Daily Report Tuesday, 26 February 2019 CONTENTS€¦ · Daily Report Tuesday, 26 February 2019 ......

Daily Report Tuesday, 26 February 2019

This report shows written answers and statements provided on 26 February 2019 and the

information is correct at the time of publication (06:36 P.M., 26 February 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

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND

INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 5

Conditions of Employment: EU

Countries 5

Gratuities: Unfair Practices 5

Minimum Wage: Voluntary

Work 6

Nuclear Power Stations:

Cumbria and North Wales 6

Nuclear Power Stations: North

West 8

Post Office: ICT 9

Retail Trade: Certification

Quality Marks 9

Secondhand Goods:

Certification Quality Marks 10

CABINET OFFICE 11

Cabinet Office: Consultants 11

Children: Paracetamol 11

Females: Pay 12

Government Departments:

Procurement 12

Prime Minister: Apprentices 12

DEFENCE 13

Ministry of Defence: Civil

Partnerships and Marriage 13

Ministry of Defence:

Procurement 14

Nuclear Weapons:

International Law 14

Veterans 14

Veterans: Identity Cards 15

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND

SPORT 15

Football: Finance 15

Football: Schools 16

Football: Sportsgrounds 16

EDUCATION 17

Carers: Children 17

Carers: Children and Young

People 17

Child Trust Fund 18

Children: Day Care 18

European University Institute 19

Graduates: Employment 20

Pre-school Education: Finance 21

Pre-school Education: Free

School Meals 22

Pupils: Disadvantaged 23

Pupils: Hearing Impairment 23

Schools: Social Workers 24

Small Businesses: Apprentices 24

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers

Soft Drinks: Taxation 25

Special Educational Needs:

Staff 25

T-levels: Science 26

T-levels: Work Experience 26

UN Convention on the Rights

of the Child 27

Universities: Degrees 27

Young People: Unemployment 27

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND

RURAL AFFAIRS 29

Agriculture: Children 29

Agriculture: Subsidies 29

Dairy Farming 30

Equine Flu: Disease Control 30

Non-native Species: EU Law 31

Pets: Travel 32

Rural Payments Agency:

Geospatial Commission 32

Salmon: Scotland 33

Tyres: Recycling 33

EXITING THE EUROPEAN

UNION 34

Department for Exiting the

European Union: Procurement 34

FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 34

[Subject Heading to be

Assigned] 34

Central European University 34

Elections 35

Foreign and Commonwealth

Office: Procurement 35

Human Rights 35

India: Pakistan 36

Iran: Press TV 36

Iraq: Politics and Government 36

Kashmir: Terrorism 36

Press Freedom 37

Sierra Leone: Politics and

Government 37

Sudan: Economic Situation 37

Three Seas Initiative 38

Venezuela: Money Laundering 38

Venezuela: Presidents 39

Yemen: Conflict Resolution 40

Yemen: Security 40

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 40

Abortion 40

Accident and Emergency

Departments: Standards 41

Ambulance Services: East

Midlands 41

Ambulance Services:

Standards 41

Asthma: Prescriptions 42

Cancer: Health Professions 42

Cervical Cancer: Screening 43

Continuing Care 43

Continuing Care: Finance 44

Dental Services: Cumbria 45

Eating Disorders: Health

Services 45

Epilepsy: Drugs 46

Exercise 47

Fibromyalgia 47

General Practitioners:

Overseas Companies 47

Health Services: British

Nationals Abroad 47

Health Services: Greater

London 48

Health Services: Reciprocal

Arrangements 49

Heart Diseases: Transplant

Surgery 50

HIV Infection: Drugs 50

Hospitals: Cash Dispensing 51

Hospitals: Waiting Lists 51

Integrated Care Systems:

Hampshire and Isle of Wight 52

Mental Illness: Community

Care 52

NHS: DHL 53

NHS: Drugs 53

NHS: Fees and Charges 54

NHS: Negligence 55

Non-ionizing Radiation 55

Pain: Medical Treatments 56

Postnatal Depression 57

Rare Diseases: Drugs 57

St James Hospital Portsmouth 58

HOME OFFICE 58

British Nationality: EU

Nationals 58

Cannabis: Medical Treatments 58

Deportation: West Africa 59

Diamorphine: Glasgow 59

Domestic Abuse 59

Early Intervention Youth Fund 60

English Language:

Assessments 61

Fire and Rescue Services:

Labour Mobility 61

Fire and Rescue Services:

Staff 61

Fraud: Prosecutions 61

Immigration Controls:

Commonwealth 62

Immigration: EEA Nationals 63

Immigration: EU Nationals 63

Knives: Crime 65

Organised Crime 66

Police Patrolling 67

Police: Finance 67

Police: Managers 68

Prisoners: Repatriation 68

Yarl's Wood Immigration

Removal Centre: Per Capita

Costs 69

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 69

Buildings: Insulation 69

Citizens' Juries 71

Homelessness: Finance 71

Housing Infrastructure Fund 71

Housing: Construction 72

Housing: Prices 72

Local Government Finance 72

Local Government Services 73

Local Plans 74

Planning Inspectorate 74

Planning: Skilled Workers 75

Private Rented Housing 75

Sleeping Rough 76

INTERNATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT 76

Africa: Tax Evasion 76

Africa: Taxation 77

Alan Guttmacher Institute 77

Developing Countries: UK

Relations with EU 78

Niger: Marie Stopes

International 78

Overseas Aid 78

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 79

Food: Import Duties 79

Trade Agreements 79

Trade Agreements: NHS 79

World Trade Organisation:

Reform 80

JUSTICE 81

Cannabis: Misuse 81

Feltham Young Offender

Institution 81

Ministry of Justice: Bullying 82

Veterans: Prison Sentences 88

Young Offenders:

Rehabilitation 89

TRANSPORT 89

Crossrail Line 89

Department for Transport:

Contracts 90

High Speed Two 90

High Speed Two Railway Line:

Buckinghamshire 91

High Speed Two: Staff 92

Midland Main Railway Line:

Electrification 93

National College for High

Speed Rail 94

Network Rail: Expenditure 95

TREASURY 95

Asset Protection Agency 95

Child Benefit 96

Equitable Life Assurance

Society: Compensation 96

Foreign Investment in UK 97

Government Departments:

Procurement 97

Homelessness: Finance 97

Investment: Fraud 98

Royal Bank of Scotland 98

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES 99

Political Parties: Equality 99

WORK AND PENSIONS 99

Children: Day Care 99

Children: Maintenance 100

Food Banks 100

Unemployment: Ethnic Groups 100

Universal Credit 101

Universal Credit:

Disqualification 102

WRITTEN STATEMENTS 103

CABINET OFFICE 103

EU Exit Update 103

FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 103

Entering into force of the

Prespa Agreement and North

Macedonia’s NATO Accession 103

Notes:

Questions marked thus [R] indicate that a relevant interest has been declared.

Questions with identification numbers of 900000 or greater indicate that the question was originally tabled as an

oral question and has since been unstarred.

ANSWERS

BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Conditions of Employment: EU Countries

Justin Madders: [222618]

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

European Court of Justice will have jurisdiction over a claim brought by a UK national

under the Transfer of Undertaking Regulations 2006 in the event that the UK leaves the

EU without a deal and that national's employment transfers under the regulations from a

UK employer to an employer in an EU member state.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The EU Withdrawal Act 2018 established that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal

UK courts and tribunals will no longer be able to refer cases to the Court of Justice of

the European Union (CJEU) on or after exit day. Decisions of the CJEU made on or

after exit day will not be binding on UK courts and tribunals, but judges may take

these judgments into account if it is relevant to the matter before them. This principle

will apply to claims brought in the UK under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection

of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).

As is the case before exit, an employment claim against an employer in another EU

Member State (i.e. not the UK) may be brought in that country under its relevant

national legislation. This will depend on the facts and circumstances of a particular

case.

Gratuities: Unfair Practices

Sir David Crausby: [222636]

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

Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to tackle unfair practices in the

hospitality sector in relation to (a) tips, (b) gratuities, (c) cover charges and (d) service

charges.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The Government has announced its intention to legislate to ensure that all tips left to

workers are kept by them in full. In some sectors, tips are a significant part of staff

income. It is only right that workers keep the full value of tips left in recognition of

good service and hard work.

This commitment was published as part of the Government’s Good Work Plan, which

represents the largest upgrade to workplace rights in a generation. Full details of

legislation on tips will be published in due course.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-02-18/222618


Minimum Wage: Voluntary Work

Damian Green: [222587]

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

amendments have been made to the guidance relating to section 44 of the National

Minimum Wage Act 1998 since its enactment.


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

was a public consultation in support of the development of guidance relating to section 44

of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.


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

Government plans to amend the guidance relating to section 44 of the National Minimum

Wage Act 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst:

Section 44 of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 sets out a specific exemption

that applies to voluntary workers. People volunteering for charities, voluntary

organisations and other relevant organisations contribute a huge value to society,

and they do so without an expectation of being paid the National Minimum Wage.

Guidance is available on gov.uk to support charitable and other relevant

organisations in determining when voluntary workers are covered by the exemption.

This is contained in ‘Calculating the Minimum Wage’, which was first published in

April 2013 and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/calculating-the-minimum-wage

This guidance on when voluntary workers are exempt from the National Minimum

Wage has not been the subject of a formal consultation and there are no immediate

plans to amend it. If the Department receives representations that show there is a

need for improved guidance we would consider these carefully.

Nuclear Power Stations: Cumbria and North Wales

Tim Farron: [222726]

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

has to support North West Nuclear Arc innovation partnerships in enabling the next

phase of nuclear generation development in (a) Cumbria and (b) North Wales.

Richard Harrington:

Last year, the North West Nuclear Arc completed a Science and Innovation Audit

(SIA), a BEIS sponsored project, that mapped the strengths and opportunities in their

area. This will be published, with the other eleven Wave 3 SIAs, by BEIS in due

course.

Proposals for a £30 million national and regional nuclear supply chain and

productivity improvement programme, developed with participation from Local




https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgov.uk&data=02%7C01%7CSusan.Walker%40beis.gov.uk%7C9504bf748f074d9c905b08d6964ea43d%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C636861663186015865&sdata=Xcsw8v7BSTD2O4SB2kRvVRAD5eU7LFx78KVx02w6kBI%3D&reserved=0

https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgov.uk&data=02%7C01%7CSusan.Walker%40beis.gov.uk%7C9504bf748f074d9c905b08d6964ea43d%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C636861663186015865&sdata=Xcsw8v7BSTD2O4SB2kRvVRAD5eU7LFx78KVx02w6kBI%3D&reserved=0




Enterprise Partnerships in the North-West in conjunction with other parties, are

currently being considered by BEIS as part of the commitments within the Nuclear

Sector Deal.

The £180m Nuclear Innovation Programme which is part of the 2016-21, £505m

BEIS Energy Innovation Programme is part of the Nuclear Sector Deal. The

Programme covers the whole of the UK Nuclear Research and Development

community in order to develop and promote innovation and future growth in the

nuclear sector in the UK in conjunction with the Nuclear Sector Deal.

The Government welcomes the initiative of nuclear businesses, supply chain clusters,

universities and innovators across Cumbria, the wider North West, and North Wales

to work together through the North West Nuclear Arc.

We believe our policies through the Nuclear Sector Deal and Nuclear Innovation

Programme will support the North West Nuclear Arc to capitalise on the regions

historic strengths in the nuclear sector.

It was this Government that agreed a landmark Nuclear Sector Deal worth over

£200m, as well as giving the go-ahead to Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power

station in a generation.


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

plans to replicate the funding allocated to North Wales for the thermal hydraulics research

facility in Bangor with spending on the nuclear industry in Cumbria; and if he will make a

statement.

Richard Harrington:

The proposed Thermal Hydraulics facility in Bangor is part of the BEIS led Nuclear

Innovation Programme and is in its very early stages of development. The £180m

Nuclear Innovation Programme is part of the 2016-21, £505m BEIS Energy

Innovation Programme. The Programme covers the whole of the UK Nuclear

Research and Development community in order to develop and promote innovation

and future growth in the nuclear sector in the UK in conjunction with the Nuclear

Sector Deal.

The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is successfully delivering and playing a

leadership role on three streams of the Nuclear Innovation Programme; Advanced

Fuels, Recycle and Waste Management and Strategic Toolkit. All areas utilise key

nuclear skills and research infrastructure in the North West including Cumbria.

The NNL also invests in science and engineering programmes and skills using

earnings to reinvest which are implemented within North West universities, supply

chain and NNL facilities of which a large component is in Cumbria.











Nuclear Power Stations: North West


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

discussions he has had with the North West Nuclear Arc on innovation and future growth

in new nuclear in the North West.

Richard Harrington:




course.





Sector Deal.











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

has to work with the North West Nuclear Arc to develop innovation and future growth in

new nuclear in the North West.

Richard Harrington:




course.







Sector Deal.

The £180m Nuclear Innovation Programme which is part of the 2016-21, £505m

BEIS Energy Innovation Programme is part of the Nuclear Sector Deal. The

Programme covers the whole of the UK Nuclear Research and Development

community in order to develop and promote innovation and future growth in the

nuclear sector in the UK in conjunction with the Nuclear Sector Deal.










Post Office: ICT

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: [222063]

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

money from the public purse has been spent on the Horizon IT High Court case to date.

Kelly Tolhurst:

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and

for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to

safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall

number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over

11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since

2010.

While the Post Office is publicly owned it operates as an independent, commercial

business. As such, the legal defence of this litigation and the costs involved in doing

so are being handled by Post Office Limited. As the litigation is ongoing in the High

Court, the Government is unable to comment further.

Retail Trade: Certification Quality Marks

Toby Perkins: [222757]

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

he has made of the period of time that will be provided to retailers to adapt to the



replacement of Conformité Européene markings in the event that the UK leaves the EU

without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst:

In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, goods that are CE marked will

continue to be recognised for a time-limited period.

We recognise that adequate notice will need to be given to businesses of any change

to the period in order to enable them to adapt. In the event of no deal, we will consult

with businesses, including retailers, before taking any decision to end the period of

recognition.

Secondhand Goods: Certification Quality Marks


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

assessment he has made of the effect on (a) charity shops and (b) other second hand

retailers of plans to replace Conformité Européene markings with a UK mark in the event

that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst:

In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, the Government is taking the

decision to adopt a continuity approach in some areas, such as CE marked products,

and continue to recognise CE marking as now. This means that charity retailers and

other second-hand retailers can continue to place second hand goods with CE

marking on the UK market, as before, for a time-limited period. There will be no need

to reassess or re-mark goods, thereby minimising costs to business and consumers.

As products that meet EU requirements can continue to be placed on the UK market

without any need for reassessment or re-marking, CE marked products will therefore

not be required to be re-marked with a UK Marking. This includes second hand

products.

We will consult with business, including charity retailers, before taking any decision to

end the period of recognition of the CE marking.


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

steps to ensure that charity shops will not be required to change Conformité Européene

labels to UK labels on existing stock on 29 March 2019 in the event that the UK leaves

the EU without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst:

In the unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, the Government is

taking the decision to adopt a continuity approach to minimise disruption to

businesses and consumers. This means that goods that meet EU regulatory

requirements, including those with a CE Marking, will still be able to be placed on the

UK market for a time-limited period after 29 March 2019.



This rule applies to goods sold in charity shops, therefore charity shops will not need

relabel their products on 29 March 2019. As retailers of second hand goods, they will,

however, remain responsible for ensuring the products that they place on the market

are safe.


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

secondhand goods with a CE label can continue to be sold by charity shops in the event

that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst:

CE marking is a declaration that a product complied with relevant EU legislation when

the product was initially placed on the EU market. If a product has already been

placed on the market and is then later sold as second hand, it does not generally

have to be relabelled.

If the UK leaves without a deal, the Government has announced a time-limited

continuity approach to minimise disruption to businesses and consumers. This will

mean that CE marked goods – whether new or second hand – can continue to be

sold in the UK.

Charity shops will, therefore, still be able to sell second-hand goods labelled with the

CE Marking, as long as those goods were compliant at the time they were initially

placed on the UK market, and are still safe.

CABINET OFFICE

Cabinet Office: Consultants

Jon Trickett: [223139]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money has been spent from the

public purse on services provided by (a) Deloitte, (b) Slaughter and May and (c) Mott

MacDonald as recorded by his Department's spend analytic in each of the last five years.

Oliver Dowden:

Departmental spend over £25,000 is routinely published on Gov.UK.

Children: Paracetamol

Ruth George: [224372]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many children under the age of 16 have

had a (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal paracetamol overdose in each of the last 10 years.

Chloe Smith:

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority.

I have asked the Authority to reply.

Attachments:

1. UKSA Response [PQ224372, 224373 holding response.pdf]




Ruth George: [224373]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many children under the age of 18 have

had a (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal paracetamol overdose in each of the last 10 years.

Chloe Smith:



Attachments:

1. UKSA Response [PQ224372, 224373 holding response.pdf]

Females: Pay

Kate Green: [223541]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of workers earning £30,000

per annum or less are women.

Chloe Smith:



Attachments:

1. UKSA Response [PQ 223541.pdf]

Government Departments: Procurement

Anneliese Dodds: [223207]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the guidance entitled,

Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance, how many suppliers were

allocated contracts as a result of complying with (a) one and (b) more than one of the

mitigating circumstances after failing the tax compliance questions.

Oliver Dowden:

This information is not held centrally.

Prime Minister: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: [223826]

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of staff employed by in No. 10

Downing Street are apprentices.

Oliver Dowden:

The Cabinet Office currently employs 90 apprentices who are actively completing an

apprenticeship, this equates to 1.31% of our workforce.

As set out in the Civil Service apprenticeship strategy, the Civil Service has pledged

to achieve 30,000 apprenticeship starts in England by 2020, annually delivering 2.3%

of our workforce in England as apprenticeship starts.





Work is underway to produce detailed plans, at business unit level, to identify how

they will meet their target in 2019/20

DEFENCE

Ministry of Defence: Civil Partnerships and Marriage

Will Quince: [222595]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to allow (a) civil

marriage, (b) civil partnership and (c) same-sex marriage ceremonies on Ministry of

Defence sites.

Gavin Williamson:

I want to make sure that all those who want a civil marriage, civil partnerships and

same-sex marriage in the Armed Forces receive the same treatment as their

counterparts who wish to marry in religious ceremonies. That is why I have asked the

Department to look into all options on making this a reality and have written to the

Ministry of Justice and the Minister for Women and Equalities pushing this issue. The

relevant legislation should be changed so that all members of the Armed Forces

whether they want religious ceremonies, civil partnerships or marriage, or same-sex

marriage are treated equally.

The Department conducted a pilot project in 2016, under the Minister of the Armed

Forces, to consider the feasibility of using the MOD estate to host the registration of

civil marriages or partnerships. This pilot identified a change was required to the

relevant legislation to deliver this ambition. The current legislation does not allow for

the MOD sites to limit who is married, and who attends civil marriages, civil

partnerships and same-sex marriages; this presents difficulties in protecting security

of MOD sites. The Department is working on how we fix this anomaly and have

written asking for legislative change.

Meanwhile, more widely in the Armed Forces I am determined that the MOD should

continue to be a leader in supporting the LGBT community, and to build on the strong

progress to date. We continue to strive to be an employer of choice and are working

hard to improve the culture within defence to ensure that we attract and retain diverse

talent, including those from the LGBT community. Indeed, I was delighted the MOD

was recently recognised in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2019, in which all

three services have been placed in the Top 100 LGBT inclusive employers listing.

