT target. This is due to the HPV primary screening requiring

less cytologists to carry out testing and staff anticipating this reduction before the full

roll-out has been implemented and reduced workload seen.



A number of initiatives have been introduced across the country to reduce waiting

times for cervical screening test results. These include: laboratories offering overtime

for staff; utilising existing HPV pilot sites to create additional cytology capacity for

other laboratories; and allowing the conversion of existing service providers to HPV

primary screening ahead of full roll-out nationally.

In addition to this, Professor Richards’ review of national adult screening programmes

recommended that NHS England should ensure that all screening results are given to

patients in the standard timeframes. Professor Richards also acknowledged that the

difficulties experienced in cervical screening has been due to the change in testing

and should revert once the transition has been completed given close monitoring.

Diabetes

Tom Brake: [401]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research

conducted by 38 degrees showing that 571 people in Carshalton and Wallington have

type 1 diabetes and rely on daily insulin, what assessment his Department has made of

the distribution and number of diabetes sufferers in the UK; and what steps his

department has taken to secure undisrupted supply of insulin across the UK in the event

of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Jo Churchill:

The number of people registered with diabetes at a general practitioner (GP) practice

in 2017-18 by clinical commissioning group and diabetes type in England can be

found in the attached table.

The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European

Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should help to ensure the

uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products, including insulin, once we

have left the EU.

As part of our EU exit preparations, we are implementing a multi-layered approach to

mitigate potential disruption to supply, which consists of stockpiling where possible,

securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring

additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and

putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential

shortages.

All three suppliers of insulin have publicly stated that they have significantly increased

their United Kingdom stockpiles, and have met the Government request that they

hold at least six weeks’ worth of extra stock in addition to their usual operational

stocks.

Attachments:

1. PQ401 table [PQ401England CCG level.docx]


Diabetes: Mental Health Services

Julian Sturdy: [578]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is

taking to improve mental health provision for diabetes patients.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increasing the provision of mental health

support for all patients who require it. The importance of addressing the mental health

needs of people with diabetes is recognised and further work is underway to consider

the most effective routes for supporting this as part of the future development of

services.

On 21 March 2018, NHS England and NHS Improvement, along with the National

Collaboration Institute for Mental Health, published ‘The Improving Access to

Psychotherapy Therapy (IAPT) Pathway for People with Long-term Physical Health

Conditions and Medically Unexplained Symptoms’. The guidance outlines the IAPT

pathway, and accompanying benchmarks, to support the national expansion of IAPT

services for adults with long term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms.

NHS England is also working to improve care for those with type 1 diabetes and

eating disorders (often referred to as diabulimia) by supporting two pilots to test, trial

and evaluate the effects of integrated diabetes and mental health pathways for the

identification, assessment and treatment of diabulimia. One pilot is in London and the

other in the South region.

In recognition of the interdependencies between diabetes and mental health, a

project working group has been established between NHS England and Diabetes UK

to specifically consider the distinct mental health needs of patients with diabetes at all

stages in their care pathway.

General Practitioners: Pharmacy


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his

Department's consultation entitled, Community pharmacy drug reimbursement reform,

published in July 2019, what steps he is taking to undertake an impact assessment of the

possible effect of those reforms on the practices of dispensing GPs.

Jo Churchill:

The Department’s consultation on changes to the reimbursement of pharmacy

contractors has now closed and responses are being analysed. The impact

assessment that was published alongside the consultation document will be updated

with information provided by respondents to the consultation which includes

dispensing doctors and bodies representing them.





consult representatives of dispensing GP practices on the proposals in his consultation

on community pharmacy drug reimbursement reform.

Jo Churchill:

The Department has informed all relevant stakeholder representative bodies,

including the British Medical Association and the Dispensing Doctors’ Association,

about the consultation and has offered meetings to explain the proposals and answer

any questions. Some representative bodies have taken up this offer. I will also be

meeting the Dispensing Doctors’ Association shortly to further discuss the proposals.

General Practitioners: Rural Areas


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department

has made on recruiting additional GPs in rural locations.

Jo Churchill:

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, made a clear commitment to

the future of general practice, with primary and community care set to receive at least

£4.5 billion more a year by 2023/24, in real terms. This was followed by the five-year

general practitioner (GP) contract, which will provide greater financial security and

certainty for practices to plan ahead and will see billions of extra investment for

improved access, expanded services at local practices, the development of Primary

Care Networks (PCNs) and longer appointments for patients who need them.

NHS England and Health Education England are working together with the profession

to increase the GP workforce in England. This includes measures to boost

recruitment, address the reasons why GPs are leaving the profession and encourage

GPs to return to practice. The forthcoming People Plan will set out a broader strategy

for a sustainable general practice workforce and how we will meet the commitment to

the additional doctors working in general practice through both recruitment and

retention programmes. Alongside our commitment to grow the GP workforce, the GP

contract will see funding towards up to 20,000 extra staff working in PCNs by

2023/24.

In 2018, a record 3,473 doctors accepted a place on GP specialty training.

Additionally, NHS England’s International GP Recruitment programme is bringing

suitably qualified doctors from overseas to work in English general practice.

Additional incentives are available to attract GP trainees into previously hard-to-

recruit areas, including rural communities. The Targeted Enhanced Recruitment

Scheme, a £20,000 one off payment, is attracting GP trainees to parts of the country

where there have been consistent shortages of GP trainees. Over 500 trainees

entered TERs in 2016-18 and a further 276 places are available this year.



We have a broad offer to support GPs to remain in the National Health Service

including the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the GP Health Service

and the Releasing Time for Care Programme.

It is encouraging to see as of June 2019, over 250 more doctors, and over 800 more

nurses and other staff with direct patient care responsibilities working in general

practice compared to June 2018.

General Practitioners: Surrey



maintain the level of out-of-hours GP cover in Surrey.

Jo Churchill:

Evening and weekend general practice appointments are routinely available across

the country to enable patients to find appointments at a time convenient to them, with

millions of patients having already benefitted from this.

Care UK is the provider for both the Out of Hours (OOH) and the 111 service for

Surrey. Since April 2019 NHS North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group

(CCG) has been the lead commissioner for OOH general practitioner (GP) services

for North West Surrey, Surrey Downs, Guildford and Waverley and East Surrey

CCGs.

There are eight Primary Care Centres in Surrey that are involved in the provision of

OOH services.

The Woking Out of Hours primary care centre provides OOH services on Monday-

Friday 19:00-23:59 and 08:00-23:59 at weekends and bank/public holidays. This

service has not changed since the new contract began at the end of March 2019.

There are no plans to change the current contracted hours of opening or operation for

Woking.

North West Surrey CCG has advised that the following steps have been put in place

to maintain the level of OOH GP cover in Surrey:

- Direct booking being made available for extended access hubs through 111;

- Ongoing recruitment/pro-active skill mix, including GPs, advanced nurse

practitioners, urgent care practitioners, and dental and mental health nurses;

- The NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service, allowing patients to be

referred to pharmacists for minor ailments;

- Pharmacists able to issue prescriptions and repeat prescriptions out of hours;

- Collaborative working with the GP federation and primary care networks; and

- Looking at activity versus productivity going into winter and whether extra resources

will be needed.


NHS England is undertaking a national review of access to general practice services,

to improve patient access and reduce unwarranted variation in experience. The NHS

Long Term Plan made a clear commitment to the future of general practice, with

primary and community care set to receive at least £4.5 billion more a year by

2023/24 in real terms. This was followed by the five-year GP contract framework,

which will provide greater financial security and certainty for practices to plan ahead.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Kate Green: [599]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings (a) he and (b)

Ministers in his Department have had with the (i) Academy of Royal Colleges, (ii) Royal

College of General Practitioners and (c) Royal College of Midwives on those

organisations' call for the NHS overseas visitors charging regime to be suspended

pending an independent review of its impact on individual and public health; and if he will

make a statement.

Edward Argar:

Neither the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care nor the Ministers in the

Department have had meetings with the Academy of Royal Colleges or the Royal

College of General Practitioners regarding their call for the suspension of the National

Health Service overseas visitors charging regime.

On 24 June 2019, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health,

Inequalities and Suicide Prevention (Jackie Doyle-Price MP) met with a

representative of the Royal College of Midwives and others to discuss the issue of

charging overseas visitors for maternity care.

Kate Green: [600]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of

30 April 2019 to Question 246493 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, whether the

review document shared with Deighton Pierce Glynn setting out the findings of his

Department’s December 2017 review of the functioning of the NHS (Charges to Overseas

Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 was shared with any other party during the 2018

judicial review of that policy.

Edward Argar:

The Department conducted a review into the impact of the National Health Service

(Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, with particular

regard to any impact on vulnerable groups and those with protected characteristics.

The Department did not produce or publish a formal Review outcomes document.

The advice that ministers received regarding the findings of the review, and the

recommended next steps, was provided to the High Court, Deighton Pierce Glynn

and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in the summer of 2018 as part of

judicial review proceedings.



Kate Green: [610]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of

25 March 2019 to Question 236341, Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what the total

sum was that NHS trusts (a) charged to and (b) recovered from patients not covered by

the EHIC scheme under the NHS overseas visitors charging regime in (i) England, (ii)

Scotland and (iii) Wales in each financial year from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

Edward Argar:

The following table shows all identified and received directly chargeable income,

excluding EHIC, S1, S2 and Immigration Health Surcharge income in each year from

2015/16, for England:

YEAR INVOICED INCOME PAYMENTS RECEIVED

2015/16 £68,481 £28,854

2016/17 £81,402 £29,602

2017/18 £86,836 £29,086

2018/19 £91,252 £34,894

Notes:

1. FIGURES ARE IN £000S.

2. Invoiced income is invoices raised in year.

3. Payments received are in year but may not relate to invoices raised in year.

Figures for 2019/20 are not yet available. Figures for Scotland

and Wales are a matter for the devolved administrations.