In 2014, we made provision to allow the marriages of same sex couples in military

chapels, for those with demonstrable link to the Armed Forces and provided that the

chaplain and the chaplain's Sending Church agreed. At present only the United

Reformed Church (URC) permits its chaplains to conduct such marriages, and the

first religious marriage of a same sex couple on Defence site took place at St

Barbara's Church, HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth in 2017.


Ministry of Defence: Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many suppliers have been excluded from

bidding for contracts due to their not meeting the criteria in his Department's Procurement

Policy Note 03/14 in each year since 2014.

Stuart Andrew:

The Cabinet Office's Procurement Policy Note 03/14 requires Central Government to

include measures to promote tax compliance in procurement over £5 million. The

Ministry of Defence (MOD) is compliant with this policy and includes tax compliance

conditions in its tenders and contracts.

Information on whether suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts is

not held centrally and, as the MOD has awarded nearly 4,000 contracts competitively

since 2014, this data can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Nuclear Weapons: International Law

Martyn Day: [222573]

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of

the implications for his policies of the conclusions of the New Zealand Yearbook of

International Law article entitled Is the UK nuclear deterrence policy lawful? Published in

Vol. 11, 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Williamson:

I can reassure the House that the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is fully

compliant and compatible with our international legal obligations.

Veterans


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the

number of veterans who have served in the armed forces who reside in each local

authority area.


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to record the number of

veterans who have served in the armed forces who reside in each local authority area.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

The Department does not record the number of veterans who reside in each local

authority.

An estimated distribution of the UK Armed Forces veteran population residing in

Great Britain can be found in the 'Annual Population Survey: UK Armed Forces

Veterans Residing in Great Britain', the latest edition of which (2017) is published at:





https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/annual-population-survey-uk-armed-

forces-veterans-residing-in-great-britain. As at 2017, there were an estimated 2.4

million UK Armed Forces veterans residing in households across Great Britain.

The sample size of the Annual Population Survey is statistically too small to produce

veteran estimates at geographical locations below county level.

However, the Department does hold information on UK Armed Forces veterans in

each local authority who are in receipt of an Armed Forces occupational pension, a

disablement pension under the War Pensions Scheme or compensation under the

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. This information can be found in table 3 of

“Location of Armed Forces pension and compensation recipients: as at 31 March

2018 (annex A)” which is published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-armed-forces-pension-and-

compensation-recipients-2018.

Veterans: Identity Cards


To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason there is an expiry date on the

HM Armed Forces Veterans identification card.

Mr Tobias Ellwood:

In line with other identification cards such as passports and the Photo ID driving

licence, the Veterans ID card lasts for ten years. Appearances can change, and it is

important that Veteran ID cards provide a true likeness of the individual.

DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Football: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings he has

had with the Premier League in the last six months to discuss future funding for

grassroots football.

Mims Davies:

I met with the Premier League on 31 January 2019. The Secretary of State met with

them on 30 October 2018. The funding of grassroots football was discussed, and on

both occasions the Premier League reaffirmed their commitment to invest over

£100million in each of the next three years towards improving community football

programmes and facilities across the whole of the country in partnership with the

Football Association (FA) and Government.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/annual-population-survey-uk-armed-forces-veterans-residing-in-great-britain



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-armed-forces-pension-and-compensation-recipients-2018





Football: Schools


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his

Department is taking to improve public access to school football facilities to increase

participation in grassroots football.

Mims Davies:

We want all schools to maximise the use of their facilities – for the mutual benefit of

schools and their communities. This is an ambition set out in the Government's

Sporting Future strategy and the Department for Education’s Governance Handbook

for schools.

Sport England’s 'Use Our School' resource has been designed to support schools to

open up their facilities for community use and to help those that are already open to

stay open.

The new cross-departmental School Sport and Physical Activity Action Plan, which

will be published in the spring, will also consider how school facilities can best be

used to encourage all children to play more sports, including football, and to be more

active.

Football: Sportsgrounds


To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his

Department is taking to improve access to all-weather football pitches at grassroots level.


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

received recent representations on the role of local authorities in the future of grassroots

football; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies:

Sport England invests £18million each year into football facilities on behalf of the

DCMS through ring-fenced exchequer contributions to the Football Foundation.

This funding, matched in partnership with the FA and the Premier League, sees more

money than ever before going towards priorities identified in the National Football

Facilities Strategy. The Strategy sets new challenging targets to significantly improve

the nation’s facilities stock over the next 10 years with an increase in 3G pitches is a

key strategic priority. This will be delivered through initiatives like the “Parklike Hubs”

programme that predominantly aims to deliver multi pitch 3G hubs for community use

at strategic locations across the country.




Local authorities are important stakeholders in the implementation of the National

Football Facilities Strategy as so much of the stock of facilities are in public

ownership. Sport England is working closely with the FA to develop Local Football

Facility Plans for every Local Authority in England. The plans will be in place by 2020

and will identify local priorities where investment in grassroots facilities is needed the

most.

EDUCATION

Carers: Children

Paul Farrelly: [224306]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to

ensure that young carers are identified and adequately supported through their schooling.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The government is committed to supporting children and young people to improve

their health and wellbeing, and to protect them from excessive or inappropriate caring

responsibilities that can impact on their education.

The cross-government ‘Carers Action Plan’ (published June 2018), a 2 year

programme of tailored work to support unpaid carers of all ages, aims to improve the

identification of young carers; improving their educational opportunities and

outcomes; providing support to young carers, particularly to vulnerable children; and

improving access to services. The Children in Need review is also identifying how to

spread best practice on raising educational outcomes.

The Department for Education provides schools with £2.4 billion each year in

additional funding through the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils. Each

eligible pupil attracts £1,320 to primary schools and £935 to secondary schools.

Eligibility for the pupil premium is based largely on current or past claims for free

school meals. Some research with young carers aged 14-16 suggested that around

60% already attract the pupil premium through their eligibility for free school meals.

We expect schools to make effective use of their pupil premium and do not tell them

how to use it. Schools know their pupils best and will spend the grant to meet pupil

needs, which may include needs arising from a caring role. Schools are held to

account for their pupil premium use through school inspection and information in

performance tables, and most schools are required to publish details about their pupil

premium strategy and its impact.

Carers: Children and Young People

Angela Crawley: [222048]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has

made of the number of carers under the age of 18 in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c)

Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.



Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: An estimate of the number of carers under the

age of 18 in England and Wales is collected by the Office of National Statistics

through census data. Information on the number of carers under 18 in Scotland and

Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

According to the 2011 census, there are almost 166,000 young carers aged 5 to 17 in

England and Wales, although estimates from other studies using different

methodologies or question wording to identify carers are much higher.

In January 2017, the Department for Education published the omnibus survey report

‘The lives of young carers in England’:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-lives-of-young-carers-in-england.

This was a significant piece of research carried out by the Department in partnership

with Loughborough University looking to improve understanding of the numbers and

needs of young carers and their families.

The Department of Education and the Department of Health, Social Care have

commissioned the Carers Trust to undertake a review of best practice in identifying

young carers. This work is currently ongoing but by its conclusion should give us new

insights into how schools, health and other providers can best achieve this in

practice.

Child Trust Fund

Helen Goodman: [223788]

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

Share Foundation's recovery programmes for Child Trust Fund accounts.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The Department for Education has provided the Share Foundation with funding

totalling £531,624 for administering the Junior Individual Savings Accounts scheme

for children in care and care leavers. It does not provide funding for recovery

programmes for Child Trust Funds.

Children: Day Care

Bridget Phillipson: [224323]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a)

improve affordability and (b) reduce complexity for parents to access childcare support for

people in low-income families.

Nadhim Zahawi:

The government provides significant support to help families with childcare

affordability, including:

• 15 hours of free childcare a week for all 3 and 4-year-olds, worth around £2,500 a

year on average.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-lives-of-young-carers-in-england

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-lives-of-young-carers-in-england



• 15 hours of free childcare a week for disadvantaged 2-year olds, i.e. all those

families in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), with an annual net earned income

equivalent to or less than £15,400; families in receipt of benefits that currently

qualify them for free school meals; those receiving working tax credits (with an

annual gross household income of no more than £16,190); and children entitled to

certain benefits or support for a disability or special educational need, looked-after

children and certain children who have been in care, including those who have

been adopted.

• 30 hours of free childcare a week, for working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds. 30

hours is available to families where both parents are working (or the sole parent is

working in a lone parent family), and each parent earns a weekly minimum

equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum wage or living wage. This also includes

self-employed parents.

• Childcare vouchers provided through some employers, allowing parents to save

money by paying for childcare from their pre-tax salary.

• Help with up to 70% of childcare costs for people on low incomes through working

tax credits, which in April 2016 increased to 85% through UC, subject to a monthly

limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for 2 or more children.

• Tax-free childcare, for which 1.5 million families who have childcare costs will be

eligible. For every £8 parents pay into an online account, the government will pay

£2 – up to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year, for children aged

under 12. Parents of disabled children will receive extra support (worth up to

£4,000 per child, each year and until their child is 17).

To reduce complexity, the government has introduced a childcare calculator, which

parents can use to identify which of the childcare offers they may be entitled to. There

is also the childcare choices and GOV.UK websites, which provides detailed

information about all of the government’s childcare offers and how parents can apply.

Local authorities also have a statutory duty to provide parents with information,

advice and guidance on their websites about how these childcare offers can be

accessed locally.

European University Institute

Angela Rayner: [224487]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason he has withdrawn the

European University Institute (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Angela Rayner: [224488]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to seek UK

membership of the European University Institute Convention after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Skidmore:

The UK’s EU membership is inextricably linked to its current membership of the

European University Institute Convention (EUIC). As a result of EU Exit, the UK will



no longer be an EU member state and so, in a ‘no deal’ scenario, the UK’s

membership of the EUIC will automatically cease on 29 March 2019. In a 'deal'

scenario, the UK’s membership of this convention will continue for the duration of the

implementation period.

The Political Declaration sets out that we will establish general principles, terms and

conditions for UK participation in EU programmes in areas of shared interest, and

wider dialogues to allow us to share best practice and act together in our mutual

interest. On this basis, we will explore with the European University Institute (EUI)

options for future participation in its activities and we will work to ensure that UK

students at the EUI will be able to complete their studies.

The EUI (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, submitted on 7 February, were withdrawn

because of a minor terminology error in the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum

(the exact name of the instrument). They were resubmitted in corrected form on 19

February.

Graduates: Employment

David Simpson: [223116]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking with the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to help university graduates

secure graduate job roles.

Chris Skidmore:

Employment outcomes for graduates are strong and, due to demand from employers,

healthy increases have been seen in recent years. In 2016/17, over 90% of UK and

other EU domiciled leavers were in work or further study 6 months after graduating

and, of those employed, 79% were employed in highly-skilled and professional

occupations. This compares to 89% and 73%, respectively in 2012/13.

The government’s Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost productivity

by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people

throughout the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure. £120 million

was provided to fund collaboration between businesses and universities to stimulate

local innovation through the Strength in Places Fund.

The Graduate Talent Pool is a government initiative which is designed to help new

and recent graduates gain real work experience. This allows employers to advertise

paid internships to new and recent graduates, free of charge.

The higher education regulator, the Office for Students’ (OfS), primary aim is to

ensure that higher education delivers positive outcomes for students and it has a

regulatory focus to ensure that students are able to progress into employment or

further study. The OfS supports graduate employment outcomes in a number of

ways, including a Challenge Competition to boost local employment outcomes and

the Institute of Coding which aims to boost UK digital skills and graduate outcomes.


The government has been improving the information available to students to help

them make informed choices when making decisions on higher education providers

and subject choice. For example, Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes

Frameworks, Longitudinal Education Outcomes data and the Higher Education Open

Data Competition we are running, which all provide information to prospective

students.

Pre-school Education: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of

the number of maintained nursery schools that would close if they received no further

funding guarantee for the period after 2020.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an

assessment of the effect on social mobility of the closure of maintained nursery schools.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Maintained nursery schools (MNS) make a valuable contribution to improving the

lives of some of our most disadvantaged children.

MNS experience costs over and above those of other early years providers. That is

why we are providing local authorities with around £60 million a year in

supplementary funding to enable them to protect MNS funding.

This arrangement is due to end in March 2020, and what happens after that will be

determined by the next Spending Review. We are aware that the supplementary

funding for MNS currently accounts for about a third of their budgets - owing to

uncertainty over the exact date of the Spending Review, we are considering how best

to handle transitional arrangements for a number of areas, including MNS.

This government has an ambition to halve the proportion of children who finish

reception year without the early communication and reading skills they need to thrive.

To support this we are investing over £100 million in our social mobility programme.

This includes £20 million in high quality, evidence-based training and professional

development for pre-reception early years staff in disadvantaged areas; £26 million in

a network of English hubs; and £10 million to understand ‘what works’ in partnership

with the Education Endowment Foundation.

This ambitious work is underpinned by our early education entitlements - where we

are making record investment. This includes the entitlement to up to 15 hours of free

early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. Since its introduction in 2013, over

700,000 2-year-olds have benefited and take-up has risen and is now 72%.



Pre-school Education: Free School Meals

Stephen Timms: [223250]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the

potential merits of increasing the payment to providers for universal free infant school

meals above the current rate of £2.30 per meal which has applied since 2014.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: The £2.30 per meal rate that we provide to

schools to fund universal infant free school meals was set at the last Spending

Review in 2015. The rate is based on the School Food Trust’s survey estimate of the

average cost of a primary school meal, and on discussion with stakeholders and

school food experts.

Decisions about school funding beyond 2020 will be taken at the next Spending

Review in 2019.


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to assess the effect of the

universal free infant school meals policy on (a) school standards and (b) pupils' wellbeing

since its introduction in 2014.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: We spend around £600 million every year

ensuring 1.5 million infants in reception, year 1 and year 2 receive a free, nutritious

meal at lunchtime. This ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating

habits and can concentrate and learn.

We know that a balanced and nutritious meal, which includes vegetables and fruit, is

good for the health and well-being of children. By showing that more children are

eating a school meal we are confident that our universal infant free school meal

(UIFSM) policy is having a positive impact on children. We expect UIFSMs to bring

longer term benefits for children’s health by instilling early in life healthy eating habits

which will be carried forward into later years.

Shared mealtimes are great for learning to talk, behave, take turns, be polite and

share. Schools trialling free school meals in advance of the policy being introduced

reported better behaviour and a nicer atmosphere as a result of pupils eating together

every day.

Since 2010 we’ve been reforming education and driving up school standards. 1.9

million more children are now being taught in good and outstanding schools than

were in 2010, thanks in part to our reforms.



Pupils: Disadvantaged

Seema Malhotra: [224337]

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

in attainment between white British pupils of key stage 4 age who (a) are and (b) are not

eligible for free school meals.

Nick Gibb:

The Government is committed to creating a truly meritocratic country, where

everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their hard work will take them, regardless

of background. To raise standards for all pupils, the Department has already

reformed the secondary curriculum, assessment and accountability arrangements.

The Department’s GCSE reforms mean that there is a rigorous suite of new

qualifications, in line with the standards expected in countries with high performing

education systems. The Department has also introduced new progress measures so

that schools are accountable for the progress pupils make as well as their attainment.

The Department is aware that the most significant factor affecting pupil attainment,

across all ethnicities including white British children, is economic disadvantage. To

tackle this, the Department has provided a total of £13.75 billion from April 2011 to

March 2018 through the pupil premium to help schools improve the progress and

attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department continues to

provide this additional funding, which is £2.4 billion this year alone. Pupils recorded

as eligible for free school meals now, or at any point in the last 6 years, are eligible

for the pupil premium.

Pupils: Hearing Impairment


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

adequacy of support for deaf schoolchildren in mainstream schools.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: I am determined that all children and young

people, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, receive the

support they need to achieve the success they deserve.

94% of pupils identified with hearing impairment as their primary type of need in

January 2018 were in a state-funded mainstream school. It is therefore important that

teachers in mainstream schools, as well as those in specialist settings, are equipped

with the knowledge and skill to support their individual pupils, including those with a

hearing impairment, to achieve their potential.

In April 2018 the Whole School special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

consortium, led by nasen, were awarded £3.4 million for 2018-2020 to deliver a

programme of work to equip the school workforce to deliver high quality teaching

across all types of SEND, including hearing impairment. The programme of work

aims to help schools identify and meet SEND training needs and build the specialist



workforce. We are also reviewing the learning outcomes of specialist SEND

qualifications, including the mandatory qualifications for teachers of classes with

hearing impairment, to ensure they reflect the changing needs of the education

system.

Schools: Social Workers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [223985]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what risk assessments his Department has

made on proposals to place social workers in schools in the local authority areas of (a)

Southampton, (b) Stockport and (c) Lambeth.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: Southampton, Stockport and Lambeth have

received funding from the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care to test

having social workers in schools. As part of the application process the local

authorities were required to provide the What Works Centre with information about

key risks to delivery and the contingencies they would undertake to mitigate them.

The local authorities provided their assessment as part of the application and these

continue to be reviewed through project monitoring.

Small Businesses: Apprentices

Sir John Hayes: [222813]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to

support small businesses in taking on apprentices.

Anne Milton:

Apprenticeships offer businesses of all sizes an opportunity to make a sustainable

investment in the training they need to grow and prosper.

For businesses with fewer than 50 employees who take on apprentices aged 16-18

(or up to the age of 24 for care leavers), the government meets the full cost of

training. All organisations who do not pay the apprenticeship levy benefit from very

generous funding from government, which will rise to 95% of the cost of training and

assessment in 2019.

The new apprenticeships marketing campaign, Fire it Up, aims to increase the

number of apprenticeship vacancies offered by employers, and incorporates a

website featuring case studies from small businesses and information on the funding

support available. It will continue to support employers to create new vacancies and

publicise these on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website.

Small businesses are also able to benefit from transfers of apprenticeship levy funds,

which enable levy-paying employers to use up to 10% of their annual levy funds (up

to 25% from April 2019) to support apprenticeship starts in their supply chain or to

meet local skills shortages.



Soft Drinks: Taxation

Helen Hayes: [223505]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will ensure that under the

comprehensive spending review at least the same level of revenue from the Soft Drinks

Industry Levy is allocated to (a) the continuation of the healthy pupils capital fund and (b)

other schemes for the improvement of children’s health.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: Budget 2016 announced funding for a number

of programmes linked to the revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. The

department will receive £575 million during the current Spending Review period.

Funding for 2020-21 onwards will be considered at the next Spending Review.

£100 million of revenue generated from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy is being used

for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund. This one-year fund for 2018-19 is intended to

improve children’s and young people’s physical and mental health by enhancing

access to facilities for physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and wellbeing

and medical conditions. These facilities include kitchens, dining facilities, changing

rooms, playgrounds and sports facilities. There are no plans for the Healthy Pupils

Capital Fund to continue beyond 2018-19.

Special Educational Needs: Staff

Stephen Morgan: [224492]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to

ensure the recruitment of adequate numbers of Special Educational Needs Coordinators.

Nadhim Zahawi:

Every mainstream school and academy must have a Special Educational Needs Co-

ordinator (SENCO) who is a qualified teacher. The recruitment of SENCOs is the

responsibility of individual schools.

On 28 January 2019, we published the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy

and launched the Early Career Framework, which provides the starting point for a

review of Initial Teacher Training content.

In addition, the Whole Schools’ SEND consortium, led by nasen, are delivering a 2

year programme of work. The aim is to embed special educational need and disability

within the school led system of school improvement in order to equip the workforce to

deliver high quality teaching across all types of special educational needs (SEN). Part

of that work is to undertake a review of the learning outcomes of the mandatory

Masters level National Award in SEN Coordination to ensure that the qualification

reflects the changing needs of the educational system. A report is due in the spring.



T-levels: Science

Stephen Metcalfe: [222732]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students will be able to progress

from a science T-level to a laboratory technician apprenticeship incorporating a level 4

qualification.

Anne Milton:

With additional teaching hours and a meaningful industry placement, we are

confident that T levels will give students the knowledge and skills needed to get a

skilled job, either immediately or after higher technical education (for example an

appropriate level 4 apprenticeship where it is offered by an employer). The outline

content for the Science T level has been developed by a panel of employers and

other experts (including GlaxoSmithKline and the Royal Society of Chemistry), who

have defined the skills needed to give students the best chance of progressing to a

relevant job or higher level study, including a laboratory technician apprenticeship.

T levels in Science, Healthcare Science and Health will roll out from September 2021.

We recently launched the expression of interest process for providers wishing to

deliver T levels in 2021.

T-levels: Work Experience

Stephen Metcalfe: [222731]

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

of T-level industry placements in the science sector.

Anne Milton:

It is important that employers from all industries are supported to deliver industry

placements. We believe employers will benefit from offering industry placements, but

recognise that this is a big change given the scale needed. We have already worked

with a number of employers, including those from the science sector, to identify the

main barriers and challenges to delivering industry placements. We also learnt more

about these and the type of support that employers need from the industry

placements pilot evaluation. As a result, we have invested £5 million into the National

Apprenticeship Service to raise awareness and promote industry placements through

their employer networks. This will include creating a streamlined ‘matchmaking’

service putting employers in touch with providers in their area.

We are also considering what additional support employers require on a route by

route basis to effectively plan and implement industry placements. Equally, we

recognise that different placement models might be needed to accommodate different

industries, students and locations. We have been carrying out extensive stakeholder

engagement across different challenging industries, including employers from the

science sector, to ensure industry placement policy generates placements that are

meaningful, reflective of current industry practice and meet the needs of employers.



UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Cat Smith: [223144]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which Minister is responsible for children's

play services; and what steps the Government is taking on ensuring that the UK upholds

Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the right to play.

Nadhim Zahawi:

[Holding answer 25 February 2019]: I am the Minister responsible for early years and

childcare policy.

The UK government remains fully committed to children’s rights and the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child, and I reaffirmed our commitment in my Written

Ministerial Statement on 20 November 2018.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework sets the regulatory

standards for ‘learning and development’ and ‘safeguarding and welfare’

requirements for all early years providers caring for children from birth to 5. The

framework defines 7 areas of learning and development and is clear that each area

must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-

led and child-initiated activity.

The EYFS Statutory Framework is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework-

-2.

Universities: Degrees

David Simpson: [223115]

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with

representatives of universities on the proposed introduction of two year degree courses.

Chris Skidmore:

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State meets with representatives of universities

regularly to discuss the Department for Education agenda. I have discussed 2 year

degree courses, in the context of discussions about accelerated degree courses, with

representatives of several universities -including most recently Middlesex University

and St Mary’s University Twickenham, both of whom are publicly funded providers of

accelerated degrees.

Young People: Unemployment


To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people aged 16-19 were not in

employment, education or training in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency, (b)

Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority and (c) the North West of England in each

of the last five years for which figures are available.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2





Anne Milton:

Figures for the number of people aged 16-19 not in employment, education or

training (NEET) are not available at unitary authority or constituency level.

The Department for Education’s definitive estimates for young people aged 16-18

NEET in England are published in the National Statistics release ‘Participation in

education, training and employment’. This can be found here

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-neet. These estimates cannot be

disaggregated to lower level geographies.

The Department for Education also publishes estimates for England and the English

regions based on quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) data. However, due to sample

size limitations in the LFS data, it is not possible to produce reliable estimates at

unitary authority or constituency level.

Local authority level NEET estimates for England are published annually as

transparency data from the department’s National Client Caseload Information

System (NCCIS). For young people aged 16-17, local authorities are required to

monitor the extent to which they are meeting their duty to participate in education or

training through the NCCIS and figures for 2016/17 and 2017/18 are provided in the

table attached. Prior to 2016/17, young people aged 18 were also tracked by local

authorities and figures for 2013/14 to 2015/16 are also provided in the table attached.

It should also be noted that there is a break in the time series as figures prior to

2016/17 had an adjustment applied to the NEET figures to include those whose

activity was not known who were likely to be NEET. Post 2016/17 this adjustment

was no longer applied and the NEET figures include all people whose activity was not

known (in order to incentivise local authorities to better track their young people); as a

result, these figures should be interpreted with caution.

Estimates for academic year 2017/18 are published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-

figures.

Data prior to 2018 can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-data-by-local-authority-2012-16-to-

18-year-olds-not-in-education-employment-or-training.

Also available are national statistics showing the destinations of pupils after key stage

4 (i.e. year 11, usually aged 16) and key stage 5 (after A levels or other level 3

qualifications, usually aged 18). See

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-ks4-and-ks5-pupils-2017.

This release shows the proportion of students staying in education or going into

employment or an apprenticeship for at least 2 terms. It also shows the percentage of

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-neet

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-neet

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-figures



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-data-by-local-authority-2012-16-to-18-year-olds-not-in-education-employment-or-training



https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-ks4-and-ks5-pupils-2017

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-ks4-and-ks5-pupils-2017

students who do not sustain their activity and can be used as an approximation for

numbers NEET. Time series data by local authority and parliamentary constituency

covering destination years 2010/11 to 2016/17 is available as part of the additional

and underlying data from the statistics page.

Attachments:

1. 222656_NCCIS_Estimates_of_NEET_for_Cheshire

[222656_NCCIS_Estimates_of_NEET_for_Cheshire_and_North_West.pdf]

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Children


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

he has taken to promote jobs in (a) agriculture and (b) horticulture to children.

George Eustice:

It is a key priority of this government to enable an innovative, productive and

competitive agricultural and horticultural sector.

Attracting young talent into agricultural and horticultural careers and having a skilled

workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming.

The Government is working with industry bodies, such as the Food and Drink Sector

Council, to raise awareness of agriculture as an exciting and attractive career path

and to improve access to the talent and skills required by the industry.

The Government is reforming post-16 technical education to provide clear routes to

skilled employment in agriculture and other sectors. A key part of this is the

introduction of new T levels programmes, which alongside apprenticeships, will sit

within 15 routes, including an Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care route.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Kerry McCarthy: [223210]

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

taking to ensure the (a) maintenance and (b) transparency of information in relation to

farm payments after the UK leaves the EU; whether his Department's CAP Payments

Search website will be used to hold that information; and whether it will link recipients of

payments to company and directorship registers kept by Companies House.

George Eustice:

It is right that the public are informed of how and where public funds are spent. We

intend that information currently made available through our CAP Payments Search

pages will continue to be published after the UK leaves the EU. This will apply in

relation to payments made in England under the legacy CAP schemes, using

retained CAP legislation, until the planned end of our agricultural transition period in

2027, or until the legacy schemes have ended, if earlier.



Clause 2 of the Agriculture Bill contains powers to enable information to be published

in relation to the new system of payments that will replace CAP schemes. This

includes information on who receives payments and for what purpose. The exact

nature of that information will be determined during the design process and in close

discussion with stakeholders and across government. We will need to ensure a

balance between transparency of public expenditure and commercial sensitivities.

Dairy Farming


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

taken to support dairy farmers to obtain a fair price from supermarkets for their produce.

George Eustice:

We want all farmers to get a fair price for their products and the Government is

committed to tackling the unfairness that exists in the dairy supply chain.

There are a number of possible options for achieving this, including using new

powers in our Agriculture Bill to introduce Statutory Codes of Practice, and using

existing powers on Mandatory Written Contracts.

The approach taken will need to take account of the outcome of EU negotiations, and

a wide range of stakeholder views. We will launch a full consultation in due course.

Equine Flu: Disease Control


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

taken to minimise the spread of the equine flu.

David Rutley:

The Government has been monitoring the situation and maintaining close contact

with the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and British Horseracing Authority (BHA) as well

as the Equine Disease Coalition.

Equine flu is a contagious disease of horses, donkeys, mules and all equidae. Clinical

signs include a raised temperature, cough and nasal discharge, lethargy and loss of

appetite. In otherwise healthy horses cases typically resolve within 1-2 weeks. It is

not a public health risk. Vaccination is the main control measure, alongside isolation

of infected cases and minimising the mixing of horses during an outbreak. Equine flu

is not a notifiable disease in the UK, which means that the industry takes

responsibility for surveillance, testing and vaccination. The Horserace Betting Levy

Board, which is a Government arm’s length body, provides funds to the AHT, which is

an internationally approved reference laboratory for equine flu.

Horse owners are urged to contact their private vet if they suspect respiratory illness

and to practice good biosecurity and isolate suspected or confirmed cases.



Non-native Species: EU Law


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

measures his Department has in place to meet the UK’s obligations under Article 19 of

EU Regulation No 1143/2014 on invasive alien species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey:

Article 19 of the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (“The EU Regulation”)

requires EU Member States to put in place effective management measures for listed

species that are widely spread so that their impact on biodiversity, ecosystem

services, human health and the economy are minimised. These measures must be

aimed at the eradication, population control or containment of the population of a

species.

Around 15 of the listed species are widespread in England and Wales, including grey

squirrel, muntjac deer and floating pennywort, and management measures are

already in place for some of these. For example, work by the Forestry Commission

and UK Squirrel Accord partners under the Grey Squirrel Action Plan, and the

removal by the Environment Agency of more than 1,000 tonnes of pennywort from

the River Ouse in 2018.

We will be consulting on measures for widespread species.


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

authority or authorities are responsible for ensuring compliance with the restrictions under

Article 7 of EU Regulation No 1143/2014 on invasive alien species.


To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish a

list of incidents recorded of non-compliance under under Article 7 of EU Regulation No

1143/2014 on invasive alien species.


The enforcement bodies for Article 7 will include UK Border Force, the Police, Natural

England and Natural Resources Wales.

The Government has no plans to publish a list of recorded non-compliance prior to

Order coming into force. Where breaches of the EU Regulation have been reported,

the Government has taken the appropriate action including liaising with online sales

platforms to facilitate the removal of online listings that contravened the restrictions

laid out in the EU Regulation.




Pets: Travel

Patrick Grady: [224490]

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

Department has to publish further guidance on pet travel to Europe after the UK leaves

the EU.

David Rutley:

Whatever the outcome of negotiations, when the UK leaves the EU, owners of pet

dogs, cats and ferrets will be able to continue to travel to the EU with their pets but

there may be changes to the system.

We want owners to continue to be able to travel with their animals with the minimum

of disruption, whilst maintaining our high biosecurity and welfare standards. However,

it’s our duty as a responsible Government to prepare for all eventualities, including a

‘no deal’ scenario.

On 6 November 2018, Defra published guidance on Pet Travel to Europe after Brexit

in preparation for the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal. The guidance also

contains advice on the documents and health preparation required for pets to return

to the UK from the EU.

The Department will continue to keep this guidance up to date as the arrangements

that allow pet owners to travel to and from the EU with pets after the UK leaves the

EU are confirmed.

Rural Payments Agency: Geospatial Commission


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

Payments Agency is participating in the work of the Geospatial Commission; and whether

there are plans to publish the Rural Land Register as part of the work of that

Commission.

George Eustice:

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has made initial contact with the Geospatial

Commission (GC) and is looking to have a productive working relationship.

Outside of the work of the GC, Defra’s data sharing platform and data.gov already

allow private sector organisations and the public access to many of Defra’s

geospatial open datasets. The RPA is working alongside the Ordnance Survey, the

Environment Agency, Digital Data and Technology Services and the agri-tech sector

to develop the IT, control and licence protocols to enable more of the RPA’s land data

to be more openly accessible using the data sharing platform.


https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit


Salmon: Scotland

Jim Shannon: [223058]

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

officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Scottish Government

on trends in mortality rates for farmed salmon.

George Eustice:

The Government is aware of concerns about trends in mortality rates for Scottish

farmed salmon. Aquaculture is a devolved matter. The issue is therefore a matter for

the Scottish Government, which we understand is taking action, including through the

Farmed Fish Health Framework. Officials are in regular discussions with Scottish

Government counterparts on a wide range of issues related to fishing and

aquaculture.

Tyres: Recycling

Chris Ruane: [223248]

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

diligence his Department undertakes relating to used tire exports to India for recycling

purposes.


The UK and India are both parties to the Basel Convention which provides the

system for controlling movements of hazardous and other wastes between countries.

It is fully implemented in UK law through Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on the shipment

of waste and the UK Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007. Under

Regulation (EC) 1013/2006, most exports of non hazardous wastes destined for

recycling to non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

countries are subject to light touch international export controls known as ‘green-list’

controls. The European Commission asks non-OECD countries, including India, to

indicate where more stringent controls are required. India has indicated that exports

of tyres from the UK can be exported under green-list controls and must also meet

the requirements of Indian regulations.

The UK environmental regulators take an intelligence led approach to checking

compliance with waste export regulations. They carry out proactive and intelligence

led inspections to stop waste shipments that breach these regulations before they

leave our ports. Where concerns are raised about a recycling facility in other

countries, further information is requested from the relevant authorities in that country

to confirm sites are permitted and regulated according to their national laws.

In our recently published Resources and Waste Strategy, we set out plans to

introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for more waste streams, including

tyres. This will increase the responsibility on tyre producers regarding their end of life.

We are also further developing a range of measures including: increased monitoring

of international waste shipments, improved provision for waste repatriation, and

charging higher fees to improve compliance. These changes aim to ensure any waste



we do send abroad is fit for recycling, and that it is recycled to equivalent standards

as required in the UK. This should create a more level playing field for domestic

recyclers as well as reducing the chances of exported tyres being mishandled.

EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION

Department for Exiting the European Union: Procurement


To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many suppliers have

been excluded from bidding for contracts as a result of not complying with the criteria set

out in the guidance entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance, in

each year since the creation of his Department.

Chris Heaton-Harris:

The Department have not directly excluded any suppliers from bidding for contracts

on the basis of PPN 03/14.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

[Subject Heading to be Assigned]

Chris Williamson: [224321]

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

representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on ending the isolation of

Abdullah Ocalan in line with International and Turkish domestic law and bring an end to

hunger strikes in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan:

British Embassy officials discussed the imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan with Turkish

officials in mid-January. They also covered the hunger strikes in support of Abdullah

Öcalan by Kurdish prisoners, including Leyla Guven MP. We are pleased to note that

she was recently released from prison. We expect the Turkish authorities to ensure

that prisoners' human rights are observed, including access to medical treatment.

Central European University

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: [222610]

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

discussions he has had with (a) the Hungarian Government and (b) his counterparts in

the EU on the future of the Central European University in Budapest.

Sir Alan Duncan:

The Foreign Secretary has not discussed this matter with his Hungarian or EU

counterparts. However, both the former Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, and our

Embassy in Budapest have discussed it with the Hungarian Government. If and when




we have concerns, we raise them privately with our Hungarian counterparts, as you

do with friends and allies.

Elections

Mr Virendra Sharma: [909456]

What recent steps his Department has taken to support free and fair elections

internationally.

Mark Field:

We support elections by providing financial and technical assistance to international

organisations that carry out election observations missions; in particular the

European Union, the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe, and the

Commonwealth. In 2018, the UK contributed observers to Organization for Security

Cooperation in Europe missions in Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia,

Montenegro, Macedonia (now North Macedonia) and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Procurement


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

suppliers have been excluded from bidding for contracts as a result of not complying with

the criteria set out in the guidance entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax

compliance, in each year since 2014.

Sir Alan Duncan:

Authority to enter into contracts is devolved to directorates and departments within

the FCO in London as well as the global network of overseas missions. Relevant data

to answer this question is not held centrally and could not be collated without

disproportionate cost.

Human Rights

Ann Clwyd: [223809]

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

Department plans to publish its guidelines for supporting human rights defenders.

Mark Field:

The Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN is committed to making UK

support for human rights defenders more transparent. Officials are working in

consultation with NGOs to publish a document setting out UK support for human

rights defenders in 2019.




India: Pakistan


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

he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the recent escalation of

tensions between India and Pakistan.

Mark Field:

We condemn in the strongest terms last week's appalling terror attack in Pulwama.

The thoughts of the British Government are with the victims and their families. We are

engaging the Governments of both India and Pakistan to encourage them to find

diplomatic solutions and refrain from actions that could jeopardise regional stability.

We are also working with the international community and through the UN Security

Council to ensure that the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack are brought to justice.

Iran: Press TV

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: [219522]

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

Department has made of the (a) budget of Press TV and (b) level of investment it

receives from the Iranian State; and what assessment he has made of Press TV's level of

editorial independence.

Alistair Burt:

We assess that Press TV is part of state-controlled Iranian media, and as such it is

not independent. We cannot currently assess Press TV’s budget or the level of

investment it receives from the Iranian state. Press TV’s license to broadcast in the

UK was revoked by Ofcom in 2012.

Iraq: Politics and Government

Eddie Hughes: [909450]

What recent diplomatic steps his Department has taken to support peace and stability in

Iraq.

Alistair Burt:

I visited Iraq last month and held useful discussions with leaders from the

Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Governemnt. We discussed how the UK

and Iraq could cooperate together to promote peace and stability in Iraq. I announced

a further £30 million in funding to help rebuild Iraq and reinvigorate the economy.

Kashmir: Terrorism

Bob Blackman: [909449]

What diplomatic steps he has taken to support India following the recent terrorist attack in

Jammu and Kashmir.





Mark Field:

The UK government unequivocally condemns the appalling terror attacks in Pulwama

on 14 Februrary. We are actively encouraging the Governments of both India and

Pakistan to find diplomatic solutions and refrain from actions that could jeopardise

regional stability. We are also working through the UN Security Council to ensure that

the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Press Freedom

Dr Matthew Offord: [909455]

What steps he is taking to protect the rights and freedoms of journalists throughout the

world.

Mark Field:

A free media is the life blood of democracy. This is why the Foreign Secretray has put

the resources of the FCO behind a global media freedom campaign. The Foreign

Secretary was delighted to announce that he and his Canadian counterpart, the

Honorable Chrystia Freeland, will co-host a major international conference in London

on 10-11 July. My noble friend Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has extended our invitation

to the world's Foreign Ministers at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Sierra Leone: Politics and Government

Nigel Dodds: [223503]

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

discussions he has had with his counterpart in Sierra Leone on the national emergency

declared in that country.

Harriett Baldwin:

The Government is aware that the President of Sierra Leone has declared a national

emergency on the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. The high rates

are alarming: 56 per cent of women in Sierra Leone report experiencing physical

violence. This month, the Sierra Leone-based Rainbo Initiative reported 2800 sexual

assaults committed against girls and women since the start of 2018.

The British Government regularly raises concerns about sexual and gender-based

violence with the Government of Sierra Leone. The High Commissioner to Sierra

Leone met the First Lady of Sierra Leone, a prominent campaigner, on 12 February

2019 to discuss the issue. We welcome President Bio's recent steps to establish a

new police department that solely investigates sexual offenses involving children and

a special court focusing on such cases.

Sudan: Economic Situation


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

his Department has had with the North Sudanese Government on economic support for

that country.




Harriett Baldwin:

The UK continue to urge the Government of Sudan to deliver much needed economic

reforms for the benefit of all Sudanese citizens, and to continue to make

improvements to the humanitarian and development operating environment. Most

recently, officials from the Department of International Development discussed

development work in Sudan, specifically the Darfur Development Strategy refresh,

with senior officials in the Government of Sudan on 21 February.