Hearing: Testing

Jonathan Ashworth: [1673]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients waited more

than six weeks for (a) an initial NHS hearing assessment and (b) a follow-up NHS hearing

aid assessment in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage:

A monthly collection of waiting times for National Health Service audiology

assessments is available on the NHS England website, which records the number of

people waiting for more than six weeks at the end of each month. The monthly data is

attached. The data includes waiting times for a first assessment or subsequent

reassessment. The data is not broken down by type of assessment.



Attachments:

1. PQ1673 table [PQ1673 audiology assessment waiting time formatted table.xlsx]

Hepatitis: Diagnosis



improve detection rates of (a) hepatitis B and (b) hepatitis C.

Jo Churchill:

Public Health England’s (PHE’s) multi-agency National Strategic Group on Viral

Hepatitis is committed to working towards the World Health Organization goal to

eliminate viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030.

NHS England routinely screen pregnant women for hepatitis B and have also

implemented opt-out blood-borne virus testing across prisons. This can be viewed at

the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/infectious-diseases-in-pregnancy-

screening-clinical-guidance#idps-programme-guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-testing-rates-for-blood-borne-

viruses-in-prisons-and-other-secure-settings

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance on

increasing testing available treatment for hepatitis B and C at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph43

PHE has published evidence reviews, co-produced educational modules, developed

health promotional materials on hepatitis B and C infection and launched a hepatitis

C patient re-engagement exercise at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-interventions-for-case-

finding-and-linkage-to-care

https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?popup=0&id=175

https://publichealthengland-

immunisati.app.box.com/s/iptxtlziu57evyejw8zgvhimh0pjwa05

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-patient-re-engagement-

exercise

In 2019, NHS England made additional resources available to increase hepatitis C

case finding and treatment which include: peer to peer support programmes and an

incentivised payment model to engage and encourage testing people in high risks

groups, and intensive test and treat programmes in prisons settings.


https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/infectious-diseases-in-pregnancy-screening-clinical-guidance#idps-programme-guidance



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-testing-rates-for-blood-borne-viruses-in-prisons-and-other-secure-settings





https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-interventions-for-case-finding-and-linkage-to-care





https://publichealthengland-immunisati.app.box.com/s/iptxtlziu57evyejw8zgvhimh0pjwa05



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hepatitis-c-patient-re-engagement-exercise



Hospitals: Admissions

Dr David Drew: [408]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the 10 most frequent

causes of admission to an NHS hospital; were in the most recent 12 month period for and

how many people were admitted for each of those causes, in that time period which data

is available.

Edward Argar:

This information is not collected in the format requested.

NHS Digital published its Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity for 2018-19 on 19

September 2019.

Data are set out in the following table.

PATIENT ADMISSION - SUB-CHAPTER

DESCRIPTION NUMBER OF FINISHED ADMISSIONS EPISODES

Complications of labour and delivery 1,056,809

Other diseases of intestines 646,953

Arthropathies 609,032

Symptoms and signs involving the digestive

system and abdomen

554,882

Health services in circumstances related to

reproduction

539,391

Disorders of lens (including cataracts) 456,184

Symptoms and signs involving the

circulatory/respiratory system

440,918

Diseases of oesophagus, stomach and

duodenum

430,757

In situ and benign neoplasms and others of

uncertainty

430,698

Malignant neoplasms of lymphoid,

haematopoietic and related tissue

387,191

Further information is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-

patient-care-activity/2018-19


https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity/2018-19



Hospitals: York


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is

taking to ensure hospital capacity is increased in line with population growth in the York

area.

Edward Argar:

As part of their planning process, sustainability and transformation partnerships

/integrated care systems need to assess changing needs, additional activity and the

new services that are envisaged for the National Health Service in future plans. The

level of hospital capacity required in line with population growth would be a part of the

modelling of service demand.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

Chris Ruane: [447]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department

has made of the cost to the taxpayer of the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory

Agency taking on regulatory functions carried out by EU regulatory bodies when the UK

leaves the EU.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

As a Government trading fund, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory

Agency (MHRA) is funded mostly by income from fee-charging activities. In 2018/19

income from fee-generating activities was £124.0 million and income from the

sponsoring the Department was £34.6 million. The Agency’s income from trading

activities has reduced compared to previous years as a result of the United Kingdom

preparations to exit the European Union, which has led to a reduction in revenue from

centralised (European Medical Agency-managed) as well as decentralised (EU-

member states led) licence applications.

In addition, the MHRA is incurring costs to prepare for ‘no deal’ and transition to a

stand-alone regulator. The Department has provided support via transitional funding

(£6 million in 2018/19 and a further commitment of £11 million in 2019/20) and £1.6

million targeted ‘no deal’ funding towards decoupling the MHRA IT Customer Portal.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Faisal Rashid: [738]


reduce waiting times for mental health (a) referrals and (b) treatment.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who has a mental health

need is able to access timely treatment based on their clinical need.




We have made ambitious commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan to make mental

health services available to an extra 380,000 adults and 345,000 children and young

people aged 0-25 by 2023/24.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits the National Health Service to test and roll out

comprehensive waiting time standards for adults and children over the next decade.

This builds on the already established waiting time standards for children and young

people’s eating disorder services, early intervention for psychosis that covers all ages

and adult improving access to psychological therapies services which are all being

met or on track for delivery by 2020/21 in line with previous commitments.

Specific waiting times targets for emergency mental health services will take effect

from 2020.

The ongoing NHS clinical review of standards has reported its interim findings which

set out a number of proposed future waiting time standards for testing in mental

health. These include:

- assessment within 24 hours for urgent community referrals;

- seen by liaison psychiatry in accident and emergency within 1 hour from referral;

- four week waiting times for children and young people to access specialist mental

health services; and

- four week waiting times for adults to community mental health teams.

NHS: Directors

Luke Pollard: [687]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to undertake

a review the exclusion of NHS non-executive directors in protections under the Public

Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

Ms Nadine Dorries:

The Government has no plans for a review of any exclusions in protections afforded

by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

The Government supports the right of staff working in the National Health Service to

raise concerns and expects all NHS organisations to support staff that wish to do so.

We expect all NHS organisations to have in place whistleblowing policies, which are

consistent with the protections afforded by the Employment Rights Act 1996, as

amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, and which follow best practice.

Obesity: Children


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of

the number of children under five years old who are obese.



Jo Churchill:

The National Child Measurement Programme measures the heights and weights of

children in Reception (four to five-year olds) in England.

The data for the 2018/19 school year showed that 9.7% (57,869) of children in

Reception were obese. This is based on 95% (597,812) of children in Reception

eligible for measurement. These data are available to view at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-

measurement-programme/2018-19-school-year

The Health Survey for England measures the height and weight of a small sample of

children annually. The latest available report, from the 2017 survey, shows that 10%

of two to four-year-olds surveyed were obese. This is based on measurements taken

from 536 children. These are available to view at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-

england/2017

No data is collected centrally for children below the age of two.

Social Prescribing: Children and Young People


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department

has made of the number of children and teenagers that have benefitted from social

prescribing services since July 2018.

Jo Churchill:

No estimate is available.

On 23 October 2019, the Government launched a new independent organisation: the

National Academy for Social Prescribing, which is set to receive £5 million in grant

funding from April next year to support its work. Since its development was

announced in November 2018, the Department and NHS England have been working

with a broad range of partners both in and out of Government to build consensus on

the form and focus of the organisation in order that it deliver the greatest impact. The

Academy will be working to build and promote the evidence base for social

prescribing and sharing best practice; developing training and accreditation across

sectors; exploring new models and sources of funding; and, helping to broker

relationships between sectors.

In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement committed to

deliver at least £4.5 billion of new investment in primary medical and community

health services over the next five years. Part of this investment will support the

recruitment of over 1,000 trained social prescribing link workers in place by the end of

2020/21, rising further by 2023/24, with the aim that over 900,000 people are able to

be referred to social prescribing schemes by then.

NHS England and NHS Improvement is working to get all social prescribing services,

local commissioners and providers involved in measuring the impact of social

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2018-19-school-year



https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2017




prescribing locally. It has developed a Common Outcomes Framework (COF) for

social prescribing which will enable social prescribing connector schemes across the

country to capture core impact data. This will help to create a consistent evidence

base; support the business case; and, build a national picture of the impact of social

prescribing. The outcomes cover three key areas: the impact on the person; the

impact on community groups; and the impact on the health and care system. NHS

England and NHS Improvement will be working with stakeholders in a phased

approach over the next two years to embed the use of the measures in the COF for

the evaluation of social prescribing schemes.

The COF can be found via the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/social-prescribing-community-

based-support-summary-guide.pdf

On 23 October 2019, the Government launched a new independent organisation: The

National Academy for Social Prescribing, which is set to receive £5 million in grant

funding from April next year to support its work. Since its development was

announced in November 2018, the Department and NHS England have been working

with a broad range of partners both in and out of Government to build consensus on

the form and focus of the organisation in order that it deliver the greatest impact. The

Academy will be working to build and promote the evidence base for social

prescribing and sharing best practice; developing training and accreditation across

sectors; exploring new models and sources of funding; and, helping to broker

relationships between sectors.

HOME OFFICE

Homicide

Nic Dakin: [520]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the

Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology Note No. 599 on Early interventions to

reduce violent crime, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the 46 per cent

increase in homicides between 2014 and 2018.