Three Seas Initiative

Daniel Kawczynski: [222708]

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

Department plans to provide to the Three Seas Initiative.


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

hold discussions with the Three Seas Initiative to explore future avenues for mutual

cooperation.


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

Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the UK becoming an

observer to the Three Seas Initiative.


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

policy to support enhancing the diversity of energy supply in Europe through the Three

Seas Initiative.


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

assessment of the potential of the Three Seas Initiative to enhance regional cooperation

and development.

Sir Alan Duncan:

We support initiatives to strengthen and diversify the European energy market and

welcome the efforts of the participants in the Three Seas Initiative to promote

cooperation and development across the region. We have strong relationships with

the participating countries and will continue to discuss opportunities for mutual

cooperation with them, particularly on issues of such strategic importance, including

through the Three Seas Initiative.

Venezuela: Money Laundering

Andrew Lewer: [222579]

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

Government is taking steps to identify (a) individuals and (b) institutions in the UK which







have (i) facilitated and (ii) benefited from the movement of stolen and laundered

Venezuelan funds through the UK; and which partners the Government is working with to

(A) identify and (B) freeze all monies and assets in the UK that are Maduro regime

pending transfer of those monies to the control of the government of interim President

Juan Guaido.

Sir Alan Duncan:

The EU agreed targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against

18 individuals with senior positions in the Maduro regime. The UK is discussing with

EU partners the possibility of increasing the number of individuals subject to

sanctions.

In addition, the Government is currently considering what further bilateral measures

might be implemented to increase pressure on the Maduro regime.

Venezuela: Presidents

Andrew Bridgen: [909448]

What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the status of

the presidency in Venezuela.

Sir Alan Duncan:

On 24 January, the Foreign Secretary discussed Venezuela with Vice-President

Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo in Washington, and further discussed

Venezuela at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Bucharest on 30 January.

On 26 January, I represented the UK at the UN Security Council where I discussed

Venezuela with European and regional counterparts. On 4 Feburary, I went to Ottawa

for the meeting of Lima Group countries, where I discussed Venezuela with regional

and Foreign Ministers.

Andrew Lewer: [909460]

What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the status of

the presidency in Venezuela.

Sir Alan Duncan:

On 24 January, the Foreign Secretary discussed Venezuela with Vice-President

Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo in Washington, and further discussed

Venezuela at a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Bucharest on 30 January.

On 26 January, I represented the UK at the UN Security Council where I discussed

Venezuela with European and regional counterparts. On 4 Feburary, I went to Ottawa

for the meeting of Lima Group countries, where I discussed Venezuela with regional

Foreign Ministers.



Yemen: Conflict Resolution

Louise Haigh: [909457]

What recent diplomatic steps he has taken to help pursue a resolution to the conflict in

Yemen.

Alistair Burt:

The situation in Yemen is of great concern to the government and the UK remains at

the forefront of the diplomatic response. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary co-

hosted the Yemen Ministeral Quad with US Secretary of State Pompeo on 13

Februrary in Warsaw. At this meeting, we highlighted our continued commitment to

progress on Yemen, which is at a critical juncture.

Yemen: Security

Kevin Brennan: [909451]

What recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Yemen.

Alistair Burt:

The situation in Yemen is of great concern to the government and the UK remains at

the forefront of the diplomatic response. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary co-

hosted the Yemen Ministeral Quad with US Secretary of the State Pompeo on 13

February in Warsaw. At this meeting, we highlighted our continued commitment to

progress on Yemen, which is at a critical juncture.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Abortion

Sir Edward Leigh: [223137]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6

February 2019 to Question 217544 on Spina Bifida: Surgery, if his Department will make

it its policy to provide pain relief to unborn babies of a similar age undergoing a

termination.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

The Department does not set clinical practice. To support clinical practice, the Royal

College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has considered the issue of fetal pain

and awareness in its guidelines ‘The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion’

and ‘Fetal Awareness: Review of Research and Recommendations for Practice’,

which are available at the following links:

https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/abortion-

guideline_web_1.pdf

https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/rcogfetalawarenesswpr0

610.pdf




https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/abortion-guideline_web_1.pdf



https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/rcogfetalawarenesswpr0610.pdf



Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made

of the potential effect on patient care of removing A&E waiting time targets.

Stephen Hammond:

The Prime Minister announced a clinically-led review of standards in June 2018. The

review is considering the appropriateness of operational standards for physical and

mental health relating to planned, unplanned urgent or emergency care, as well as

cancer. The Review is being led by NHS England’s National Medical Director,

Professor Stephen Powis. In the interest of patient safety, we are committed to

ensuring that any changes to waiting time standards are based on clinical evidence.

Any changes should, and will, only seek to further strengthen current operational

standards.

The Review will report its interim findings in the spring of 2019, after which any

recommended changes will be carefully field-tested across the National Health

Service, before they are implemented.

Ambulance Services: East Midlands


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of

the average response time of ambulances in the East Midlands by (a) constituency and

(b) county, in the latest period for which data is available.

Stephen Hammond:

Information is not available in the format requested. National and individual

ambulance National Health Service trust level performance is available and published

monthly by NHS England and can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-

indicators/

Ambulance Services: Standards



of trends in the level of ambulance response times in each year since 1997.

Stephen Hammond:

National Health Service ambulance trusts transitioned to new standards in December

2017, following a rigorous and independent evaluation of the clinically-led Ambulance

Response Programme (ARP). As a result, data is not comparable pre- and post the



https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/




ARP. National and individual ambulance NHS trust level performance data is

published monthly by NHS England, and can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-

indicators/

Asthma: Prescriptions

Sir David Amess: [224470]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include

asthma in the list of conditions which are exempt from the payment of prescription

charges.

Sir David Amess: [224471]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an

assessment of the effect on people's health of prescription charges for asthma medicines.

Steve Brine:

Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people afford National Health

Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of prescription charge

exemptions, for which someone with asthma may qualify. The Department has no

current plans to amend these exemptions, including the list of medical conditions that

provides exemption from prescription charges.

People on a low income, who do not qualify for an exemption, may be eligible for full

or partial help with prescription charges through application to the NHS Low Income

Scheme.

To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption or the NHS

Low Income Scheme, prescription prepayment certificates are available. A holder of a

12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.

Cancer: Health Professions

Thangam Debbonaire: [223778]

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

ensure that the Health Education England phase two cancer workforce plan co-ordinates

with the workforce implementation plan in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Steve Brine:

Health Education England (HEE) published its first ever Cancer Workforce Plan in

December 2017. HEE intended to publish a second phase, longer-term strategy that

looked at the cancer workforce needs beyond 2021. This work was started and

stakeholders from within the National Health Service and the charitable sector

contributed to the early discussions. This work has since been superseded by

publication of the NHS Long Term Plan in January 2019.

My Rt. hon. Friend Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has subsequently

commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead







a number of programmes to engage with key NHS interests to develop a detailed

workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals

to grow the workforce rapidly, including staff working on cancer, consider additional

staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure

first rate leadership for NHS staff.

Cervical Cancer: Screening


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains his policy

that the NHS is the primary provider for cervical cytology screening in England.

Steve Brine:

The National Health Service will remain the primary provider for cervical cytology

screening in England and cervical screening remains part of the General Medical

Services contract.

In November 2015, the UK National Screening Committee recommended that human

papillomavirus (HPV) screening should replace the currently used liquid based

cytology test as the primary screening for cervical disease.

Following a review of its delivery strategy, NHS England commenced a one-stage

procurement process to reconfigure provider laboratories to support the roll-out of

HPV primary screening into the NHS Cervical Cancer Screening Programme in

England. HPV primary screening is due to be rolled out in 2019.

Once full implementation is achieved, all samples will be tested for HPV which

causes more than 99% of cervical cancers. This could prevent around 600 cancers a

year.

Continuing Care

Julian Knight: [223076]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a qualified witness

independent of the relevant clinical commissioning group is required to be involved in a

patient's continuing healthcare assessment.

Caroline Dinenage:

The National Framework for Continuing Healthcare requires that a multidisciplinary

team (MDT) must assess whether an individual has a primary health need. This MDT

must comprise at least two professionals who are from different healthcare

professions, or one professional who is from a healthcare profession and one person

who is responsible for assessing persons who may have needs for care and support

under part 1 of the Care Act 2014.

The MDT should usually include both health and social care professionals and, as far

as is reasonably practicable, the clinical commissioning group (CCG) must consult

with the relevant local authority before making any decision about an individual’s

eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare. A local authority must, when requested to



do so by a CCG, co-operate with the CCG in arranging for persons to participate in a

MDT. In addition to this, the individual and, where appropriate, their representative

should be enabled to play a central role in the assessment process.

Continuing Care: Finance


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timescale is for Care

Commissioning Groups to request information from relevant (a) medical and (b) care

organisations during a continuing healthcare appeal.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the length of time required

is for a Care Commissioning Group to respond to a continuing healthcare appeal.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what length of time is set for a

(a) medical and (b) care organisation to respond to a request for information by a Care

Commissioning Group in relation to a continuing healthcare appeal.

Caroline Dinenage:

The National Framework for Continuing Healthcare and NHS Funded Nursing Care

(October 2018) requires that all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have a local

resolution process for responding to requests for reviews of Continuing Healthcare

eligibility decisions.

The National Framework specifies that local resolution processes should initially

involve an informal two-way meeting between the CCG and the individual or their

representative. Where a formal meeting is required, this could result in the CCG

requesting further information from other organisations.

Under the National Framework, CCGs are responsible for developing, delivering and

publishing a resolution process which includes timescales.

The National Framework specifies that CCGs should deal with requests for review of

eligibility decisions in a timely manner.

NHS England is responsible for holding CCGs to account if they are not following the

National Framework.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the length of time required

is for a (a) medical and (b) care organisation to respond to a request for information by a

Care Commissioning Group in relation to a continuing healthcare application.


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a minimum

period of notice given to families of those being given a continuing healthcare

assessment to ensure they have adequate time to attend the assessment.






Caroline Dinenage:

The National Framework for Continuing Healthcare and NHS Funded Nursing Care

October 2018, states that after a clinical commissioning group (CCG) receives a

positive checklist they should in most cases make the eligibility decision within 28

calendar days. CCGs are responsible for setting their own time periods for each

‘stage’ of the process including notice periods to families and timeline expectations

from third parties regarding requests for information.

Dental Services: Cumbria


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new adult patients

have been registered by each NHS dental practice in South Lakeland in each of the last

20 years.


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

increase the number of new adult patients registered by NHS dental practices in

Cumbria.

Steve Brine:

The data is not held centrally in the format requested.

NHS England is responsible on behalf of Secretary of State for Health and Social

Care commissioning dental services to meet local need and assessing the level of

that need. NHS England advises that it is aware of and taking action to address

identified shortfalls in dental provision particularly, but not exclusively, in South

Cumbria. Action taken already in South Cumbria has included offering practices

additional funding to take on additional patients.

Eating Disorders: Health Services

Caroline Lucas: [222801]


October 2018 to Question 179179 on Eating Disorders, and with reference to

recommendation two on page five of the report entitled, Ignoring the alarms: How NHS

eating disorder services are failing patients, published by the Parliamentary and Health

Service Ombudsman on 6 December 2017, what plans he has to achieve parity between

adult eating disorder services and child and adolescent services; what funding has been

allocated to achieve that parity; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

The Government takes seriously the report of the Parliamentary and Health Services

Ombudsman (PHSO) ‘Ignoring the alarms: how NHS eating disorder services are

failing patients’, including the recommendation to achieve parity between adult eating

disorders services and children and young people services.




NHS England is now working to understand the geographical variation of current

services, and the cost and workforce required to achieve parity with children and

young people’s eating disorder services.

NHS England has set up a working group, chaired by Professor Tim Kendall, the

NHS England and NHS Improvement National Clinical Director for Mental Health, to

address the PHSO’s recommendations and take them into account in planning for

improvements to eating disorder services.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out NHS England’s

proposals to improve care for adults include maintaining and developing new services

for those who have the most complex needs. The recently published ‘NHS

Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance 2019/20 Annex B: Guidance for

operational and activity plans - assurance statements’ to accompany the NHS

Planning Guidance for 2019/20 makes clear that these services include services for

adults with eating disorders.

Epilepsy: Drugs

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: [222701]


January 2019 to Question 211841, what specific steps his Department has taken to

ensure the supply of epilepsy medication in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a

deal.

Stephen Hammond:

We understand that epilepsy medicines are vitally important to many people in this

country. Our contingency plans aim to ensure that the supply of epilepsy medicines

and other essential medicines to patients is not disrupted in all European Union exit

scenarios, including in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit.

In August 2018, the Department wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that supply

prescription-only and pharmacy medicines to the United Kingdom that come from, or

via, the EU/European Economic Area asking them to ensure a minimum of six weeks’

additional supply in the UK, over and above existing business-as-usual buffer stocks,

by 29 March 2019.

On 7 December, the Government published updated reasonable worst-case scenario

border disruption planning assumptions in the event of a ‘no deal’ EU exit. Medicines

and medical products are prioritised in cross-Government planning, and the

Department is working with relevant partners across Government and industry to

ensure we have sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight capacity on alternative routes to

enable these vital products to continue to move freely into the UK.

Throughout the implementation of our plans, we have received very good

engagement from industry who share our aims of ensuring that the supply of

medicines and medical products can continue unhindered in the event of a ‘no deal’

EU exit.


Exercise


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps the NHS has

taken to promote the health benefits of regular exercise.

Steve Brine:

The Government recognises the health benefits of regular exercise. The Chief

Medical Officer has commissioned an evidence based review of physical activity and

health which will be published later this year. The ‘One You’ Campaign developed by

Public Health England and the National Health Service provides information around a

range of topics and provides the tools to encourage people to make better choices

today that can have a huge influence on their health, and could prevent diseases

such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, and reduce the risk of suffering a

stroke or living with dementia, disability and frailty in later life.

Fibromyalgia


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to meet with

fibromyalgia charities and organisations.

Steve Brine:

Ministers at the Department regularly meet with charities and organisations to discuss

many issues. However there are no current plans to meet with fibromyalgia charities

and organisations.

General Practitioners: Overseas Companies

Julian Sturdy: [223127]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of GP practices

are administered by healthcare companies based abroad.

Julian Sturdy: [223130]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of

the number of GP consortia that are run for profit by overseas-based medical insurance

firms.

Steve Brine:

This information is not collected or held centrally.

Health Services: British Nationals Abroad

Tom Brake: [222802]

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

had with relevant health charities on ensuring they have advance warning of the

publication of new advice on travel in the EU and EEA in the event that the UK leaves the

EU without a deal.






Tom Brake: [222804]

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

ensure the safety of patients with pre-existing conditions, which are not covered by

insurance, who travel in the EU and would no longer be covered by reciprocal healthcare

agreements in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Tom Brake: [222807]

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

ensure that reciprocal agreements with EU Member States and Members of the EEA for

the provision of health care to UK citizens travelling temporarily to those countries will be

in place after the UK leaves the EU; and what the timetable is for those arrangements.

Stephen Hammond:

The United Kingdom Government is seeking agreements with Member States, so that

no individual will face sudden changes to their healthcare cover.

People requiring treatment for their pre-existing conditions when travelling should

always seek advice from their doctor and specialist unit before booking travel. They

should also contact the chosen specialist administrator at the destination of travel to

ensure their treatment is covered after 29 March 2019 in a ‘no deal’ scenario. Any

charges to the patient should be discussed and agreed before booking travel.

The Department has been in discussion with a number of stakeholders on reciprocal

healthcare after the UK leaves the EU.

Any new travel advice will be updated on GOV.UK and the NHS website as the

circumstances change, including for travellers who have pre-existing conditions.

Health Services: Greater London


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion

of total NHS funding is spent in the Greater London area in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond:

Spending in Greater London and as a percentage of the total NHS England Mandate

is shown in the following table. The spending may include services for people not

living in London.

FINANCIAL YEAR

TOTAL SPENDING FOR GREATER

LONDON (£ MILLION)

GREATER LONDON SPEND AS A

% OF TOTAL NHS ENGLAND

MANDATE

2017-18 18,600 17%

2016-17 17,800 17%

2015-16 17,300 17%




FINANCIAL YEAR

TOTAL SPENDING FOR GREATER

LONDON (£ MILLION)

GREATER LONDON SPEND AS A

% OF TOTAL NHS ENGLAND

MANDATE

2014-15 16,700 17%

2013-14 16,200 17%

Notes:

1. The spend includes all areas of direct commissioning and clinical commissioning

groups (CCGs), and also relevant administration and programme budgets.

2. Commissioning categories included: CCG direct commissioning; health and justice;

NHS England central programme costs; NHS England running costs; other; primary

care and secondary dental; public health; social care; and, specialised

commissioning.

3. The spend figures for CCGs are presented on an International Financial Reporting

Standards basis, compared against the total resource departmental expenditure

limit mandate for NHS England.

4. The spend figures may exclude some transformation budgets that are deployed

nationally.

5. The spend figures for specialised include all specialised spend with London

providers, which will include spend on patients from outside of London.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements


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

Health Insurance Cards were used by UK citizens abroad in the past year.


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

Insurance Cards have been issued to people over the age of 70.



Health Insurance Cards were used by UK citizens abroad to support the treatment of pre-

existing conditions in the last year.

Stephen Hammond:

There were 118,684 accepted claims when a European Health Insurance Card

(EHIC) was used, in the last 12 months.

There are 3,108,739 United Kingdom-issued EHICs in circulation for people aged

over 70. This is based on cards which have not expired and the applicant’s age on




the date the card was issued, and not their current age. EHICs are valid for five years

after their issue date.

Information is not available on the number of times EHICs were used by UK citizens

abroad to support the treatment of pre-existing conditions in the last year.



Health Insurance Cards were used by people over the age of 70 in each of the last five

years.

Stephen Hammond:

The following table shows the number of European Health Insurance Card claims

from people aged over 70 by year for the last five years:

2014 29,632

2015 35,518

2016 43,121

2017 38,271

2018 23,172

Heart Diseases: Transplant Surgery


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have had an

operation for an artificial heart have been undertaken in the NHS.

Steve Brine:

The information is not available in the format requested.

HIV Infection: Drugs


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

with (a) NHS England, (b) Public Health England and (c) local authorities on achieving

the Government's commitment to double the number of places on the PrEP Impact Trials.

Steve Brine:

On 30 January, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

announced that the Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact trial would be expanded

to 26,000 people. Work is underway with partners to take this forward. The PrEP

Oversight Board has requested information on local capacity to make the additional

places available, and will review this later in February.




Hospitals: Cash Dispensing

Frank Field: [223542]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he issued guidance to

NHS hospitals on the phasing out of pay-to-use cash machines.

Stephen Hammond:

Decisions on the provision of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at hospitals are

made by National Health Service trusts locally. Guidance has not been issued on

ATMs, but there is more general guidance on income generation can be found at the

following link:

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130124072327/http:/www.dh.gov.uk/pro

d_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_413066

8.pdf

Local decisions need to include an assessment of the need for supporting patients

and visitors to access cash. The use of electronic payments is increasingly common

in NHS hospitals. As with other areas of income generation, in the event that a

surplus is made by the trusts after costs are offset, this is used to improve clinical

services.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to

consult patients before changes are made to NHS waiting times targets.