Kit Malthouse:

The Serious Violence Strategy published in April last year sets out an analysis of the

trends and drivers of rises in serious violence including homicide. The analysis shows

that there are a range of factors that have driven these increases and changes in the

drugs market are a major factor.

The Government is determined to tackle all form of serious violence. This includes

supporting the police by recruiting 20,000 new police officers over the next three

years and making it easier for them to use stop and search powers and announcing

an additional £20 million to tackle county lines, including expanding the National

County Lines Co-ordination Centre. We are also investing over £220 million into early

intervention projects to steer young people away from crime.

http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/social-prescribing-community-based-support-summary-guide.pdf




Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: [590]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the £3.75 million

reserved for her Department's March 2019 marketing campaign for the EU settlement

scheme was spent on (a) online and (b) offline advertising.

Brandon Lewis:

In March 2019, Home Office launched a £3.75m UK wide marketing campaign

encouraging EU citizens to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The campaign ran

on out of home media (billboards, stations, roadside), radio, catch up tv, online, and

print. The cost breakdown is provided below.

1. Radio and digital audio: £410,000

2. Catch up tv: £1,000,000

3. Online (digital and social): £410,000

4. Print: £180,000

5. Out of home £940,000

Daniel Zeichner: [591]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been

transferred from Pre-Settled to Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme in each

month since 1 January 2019.

Brandon Lewis:

The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications concluded

for the UK can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme monthly

statistics’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-

scheme-statistics-september-2019.

The Home Office does not currently publish statistics on EU Settlement Scheme

application outcomes where an applicant with pre-settled status applies for settled

status, but is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU

Settlement Scheme. Home Office statisticians are currently considering the content of

the next quarterly release.

Knives: Crime


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her

Department's Guidance, Anti-knife crime community fund - year 3 (2019-20), last updated

on 26 June 2019, when she plans to publish the successful bids for that fund.

Kit Malthouse:

Successful bidders were informed of the outcome of this year’s anti-knife crime

Community Fund on 14 October 2019. The successful projects will, as in previous

years, be published on Gov.uk shortly.




Motor Vehicles: Theft

Mr Andrew Mitchell: [506]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is

taking to reduce the level of vehicle theft in the West Midlands.

Kit Malthouse:

To support the fight against crime, West Midlands Police are receiving £568.8m in

funding in 2019/20, an increase of £34.4m on 2018/19.

The previous Policing Minister chaired a Vehicle Theft Taskforce which brought

together the police, the motor industry and others. The Government continues to

work with partners to ensure that the response to this crime is as robust as it can be.

Police: Hampshire

Mr Damian Hinds: [623]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of

the change in FTE police numbers in Hampshire (a) in 2019 (b) in subsequent years.

Kit Malthouse:

The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers in

each Police Force Area (PFA) in England and Wales in the annual ‘Police workforce,

England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.

The number of officers in Hampshire in each year from 31 March 2007 to 31 March

2019, by headcount and full-time equivalence (FTE), can be found in open data

tables available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm

ent_data/file/817734/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods

We have also announced the allocation of 156 additional officers in Hampshire by the

end of 2020/21 as part of the Police Uplift Programme.

These new officers will be in addition to those hired to fill existing vacancies and the

extra officers already being recruited due to the increase in police funding for 2019-

20.

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: South Gloucestershire

Jack Lopresti: [617]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

steps his Department is taking to ensure that the revised Joint Spatial Plan for South

Gloucestershire allows the building of affordable homes in the Filton and Bradley Stoke

area.



https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817734/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods




Esther McVey:

Wherever possible we want to allow decisions about the future of areas to be taken

locally without the involvement of central government.

Because of his quasi-judicial role in the planning system, the Secretary of State is

unable to comment on the detail of local plans at examination. The authorities

involved in the Joint Spatial Plan for the West of England, including South

Gloucestershire, have choices to make about how they want to proceed with their

plan given the recommendation from their Planning Inspectors that it should be

withdrawn. The policies in any revised plan will be locally determined and will then be

assessed by independent Inspectors for their soundness.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that housing needed for different

groups in the community should be assessed and reflected in planning policies,

including making sufficient provision for affordable housing.

The government is committed to increasing the supply of social housing and has

delivered over 430,000 affordable homes since 2010. We have made £9 billion

available through the Affordable Homes Programme to March 2022 to deliver

approximately 250,000 new affordable homes of a wide range of tenures, including at

least 12,500 for social rent.

On 18 September 2018 we announced an additional £2 billion of long term funding

certainty for housing associations. This extra funding will deliver more affordable

homes and stimulate the sector’s wider building ambitions, through strategic

partnerships.

On 27 June 2019, we opened bidding on £1 billion of this funding through Homes

England.

Derelict Land



recent discussions he has had with developers to encourage building on brownfield sites.

Esther McVey:

This government has made its support for the re-use of brownfield sites abundantly

clear. Our National Planning Policy Framework, re-issued February 2019, expects

local authorities to give substantial weight to the re-use of suitable brownfield land. To

assist redevelopment the government offers loans for site preparation and

infrastructure, and tax relief for land remediation; and we introduced Permission in

Principle to speed housing-led development on sites included in the registers of

brownfield land which every local authority in England now produces. Published

information suggests that that across England there are over 28,000 hectares of

brownfield land suitable for housing. Green Belt land is only released for development

in exceptional circumstances, and once all other options have been exhausted


While the Secretary of State has not held recent discussions with developers about

specific policies related to brownfield land, we are continuing to emphasise the

priority we attach to using brownfield sites.

Housing: Construction

Bill Wiggin: [62]


steps the Department is taking to support sustainable house-building.

Esther McVey:

The Department is committed to increasing the sustainability of new homes.

On 1 October the government launched a consultation on stronger building

regulations that will pave the way for the Future Homes Standard. These 2020

changes aim to cut carbon emissions in new homes by almost a third, while keeping

household bills low.

We propose that new homes built to the Future Homes Standard from 2025 should

have 75-80 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than ones built to current

building regulations standards. Developers will be expected to use new technologies

such as air source heat pumps and the latest generation of solar panels.

A further consultation will follow, in the coming months, proposing changes to the

energy efficiency standards for non-domestic buildings and existing homes; and on

preventing overheating in new buildings.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework, re-issued February 2019, expects

local planning authorities to plan for climate change. Local authorities should take

account of how new developments will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,

such as through its location, orientation and design. Local authorities should also

adopt proactive strategies to adapt to climate change. Planning practice guidance

provides advice for local authorities and applicants on implementing these policies.

The National Planning Policy Framework also supports sustainability more broadly

and will help deliver the 25 Year Environment Plan, and the Clean Air Strategy. For

example, the Framework retains strong and appropriate protections for the natural

environment and expects local authorities to require developers to include green

infrastructure in housing and commercial developments. The 25 Year Environment

Plan commands strong public support and helps ensure new housing is built

sustainably.

Local Government Finance

Chris Ruane: [519]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how

much of the £77 million funding allocated to local authorities for the purpose of no deal

preparations has been allocated to each local authority.



Luke Hall:

The Department has made available £77 million to help local areas to prepare for

Brexit. Of this, £60 million has been shared between all local authorities across

2018/19 and 2019/20 (in three separate payments): unitary authorities have each

received £314,952; county councils have each received £262,500; district councils

have each received £52,452; and combined authorities have each received

£272,727. £8.15 million has also been allocated to those councils which either have,

or are near to, a major air, land or sea port to increase capacity to plan for and

accommodate changes and ensure the councils continue to operate efficiently. £5.79

million has been allocated to Local Resilience Forums to support them with their core

administration costs for preparing, testing, assuring and delivering plans for

supporting the delivery of Brexit.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Health

Chris Ruane: [915]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether

his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal wellbeing in

formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve personal

well-being in the last 12 months.

Jake Berry:

We use Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics to inform Health and

Wellbeing policy within the Civil Service. The Department also measures personal

wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national

statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole.

The four personal well-being questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness,

and Anxiety. Further details can be found at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measurin

gnationalwellbeing/july2017tojune2018.

We make use of a wide range of data and evidence in developing our policies,

including data sources which focus on well-being. This includes the above estimates

of personal wellbeing, as well as our own surveys and data collection tools which

include questions and data which are highly relevant to the well being agenda such

as the English Housing Survey and English Indices of Deprivation. We also continue

to use and support the development of the wider evidence base on well-being, as we

are one of the HMG funders of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ystradffin Farm

Deidre Brock: [1909]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what

reasons he has leased Ystradffin Farm, Rhandirmwyn, Llandovery SA20 0PG.


https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/july2017tojune2018




Jake Berry:

A lease, in the name of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local

Government, has been taken, on behalf of the Home Office, to accommodate

infrastructure for the new Emergency Services Network (ESN).

The site at Ystradffin Farm was identified by the ESN Programme as a suitable

location for a 22.5m Extended Area Service (EAS) lattice mast. Planning for the site

has been submitted but not yet granted.

National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre

Sir Edward Leigh: [424]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he

expects construction on the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to start;

and how much has been allocated from the public purse before construction starts and

(a) in total (b) for each of (i) Big Ideas, (ii) Dp9, (iii) Four Communications and (iv)

Newgate Communications.

Jake Berry:

I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer to Question UIN 293452 of 8 October for Big

ideas and Four Communications. He is reminded that neither DP9 nor Newgate

Communications receive public money for their services to the project. We expect

construction of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to begin in 2020, subject

to planning permission.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Syria: International Assistance


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps he has

taken to support aid agencies in northern Syria.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

We are deeply concerned by the ongoing situation in Northeast Syria. We remain in

regular contact with our partner aid agencies to ensure they have the flexibility they

need to meet increased humanitarian needs. The biggest challenge facing agencies

is security of staff, with recent events resulting in NGO international staff being

evacuated and local staff having to continue delivery under difficult circumstances.

We continue to work with partners to ensure continued humanitarian access.

Last financial year we provided over £40 million in humanitarian assistance in

Northeast Syria, and intend to continue our support at that level this financial year;

this funding is flexible and allows partners to direct resources to help those affected

by Turkish military action.



The Secretary of State has also been in contact with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN

Emergency Relief Coordinator, to identify any gaps in the humanitarian response,

and ensure those affected by the situation in Northeast Syria are getting the support

they need.

Syria: Migrant Camps


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he

has made of the humanitarian situation in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria; and what

steps her Department is taking to support refugees within that camp.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

We are working closely with our partners on the ground to meet the humanitarian

needs of the roughly 70,000 people in Al Hol camp. Conditions at the start of the year

were very poor, following a large and unplanned influx of people in need.


Northeast Syria, and plan to continue our support at that level this year. The UK’s

initial humanitarian response focused on immediate, life-saving support, such as

food, water, shelter (over 1,300 tents for example) and healthcare. This included

providing “safe spaces” for children in the camp.

The biggest challenge facing our current programme is security of staff, with recent

events resulting in NGO international staff being evacuated and local staff having to

continue delivery under difficult circumstances. In spite of this, we are engaging with

our partners to ensure humanitarian access is continuing to be delivered to Al Hol.

Syria: Water


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make an

assessment of the accuracy of reports by the (a) International Committee of the Red

Cross and (b) Syrian Arab Red Crescent that Hassekeh city is at risk of running out of

water as a result of damage to the main water station during the recent escalation in

military conflict; and what steps will his Department take to ensure adequate water

supplies to that region.

Dr Andrew Murrison:

We are aware of water shortages in Hassekeh. These have been caused by the

damage to the Alouk/Al Haouk water station, which compounds an existing issue as

water supplies in Hassekeh have been under enormous strain since before the crisis.

This water station is critical and serves approximately 400,000 people in Hassekeh

and camps in the area. The UN is currently assessing the damage and needs in the

water station. We are actively engaging with partners on the ground to assess any

impact on their ability to assist those in need. Whilst partners had prepared

contingency planning and prepositioned supplies in advance of the recent crisis, we

understand that some of our partners have now had to suspend operations to protect



their staff. In spite of this, we are engaging with our partners to ensure humanitarian

access is continuing to be delivered to those in need. The Secretary of State has

been in contact with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, to

identify gaps in the humanitarian response.


Northeast Syria, and intend to continue our support at that level this financial year.

This support is focussed on reaching those in most acute need, providing vital food,

water, shelter and healthcare.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Department for International Trade: Energy Supply

Nic Dakin: [532]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 7

October 2019 to Question 290330 and to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question

290324, if she will introduce the same policy as the Department of Business, Energy and

Industrial Strategy and switch to an electricity provider that supplies electricity solely from

renewable resources within 12 months; and for what reason her Department has not

already ensured its electricity is supplied solely from renewable resources.

Conor Burns:

All government departments are mandated to use the Crown Commercial Services

(CCS) Energy frameworks for the supply of gas, electricity and liquid fuels.

The CCS competes the frameworks on the open market and selects the energy

providers according to a set of award criteria, normally based on price and quality.

The current suppliers of each of these services are:

• EDF (Half-Hourly electricity);

• British Gas (Non Half-Hourly electricity);

The department transferred the facilities management of its main buildings at 3

Whitehall Place and 55 Whitehall Place, London to the Government Property Agency

(GPA) in September 2019. The GPA is responsible for the supply of electricity to

these sites. Prior to this the Ministry of Justice was responsible for providing facilities

management services, including the supply of electricity.

The department occupies other properties both in the UK and internationally. The

supply of electricity at these sites including the choice of supplier is either the

landlord’s or main occupier’s responsibility.

Department for International Trade: Public Appointments


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which public appointments she is

responsible for.



Conor Burns:

• The public appointments that the Secretary of State is responsible for making are

set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019


Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf as below;

Export Credits Guarantee Department (UK Export Finance)

Export Guarantee Advisory Council

• Additionally, the Department for International Trade has agreed that the Trade

Remedies Authority (TRA), when legally established by the Trade Bill, will be listed

on the schedule to the next Public Appointments Order in Council. The Secretary of

State, will then be responsible for making appointments to the TRA Board

consisting of the Chair and Non-Executive Members.

JUSTICE

Elections: Fraud

Faisal Rashid: [1086]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of voter ID

fraud in the last twelve months.

Chris Philp:

There is no specific offence of voter ID fraud. Cases are usually prosecuted as

offences involving fraud by false representation as well as offences involving

impersonation.

It is not possible to ascertain if an offender was convicted specifically for voter ID

fraud as this information is not centrally held in the court proceedings database. As a

result, identifying the number of offenders convicted for voter ID fraud from court data

would require a manual search of court records, which would be of disproportionate

cost.

The Electoral Commission hold more detailed information which can be found at this

link: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/our-views-

and-research/our-research/electoral-fraud-data/2018-electoral-fraud-data

Firearms: Smuggling

Jim Shannon: [1044]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of

illegally importing firearms into the UK in each of the last five years.

Chris Philp:

The Ministry of Justice has published information on the number of defendants

prosecuted and convicted for importing firearms and other weapons





https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/our-views-and-research/our-research/electoral-fraud-data/2018-electoral-fraud-data




in England & Wales over the last 5 years, up to the year ending December 2018. This

data is available in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office

offence code data tool available here:


ent_data/file/804510/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2018.xlsx

To find the numbers of individuals convicted of crimes related to the importation of

weapons in each year use the ‘Offence code’ filter to select offences ‘08173’, ‘08179’

and ‘08181’. The number of individuals convicted of these crimes in each year will

then be shown in row 32.

Homicide: Children

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: [1072]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to make whole-life orders

mandatory when sentencing people found guilty of the murder of a child; and how many

child murderers were released into Hampshire in the last 10 years.

Chris Philp:

Whole-life orders are the most severe form of punishment that the courts can impose,

as such they are reserved for the most heinous cases of murder.

Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sets out that a whole life order is

currently the appropriate starting point for the murder of a child involving the

abduction of a child or sexual or sadistic motivation. As part of a forthcoming

Sentencing Bill, we will look at extending the range of circumstances where the

starting point, in cases of murder, is a whole life order. We do not publish information

on the areas that offenders are released to for operational security reasons.

Ministry of Justice: Equal Pay

Chris Stephens: [1726]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many equal pay reviews there have been

in his Department since 2010; what the dates were of those reviews; and whether his

Department plans to undertake an equal pay review in 2019.

Chris Philp:

The Ministry of Justice conducts regular equality impact assessments on all proposed

pay and policy changes and implementation. The MoJ operates a pay and grading

structure where pay is defined by job weight and content.

HMPPS is responsible for preparing and submitting the Government’s annual

evidence on Prison Officer’s pay to the independent Prison Service Pay Review

Body. As part of this process, HMPPS looks at all equality issues based on the

proposals and monitor the diversity of the remit group from available data. A full

review was conducted in 2012 which resulted in the introduction of a new pay and

grading structure and new ways of working (Fair and Sustainable) for Prison Officer

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804510/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2018.xlsx





grades. Fair and Sustainable was introduced to support pay equality, with salary

determined by the requirements of the role based on the Job description.

An Equality Impact Assessment on pay in the National Probation Service was carried

out in September 2018 as part of a project to reform its pay structure.

Offenders: Females

Chris Elmore: [366]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Queen's speech 2019,

whether his Department's priorities for the Female Offender Strategy have changed.

Chris Elmore: [367]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it remains his Department's priority to

reduce the use of short prison sentences for women.

Chris Elmore: [368]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on implementing

the recommendations of the Farmer Review for women, published on 18 June 2019.

Chris Elmore: [369]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it remains his Department's policy to

manage female offenders in the community through a community order, who would

otherwise face a short prison sentence.

Lucy Frazer:

We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime and public protection

is our priority. The Sentencing Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, will contain a

range of measures targeted at the most serious violent and sexual offenders to

ensure their punishment reflects the severity of their crimes. It will also contain

proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while

tackling the underlying drivers of offending. While custody should be available as a

last resort, if we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in

community sentences, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer

their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, or provide reparation for the

benefit of the wider community.

We remain committed to the vision and aims set out in our Female Offender Strategy

(June 2018); which aims to see fewer women in custody. There is persuasive

evidence that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better

supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences. Where a

woman needs to be in custody, we want to provide rehabilitative regimes specifically

tailored to women’s needs to break the reoffending cycle. However, we know that for

many vulnerable women, with the right support at the right time, there are

opportunities to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system at all.

Publication of the Strategy was the start of a new and significant programme of work

to deliver better outcomes for female offenders that will take some years to deliver.





Lord Farmer’s review, The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family

and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime,

continued his work on the importance of family ties in improving outcomes for

offenders, by looking at the issues for female offenders in the community and

custody. We welcome the findings and recommendations of the review and we are

committed to taking this important area of work forward. The 33 recommendations

cover a number of Government departments, and officials are working at pace to see

how we can best give effect to them in both the short and longer term. We have

accepted Lord Farmer’s recommendation for this work to be embedded into joint

policy and operational Family Strategy Working Group (FWSG), which is already

taking forward implementation of the original Farmer Review. We are reporting to

Lord Farmer with progress on a quarterly basis.