Stephen Hammond:

The clinically-led review of standards was announced by the Prime Minister in June

2018. The review is considering the appropriateness of operational standards for

physical and mental health relating to planned, unplanned urgent or emergency care,

as well as cancer. In the interest of patient safety, we are committed to ensuring that

any changes to waiting time standards are based on clinical evidence.

The Long Term Plan provides a platform upon which innovative models of patient

care can and are being developed. In that context, the NHS National Medical Director

has been working with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Healthwatch England

and many others to consider what matters most to patients, on the clinical issues with

the current target regime, and what National Health Service staff believe will help

them provide the best quality care for patients.

The review will report its interim findings in the spring of 2019, after which any

recommended changes arising from the Clinical Standards Review will be carefully

tested across the NHS and be subject to a rigorous approach before they are

implemented. Any changes should, and will, only seek to further strengthen current

operational standards. Any changes to the NHS Constitution will be consulted on as

is legally required.


https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130124072327/http:/www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4130668.pdf





Integrated Care Systems: Hampshire and Isle of Wight


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis was

for his Department's decision to create an Integrated Care System covering Hampshire

and the Isle of Wight.



of the potential negative consequences of introducing Integrated Care Systems on

subsidiarity and tailored approaches to local needs.

Stephen Hammond:

NHS England’s Five Year Forward View set out a clear vision on how to close the

gaps of the health and wellbeing of the population, the quality of care provided, and

the finances and efficiencies of NHS services. The NHS’s chosen vehicle to deliver

this is sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) which bring together

National Health Service organisations and local councils together in footprints

covering the whole of England.

The areas to be covered by all STPs, including Hampshire and Isle of Wight, were

decided through discussions between the leaders of local and national NHS bodies.

Factors that were considered included partnership work already under way between

organisations, local government boundaries, and where patients go to receive

treatment.

The NHS Long Term Plan confirmed that all STPs will become Integrated Care

Systems (ICSs) by April 2021.

ICSs will be expected to work in partnership with local authorities, to make collective

decisions on population health, service redesign and the implementation of the Long

Term Plan. The Plan set out a further requirement that ICSs establish a partnership

board, drawn from and representing commissioners, trusts, primary care networks,

local authorities, the voluntary and community sector and other local partners. This

will be accompanied by a new ICS accountability and performance framework that

will consolidate the current combination of local accountability arrangements that

exists, and provide a consistent and comparable set of performance measures which

could be used to assess ICSs.

Mental Illness: Community Care

Steve McCabe: [222619]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether powers exist to compel

an individual to accept mental health treatment in the community.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

An individual cannot be compelled to have treatment in the community if they do not

want it.




For individuals who have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, section

17A of the Act makes provision for Community Treatment Orders. This allows

conditions to be placed on an individual when in the community, following detention

under s3 or s37 of the Mental Health Act. If conditions are not followed, and an

individual’s mental health declines, they can be recalled back to hospital for

treatment.

NHS: DHL


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

shipping route to be operated by DHL for products supplied to the NHS on a 24 to 72

hours timeframe in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, what assurances

he has sought from DHL that the issues which led to the supply-chain breakdown in 2018

that occurred during DHL's contract with Kentucky Fried Chicken have been resolved;

and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond:

The contractual arrangement that the Department has with DHL is unrelated to any

other contracts that they may operate for different clients.

The Department has a team working closely with DHL on all aspects of the

operational mobilisation and assuring that this contingency will be in place ahead of

the date that the United Kingdom exits the European Union.

NHS: Drugs

Emma Dent Coad: [223824]


February 2019 to Question 215257, on NHS: drugs, what information his Department

holds on the level of medicine shortages in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine:

Medicines shortages are a routine issue that the Department constantly manages.

The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products

Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others

operating in the supply chain to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when

they do arise.

The Department receives regular reports from the pharmaceutical industry about

impending medicine supply issues that may affect United Kingdom patients. From

January 2019, it became a mandatory requirement that the pharmaceutical industry

must report this information to us in a timely manner. However, not all the issues of

which the Department are notified will result in a medicine shortage as the supply

team will work behind the scenes using a host of tools to help mitigate and prevent an

issue from impacting patients.



Tom Brake: [224290]

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

has issued to Clinical Commissioning Groups on the provision of medicines in the event

that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and what the responsibility is of Clinical

Commissioning Groups ensure adequate supplies of medicines in that event.

Stephen Hammond:

The Department’s contingency plans aim to ensure that the supply of medicines to

patients is not disrupted in all European Union exit scenarios, including in the event

we exit the EU without a deal. We are confident that, if everyone does what they

need to do, the supply of medicines will be uninterrupted in the event of exiting the

EU without a deal.

The Department is working closely with trade bodies, product suppliers, the health

and care system in England, the devolved administrations and Crown Dependencies,

to make detailed plans to ensure the continuation of the supply of medicines to the

whole of the United Kingdom in the event of a no deal EU exit.

On 23 August 2018, the Department sent a letter to all healthcare providers to advise

of our ‘no deal’ EU exit medicines supply contingency plans. That letter highlighted

the need for maintaining existing practices and that hospitals, general practitioners

and community pharmacies throughout the UK do not need to take any steps to

stockpile additional medicines, beyond their business as usual buffer stocks.

A letter from Dr Keith Ridge CBE, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at NHS England,

outlining the steps taken thus far to protect the continuity of supply for medicines was

then sent out NHS services, including clinical commissioning groups, on 17 January

2019.

More recently, on 4 February 2019, a further letter was sent out by Professor Keith

Willett, EU Exit Strategic Commander and Medical Director for Acute Care and

Emergency Preparedness, to clinical commissioning groups and trust Chief

Executives reiterating the Department’s messaging and outlining the operational

response that NHS England and NHS Improvement are undertaking at a national and

regional level in preparation for a ‘no deal’ EU exit. This latest letter also includes

links to previous correspondence and operational guidance.

NHS: Fees and Charges


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment

of the potential merits of extending entitlement to discounted (a) prescriptions, (b) eye

tests and (c) dental treatment to (i) apprentices earning the apprentice rate of the

minimum wage and (ii) all other apprentices.

Steve Brine:

The Department has extensive arrangements in place to help people access

prescriptions, eye sight tests and dental treatment. This includes a broad range of



National Health Service charge exemptions for certain medical conditions and related

to age or entitlement to certain social security benefits. The Department has no

current plans to amend these exemptions.

Apprentices on a low income, who do not qualify for an exemption, may be eligible for

full or partial help with prescription charges, dental treatment charges and the cost of

sight tests, glasses and contact lenses through application to the NHS Low Income

Scheme.

On prescription charges, to support those with greatest need who do not qualify for

an exemption or the low-income scheme, prescription prepayment certificates are

available. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for

just £2 per week.

NHS: Negligence

Ian Austin: [224312]

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the

cross-Government strategy on the costs of clinical negligence.

Steve Brine:

The rising costs of clinical negligence are a major concern. As set out by the National

Audit Office in their September 2017 report ‘Managing the Costs of Clinical

Negligence in Hospital Trusts’, between 2006-07 and 2016-17, annual cash costs for

clinical negligence quadrupled from £0.4 billion to £1.6 billion. In the same period the

number of claims registered with NHS Resolution doubled from 5,300 to 10,600.

Funds spent on clinical negligence claims are resources that are not available for

patient care and this rate of rise is unsustainable.

We are committed to tackling this issue and we are working intensively across

Government, looking at all the drivers of cost. We will bring forward proposals in due

course.

Non-ionizing Radiation


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an

assessment of the implications for his policies of the Committee on Medical Aspects of

Radiation in the Environment report on the health effects of UV radiation; and whether he

plans to implement the recommendations in that report.

Steve Brine:

In 2009 the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment

(COMARE) provided advice on the health effects from ultraviolet (UV) radiation in

their 13th report. This related to the effects form sunbed use because of the evidence

accumulating about the particular associations with artificial tanning devices. The

committee has not produced any additional advice or recommendations on the

general risks of UV exposure since their statement in 1992 about the general impacts

of UV exposure. As a result, the Sunbeds Regulation Act 2010 was implemented to



prohibit under-18s from using sunbeds. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing

the regulations and carry out inspections. The Department and the Health and Safety

Executive have published guidance to support the enforcement and safe use of

sunbeds, and Public Health England (PHE) continues to monitor the evidence on the

impacts of the use of sunbeds.

PHE discourages the use of sunbeds for cosmetic tanning and provides information

to increase awareness of the health risks of excessive exposure to UV radiation and

advice for people to protect themselves. Further information can be found at the

following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ultraviolet-radiation-and-sunscreen

An awareness campaign on the signs of skin cancer has also been carried out by

PHE and NHS England.

PHE provides independent and expert advices on a range of topics, including UV

radiation and staying safe in the sun. Further information can be found at the

following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/spring-sun-advice-from-public-health-england

Pain: Medical Treatments

Martin Vickers: [223082]

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

Term Plan, what assessment he has made of the effect of developments in digital care on

the provision of pain pathway services.

Martin Vickers: [223083]

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

taking to prevent worsening chronicity of pain in people suffering from chronic pain.

Steve Brine:

The routine assessment and management of pain is a required competency of all

healthcare professionals. Many patients with chronic pain can be successfully

supported and managed through routine primary and secondary care pain

management services. Approaches to treatment are not all pharmacological;

education in self-management techniques to aid symptom control may also be

appropriate for some patients.

As set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, low back and

neck pain is the greatest cause of years lost to disability, with chronic joint pain or

osteoarthritis affecting over 8.75 million people in the United Kingdom. In the Long

Term Plan NHS England committed to build on work already undertaken to ensure

patients will have direct access to musculoskeletal First Contact Practitioners (FCP).

98% of sustainability and transformation partnerships have confirmed pilot sites for

FCP and 55% of pilots are already underway.









NHS England will expand the number of physiotherapists working in primary care

networks, enabling people to see the right professional first time, without needing a

general practitioner referral. NHS England will also expand access to support such as

the online version of ESCAPE-pain, Enabling Self-management and Coping with

Arthritic Pain through Exercise, a digital version of the well-established, face-to-face

group programme.

Postnatal Depression

Steve McCabe: [222574]


of the implications for his policies of the conclusions of the June 2017 National Childbirth

Trust report entitled The Hidden Half: Bringing postnatal mental illness on a lack of

support for new mothers with mental health issues.

Jackie Doyle-Price:

The Department is aware of the National Childbirth Trust’s ‘Hidden Half’ report and

campaign, which are making an important contribution to the debate around the need

to develop and improve perinatal mental health services.

The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for a further 24,000 women to be

able to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24, building on the

additional 30,000 women who will access these services each year by 2020/21 under

pre-existing plans as set out in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.

Specialist care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth,

which will provide an extra year of support.

General practitioners and primary care teams have a crucial role in supporting the

identification of perinatal mental illness and treatment, and are part of an integrated

pathway of services. This includes monitoring early onset conditions, providing pre-

conception counselling and referring women to specialist mental health services,

including Improving Access to Psychological Therapies and specialist perinatal

community teams, if necessary.

Over £1.2 million was provided in 2017 to enable the training of primary care,

maternity and mental health staff to increase awareness and skills related to perinatal

mental health.

Rare Diseases: Drugs

John Lamont: [223060]


of the potential merits of implementing a UK-wide scheme for the purchase and

distribution of expensive drugs and medical supplies that are used to treat rare

conditions.



Steve Brine:

We have no plans to assess the potential merits of implementing a United Kingdom-

wide scheme for the purchase and distribution of expensive drugs and medical

supplies that are used to treat rare conditions. It is for the National Health Service in

England and the devolved administrations to make decisions in the best interest of

their patients, including those with rare diseases, to ensure access to the medicines

and medical supplies they need.

St James Hospital Portsmouth


To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the value was of the bid

submitted by Portsmouth City Council for the St. James Hospital site in Milton,

Portsmouth.

Stephen Hammond:

NHS Property Services treats all bids as commercial in confidence.

HOME OFFICE

British Nationality: EU Nationals

Deidre Brock: [222649]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he will make it his policy

to offer UK citizenship to EU citizens free of charge on the same basis as the EU

Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes:

As the Prime Minister announced on 21 January, there will be no fee for applications

under the EU Settlement Scheme when we roll out the scheme in full by 30 March.

Anyone who has applied during the pilot phase, or who does so, will have their fee

reimbursed. The Home Office will set out further details in due course.

We have no plans to reduce or abolish the fee for British citizenship applications for

EU citizens.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Norman Lamb: [222736]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many specialist doctors are

licenced to prescribe medicinal cannabis.

Mr Nick Hurd:

None. From 1 November 2018, specialist doctors on the Specialist Register of the

General Medical Council have been able to prescribe cannabis-based products for

medicinal use without the need for a Home Office li-cence.




Deportation: West Africa


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9

October 2018 to Question 174681 on deportation: West Africa, what the outcome was of

the considerations taking place in relation to the two people who were referred under the

National Referral Mechanism for the identification of victims of trafficking; and what type

of status was granted to the individual who was a family member of an EEA national.

Caroline Nokes:

There are conclusive grounds to accept that the two people referred under the

National Referral Mechanism for the identification of victims of trafficking, are both

victims of modern day slavery.

One individual has been granted a period of discretionary leave. There are no

reasons to believe that the other individual requires protection and/or assistance and

therefore a grant of Discretionary Leave has not been made. The individual was

issued a residence card as a non-EEA national family member confirming their right

to reside in accordance with EEA Treaty rights.

Diamorphine: Glasgow

Mr Paul Sweeney: [193514]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19

November 2018 to Question 191442 on Diamorphine: Glasgow, what the guidelines are

on chronic heroin addiction treatment plans as a condition of his Department permitting a

diamorphine prescribing licence to local authorities.

Victoria Atkins:

The issue of ‘prescriber’ licences was devolved to the Scottish Ministers in 2012. The

timeline for a decision on any prescriber licence or any conditions to be assigned to

that licence are matters for Scottish Government.

Any controlled drugs licenses required by the organisation at a specific premises to

possess and supply controlled drugs are a matter for the Home Office.

Domestic Abuse

Conor McGinn: [223818]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what framework social services

use when dealing with (a) adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse and (b) child-on-

parent violence.

Victoria Atkins:

The Government is committed to tackling all forms of domestic abuse. On 21 January

2019, we published a landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill alongside a wide-ranging

package of measures to protect and support victims.




As part of our package of commitments, we will drive forward wide-ranging reforms to

children’s social care, to ensure that social workers provide effective support to

children and families affected by domestic abuse. We are also providing funding for

the development of training for social workers on domestic abuse.

In 2015 the Government published an information guide on adolescent to parent

violence and abuse, which provides materials and advice to support professionals in

their response, including social workers.

Early Intervention Youth Fund


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made

of the effectiveness of the Early Intervention Youth Fund; and what accomplishments that

fund has achieved.

Victoria Atkins:

Our Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million is already supporting 29 projects in

England and Wales. Over £17 million has already been allocated to projects

delivering interventions to young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang

exploitation and county lines.

The successful bids were announced in November 2018 and so it is too early to

make an assessment of the Fund’s effectiveness and any accomplishments.

We will be appointing an independent evaluation partner who will support local

partnerships with monitoring arrangements and will gather qualitative and quantitative

data over the course of the project. This work will contribute to a programme wide

evaluation, including an overview of what we have learnt about good practice. The

projects will also be required to provide regular updates on their progress.

Vicky Foxcroft: [216377]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to

assessment the effectiveness of the allocation of funds from the Early Intervention Fund.

Victoria Atkins:

Our Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million is already supporting 29 projects in

England and Wales. Over £17 million has already been allocated to projects

delivering interventions to young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang


We will shortly be appointing an independent evaluation partner who will support

projects with their monitoring arrangements and will gather qualitative and

quantitative data. This work will contribute to a programme wide evaluation, including

an overview of what we have learnt about good practice. The projects will also be

required to provide regular updates on their progress as part of their grant

agreements.



English Language: Assessments


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to complete his

review of the treatment of people accused by ETS of cheating in English language tests.

Caroline Nokes:

I refer to my previous answer to question 163106.

In relation to reviewing live ongoing litigation we continue to work closely with

applicants and the Courts to progress each individual case.

Where people have made a Human Rights claim this will be considered and even if

refused will generate an in country right of appeal (unless the claim is clearly

unfounded).

Fire and Rescue Services: Labour Mobility


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of

the number of redeployment opportunities for firefighters who have to work until the age

of 60.

Mr Nick Hurd:

We do not collect data on redeployment opportunities for firefighters.

The availability of redeployment opportunities is a matter for individual fire and rescue

authorities as employers.

Fire and Rescue Services: Staff

Jenny Chapman: [909399]

What assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the number of firefighters on

fire service capacity to respond to emergency calls.

Mr Nick Hurd:

Recent data show that the average total response time to primary fires has remained

the same as last year, and for secondary fires has increased by 1 second since last

year.

Total response times have risen gradually since 1994 but are now starting to

stabilise.

Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work.

Fraud: Prosecutions

Graham P Jones: [196884]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made

of the effectiveness of the Serious Crime Act 2015 on prosecuting perpetrators of

financial abuse.





Victoria Atkins:

The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced a new domestic abuse offence of coercive or

controlling behaviour in intimate and familial relationships. The statutory guidance

underpinning the offence is clear that financial abuse, such as controlling the victim’s

finances, is a type of behaviour that can form part of a purposeful pattern of

behaviour over time to exert power, control or coercion over another person.

In 2017-18 960 offences of coercive or controlling behaviour have been charged and

reached a first hearing, more than three times the volume in the previous year. This

shows that the offence is having an impact and sends a strong message that

coercive or controlling behaviour will not be tolerated.

On 21 January we published our landmark draft Domestic Abuse Bill and consultation

response which will transform the cross-Government response to this devastating

crime. The draft Bill includes provisions for a statutory definition of domestic abuse,

including economic abuse. Replacing ‘financial’ with ‘economic’ acknowledges how

broad this form of abuse is and how many aspects of a victim’s life it can affect, such

as limiting their access to fundamental resources such as money, food, transport,

employment and housing. This will raise awareness of the issue of economic abuse

and also enable frontline professionals and the criminal justice system to better

understand, recognise and tackle it, so that victims can be supported to achieve the

economic stability that they need.

The draft Bill is underpinned by a comprehensive package of non-legislative action

which we have set out in our consultation response, including a commitment to

review the effectiveness of the coercive or controlling behaviour offence to ensure it

is fit for purpose and that it adequately protects victims from abuse. In addition, we

have committed to update the statutory guidance and CPS legal guidance on the

offence to include economic abuse and provide guidance on how this form of abuse

can manifest itself as part of a pattern of coercive control

Immigration Controls: Commonwealth


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will introduce priority

passport checking gates for citizens entering the UK from (a) Australia, (b) New Zealand

and (c) other Commonwealth realms.

Caroline Nokes:

The Government has already announced that, from this summer, nationals of

Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Singapore as well as those from Japan, South

Korea and USA will be permitted to use our ePassport gates when crossing the UK

border.

The enabling legislation has recently completed its passage through Parliament and

the change is on track to be implemented as planned.


Immigration: EEA Nationals

Alex Chalk: [220968]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the EU Settlement

Scheme will open to applications from EEA nationals.

Caroline Nokes:

The EU Settlement Scheme will be open to all EEA citizens, including citizens of the

EEA EFTA states (Norway Iceland and Liechtenstein) and Swiss citizens by 30

March 2019.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Dame Caroline Spelman: [222737]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether during the private beta

testing phase two of the EU Settlement Scheme his Department instructed local

authorities to support eligible non-UK EU children in care to secure British citizenship.