Prison Officers

Imran Hussain: [640]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band 3-5 prison officers were

temporarily transferred from other prisons to prisons in his Ten Prisons Project.

Lucy Frazer:

Detached duty (DD) is one of the sensible and proportionate measures we take to

ensure we run safe and decent regimes in prisons and respond appropriately to any

operational issues that arise. The deployment of staff between prisons on DD is a

regular and normal part of prison resourcing and the number of prison officers

deployed will reflect operational circumstances.

Of the 10 prisons in the 10 Prisons Project, only one prison – HMP Wormwood

Scrubs - received band 3-5 prison officers from other establishments between August

2018 and August 2019. The table below shows the number and cycle of staff

deployed to Wormwood Scrubs during the life of the project. Detached duty is

allocated on a cycle (four week average) rather than on a month-by-month basis.

DETACHED DUTY CYCLE HEADCOUNT

6 th May – 2 nd June 2019 3

28 th July – 24 th Aug 2019 12

25 th Aug – 21 st Sept 2019 20

Total 35


Prison Officers: Older Workers

Ms Marie Rimmer: [900094]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the

implications for his policy on prison officer pensions of the ability of those officers to

continue frontline work beyond the age of 60.

Lucy Frazer:

Whilst we highly value our hardworking prison staff, there has been no assessment

made of the implications of the pension policy of the ability of those officers to

continue frontline work beyond the age of 60. The Ministry supports all its staff,

especially those working in an operational environment, and offers all staff access to

medical professionals for physical and mental wellbeing.

Prison Officers: Women's prisons


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many band 3 to 5 prison officers in each

female prison have less than two years' experience.

Lucy Frazer:

The number of band 3 to 5 prison officers in each female prison with less than two

years' experience are given in the following Table 1.

Table 1 - Number of Band 3-5 Prison Officers 1 (Full Time Equivalent) in each female

prison with less than two years’ Length of Service 2 - as at 30th June 2019

FEMALE PRISON

Askham Grange 10

Downview 39

Drake Hall 19

East Sutton Park 0

Eastwood Park 36

Foston Hall 34

Low Newton 30

New Hall 31

Send 31

Styal 73



Notes

1. Includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer

and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

2. Length of service in HMPPS calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff

have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in

through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to

HMPPS.

Prisoners' Release: Childcare

Philip Davies: [950]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) men and

(b) women were released on Childcare resettlement licence in the latest year for which

information is available.

Lucy Frazer:

Data on release on Childcare Resettlement Licence (CRL) is published regularly in

the Offender Management Statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-

october-to-december-2018

Table A3.7 of Prison Releases: 2018 shows that there were 32 incidences of release

on CRL for men and 322 incidences of release on CRL for women. This is the

number of releases rather than the number of individuals released, which is not

available by type of release on temporary licence (ROTL).

CRL is a form of ROTL which allows primary carers of children under 18 to be

released to help maintain the relationship with their children. As with any ROTL there

is a stringent risk assessment and the release must be in the child’s best interests.

The higher incidence of release on CRL for women reflects the fact that primary

carers of children are more likely to be women.

Prisoners' Release: Curfews


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of eligible (a) men and (b)

women were released on home detention curfew in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer:

Data on releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) is published regularly in the

Offender Management Statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-

october-to-december-2018


https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018







The following table is taken from table A3.5 of Prison Releases: 2018

Proportion of eligible offenders* released on HDC 2016-18

2016 2017 2018

Men 20% 20% 36%

Women 32% 29% 45%

Total 21% 21% 36%

*This is the number of offenders serving sentences of between 12 weeks and just

under 4 years and therefore potentially eligible for release on Home Detention Curfew

(HDC) in the relevant period. It includes offenders who are in fact statutorily ineligible

for HDC, plus offenders presumed unsuitable for HDC who will only be considered for

release in exceptional circumstances

HDC is a robust scheme which allows suitable, risk assessed, prisoners to work

towards rehabilitation in the community, while remaining subject to strict monitoring

and other conditions. If they breach these, they can be returned to custody. HDC

allows reintegration back into the community in a controlled and supervised way,

which research suggests may help to reduce the risk of further offending.

As indicated above, due to the way the data is recorded, the eligible pool of offenders

given in the published data in fact includes some who could not lawfully be released

on HDC, including those sentenced to imprisonment for sexual offences who are

overwhelmingly male.

Prisoners' Transfers: Pregnancy

Kate Green: [1019]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many pregnant women have been

transported in prisoner transport vehicles in each of the last three years.

Kate Green: [1020]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions women and men have

been transported together in prisoner transport vehicles in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer:

A total of 1,700 pregnant women moves took place between August 2016 and

September 2019. This does not necessarily equate to the number of individuals

transported, as the same prisoner may have been moved more than once. Pregnant

women are moved in multi-purpose vehicles as opposed to cellular vehicles in all but

exceptional circumstances. A breakdown of journeys is provided in the table below.



YEAR NUMBER OF FEMALE MOVES

2016 (August – December) 249

2017 640

2018 533

2019 (January – September) 278

Below is a table showing the number of instances where both women and men have

been transported in the same vehicle.

YEAR

NUMBER OF INSTANCES OF FAILURE TO

SEPARATE FEMALES

2017 81

2018 5

2019 YTD 9

The Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) contract is specifically designed

for the movement of prisoners in cellular vehicles that meets MOJ standards. The

contracts include a Contract Delivery Indicator which requires women to be separated

from men for at least 97% of all journeys made. The current national performance is

99.89% of total journeys made.

Private providers continue to play an important role in the prison estate. HMPPS will

continue to closely monitor the performance of all providers and we will not hesitate

to take action where standards fall short.

Prisoners: Domestic Abuse


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of women in

prison have been perpetrators of domestic violence.

Lucy Frazer:

The information requested is not collected centrally and could only be provided at

disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Parents


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of (a)

fathers and (b) mothers in prison who have children under the age of 18.



Lucy Frazer:

The information as requested is not collected or held centrally and cannot be verified.

We acknowledge the importance of data collection to illuminate the prevalence and

needs of those women prisoners with children, dependent or otherwise, as well as

pregnancy, and to inform policy and practice in this area. Where an offender does

choose to disclose, data is collected, although this data does not provide detailed

information of the child’s age or whether they are dependents. However, the current

system of safeguarding should capture children most at risk, including children for

whom safe, alternative care arrangements have not yet been put in place.

The government also recognises that the children of offenders can be disadvantaged,

and we continue to explore ways in which to improve their lives and to adequately

support their needs. We remain committed to ensuring that all children get the help

and support they need to live fulfilled and happy lives.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of assaults on

prison staff were (a) dealt with by the prison and (b) charged as an offence in each of the

last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer:

HMPPS has been working closely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service

to ensure they understand the impact of crimes committed within prison. HMPPS

published the revised Crime in Prison Referral Agreement in May 2019. This

Agreement sets out how crimes in prison will be referred, investigated and

prosecuted and aims to provide a more consistent approach to managing crimes

committed within prison. The Crime in Prison Referral Agreement specifies that all

assaults against members of staff, unless there is little or no injury should be referred

to the police.

It is not possible to identify the proportion of assaults on prison staff has been

charged as an offence in each of the last five years as this information is not held

centrally. Detailed information may be held on court record but to be able to identify

these cases we would have to access individual court records which would be of


Prisons: Education


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many providers are listed on the Dynamic

Purchasing System for education in prison.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts are listed on the Dynamic

Purchasing System for education in prisons.




Lucy Frazer:

As at 15 October 2019, there were 282 suppliers on the prison education Dynamic

Purchasing System (DPS) with 146 contracts awarded.

The DPS enables prison governors to commission innovative, specialist or one-off

education programmes for their establishment.

As set out in the Education and Employment Strategy, launched in May 2018,

significant changes to the delivery arrangements for prison education took full effect

from April 2019. From that point, governors took control of their establishment’s

education budget, determined the curriculum on offer, how it is structured, and

decided who their education providers will be.

Reoffenders


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of recalls to prison have been

28 day fixed-term recalls in the latest year for which information is available.

Lucy Frazer:

The number of 28 day fixed term recalls to prison in England and Wales for the

period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 was 4,665, this equates to 19% of the

total number of recalls for the period which was 24,268.

Public protection is our priority. Offenders on licence are subject to strict licence

conditions and supervision.

Where offenders are eligible for a fixed-term recall, they may be recalled to prison on

a fixed-term basis, where that is a necessary and proportionate response to a breach

of licence conditions. If not, they will receive a standard recall, which is the only type

of recall available for those offenders ineligible for a fixed-term recall (such as those

on a life licence). Where they receive a standard recall, they are liable to serve the

rest of their sentence in prison, unless the Parole Board or the Secretary of State

executively re-releases them.

The decision to recall is taken on the professional advice of senior probation staff.

Mr Philip Hollobone: [939]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders on licence after

fixed-term recall (a) re-offended and (b) breached their licence conditions and were

recalled for a fixed term again in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer:

The only lawful basis for recalling an offender on licence to custody is by way of

response to a breach of one or more licence conditions. In some cases, the breach of

licence conditions will be associated with some alleged further offending. Whilst

information about offenders who receive a further fixed term recall is held, to produce

the proportion of those who had received more than one fixed term recall could be

obtained only at disproportionate cost.



Public protection is our priority. Offenders on licence are subject to strict licence

conditions and supervision.