Caroline Nokes:

During the second Private Beta phase of the EU Settlement Scheme, participating

local authorities were not instructed to support eligible EU national children in care to

secure British citizenship.

Local authorities participated on a voluntary basis to apply on behalf of some children

in their care. Only looked after EU national children (within the meaning of section

22(1) of the Children Act 1989) were eligible to participate in this phase of the

scheme. The Private Beta phase did not involve applications for British citizenship,

which is a separate process.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-UK EU children

are residing in the five local authorities selected by his Department for the private beta

testing phase two of the EU Settlement Scheme in (a) total and (b) in each local authority

pilot site area.

Caroline Nokes:

The Home Office does not hold data on how many EU National children reside in the

five local authorities which participated in the second Private Beta test phase of the

EU Settlement Scheme.



(a) the number of non-UK EU children in care and (b) the number of those children in

each local authority that were part of his Department's private beta phase two testing pilot

by (i) age and (ii) EU nationality.

Caroline Nokes:

The precise number of non-UK EU children in care is not known. Local authorities do

not routinely collect this data. The Home Office has estimated that there are





approximately 5,000 EU children in care in the UK, not including care leavers. This

estimate is based on ONS data on the proportion of EEA citizens per Local Authority

and government data on volumes of children in care per Local Authority

The second Private Beta phase included some applications for Looked After Children

made by five local authorities. The local authorities which participated did so

voluntarily for some of the EU children in their care. In total 19 applications were

made on behalf of looked after children by these local authorities. Applicants were

aged between 5-17 and comprised 6 different nationalities.



the number of non-UK EU children in care who could not take part in his Department's

private beta phase test pilot (a) in total and (b) in each local authority pilot site because

they did not have a passport.

Caroline Nokes:

According to the rules laid before parliament (on 11/10/2018) for the second Private

Beta phase of the EU Settlement Scheme, only a child being looked after (within the

meaning of section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) by one of the five named local

authorities, with a chipped passport, was eligible to apply.

The Home Office did not estimate the number of children who could not take part in

the Private Beta phase because they did not have a passport.

All EU applicants, including looked after children, will be able to apply with an ID card

or a passport once the scheme is rolled out fully from 30 March 2019. In addition,

from that date it will be possible for applicants to submit alternative evidence of their

identity and nationality where they are unable to provide a passport or national

identity card due to circumstances outside of their control, or for compelling practical

or compassionate reasons.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-UK EU children

in care took part in the Home Office's private beta testing phase two of the EU Settlement

Scheme (a) in total and (b) in each local authority area; how many (i) received settled

status, (ii) received pre-settled status, (iii) were refused, (iv) requested an administrative

review (A) in total and (B) in each local authority area.

Caroline Nokes:

In total 19 applications were made on behalf of looked after children by the

participating local authorities. We are unable to provide a breakdown by local

authority as this may identify some of the children involved.

16 have received settled status.

0 have received pre-settled status

0 have been refused

0 have requested an administrative review



We are working with the relevant local authorities to gather further evidence for the 3

outstanding cases.

Knives: Crime

Hugh Gaffney: [214072]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle

incidents of knife crime on the railways.

Victoria Atkins:

The chances of being a victim of crime, on the railways or elsewhere, remain

extremely low. However, the Government is very concerned about increases in knife

crime and its impact on victims, families and communities. The action we are taking is

set out in our Serious Violence Strategy and includes new legislation in the Offensive

Weapons Bill and continuing police action under Operation Sceptre. The British

Transport Police also participate in Operation Sceptre and we expect the next

national week of action to take place in March 2019.

More widely, we have also been supporting the #knifefree media campaign to raise

awareness of the consequences of knife crime and discourage young people from

carrying knives more generally. The Serious Violence Strategy includes a strong

focus on prevention and early intervention to stop young people being drawn in to

knife crime. Our Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million is already supporting 29

projects in England and Wales. Over £17 million has already been allocated to

projects delivering interventions to young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang


We are supporting 68 small community projects this year through the anti-knife crime

Community Fund. In addition, we have extended our support for Redthread in

hospital emergency departments to introduce its “teachable moment” youth violence

intervention work to hospi-tals in Birmingham and Nottingham.


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to

support police officers to reduce knife crime.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Government supports the police in their important work to tackle knife crime in a

number of ways. We continue to encourage forces to participate in the national

weeks of enforcement action under Operation Sceptre, co-ordinated by the National

Police Chiefs’ Council. Results from the September 2018 phase of Operation Sceptre

are as follows:

• All 44 police forces took part in the week of action. • Over the course of the week of

action a total of 1002 arrests were made

• A total of 1779 stop and searches were carried out

• 9302 knives were surrendered or seized



• 1158 weapon sweeps were conducted, resulting in the recovery of 172 knives and

other weapons. In addition, 8781 knives were surrendered

• 496 test purchase operations were carried out in retail premises. Of these, there

were 397 passes. 99 resulted in the retail outlet failing the test purchase

• 1280 education events - including workshops, were also held in schools to raise

awareness of the dangers of carrying knives.

The next week under Operation Sceptre is taking place in March.

We are encouraging the police to use stop and search. It is a vital policing tool when

used correctly and officers have the Government's full support to use these powers in

a targeted way that is fair, lawful and effective. We are looking at ways to work with

the police to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency in the use of this power. We

have also listened to the police re-quest that we introduce new Knife Crime

Prevention Orders to help them to divert those involved in knife crime away from a

violent lifestyle. The Government is seeking to introduce the new Order through

amendments to the Offensive Weapons Bill.

The Offensive Weapons Bill, currently passing through Parliament, includes specific

new knives offences, in particular making it an offence to possess certain offensive

weapons in private, and stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after

they are bought online. These measures are designed to help the police in their

response to knife crime.

In addition to supporting the police on law enforcement, our Serious Violence

Strategy stresses the importance of early intervention to tackle the root causes of

serious violence and provide young people with the skills and resilience to lead

productive lives free from violence. Our Early Intervention Youth Fund is already

supporting 29 projects in England and Wales, and our anti-knife crime Community

Fund is supporting 68 local community projects to tackle knife crime. Our national

knife crime media campaign - #knifefree – also aims to raise awareness of the

consequences of knife crime and to discourage young people from carrying knives.

Organised Crime


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps he has taken

to tackle serious and organised crime; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace:

Serious and organised crime affects more of us, more often, than any other national

security threat, persistently eroding our economy and our communities. It costs the

UK at least £37 billion every year.

The newly updated Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, published on 1st

November 2018, sets out how the Government will mobilise the full force of the state

and align the collective efforts of key partners from the public, private and voluntary

sectors to tackle serious and organised crime together in one single approach.


The cross-system approach is aligned to the four strategy objectives:

(i) Relentless disruption and targeted action against the highest harm serious and

organised criminals and networks affecting the UK

(ii) Building the highest levels of defence and resilience in vulnera-ble people,

communities, businesses and systems

(iii) Stopping the problem at source, identifying and supporting those at risk of

engaging in criminality

(iv) Establishing a single, whole-system response, aligning the ef-forts of all those

involved in responding to serious and organised crime as one, cohesive system.

The Government has already made some early progress in implementing the Serious

and Organised Crime Strategy. For example, we have established new community

coordinators in five pilot areas to promote community resilience and divert people

away from serious and organised crime. We have also recruited a new cross-

government overseas policy specialists network to complement existing international

law enforcement operational work

The Government is determined to prevent serious and organised crime, defend

against it, track down perpetrators and bring them to justice. We will allow no safe

space – online or offline – for these people and their networks.

Police Patrolling


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much and what proportion

of a police officer's time is spent on walking patrol in their local community.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The Home Office does not hold centrally the information requested.

Police: Finance

Keith Vaz: [200549]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used in the

allocation of police funding to tackle violent crime.

Victoria Atkins:

The Government understands that police demand is changing and becoming

increasingly complex. That is why we have provided a strong and comprehensive

funding settlement for the police that will increase funding by £970million compared

to 2018/19, including precept, pensions funding and national investment.

In relation to tackling violent crime, our Serious Violence Strategy, published in April

2018, is supported by £40million over 2 years to deliver initiatives that tackle serious

violence, this includes: an Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22 million which is

already supporting 29 projects in England and Wales. Over £17 million has already



been allocated to projects delivering interventions to young people at risk of criminal

involvement, gang exploitation and county lines.

Other funding we have made available to tackle serious violence includes: £3.6million

to set up a National County Lines Co-ordination Centre; a Community Fund that

provided £1.5 million this year to support 68 projects; and £1.4m to support a new

national police capability to tackle gang related activity on social media.

Police funding continues to be a priority for the Home Secretary and we are working

closely with the police sector to better understand the demand landscape.

Police: Managers


To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has

taken to reduce the amount and proportion of police funding spent on administrative and

managerial roles.

Mr Nick Hurd:

The 2019-20 police funding settlement provides the biggest increase in police funding

since 2010, with more money for local police forces, counter terrorism and tackling

serious and organised crime.

At the 2018/19 police funding settlement, we set out clear priorities for the police to

deliver this year on efficiency, productivity and financial transparency. The police

developed a plan and are on track to deliver £120 million in commercial and back

office savings by 2020/21.

As I set out in my Written Ministerial Statement of 24 January the investment of up to

£970 million, including council tax precept, in the 2019/20 police settlement will

support four key pillars of police effectiveness. Firstly, it will help increase capacity,

secondly it will assist crime prevention, thirdly we will enhance the support we offer to

hard-working frontline police officers and staff. And finally, by ensuring system

leaders provide national direction on performance, including through working more

smartly, with the digitally enabled modern tools to police effectively.

However, it is for the individually elected PCC’s to determine how to allocate their

resources as they are best placed to understand the needs of the communities they

serve.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Mr Philip Hollobone: [224314]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national

offenders have been repatriated under the early removal scheme by country since 2010.

Caroline Nokes:

The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on the number of Foreign Na-tional

Offenders (FNO) that have been removed from the UK under the Early Removal

Scheme. This information can be found by accessing the following link:



https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-

november-2018

The Home Office does not routinely disclose country specific information re-garding

the deportation of FNOs as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK

and foreign governments.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Per Capita Costs

Chi Onwurah: [222642]

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost per detainee is of

detaining someone at Yarlswood immigration removal centre; and how that cost is

calculated.

Caroline Nokes:

The Costs of individual Removal centres are commercially sensitive. The costs for

calculating the average daily cost of a removal centre are as below.

The costs are derived at by dividing the Total Resource Costs of running Detention

Centres (Contracts, staff, Rent, Rates, Utilities and Depreciation) by the average

number of bed spaces (currently 3448).

The average cost to detain an individual in immigration detention is provided on a per

day basis. The current daily cost per detainee is £88.29, which corresponds to an

annual cost of £32,227 (£88.29 multiplied by 365 days). Data can be found at the link

below

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-

november-2018

HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: [224341]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant

to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 217589 on Buildings: Insulation and with

reference to the Buildings Research Establishment interim report entitled Fire

performance of cladding materials research – experimental methodology and

performance criteria, who the members are of the referenced project steering group.



to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 217589 on Buildings: Insulation and the

interim report entitled, Fire Performance of Cladding Materials Research – Experimental

methodology and performance criteria prepared by the Building Research Establishment

for his Department, if he will publish the minutes of the meetings of the (a) Project

Steering Group and (b) Project team.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-november-2018









Kit Malthouse:

So as to allow the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation,

the Department does not routinely release the details of members of research project

steering groups or minutes of meetings. Full details of the work will be published after

it is completed.






for his Department, on what date his Department approved the bespoke testing

methodology.

Kit Malthouse:

The Department approved the methodology set out in the interim report on 22 August

2018.






for his Department, if he will publish the (a) success and (b) failure criteria for the new

bespoke test methodology when testing cladding and other building materials.




interim report of the Building Research Establishment for his Department entitled Fire

Performance of Cladding Materials Research – Experimental methodology and

performance criteria, whether materials that fail the bespoke test will be subject to further

BS 8414 large scale tests.



to the Answer of 11 February 2019 to Question 217589 on Buildings: Insulation and with

reference to the interim report of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for his

Department entitled Fire Performance of Cladding Materials Research – Experimental

methodology and performance criteria, whether the BRE advised against the

development of a bespoke testing methodology for insulation.

Kit Malthouse:

At this stage the study is aimed at developing a better understanding of the behaviour

of a range of cladding products when exposed to fire and their possible contribution

to fire spread.





A bespoke testing methodology for insulation was not considered necessary for this

stage of the research. There are a comparatively small number of insulation materials

available and their behaviour when exposed to fire is already well documented.

There are no success or failure criteria, the findings will help determine, in

consultation with the expert panel, any further action we should take. This could

include further testing at large scale and/or advice to building owners.

Citizens' Juries

Daniel Zeichner: [223903]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will

place in the Library the list of local authority areas which have bid successfully to begin

local Innovation in Democracy pilots.

Jake Berry:

The Innovation in Democracy Pilot Programme (IIDP) is a great opportunity for local

people to get involved in influencing policy decisions through facilitated partnerships

with their local authorities. Successful areas will be announced shortly and will be

published on www.gov.uk.

Homelessness: Finance

Stephanie Peacock: [223927]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how

much funding from the Homelessness Relief Fund was granted to (a) Barnsley, (b) South

Yorkshire and (c) nationally in each year since that fund was established.

Mrs Heather Wheeler:

Local authorities across the country receive funding to prevent and relieve

homelessness from my Department. This includes preventing homelessness core

funding and flexible homelessness support grant funding. However, we do not

operate a fund called the Homelessness Relief Fund and are therefore unable to

provide the specific information you request.

Housing Infrastructure Fund

John Healey: [222600]

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what

assessment he has made of the value for money of the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

James Brokenshire:

Bids for funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund are subject to a robust

assessment covering value for money, strategic fit and deliverability. On 28 January

2019, the Department published its Housing Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy that

included a commitment to evaluate the Housing Infrastructure Fund.




Housing: Construction


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with

reference to the National Audit Office report entitled Planning for new homes, published 8

February 2019, what plans he has to revise the standard method for assessing housing

need in order for it to be consistent with the Government's ambition to deliver 300,000

new homes per year by the mid-2020s.

James Brokenshire:

In the Government response to the Technical consultation on updates to national

planning policy and guidance, published on 19 February 2019, we confirmed that the

standard method will be revised in accordance with the proposals consulted on.

These changes ensures that the standard method remains consistent with enabling

the housing market to deliver 300,000 homes a year on average by the mid-2020s.

Housing: Prices




February 2019, what steps he plans to take in response to the National Audit Office

finding that developer contributions to the cost of infrastructure and affordable housing

are not keeping pace with increases in house prices.

James Brokenshire:

The Department does not respond to NAO reports ahead of Public Account

Committee (PAC) hearings. The Department will respond to the PAC

recommendations, following the PAC hearing, via the Treasury Minute process.

We recently consulted on draft regulations intended to ensure Community

Infrastructure Levy is more market responsive. The consultation closed on 31

January. The Government will publish its response in due course.

Local Government Finance

Mr Clive Betts: [224297]


to the oral contribution of 5 February 2019 of the Under-Secretary of State for Housing,

Communities and Local Government, Official Report column 289, how that 4 per cent

figure relating to deprivation was calculated.

Rishi Sunak:

The Government is undertaking a review of the relative needs and resources of local

authorities in England, with a view to setting fresh baseline funding levels in 2020-21.

We are working closely with local government representatives and others to consider

the drivers of local authorities’ costs, the resources available locally to fund services,




and how we should account for these in a way that draws a more transparent and

understandable link between local circumstances and resource allocations.

In December 2018 the Government published a consultation paper, which set out a

proposed approach to assessing the relative needs of local authorities. Our analysis

has shown that for many universal services, the number of people in each local

authority area is the most important predictor of the costs that councils face in

delivering those services. The consultation therefore proposes the introduction of a

simple population-based Foundation Formula to account for many of the universal

services that local authorities deliver, alongside several specific funding formulas for

some of the largest and most complex service areas.

To understand whether including additional ‘cost drivers’, including deprivation,

significantly improves the precision of the Foundation Formula, a comparison was

made between the amount of variation in past expenditure that was explained by

different combinations of cost drivers, to the total amount of variation in expenditure.

The basis on which this comparison was made is set out in pages 19 to 21 of the

consultation paper (link below). Whilst, in aggregate terms, deprivation was not

shown to be a major cost driver for the services included in the Foundation Formula,

to ensure that deprivation is appropriately accounted for in the relative needs

assessment, deprivation, or a suitable proxy for deprivation, is taken into account in

four of the service-specific formulas that were proposed.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-

needs-and-resources.

Local Government Services


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether

his Department has made an assessment of the correlation between changes in (a) local

authority funding and (b) changes in the level of provision of local authority services,

excluding social care, since 2010.


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether

he has made an assessment of the correlation between the (a) increased proportion of

local authority spending on social care, (b) reduction in local authority overall spending on

services other than social care and (c) decrease in local authority funding since 2010;

and if he will make a statement.

Rishi Sunak:

As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent of central

government, and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local

priorities and their legal duties.

Central government funding cannot in isolation provide a true representation of local

authority finances. The responsibilities, structure and makeup of local authorities

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-needs-and-resources





have changed significantly since 2010 and spending power, formula grants and

settlement funding assessments are not directly comparable over this period. For

example, with the introduction of the Business Rates Retention Scheme, local

authorities estimate they will keep around £2.4 billion in business rates growth in

2018-19.

As announced in the Local Government Finance Settlement, Core Spending Power is

forecast to increase from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20. This is a

cash-increase of 2.8 per cent and real-terms increase in resources available to local

authorities. In the long term, the Spending Review will determine funding for local

government from 2020-21 onwards and will enable us to look at local government

spending in the round.

Local Plans


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will

list the local authorities that (a) do and (b) do not have an up-to-date local plan.

James Brokenshire:

It is essential for authorities to have up to date plan policies in place to plan for our

housing needs and to provide clarity that communities and developers about where

new homes should be built. It also helps ensure that development is planned for and

is sustainable rather than the result of speculative applications.

It is up to Local Planning Authorities to determine if their plans are up to date and

they must review their plans at least every five years to ensure that policies remain

relevant and effectively address the needs of the local community. Reviewing does

not necessarily mean updating is required, but they should take account of changing

circumstances or changes in national policy.

The Planning Inspectorate publishes local plan progress at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm

ent_data/file/777040/LPA_Strategic_Plan_Progress_-

_1_February_2019._GOV.UK.pdf.

Planning Inspectorate


To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,with


February 2019, what plans he has to improve the performance of the Planning

Inspectorate.

James Brokenshire:

The Government believes that all parties should benefit from a more efficient

planning appeal process with faster decision-making, and that this will require

additional resource. The Planning Inspectorate has recently undertaken a successful

recruitment campaign which will see a further 100 Inspectors and Appeals Planning


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777040/LPA_Strategic_Plan_Progress_-_1_February_2019._GOV.UK.pdf





Officers join the organisation over the coming months. On 12 February, we published

an independent review by Bridget Rosewell CBE into the planning appeal inquiry

process which has made 22 practical recommendations to enhance and speed up the

process. We will work closely with the Planning Inspectorate to implement the Review

recommendations.

Planning: Skilled Workers




February 2019, what steps he plans to take to address the National Audit Office finding

that his Department does not understand the extent of skills shortages in the planning

sector.



recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of staffing in local authority

planning departments.

James Brokenshire:

The Government recognises that having well-resourced and skilled planning

departments is essential for the delivery of our ambitious housing programme, which

is why we increased planning application fees by 20 per cent in January 2018. We

are working with the Local Government Association and the Royal Town Planning

Institute to assess the resourcing and skills needs in council planning departments.