Where offenders are eligible for a fixed-term recall, they may be recalled to prison on

a standard recall, which is the only type of recall available for those offenders

ineligible for a fixed-term recall (such as those on a life licence). Where they receive a

standard recall, they are liable to serve the rest of their sentence in prison.


From the data available, I can report that the following number of offenders were

recalled multiple times in each year, on a fixed-term recall, on the same sentence. In

each decision in every case, the probation officer will have established that the

offender was eligible for a fixed-term recall and will have judged, based on the

available evidence, that a fixed-term recall was the necessary and proportionate

response to the breach of licence condition(s).

YEAR NUMBER OF OFFENDERS

2014 2606

2015 2644

2016 1387

2017 2258

2018 2362

**The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems

which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors

with data entry and processing.

Mr Philip Hollobone: [940]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of recalls to

prison resulted in (a) fixed-term recall and (b) standard recall in the latest period for which

figures are available.

Lucy Frazer:

For the period 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019 there were 2522 fixed term recalls

(41%) and 3646 standard recalls (59%).

Where offenders are eligible for a fixed-term recall, their probation officer may decide

that a fixed-term recall is the proportionate and necessary response to a breach of

licence conditions. If not, they will be recalled to prison on a standard recall, which is

the only type of recall available as a response for offenders ineligible for a fixed-term

recall. Where offenders are recalled on a standard recall, they are liable to serve the

rest of their sentence in prison.



Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Nationals

Damian Green: [818]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many overseas drivers have been

prosecuted for committing the offence of speeding on UK roads between August 2018

and August 2019.

Chris Philp:

The Ministry of Justice has published information on the number of defendants

prosecuted for speed limit offences in England & Wales over the last decade, up to

the year ending December 2018, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool available

here:


ent_data/file/802314/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx

However, the nationality of defendants is not centrally held in the court proceedings

database. As a result, identifying the number of overseas drivers prosecuted for this

offence would require a manual search of court records, which would be of


Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Ian Lavery: [1671]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to (a)

reduce the time taken for welfare benefits appeals to be heard by the tribunal service and

(b) tackle the backlog of those appeals in (i) Wansbeck constituency and (ii) England.

Chris Philp:

The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible

and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce

waiting times for appellants. For appellants in Wansbeck, whose closest tribunal

venue is in Bedlington, if the venue receives a request for an urgent hearing, the

appellant may be offered an alternative venue or a telephone hearing, where

appropriate. Furthermore, triage sessions have been held on Saturdays at the

Newcastle venue. This is where the tribunal panel looks at a series of cases to

assess whether a decision can be made prior to the appellant’s oral hearing date or if

further evidence is required before a decision can be made. This reduces the risk of a

case having to be adjourned on the day of the oral hearing.

Across the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction more widely, the

Department is currently in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders. In

2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally

appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently

been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 112 salaried judges and

170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS

are also developing a new digital system with the view to enabling speedier

processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings.


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802314/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx




Solicitors Regulation Authority

Lyn Brown: [957]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority has

a code of conduct for its staff working in the (a) the Investigation and Supervision Unit, (b)

Forensic Investigation Unit and (c) Legal and Enforcement Unit.

Lyn Brown: [958]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ask the Legal Services Board to initiate

a review of the consistency of Solicitors Regulation Authority decision-making in relation

to (a) supervision, (b) investigations and (c) enforcement in connection with (i) sole

practitioners and (ii) firms with no more than four partners, members or directors and

which have an annual turnover of no more than £400,000.

Lyn Brown: [959]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the

effectiveness of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Lyn Brown: [960]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what key performance indicators exist for staff

within the (a) investigation and supervision, (b) forensic investigation and (c) legal and

enforcement units of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Lyn Brown: [961]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the data on supervision and

enforcement outcomes on page 39 of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Annual Report

2017-19, published on 23 May 2019, if he will make an assessment of the value for

money represented by the recent exercise of the investigation and enforcement functions

of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Chris Philp:

Under the framework established by the Legal Services Act 2007, the legal

profession in England and Wales, and the bodies that regulate it, are independent

from government. It is the responsibility of the Legal Services Board, as oversight

regulator, to ensure that the approved regulators are complying with the regulatory

objectives set out in the 2007 Act.

Witnesses

Nic Dakin: [996]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve

the adequacy of witness testimony.

Wendy Morton:

We are committed to helping all witnesses give their best possible evidence so that

offenders are brought to justice. As part of the cross-government Victim’s Strategy

(published in September 2018), the Government committed to the wider provision of







special measures for vulnerable and intimated witnesses, both when giving evidence

and during cross-examination.

These measures include:

• the use of video recorded police interviews (called ABEs – Achieving Best

Evidence)

instead of written statements;

• the removal of wigs and gowns by judges and barristers;

• cross examination at court via a live video link

• video-recorded evidence-in-chief and cross examination behind a screen or

curtain, so

that they are shielded from sight of the defendant

• the support of a Registered Intermediary for witnesses who require communication

assistance when giving evidence.

The Victim’s Strategy also reaffirmed our commitment to rolling out pre-recorded

cross examination, as provided for in section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal

Evidence Act 1999, for vulnerable witnesses such as child witnesses under 16 or

witnesses vulnerable due to physical or mental disability. By June 2019 this has

commenced at nine Crown Court centres in England and Wales. In June 2019 we

also extended section 28 to intimidated witnesses who are a victim of crime in sexual

and modern slavery offences by testing the provision in the Crown Court centres at

Leeds, Liverpool, and Kingston upon Thames.

TRANSPORT

Boeing 737: Safety

Andy McDonald: [606]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent updates he has had from the

Civil Aviation Authority on their assessment of the safety of the Boeing 737 Max airliners.

Paul Maynard:

The Department for Transport engages regularly with the Civil Aviation Authority

(CAA) on all aviation safety issues, including the return to service of the Boeing 737

Max. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), is primarily responsible

for approving the 737 Max for use in Europe. The CAA is working with EASA, as well

as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing, so that it can continue

to be satisfied with the investigation being undertaken as well as any design and

operational changes that will be made.

The CAA’s safety directive preventing 737 Max operations in UK airspace will remain

in place until it is satisfied that the aircraft can return to service.


Bus Services: Franchises

Sandy Martin: [660]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to extend

the provisions of the Bus Services Act 2017 in respect of franchising bus services to local

transport authorities other than Combined Authorities.

George Freeman:

The Bus Services Act 2017 provides mayoral combined authorities with automatic

access to franchising powers.

Other local authorities may franchise bus services with the consent of the Secretary

of State. Guidance on what the Secretary of State will consider in deciding whether to

franchise is available at:


ent_data/file/831690/bus-services-act-2017-franchising-scheme-guidance.pdf

We have no plans to change these arrangements at present.

European Aviation Safety Agency

Chris Ruane: [454]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the cost to

the Civil Aviation Authority of taking on functions currently performed by the European

Aviation Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Paul Maynard:

The CAA spent £2.7 million on Brexit preparations in 2018/19 and expects to spend

up to £1.6 million during 2019/20. It has recruited around 50 additional FTEs in

preparation for Brexit. The UK is seeking continued close cooperative arrangements

with the EU on aviation safety as part of an ambitious and comprehensive future

relationship after exit. This will help minimise regulatory burdens for UK and EU

industry and maintain safety standards across Europe.

Railways: Franchises


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the most recent contractual

arrangements are that his Department has agreed with the Operator of Last Resort and

(a) SNC Lavalin, (b) EY and (c) Arup.

Chris Heaton-Harris:

The Secretary of State has a legal duty under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 to

maintain continuity of passenger rail services, in the event that a franchise terminates

and is not immediately replaced. To discharge this duty, the Department maintains an

‘Operator of Last Resort’ (OLR) function.

To ensure the Department has the specialist skills and expertise it needs to carry out

its duty under Section 30, it holds Technical and Financial Advisor contracts with


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/831690/bus-services-act-2017-franchising-scheme-guidance.pdf





Arup/SNC Lavalin and EY. These contracts are operated on a flexible basis allowing

the Department to increase volumes of specialist staff on short notice in response to

emerging demands.

The support provided can include assisting the Department in conducting

investigations of rail franchises, contingency planning, and if necessary mobilising to

facilitate the OLR stepping in and running services.

Railways: Isle of Wight


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when work will be completed on a new

passing loop at Brading on the Isle of Wight; and what the timescale is for introducing a

half-hourly service on that railway line.


Work to construct a passing loop at Brading is due to take place during the Winter in

2020, and the half-hourly train service on the Island Line is due to be introduced at

the May 2021 timetable change date.

Road Traffic Control: Kent


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect

Operation Brock will have on congestion levels on the Kent (a) road network and (b)

economy.


The Department for Transport has worked closely with the Kent Resilience Forum on

developing traffic management plans, known as Operation Brock, to be used as a

contingency in the event of severe disruption to travel via the Channel Tunnel at

Folkestone and the Port of Dover. Operation Brock has been designed to ensure that

the M20 motorway in Kent (the primary route to the Channel Tunnel and Port of

Dover) will be kept open and traffic will continue to flow in both directions.

From Monday 28 October, a contraflow will be in place so that HGVs heading for

mainland Europe use the coastbound carriageway of the M20 between junctions 8

and 9. All other traffic will run on the London-bound carriageway between these

junctions. These arrangements will ensure that the M20 will be able to hold HGVs

should traffic disruption result from delays to cross Channel services.

Operation Brock is intended as a replacement for Operation Stack during periods of

severe and protracted disruption. Operation Stack involved closing junctions and

carriageways on the M20 motorway to hold freight traffic in several locations. In

contrast Operation Brock has been designed to allow traffic in Kent to keep flowing

minimising congestion for the wider community, whilst providing the capacity to hold

HGVs if needed.



Roads: Sutton Coldfield

Mr Andrew Mitchell: [507]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he has allocated for the repair

of roads in Sutton Coldfield in the last two years for which information is available.

George Freeman:

Birmingham City Council, as local highway authority, is responsible for the

maintenance of its local road network, which includes Sutton Coldfield. Birmingham

City Council has a Highways Maintenance Private Finance Initiative project for the

comprehensive upgrade and maintenance, over 25 years, of their highway network.

The project commenced operation on 7 June 2010 and the Department is providing

over £1.2 billion towards the £2.7 billion total cost.

Rolling Stock


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the credit

ratings of UK rolling stock companies (a) Porterbrook, (b) Angel Trains, (c) Eversholt Rail

and (d) Rock Rail and the costs at which those companies can respectively secure

finance.


The Department has not made an assessment of the credit rating of any of the rolling

stock companies including Porterbrook, Angel Trains, Eversholt Rail or Rock Rail. It

is a matter for the credit rating agencies to determine the ratings of such companies

and for market to determine the cost of providing competitive financing.

Transport: Sustainable Development


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to

promote greener alternatives for (a) long-distance and (b) international transport.

George Freeman:

Transport needs to undergo radical transformation to meet our legally binding carbon

budgets and achieve net zero by 2050.

The UK’s first Transport Decarbonisation Plan was announced on 15 October and will

bring together a bold and ambitious programme of coordinated action needed to end

the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050. It will build on our existing modal

strategies, including Road to Zero, the Aviation Green Paper, the Clean Maritime

Plan and our work with the Rail Decarbonisation Task Force and OLEV and is

expected to be complete next year.




Travel Cards: Isle of Wight


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential

merits of introducing a reduced rate travel card for people living on the Isle of Wight to

improve connectivity with Portsmouth.


Local concessionary fares schemes are a matter for the local authority to consider

and fund, as appropriate, in balance with local priorities. South Western Railway

currently offer residents of the Isle of Wight a 40% discount on Island Line trains

Single and Day Return fares with an Island Line Residents Card.

West Coast Partnership Rail Franchise


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a)

volume of passenger data which will be transferred from Virgin and Stagecoach to new

West Coast Partnership operator First/Trenitalia before the start of the new franchise in

December 2019 and (b) effect of the level of data transferred on the quality of passenger

service under that new franchise.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a)

adequacy of the arrangements for the transfer of passenger data between rail franchises

and (b) effect a shortfall in the transfer of data has on the quality of passenger service.


All incumbent and incoming franchisees are required to comply with the provisions in

their respective Franchise Agreements. This includes the provisions relating to the

use and transfer of data held by the incumbent. The incoming and outgoing

franchisees must also comply with the terms of the General Data Protection

Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018. In the case of the West Coast

Partnership mobilisation, the Department expects both operators to adhere to these

requirements to enable a smooth transition for passengers in time for day one

operations under First Trenitalia.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons his Department instructed

West Coast Partnership Operator First Trenitalia to submit a Section 17 application to the

Office for Rail and Road on 4 October 2019 rather than to Network Rail.


Submission of Section 17 applications are a matter for ORR and FTI, and not the

Department. FTI have followed standard industry processes for this application and

the Department has not instructed FTI to work outside these processes.






To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of Network

Rail’s ability to (a) process the First Trenitalia West Coast Track Access Agreement and

(b) manage potential conflicts with other train operators.


The assessment of operators’ applications to enter into Track Access Agreements to

run trains on the national network is a core Network Rail function. In doing so they

routinely assess any potential conflicts with other operators. The ORR, as regulator,

is responsible for ensuring these duties are discharged in accordance with industry

processes.

TREASURY

Business: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: [450]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government has taken to

evaluate the potential effect of IR35 on the economic viability of businesses that rely on

(a) seasonal and (b) demand-driven workforces.

Jesse Norman:

The off-payroll working rules (sometimes known as IR35) have been in place since

2000. They are designed to ensure that individuals working like employees pay

broadly the same amount of tax and National Insurance Contributions, regardless of

the structure they work through. They do not affect the self-employed.

Budget 2018 announced that reforms introduced in 2017 for the public sector would

be extended to all sectors, from April 2020, giving businesses time to prepare. The

Government has consulted extensively on the reform, and HM Revenue and

Customs (HMRC) have published guidance and are delivering an education and

support programme to help customers prepare.

On 11 July 2019, HMRC published a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the

costs to business and individuals, and the economic impact of the off-payroll reform.

This can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-

2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020

Children: Poverty


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the

number of children under five years old living in poverty.



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020




Rishi Sunak:

HM Treasury use the ‘Household below average income (HBAI)’ statistics published

by the Department for Work and Pensions to determine the number of children living

in low-income households.

Tackling child poverty will always be a priority for the government. The government’s

view is that work remains the best route out of poverty: children in households where

all adults are working are five times less likely to be in relative low income (before

housing costs) than those in workless households.

Entrepreneurs' Relief

Nic Dakin: [537]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the objectives of the Entrepreneur Relief

scheme are; and what assessment his Department has made as to whether those

objectives are being met.

Nic Dakin: [538]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) effect

and (b) cost effectiveness of the Entrepreneur Relief scheme on incentivising investment

in business.

Nic Dakin: [539]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential

merits of the Association of Accounting Technicians' proposal for the Government to

abolish Entrepreneurs Relief and invest the £3 billion saving in initiatives or reliefs that

encourage business start-ups or scale-up activity.

Jesse Norman:

The objective of Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) is to promote enterprise by offering a

reduced rate of tax to individuals who have contributed to the creation and growth of

a business.

The Government continues to monitor the effectiveness of ER. HMRC’s most recent

evaluation was published in December 2017, and is available here. The Government

has no current plans to abolish ER, but keeps all taxes and reliefs under review.

High Speed 2 Railway Line and Public Expenditure

Alan Brown: [742]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) expenditure on High Speed Rail 2

and (b) Scottish Barnett Consequential allocation was in each year since 2010.

Rishi Sunak:

There has been a total spend up to 31 March 2019 of £7.4bn made up of HS2 Ltd

spend and spend by the Department for Transport on HS2 Land and Property. The




https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-gains-tax-entrepreneurs-relief-behaviours-and-motivations

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-gains-tax-entrepreneurs-relief-behaviours-and-motivations


profile of this spend is set out in the table below. These numbers have been taken

from Departmental accounts and exclude £0.6bn incurred by HS2 Ltd to date on

construction VAT.

TOTAL SPEND ON HS2 EXCLUDING

CONSTRUCTION VAT (£M)

2009-10 9.5

2010-11 14.6

2011-12 34.2

2012-13 182.8

2013-14 207.9

2014-15 185.2

2015-16 348.9

2016-17 1,466.5

2017-18 2,767.2

2018-19 2,191.4

Total 7,408.2

As set out in HM Treasury’s Statement of Funding Policy, the Barnett formula is

generally applied at departmental level at Spending Reviews/Rounds and at

programme level at fiscal events. Since 2010, HS2 has received all its funding

through the Department for Transport’s settlements at Spending Reviews/Rounds

where Barnett has been applied at departmental level. The spending on HS2 is not

therefore associated with specific Barnett consequentials.

HM Treasury’s Spending Review/Round documents set out the block grant funding

for the Scottish Government. Documents relating to SR10, SR13, SR15 and SR19

can be found on the gov.uk website.

Following UK Government decisions at Spending Round 2019, the Scottish

Government benefitted from an increase of over £1.2bn in the Barnett-based block

grant, which will increase to £34.4bn in 2020-21.

Small Businesses: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: [452]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure

that SMEs are adequately prepared for IR35.


Jesse Norman:

Budget 2018 announced that reforms introduced in 2017 for the public sector would

be extended to all sectors, from 6 April 2020, giving businesses time to prepare. The

Government consulted widely on the proposed extension of the reform to all sectors,

including over summer 2018 and spring 2019. Having listened to concerns, the

Government announced the changes be introduced from April 2020 for medium and

large-sized organisations only.

The Government has worked closely with external stakeholders to ensure that they

are ready for these changes, providing targeted support for companies to help them

implement these changes. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) continue to work with

stakeholders to make improvements to the Check Employment Status for Tax

(CEST) digital service to help them make decisions on the employment status for tax

purposes of their workers.

In addition, HMRC have set up dedicated teams to provide education and guidance

to all businesses affected by the reforms. This support will include one-to-one support

for 2,000 of the UK’s biggest employers and direct communications to around 15,000

medium-sized businesses.

HMRC have produced guidance for customers affected by the rule changes, which

can be found on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/april-2020-changes-to-off-payroll-working-for-

clients

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Employment: Sexual Harassment

Patrick Grady: [1716]

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the

potential merits of a preventative duty on employers to require them to take reasonable,

proactive steps to protect workers from sexual harassment and victimisation.

Victoria Atkins:

Earlier this year, we consulted on the evidence for a preventative duty on employers.

The consultation closed on 2 October and we are currently considering the responses

received.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Department for Work and Pensions: Health

Chris Ruane: [910]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department uses

Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/april-2020-changes-to-off-payroll-working-for-clients





what policies her Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12

months.

Justin Tomlinson:

Wellbeing indicators are used to inform DWP policy. For example, within the

programme of work and health trials being delivered by the joint DWP/DHSC Work

and Health Unit, ONS measures of wellbeing are being collected alongside health

and employment outcomes to inform future policy development. Within the data pack

that informed the 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper, the relationship

between employment status and wellbeing was considered.