Private Rented Housing

Diana Johnson: [224313]


plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Homes (Fitness for

Human Habitation) Act 2018 to extend the terms of that Act to people who have been

tenants of private landlords for longer than seven years.


The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act (2018) does not have regard to the

total number of years a person has been a tenant of a private landlord but rather the

length of the term of the tenancy and the date the tenancy was agreed.

The Act will apply to tenants who have:

• a tenancy agreed before 20 March 2019, with a term of less than seven years, from

20 March 2020.

• a tenancy agreed on or after 20 March 2019 or have made a significant change in

their tenancy, with a term of less than seven years, from the date the Act comes

into force.




The Act will apply in the same way to tenants of a private landlord where the term of

the tenancy is for more than seven years, but where the landlord has the option to

terminate the tenancy before the expiry of the seven years.

There are currently no plans to amend the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act

2018.

Sleeping Rough

Liam Byrne: [224478]


reference to the Rough Sleeping Strategy, published in August 2018, what steps he is

taking to ensure that (a) Safeguarding Adult Reviews are conducted when a person who

sleeps rough (i) dies and (ii) is seriously harmed as a result of abuse or neglect and (b)

the implementation of processes to (i) record and (ii) learn lessons from those deaths.


My Department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

through the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce to ensure that

Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) are conducted when appropriate and that rough

sleepers have the health care they need, when they need it.

We are ensuring that where a homeless person dies, or there has been serious harm,

SARs take place where appropriate, so that local services can learn lessons from

these tragic events to better prevent them from happening in the future.

DHSC is working with Safeguarding Adult Boards to ensure that SARs are conducted

when a person who sleeps rough dies, or is seriously harmed as a result of abuse or

neglect, whether known or suspected, and there is concern that partner agencies

could have worked more effectively to protect the adult. Lessons learned from these

reviews will inform improvements in local systems and services.

They are working with the Local Government Association (LGA) to develop a series

of national events in 2019/20 to look at safeguarding and homelessness and how we

can share learning from reviews into rough sleeper deaths. DHSC is also

commissioning King’s College London to conduct a thematic review of the national

SAR library on rough sleeping cases.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Tax Evasion

Adam Afriyie: [223497]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department

has taken to reduce tax evasion in Africa.

Harriett Baldwin:

Tackling tax evasion is a priority for DFID as part of our Transparency Agenda, Addis

Tax Initiative commitments and the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy.



Since 2013 DFID has supported the Global Forum for the Exchange of Information

for Tax Purposes through its International Tax Transparency Programme. The Global

Forum helps countries tackle tax evasion by strengthening global tax transparency

and international cooperation. The Global Forum now has over 150 members and

DFID supports its Africa Initiative to strengthen transparency and the exchange of

information across Africa.

HMRC and DFID continues to work alongside the Global Forum with other

jurisdictions such as Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria; alongside the African Tax

Administration Forum in Uganda and independently in Montserrat to support the

implementation of the Automatic Exchange of Information.

DFID’s announcement on the 19 February of a new £47m package of support for Tax

for Development will further boost efforts to help countries in Africa and elsewhere to

tackle this important issue.

Africa: Taxation


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much additional tax

revenue will be raised by Governments in Africa as a result of support by her Department

by the year 2022-23.

Harriett Baldwin:

DFID’s support will help strengthen developing country capacity to raise domestic

resources, including through assistance in the implementation of international tax

standards. Although many factors impact on revenue growth, so forecasts are not

available, past DFID tax programmes have proved to be great value for money. For

example, the OECD’s Tax Inspectors Without Borders initiative, which assists

developing countries to implement international tax standards, has generated an

additional £100 for every £1 spent on operating costs.

Alan Guttmacher Institute

Fiona Bruce: [224485]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to her

Department's paper entitled, Single Departmental Plan - Results Achieved by Sector in

2012-2018, Family Planning, what steps her Department has taken to verify the numbers

of illegal backstreet abortions provided by the Guttmacher Institute; and whether her

Department has conducted a separate estimate of those abortions.

Alistair Burt:

DFID’s single departmental plan reports on the increase in family planning use from

our programmes. From this, estimates are made, based on the best international

expertise, on wider impact. The Guttmacher Institute’s reputation for producing high

quality scientific research and data for evidence-based policy making on Sexual &

Reproductive Health and Rights means we have confidence in these independent

estimates.



Other studies support the key Guttmacher Institute finding that unsafe abortion is a

significant killer of women and restricting safe abortion does not make abortion less

common, it just makes it less safe.

Developing Countries: UK Relations with EU

Nigel Dodds: [223501]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has

had with the EU on continuing co-operation on international development after the UK

leaves the EU.

Harriett Baldwin:

We are seeking a future partnership with the EU on international development to

tackle shared global challenges in areas where it is in our mutual interest and

represents the best value for taxpayers’ money. The Secretary of State and other

DFID Ministers have discussed our future partnership with counterparts in the

Commission during bilateral meetings and in the margins of international events. Any

future UK participation in EU development programmes would require appropriate

influence and oversight over UK funds and eligibility for UK organisations to bid for

and to implement any UK funded programmes.

Niger: Marie Stopes International

Fiona Bruce: [224486]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer

of 20 December 2018 to Question HL12251 on Kenya: Marie Stopes International, if he

will publish the conclusions of the investigation into alleged illegal abortions practices by

Marie Stopes International in Niger.

Alistair Burt:

We have seen no evidence of any illegal activity in Niger on their part and no formal

allegations have been made to us. DFID funds cannot be used to fund any illegal

activities. We treat allegations of any improper use of funds extremely seriously. The

process for reporting allegations is on our website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-

development

Overseas Aid


To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has

taken to ensure the effectiveness Official Development Assistance.

Harriett Baldwin:

Every project in DFID is rigorously appraised for efficiency and likely effectiveness

before approval and is assessed against a robust monitoring framework to ensure it

remains cost effective. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact said that DFID’s

systems “improve the return on UK investment in aid” and recognised that DFID is “a




global champion on Value for Money”. DFID is committed to supporting other

government departments strengthen the quality of their aid spending and maximising

their impact on poverty through an extensive offer of support.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Food: Import Duties

Hugh Gaffney: [224358]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent estimate he has made

of the level of tariffs that could be applied by both the UK and EU to food exports in the

event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

George Hollingbery:

Upon leaving the EU, the UK will be responsible for its own independent tariff regime.

The UK will not be responsible for the tariffs the EU sets on its imports. The EU has

stated through its technical notices that it will apply the EU’s Common External Tariff

to UK exports in the event of a no deal, including on food products. The

Government’s tariff schedule for a no deal scenario is being finalised. Once a final

decision has been taken, we will bring forward legislation to the House and

communicate this in an appropriate way for a market sensitive announcement.

Trade Agreements

Danielle Rowley: [224362]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking

to ensure that new trade deals do not affect the ability of the UK to (a) regulate in the

public interest and (b) protect public services.

George Hollingbery:

Protecting the UK’s right to regulate in the public interest and protect public services,

including the NHS, is of the utmost importance. The UK’s public services are

protected by specific exceptions and reservations in EU trade agreements - including

the recent EU-Canada agreement (CETA) - and, as we leave the EU, the UK will

continue to ensure that rigorous protections are included in all trade agreements it is

party to. The Government has been consistently clear that we are committed to the

fundamental principles of the NHS - that it is universal and free at the point of need.

We will ensure that no trade agreements alter these fundamental facts.

Trade Agreements: NHS


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of

the potential risks to the NHS as a result of future trade deals after the UK leaves the EU.




George Hollingbery:

Protecting the UK’s right to regulate in the public interest and protect public services,

including the NHS, is of the utmost importance. The UK’s public services are

protected by specific exceptions and reservations in EU trade agreements - including

the recent EU-Canada agreement (CETA) - and, as we leave the EU, the UK will

continue to ensure that rigorous protections are included in all trade agreements it is

party to. The Government has been consistently clear that we are committed to the

fundamental principles of the NHS - that it is universal and free at the point of need.

We will ensure that no trade agreements alter these fundamental facts.


To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will take steps to ensure that

future trade deals will not make it easier for private companies to provide NHS services.

George Hollingbery:

The UK will continue to ensure that decisions about the NHS are made by UK

Governments, including the Devolved Administrations, not our trade partners. The UK

will determine whether private companies should be involved in providing services

under contract, and if so to what extent. Trade deals will give no greater access for

private companies, domestic or overseas, to NHS services.

World Trade Organisation: Reform

Andrew Rosindell: [224481]

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he plans to take to

promote WTO reform and free trade after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery:

The UK is a strong supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system and global

trade liberalisation.

The WTO is the bedrock of rules-based free trade. The UK welcomed the

commitment made at the G20 Summit last year in December to support the

necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning. Following the UK’s departure

from the EU, the UK will continue to champion discussions on WTO reform, and

engage with WTO Members at international fora and in our bilateral engagements, in

particular on the importance of updating rules on digital trade and ensuring that the

WTO dispute settlement system is not undermined. G20 Leaders are committed to

return to this matter at their Summit in June.



JUSTICE

Cannabis: Misuse

Norman Lamb: [222733]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b)

cautioned for cannabis possession offences in each police authority area in each of the

last two years.

Rory Stewart:

As per your previous question (PQ 157684 from 27/06/2018), data is available up to

December 2017, and data for the year ending December 2018 will be published in

May. Therefore, the response is the same as before:

(a) The number of people prosecuted for cannabis possession in each police

authority has been published up to December 2017 and can be found in the ‘Court

Outcomes by Police Force Area data tool’, available at the following link:


ent_data/file/733996/court-outcomes-by-pfa-2017-update.xlsx

Select court type: ‘02: Magistrates Court’

Select offence: ’92E.01 Possession of a controlled drug - Class B (cannabis)’ and

‘92E.02 Possession of a controlled drug – Class C (cannabis)’ in the ‘Offence’ filter.

The number of people proceeded against by police force area can be found in the

table.

(b) The number of people cautioned for cannabis possession in each police authority

can be found in the table attached.

Attachments:

1. Aformentioned Table [Copy of PQ222733 table.xlsx]

Feltham Young Offender Institution


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made in implementing

the Secure STAIRS framework at HM Young Offenders Institute Feltham; and what

assessment he has made on the potential effect of that framework on the levels of (a)

violence and (b) disruptive behaviour at that institution.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether a custody support plan that provides

each young offender with a weekly review by a nominated officer is in place at HM Young

Offenders Institute Feltham.

Edward Argar:

A staggered roll out of the SECURE STAIRS framework has commenced at HMYOI

Feltham with HMYOI Feltham’s Enhanced Support Unit (ESU) currently working to

the Framework. Roll out will continue over the coming year. It is too early in the


https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733996/court-outcomes-by-pfa-2017-update.xlsx





project to draw any conclusions on the impact on violence or disruptive behaviour at

HMYOI Feltham.

The Custody Support Plan (CuSP) has been implemented in the ESU and the ESU

CuSP Officers are engaging in their allocated young person’s case formulation

meetings as per the joint HMPPS YCS and NHS England Behaviour Management

Strategy. Full implementation is planned for the end of March 2020.

Ministry of Justice: Bullying

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [222806]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other

staff in his Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most

recent Civil Service People Survey.

Edward Argar:

Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.

In our most recent People Survey 11% of respondents, on average, told us that

they'd experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the

survey.

While this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that some staff are

more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than

others. This includes those with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority

of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they'd been bullied or harassed

in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.

We are strengthening the routes for all staff to report bullying and harassment to

ensure that they are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures

are positive and inclusive.

The high level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates

of bullying and harassment, were published last December on gov.uk.

Each spring the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on

the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual

orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and

made available on gov.uk.

The results for the 2017 survey are summarised below with the organisations that

make up the MoJ highlighted. A copy of this table has been placed in the House.

Civil Service People Survey 2017: results by organisation and health status

Long-term health status is captured in the People Survey through questions J04 and

J04A. J04 asks if the individual has a "long-standing physical or mental health

condition, illness, impairment or disability?" and, if they answer yes, J04A asks

whether their condition, illness or disability has an impact on their daily activity or the

work they can do.


Results are aggregated in to two broad categories: "No long-term limiting condition",

combining those who answer “No” to either J04 or J04A; and, "Long-term limiting

condition", those who answer “Yes” to J04 and who answer that their condition limits

what they can do either "a little" or "a lot" at J04A .

ANSWERED “YES” TO THE

QUESTION “DURING THE PAST

12 MONTHS HAVE YOU

PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED

BULLYING OR HARASSMENT AT

WORK?”

NO LIMITING LONG-TERM

ILLNESS

HAS A LIMITING LONG-TERM

ILLNESS

Acas 8% 21%

Accountant in Bankruptcy 4% 0%

Animal and Plant Health

Agency

10% 23%

Attorney General's Office 4% ..

Cabinet Office 9% 19%

Centre for Environment,

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Science

7% 22%

Charity Commission 10% 22%

Civil Service HR 13% 22%

Companies House 4% 11%

Competition and Markets

Authority

11% 33%

Criminal Injuries

Compensation Authority

8% 31%

Crown Commercial Service 10% 20%

Crown Office and Procurator

Fiscal Service

10% 35%

Crown Prosecution Service 8% 21%

Defence Electronics and

Components Agency

17% 38%

Defence Equipment & Support 10% 25%



12 MONTHS HAVE YOU



WORK?”


ILLNESS


ILLNESS

Department for Business,

Energy and Industrial Strategy

6% 15%

Department for Communities

and Local Government

6% 19%

Department for Digital, Culture,

Media and Sport

4% 12%

Department for Education 7% 17%

Department for Environment,

Food and Rural Affairs

7% 16%

Department for Exiting the

European Union

6% 25%

Department for International

Development

10% 20%

Department for International

Trade

10% 17%

Department for Transport 6% 14%

Department for Work and

Pensions

8% 20%

Department of Health 6% 9%

Disclosure Scotland 9% 27%

Driver and Vehicle Licensing

Agency

6% 16%

Driver and Vehicle Standards

Agency

17% 37%

Dstl 10% 27%

Education Scotland 19% 36%

Estyn 5% ..



12 MONTHS HAVE YOU



WORK?”


ILLNESS


ILLNESS

FCO Services 9% 37%

Food Standards Agency 16% 27%

Food Standards Scotland 8% 7%

Foreign and Commonwealth

Office

12% 22%

Government Actuary's

Department

7% ..

Government Internal Audit

Agency

9% 21%

Government Legal Department 8% 11%

Health and Safety Executive 10% 21%

HM Courts and Tribunals

Service

8% 21%

HM CPS Inspectorate 31% ..

HM Inspectorate of

Constabulary and Fire &

Rescue Services

20% 23%

HM Prison and Probation

Service HQ

10% 14%

HM Revenue & Customs 9% 22%

HM Treasury 7% 20%

Home Office: Border Force 14% 40%

Home Office: HM Passport

Office

11% 25%

Home Office: Immigration

Enforcement

13% 28%

Home Office: Policy and 9% 21%



12 MONTHS HAVE YOU



WORK?”


ILLNESS


ILLNESS

Enablers

Home Office: UK Visas and

Immigration

9% 20%

Intellectual Property Office 7% 10%

Land Registry 6% 14%

Legal Aid Agency 5% 16%

Maritime and Coastguard

Agency

14% 42%

Medicines and Healthcare

products Regulatory Agency

9% 23%

Met Office 8% 21%

Ministry of Defence 10% 26%

Ministry of Justice HQ 7% 18%

MoJ Arms Length Bodies 6% 18%

National Crime Agency 11% 26%

National Records of Scotland 5% 12%

National Savings & Investment 7% 45%

Office for National Statistics 9% 18%

Office of Gas and Electricity

Markets

7% 11%

Office of Qualifications and

Examinations Regulation

7% 6%

Office of Rail and Road 12% 20%

Office of the Public Guardian 15% 26%

Office of the Scottish Charity

Regulator

15% ..



12 MONTHS HAVE YOU



WORK?”


ILLNESS


ILLNESS

Ofsted 5% 15%

Public Health England 11% 19%

Registers of Scotland 7% 5%

Revenue Scotland 7% ..

Rural Payments Agency 10% 25%

Scotland, Wales & Northern

Ireland Offices

7% 15%

Scottish Courts and Tribunals

Service

7% 19%

Scottish Government 8% 17%

Scottish Housing Regulator 5% ..

Scottish Prison Service 15% 40%

Scottish Public Pensions

Agency

13% 23%

Serious Fraud Office 9% 20%

Student Awards Agency

Scotland

8% 16%

The Insolvency Service 6% 13%

The National Archives 5% 21%

The National Probation

Service

10% 25%

The Planning Inspectorate 4% 11%

The Prison Service 13% 28%

Transport Scotland 9% 17%

UK Debt Management Office 7% ..



12 MONTHS HAVE YOU



WORK?”


ILLNESS


ILLNESS

UK Export Finance 16% 7%

UK Hydrographic Office 8% 17%

UK Statistics Authority 15% ..

Valuation Office Agency 6% 17%

Vehicle Certification Agency 12% ..

Veterinary Medicines

Directorate

6% 27%

Welsh Government 7% 18%

Wilton Park 8% ..

Note: ‘..’ indicates value

supressed due to small sample

size

Veterans: Prison Sentences


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many former members of the armed forces

have served custodial sentences in each year since 2000.


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the prison population has

previously served in the armed forces.

Edward Argar:

Since January 2015, all offenders coming into custody (convicted or remanded) are

asked at reception if they have previously served in the Armed Forces. The

department publishes this data quarterly and the number declaring has remained

stable at approximately 3.5% - 4%.

In October 2018, Ministry of Justice published Experimental Statistics on ex-service

personnel in the prison population (next release due October 2019), which indicated

that there were at least 2,032 former members of the Armed Services in prison as at

30 June 2018. Details of the report and breakdown can be found at:



1. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach

ment_data/file/750708/ex-service-personnel-prison-population-2018.pdf

2. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach

ment_data/file/750710/ex-service-personnel-2018.ods

We do not hold information on the number of former service personnel that have

served a custodial sentence for the years requested, which could only be obtained at


The Ministry of Justice recognises the unique nature of those who served in the

Armed Forces and those prisoners who declare a military background are able to

access a range of specialist support, including from military charities who deliver

services in prisons.

Young Offenders: Rehabilitation


To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many young people are subject to a Youth

Rehabilitation Order in (a) the Feltham and Heston constituency and (b) England and

Wales.

Edward Argar:

The most recent published data shows that in 2017/18, there were 6,794 Youth

Rehabilitation Orders issued in England and Wales

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data for Feltham and Heston Constituency

specifically, but within Hounslow Youth Offending Service, of which Feltham and

Heston is a part, there were 43 Youth Rehabilitation Orders issued to children and

young people in 2017/18.

TRANSPORT

Crossrail Line


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to reduce the

cost to the public purse of delays in the construction of Crossrail.

Andrew Jones:

Crossrail Limited, the organisation responsible for delivering the project and a wholly-

owned subsidiary of Transport for London, are working to establish a robust delivery

schedule and gain certainty regarding the final cost of the project.

As announced in December, the Department is providing a loan of £1.3bn to the

Greater London Authority and an additional loan facility of up to £750m to Transport

for London to finance the remaining costs of the project. It is expected the project will

be completed within the revised funding envelope of £17.6bn.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/750708/ex-service-personnel-prison-population-2018.pdf



https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/750710/ex-service-personnel-2018.ods





With the financial package now in place, Crossrail Limited can focus on finishing

construction and moving ahead with the testing ready for the introduction of

passenger services as soon as possible.