In addition, specific DWP initiatives are designed to help promote citizen wellbeing.

For example, in 2019, the Department launched the `Mid-life MOTs’ online portal to

encourage more active planning in the key areas of work, wellbeing and finances.

Department for Work and Pensions: Pay

Chris Stephens: [1736]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the pay system in her

Department has been changed to take account of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling

on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Mr G Willetts and Others on holiday pay and

voluntary overtime; and whether affected workers in her Department have been given

back pay as a result of that ruling.

Mims Davies:

The Department for Work and Pensions is currently developing a policy to account for

the rulings related to holiday pay and voluntary overtime. As this policy is still in

development, no payments have been made.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Frank Field: [1894]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which of her Department's

offices staff working on maternity allowance are deployed.

Mims Davies:

We have staff in Walsall, Birkenhead and St Helens currently deployed on MA with

telephony support from Atlantic Quay.

Frank Field: [1895]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are deployed in her

Department's offices in Walsall; which benefits those staff administer; and what recent

assessment she has made of the adequacy of staffing levels for each of the benefits

administered in those offices.

Mims Davies:

There are 241 Full time equivalents (FTE) employed in Walsall:

• 162 FTE are employed on Universal Credit; and




• 79 FTE are employed on Maternity Allowance.

All Social Fund work has been re-located and the staff have all moved across to

Maternity Allowance.

Pension Credit: Easington

Grahame Morris: [1904]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to

increase the uptake of pension credits in Easington constituency.

Guy Opperman:

Potential customers can use the Pension Credit Calculator

https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible

and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension

Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800991234.

There are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension

Credit, but the Government wants to ensure that all pensioners eligible can claim the

Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. In Easington there are around 3,000

pensioners already claiming Pension Credit.

On a national basis, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be

eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report

a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to

communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information

on https://gov.uk/, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and

Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about

entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing

Benefit.

We welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by local

organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances

and needs in the community. To help facilitate this, we have developed the Pension

Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use

in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit

The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes

guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to

help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help

organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for

encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability

and carers benefits.


https://gov.uk/

https://gov.uk/



Universal Credit

Jamie Stone: [1922]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much a universal credit

payment to a single mother is reduced by when two maternity payments are received

within the universal credit calculation period due to a bank holiday.

Jamie Stone: [1923]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Highland

Council area received two statutory maternity payments within the universal credit

calculation period due to a bank holiday in 2019.

Jamie Stone: [1924]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is

taking to ensure that payments of statutory maternity pay that are delayed due to bank

holidays do not affect universal credit payments.

Mims Davies:

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by an employer through their payroll system

and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance (where a claimant is

eligible) and tapering, in the same way as other earned income. As a consequence,

information surrounding the volumes of SMP payments received by Universal Credit

claimants in the Highland Council area is not readily available and to provide it would

incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and

transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the

actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period,

including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the

assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.

Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly

basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several

months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can

discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their Case Manager or Work

Coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their

budgeting.

The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went

live in 2013 to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the

importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information system.

HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of

reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary

to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.




Jamie Stone: [1925]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will introduce a

bus voucher system for universal credit claimants who may not be able to afford public

transport costs to attend job centres.

Jamie Stone: [1926]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department

has made of the affordability of public transport costs for those attending (a) Wick Job

Centre and (b) job centres; and whether her Department is taking steps to provide

advance funding to universal credit claimants for those costs.

Will Quince:

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, claimants have been supported by

Jobcentre Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach to contact, with much

greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to

engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions

of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an

appointment in person.

To assist with the affordability of public transport, and where an appointment at a

Jobcentre has been agreed as necessary, Work Coaches are able to consider the

reimbursement of a claimant’s travel costs. The Department publishes clear guidance

to its staff of when mandatory awards for travel must be made from the Flexible

Support Fund – a copy of this is available in the House of Commons’ Library. In

exceptional situations, where a claimant’s requirements cannot be met in any other

way, an advance payment can be made.

The Department works closely with partner organisations in Northern Scotland to

deliver services in locations convenient for the local population it serves. Local

Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to support the needs of

their communities, providing our most vulnerable claimants with help tailored to their

circumstances. For those who find it the most challenging to attend in person, we

operate a 'Remote Customer Service Delivery' service, within the Wick area, which

maximises the use of telephone and postal services to reduce the frequency of face-

to-face appointments to make and maintain a claim to Universal Credit.



WRITTEN STATEMENTS

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Nuclear Energy Infrastructure

Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Kwasi Kwarteng):

[HCWS33]

This statement concerns an application made by Horizon Nuclear Power Limited under

the Planning Act 2008 for development consent for the construction and operation of a

new nuclear power station and associated infrastructure at Wylfa Head on the Isle of

Anglesey.

Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a

decision on an application within three months of receipt of the Examining Authority’s

report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) 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 deadline for the decision on the proposed The Wylfa Newydd (Nuclear

Generating Station) Order application was 23 October 2019.

There are outstanding issues which mean that we are unable to reach a decision based

on the information provided to us. The Secretary of State has therefore extended the

deadline for deciding the application to allow further information in respect of

environmental effects and other outstanding issues to be provided and considered. The

applicant and other interested parties will be given until 31 Dec 2019 to respond to our

request for further information. This will then be assessed, potentially including public

consultation, and a final decision taken on or before 31 March 2020.

EDUCATION

Teachers’ Pay and Pension Grants

The Minister of State for School Standards (Nick Gibb): [HCWS32]

Today I am confirming the updated allocations for the Teachers’ Pay Grant and the first

allocations for the Teachers’ Pension Employer Contributions Grant for 2019-20.

The Teachers’ Pay Grant was first announced in July 2018 by the Secretary of State for

Education. It was introduced to provide additional funding to schools to support them with

the costs of the 2018/19 teacher pay award, over and above the 1% rise schools would

have expected and been planning for.

In July 2019, the Secretary of State accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s

recommendation of a 2.75% uplift to the minima and maxima of all teacher pay ranges in

2019. In recognition that this award was more than the 2% we assessed was affordable

nationally in our evidence to the STRB, the Secretary of State confirmed an additional

investment of £105 million into the Teachers’ Pay Grant this year. This is on top of the

£321 million of funding already committed in 2019-20.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-10-23/HCWS33/



As with 2018-19, the grant will be paid to all state-funded schools and academies,

including maintained nursery schools. This will be on the basis of pupil numbers in

mainstream schools, and place numbers in special schools and other specialist provision.

All schools will be funded for at least 100 pupils or 40 places.

We are also fully funding the increase in pensions contributions that state-funded schools

and colleges will have to make from September 2019. In April we announced the

Teachers’ Pension Employer Contribution Grant (TPECG), worth £848 million this year,

which will provide this funding for all state-funded schools and academies, including

maintained nursery schools. In September, the Secretary of State announced that, as

part of the Government’s investment in schools, this funding – worth £1.5 billion each

year – will continue for the next three years.

As with the Teachers’ Pay Grant, this will also be paid on the basis of pupil and place

numbers, with all schools funded for at least 100 pupils or 40 places.

The grant will be accompanied by a Supplementary Fund, which schools can apply for if

their grant allocation falls short of their actual pension costs increase by more than 0.05%

of their overall budget. This will make sure all schools are properly protected from rising

pension costs. Mainstream schools will be able to apply to the fund from 2 December

2019, with payments due in March 2020. Specific guidance on completing the application

form will be published later in the autumn. A similar scheme will apply to local authorities,

in respect of the specialist provision in their areas.

Further details and guidance will be published on GOV.UK.

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Heritage Update

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Robert

Jenrick): [HCWS31]

The listing process has ensured some of England’s most special and distinctive historic

buildings have been protected. However, the process which begun in the post-war era,

both nationally and locally, was never completed and many buildings that are important

locally have gone unrecognised and are not protected from development.

The national listing process provides statutory protection to around 500,000 buildings

across England. Where buildings are included on local heritage lists (as non-designated

heritage assets), they are also better protected from development under the planning

system. Until now, local lists have been the domain of local planning authorities, yet only

around 50% of authorities have such lists and where they do, they are often out of date

and incomplete.

We intend to change this. Protecting the historic environment must be a key function of

the planning system. Today, the government is taking action to address this issue and

encourage greater listings.


As a first step, I have announced the most ambitious new heritage conservation

campaign since the 1980s, with the ambition of significantly increasing the number of

historic buildings protected from development. This will start with 10 English counties,

supporting them to complete their local lists. It will involve local people nominating the

buildings and community assets they cherish, which will be protected for future

generations. The government will back the campaign with £700,000 of investment, which

will give counties the tools, funding and expertise they need to list and protect, what could

be, thousands more buildings across England.

To support this vital work, the government will appoint an independent local heritage

adviser. They will boost conservation efforts through driving greater engagement with the

local communities and heritage groups. This independent heritage advisor will also work

with Historic England to identify the 10 counties who are home to many historic buildings

that are not yet protected and would most benefit from the additional listings.

To involve the public in the national effort, I will contact all parishes to emphasise the

importance and benefits of listing historic buildings to protect them from development and

ask them to nominate buildings. To further this work, Historic England will run a national

campaign in Spring 2020 on “Local Identity”. This will involve a season of events to

inspire connection with local places, raise awareness of locally listing historic buildings

and get the nation talking about what defines our built heritage.

Finally, building on the £95 million fund announced in September by the Secretary of

State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to help unlock the economic potential of 69

high street Heritage Action Zones across England, my department will also be working

with Historic England to support local communities to identify important buildings in these

action zones and will consider which of these should be recommended to the Culture

Secretary for inclusion in the national list.