Department for Transport: Contracts

Dame Cheryl Gillan: [222799]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department paid to contractors

for (a) hotel accommodation and (b) travel costs in 2018.

Jesse Norman:

The Department consists of a central department and four agencies (the Driver &

Vehicle Licensing Agency, Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, Vehicle Certification

Agency and Maritime & Coastguard Agency). We have estimated that the information

requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost and would exceed the £850

cost limit.

High Speed Two


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will (a) list the assurances made to

petitioners that have been breached by HS2 Ltd and (b) provide the dates and details of

each of those breaches.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

(a) There has been one incident of non-compliance involving three related

Undertakings and Assurances (U&As), numbers 1969, 2553 and 1976 on the Public

Register.

(b) This incident of non-compliance occurred in the week commencing 16 October

2017. The incident involved the removal of tree branches for security reasons without

prior engagement with the Woodland Trust, as required by the assurance. As soon as

HS2 Ltd had identified this incident, works were stopped and the Woodland Trust was

notified. A full investigation subsequently took place, the investigation findings were

shared with the Trust, and mitigations recommended as a result of the investigation

were put in place.


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when HS2 Ltd will publish the protocols for

dealing with breaches of assurance.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

In line with commitments made to the HS2 Phase 2a Commons Select Committee a

protocol for how to report a possible non-compliance with an Undertaking or

Assurance agreed for Phases 1 and 2a will be published no later than Royal Assent

for the HS2 Phase 2a hybrid Bill.




High Speed Two Railway Line: Buckinghamshire


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) permissions and (b)

legal assurances for clearances of vegetation planned to take place on 200 acres near

Steeple Claydon Buckinghamshire by (i) HS2 Ltd (ii) contractors working for HS2 Ltd; and

the dates on which they were obtained.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

The permissions to undertake the work in question cover the following:

Land

HS2 Ltd’s contractors will initially undertake the vegetation clearance work using

access rights granted under Schedule 2 of the High Speed Rail (London to West

Midlands) Act 2017 (“the HS2 Act”).

This involves engaging with the landowners to discuss minimising the impact of the

work.

The required land will be acquired under Schedule 16 of the HS2 Act 2017, notices of

which are imminent to the landowners.

Ecology & Environment

The vegetation clearance proposed will be undertaken in accordance with the

following ecological consents and licences:

The HS2 Act HS2 Organisational European Protected Species Licence for Great

Crested Newt WML025. First issued March 2017.

HS2 Organisational European Protected Species Licence for Badger WML024. First

issued February 2018.

Highway Authority

HS2 Ltd is in the process of producing applications under schedule 4 of the HS2 Act

which detail the highway traffic management that it plans to implement to undertake

the works. These are subject to approval by the local highway authority.

Network Rail

The Asset Protection Agreement Brief, required under the Framework Asset

Protection Agreement with Network Rail, is in place, under which the possessions are

currently being requested. As part of its commitment to keep communities informed of

works that may affect them, HS2 Ltd also issued an Advance Works Notification to

people within the vicinity of the area to be cleared, advising them of the planned work

and how it may affect the local community. This was issued in early February 2019.


High Speed Two: Staff


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many HS2 Ltd staff are working

exclusively on mitigating the environmental effect caused by HS2 Ltd.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

HS2 Ltd takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and seeks to reduce its

environmental impacts across all staff and project disciplines. There are currently 82

HS2 Ltd staff working exclusively on mitigating the environmental effects of HS2. This

includes individuals that are embedded within the organisation via HS2 Ltd’s

development partner. These staff cover all project phases (Phases 1 and 2).


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many HS2 Ltd staff left the company in

each month of the last two years; and what the total number of staff on the payroll was in

each of those months.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

Information on the Number of HS2 Ltd staff who left the company and the headcount

for each month in the last two years is set out in the table below.

ALL PAYROLLED STAFF 1

Month Headcount Leavers

Jan-2017 1053 13

Feb-2017 1058 21

Mar-2017 1054 37

Apr-2017 1085 14

May-2017 1091 11

Jun-2017 1090 16

Jul-2017 1086 18

Aug-2017 1076 17

Sep-2017 1106 28

Oct-2017 1120 11

Nov-2017 1123 14

Dec-2017 1130 12

Jan-2018 1156 11



ALL PAYROLLED STAFF 1

Feb-2018 1181 13

Mar-2018 1193 18

Apr-2018 1217 17

May-2018 1216 16

Jun-2018 1237 12

Jul-2018 1256 7

Aug-2018 1254 21

Sep-2018 1261 18

Oct-2018 1271 17

Nov-2018 1265 25

Dec-2018 1261 19

1) Figures include HS2 Permanent staff, HS2 Fixed Term Contract staff, Graduates

and Apprenticeships and therefore the data includes staff with fixed term or

temporary contracts which have a natural end date.

Midland Main Railway Line: Electrification

Neil O'Brien: [222764]

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend the electrification of the

Midland Main line to Market Harborough.

Andrew Jones:

Network Rail has been instructed to design an extension of electrification

infrastructure from Kettering to Market Harborough station, as part of the Midland

Main Line enhancements programme.

The Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) extension to Market Harborough will enable a

new connection to a power supply at Braybrooke. At Outline Business Case stage in

March 2018 this was determined to be the best value for money option for making the

power supply connection. In line with normal practice, this will be tested again when

the overall Midland Main Line programme Key Output 1a, of which Market

Harborough electrification is a constituent part, is assessed at Full Business Case

stage.


National College for High Speed Rail


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the costs to the public purse have been

for establishing the National College for High Speed Rail at (a) Doncaster and (b)

Birmingham; how many staff are employed at each of those locations; how much has

been spent on (i) salary and (ii) expenses costs for those staff; and what the annual

running costs have been at each of those locations in the last 12 months for which

information is available.

Ms Nusrat Ghani:

Capital funding of £33.3m was provided by the Department for Business Innovation &

Skills to Birmingham City Council as Accountable Body towards capital costs

associated with the establishment of The National College for High Speed Rail. The

monies were paid between financial years 15-16 and 17-18.

In addition to this, £6m contributions were payable by the Greater Birmingham and

Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and the Sheffield City Region Combined

Authority (formally known as the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield

Combined Authority). The land at each site was donated by Birmingham City Council

and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.

The College received a working capital loan from the Department for Education of

£8.3m to fund its start-up, £4,710k being paid in March 2017 and £3,590k in January

2018. It also received a loan of £2,770k from HS2 Ltd, paid in March 2017. Interest is

applicable on the loans at standard treasury rates.

A revenue grant of £4.55m is payable by the Department for Education between

January 2019 and July 2020. £2m was paid January 2019, £1.75m becomes payable

in June 2019 and £0.8m will be paid in June 2020.

Staffing

A total of 64 staff are employed at the National College for High Speed Rail, with 22

based in Doncaster and 42 in Birmingham.

Staffing costs per year:

Salary costs 2015/16 – £278k

Salary costs 2016/17 – £1,683k

Salary costs 2017/18 – £2,578k

Salary costs August 2018 to January 2019 - £1,390k

Expenses are included in the amounts above

Running/ premises costs

Annual running costs for the last 12 months where information is available – 12

months to July 2018: Total premises costs £874k of which Birmingham costs were

£444k and Doncaster £430k.


Network Rail: Expenditure


To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Network Rail spent on (a)

management, (b) publicity and public relations, (c) marketing and (d) recruitment in each

of the last three years.

Andrew Jones:

Network Rail’s expenditure on management, publicity and public relations, and

marketing, is listed below.

MANAGEMENT (£M)

PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC

RELATIONS (£M) MARKETING (£M)

FY17/18 762.0 9.7 1.5

FY16/17 687.0 6.0 1.5

FY15/16 654.0 9.5 1.3

Network Rail expenditure on publicity and public relations is limited to the promotion

of safety and public awareness campaigns.

Network Rail does not hold central records on recruitment costs.

TREASURY

Asset Protection Agency

Martin Whitfield: [224359]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) focused assets covered

under the Asset Protection Agency and (b) focused assets underwritten by the Asset

Protection Agency that were transferred to West Register between 2009 and 2012.

John Glen:

The Asset Protection Agency (APA) was set up in 2009 to manage the Asset

Protection Scheme (APS), with the objective of maintaining financial stability and

protecting taxpayers’ interests by helping participating banks manage their exposure

to high-risk assets.

The 2009-10 APA Annual Reports and Accounts state that the APS initially provided

protection on £282bn worth of assets on the consolidated balance sheet of the Royal

Bank of Scotland Group plc. The detail of these assets is commercially sensitive. The

Annual Report can be found here:

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110533/http://www.hm-

treasury.gov.uk/apa.htm

To develop a more streamlined and better focused monitoring process for these

assets, in 2011 and 2012 the APA stopped reviewing certain low risk assets and



https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110533/http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/apa.htm



instead focused on a number of larger, high risk assets, known as the “Focus List”.

Further information on the make-up of the Focus List can be found at

http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0368/DEP2012-0368.pdf

and at


ent_data/file/229293/0120.pdf.

Further detail on the assets underwritten by the APA, including the assets that were

transferred to West Register, an RBS subsidiary, between 2009 and 2012, is

commercially sensitive information in relation to RBS’ customers.

Child Benefit


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2019 to

Question 220289, Children: Maintenance, if she will provide further information on the

overall care test used to determine entitlement to child benefit.

Elizabeth Truss:

Child Benefit is payable where a claimant is responsible for a child under the age of

16, or a qualifying young person up to the age of 20 in full-time non-advanced

education or approved training. A person is treated as being responsible for a child in

any week where:

(i) they have the child living with them in that week; or

(ii) they are contributing to the upkeep of the child at a weekly rate not less than the

amount of Child Benefit payable for that week.

Only one person can get Child Benefit in respect of a child. In cases of shared care,

where more than one person meets the entitlement criteria and makes a claim for

Child Benefit, priority rules apply. These rules are set out in the Child Benefit

Technical Manual at the following link.

www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/child-benefit-technical-manual/cbtm08001

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Mr Robert Goodwill: [223227]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to allocate additional

funding to the Equitable Life payment victims.

John Glen:

There are no plans to review the funding allocation made to the Equitable Life

Payment Scheme. Since 2010, we have taken more action than any previous

government to resolve this issue by allocating up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to

affected policyholders.



https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229293/0120.pdf




http://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/child-benefit-technical-manual/cbtm08001

http://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/child-benefit-technical-manual/cbtm08001


Foreign Investment in UK


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to increase the

level of Foreign Direct Investment into the UK.

Robert Jenrick:

Since 2010 we have significantly lowered the headline rate of Corporation Tax from

28% down to 19% today – the lowest in the G20, with further cuts to 17% legislated

by 2020.

We have also created a world-leading offer on creative sector tax reliefs, given

significant support for R&D investment through the tax system, and introduced the

Patent Box regime to attract international investment in intellectual property to the

UK.

These steps have helped to create a highly competitive and FDI-friendly business

environment.

Government Departments: Procurement


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many suppliers have been excluded from

bidding for contracts as a result of not complying with the criteria set out in the guidance

entitled, Procurement policy note 03/14: promoting tax compliance, in each year since

2014.

Robert Jenrick:

The information is not held centrally.

Homelessness: Finance

Liam Byrne: [224477]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to classify as a

priority in the next Spending Review, funding to reduce rough sleeping and

homelessness.

Elizabeth Truss:

The government is committed to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. We

have provided £1.2bn of funding to address homelessness. In August, we announced

a £100m Rough Sleeping Strategy to begin progress to meet the commitment to

halve rough sleeping by 2022, and eliminate it by 2027.

All long-term decisions on public spending will be taken at the Spending Review this

year, when the Chancellor will set out his approach for the future.




Investment: Fraud

Dr David Drew: [223247]

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to introduce

measures to require banks to reimburse people who have been misled by fraudulent

investment schemes.

John Glen:

The Government takes the issue of investment fraud very seriously and is committed

to protecting people and pursuing those who perpetuate scams wherever possible. In

the area of pension scams in particular, the Government introduced regulations to

ban pensions cold calling which came into force in early January 2019. Firms who

break the rules could face penalties of up to half a million pounds.

If fraudulent investments were recommended by an authorised financial advisor, the

consumer can seek redress by the advisor’s firm by bringing the case to the Financial

Ombudsman Service (FOS).

In the event that the authorised financial adviser is responsible or a UK authorised

collective investment scheme fails, consumers also have access to Financial

Services Compensation Scheme protection. The FSCS provides compensation to

customers of financial services firms that have failed. Since 2011 the FSCS has paid

over £60 million to claimants.

Royal Bank of Scotland


To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the

potential merits of maintaining majority ownership of Royal Bank of Scotland.

John Glen:

The Government believes that, as a matter of principle, firms best succeed under

private ownership. Returning RBS to the private sector is the right policy for

taxpayers, customers, and the wider economy.

The Government intervened in RBS to maintain stability at the height of the financial

crisis. RBS was never a speculative investment made to generate a profit, and it is

right that private investors, not taxpayers, should bear the risk of companies such as

RBS.

The Government’s policy remains to return the financial sector assets acquired during

the crisis to private ownership, when it represents value for money to do so, and

market conditions allow.



WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Political Parties: Equality

Faisal Rashid: [222794]

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if the Government will bring into force

section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 so that political parties would be required to publish

diversity data on candidates standing in elections.

Victoria Atkins:

We keep section 106 under review, as we do with other uncommenced provisions in

the Equality Act 2010.

The Government Equalities Office is working to support women and disabled people

to participate in politics. This includes the recently announced fund to support

disabled candidates to seek electoral office, to meet the costs of campaigning,

primarily for the forthcoming English local elections in 2019.

Ultimately, parties are responsible for their candidate selection and should lead the

way in improving diverse representation. Many are already doing so.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Day Care


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to

use the data it will hold on family circumstances through universal credit to provide more

tailored support to parents in England on the types of childcare available to them.

Justin Tomlinson:

Universal Credit provides an unprecedented level of personalised support, which is

tailored and managed through Work Coaches. Unlike the legacy system Universal

Credit Work Coaches know each person’s case and have more tools than ever

before to help people prepare for work and get a job.

The Universal Credit childcare costs policy aligns with the wider government

childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. We are

removing barriers to work by ensuring the childcare offers available eases the

financial burden for parents.

In Universal Credit, we test and adapt the service as we go along, to ensure support

is tailored accordingly for each individual, including parents. We have recently

undertaken a series of nation roadshows for operational colleagues to promote both

the childcare costs offer under Universal Credit and the wider government’s childcare

offer. We continue to work with other government departments to ensure parents

have the information they need to make the best childcare choice for their family.



Children: Maintenance

Martin Whitfield: [224360]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason (a) child

maintenance payments are allocated first to (i) enforcement charges and (ii) debt and

then to children and (b) there is no provision to retrieve payments which have been

allocated incorrectly by the system or manually.

Justin Tomlinson:

(a)The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) does not prioritise the collection of

enforcement charges over on-going maintenance and arrears. Only when all the

money due to children, along with any associated collection fees, has been collected,

will the CMS collect the remaining charges associated with the case, including

enforcement charges. The only exception would be where an enforcement charge

forms part of a liability order, which would be collected alongside the other debt

associated with that order.

(b)The system does have the Manual Allocation capability, which enables a

caseworker to allocate money received across any outstanding liability on a case

Food Banks


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made

an assessment of the geographic coverage of food banks throughout the UK.

Justin Tomlinson:

The Department has not made any assessment of the geographical coverage of food

banks in the UK. Details of the geographical locations of food banks in the Trussell

Trust network can be accessed through the following link:-

https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/

The Independent Food Aid Network is currently undertaking an exercise to map

independent food banks, details of which can be accessed through the following link:-

http://www.foodaidnetwork.org.uk/mapping

Unemployment: Ethnic Groups


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle

the comparatively high rates of unemployment among adults from (a) Black and (b)

Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups in each (i) region and (ii) nation of the UK.

Alok Sharma:

In 2015 the Government made a commitment to increase the level of ethnic minority

employment by 20% by 2020. Since then, 556,000 more people from ethnic minority

backgrounds are in employment, a 17% increase. The Black/African/Caribbean








unemployment rate of 8.4% is the lowest it has been since this series began in 2001

as is the Pakistani and Bangladeshi unemployment rate of 7.7%.

We know there is more to do following the Race Disparity Audit in 2017 which

revealed a gap in employment rates between ethnic minority groups and the overall

population. The Department has been addressing this by maximising the

effectiveness of our jobcentres and influencing the behaviour of employers in

supporting ethnic minority jobseekers into employment.

For example, the Department identified 20 challenge areas across Great Britain to

work with that have a large gap between ethnic minority and white employment rates.

We have delivered mentoring circles in all 20 challenge areas which involve national

employers offering specialised support to unemployed, ethnic minority jobseekers to

help build their confidence and raise their aspirations. In January 2019, I announced

that these mentoring circles will now be rolled out nationally from April 2019.

We also know from the Race Disparity Audit that gender matters, even more so for

the Pakistani and Bangladeshi group, where employment rates for females is less

than half of White groups. To help overcome this barrier, in September we started

trialling a programme with Pakistani and Bangladeshi women in Birmingham. The

women participated in workshops to explore the benefits of becoming work ready and

the financial incentives for their families in taking up paid employment. We will use

this learning to help determine how we can deliver similar programmes across the

Jobcentre network in 2019.

[ Figures are all based on averages from January 2018 – December 2018 (Labour

Force Survey, ONS) for the UK.]

Universal Credit


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the evidential basis is for her

oral contribution of 11 February 2018, Official Report, column 594, that food bank use

had increased in the initial roll-out of Universal Credit because people had difficulty in

accessing money on time; and if she will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson:

The proportion of new claims to Universal Credit Full Service receiving full payment

on time in January 2017 was 55%. Since then Waiting Days have been abolished,

advances increased from 50% to 100% and a two week run on of housing benefit

was introduced. Latest figures for full payment on time in the first assessment period

for November 2018 show an increase to 86% from the 55% recorded in January

2017.

Between 2017 and 2018, the number of people making a claim to Universal Credit

rose by 132%. Trussell Trust data for the same period shows an increase in the

number of foodbank parcels issued to Universal Credit claimants of 90%. So while

there may have been difficulties in early 2017, what we may be observing now is a


substitution effect as legacy claims are replaced by Universal Credit claims, rather

than an increase directly attributing to Universal Credit.

Universal Credit: Disqualification


To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what records her Department holds

on the income of the 4.9 per cent of claimants who were not in receipt of any tracked

benefits in the 180 days following a universal credit live service sanction decision.

Alok Sharma:

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur



WRITTEN STATEMENTS

CABINET OFFICE

EU Exit Update

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr

David Lidington): [HCWS1361]

On 14 February 2019, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the

European Union, the Honourable Member for Daventry, made a commitment in the

House that I would meet with the Right Honourable Member for Broxtowe on behalf of the

Government, to identify information to be published relating to the implications for trade

and business of a no-deal exit from the European Union on 29 March 2019.

These discussions have now taken place. In light of these discussions, I am depositing in

the Libraries of both Houses the following document: Implications for Trade and Business

of a No Deal Exit from the European Union on 29 March.

This document summarises Government activity to prepare for no deal as a contingency

plan, and provides an assessment of the implications of a no deal exit for trade and

businesses, given the preparations that have been made.

The Government’s primary aim remains to ensure that the UK leaves the EU on 29 March

with a negotiated deal which will honour the result of the referendum. However, as a

responsible government, it continues to plan for all eventualities. Guidance for

businesses and citizens on how to prepare for a no deal scenario can be found on the

Government’s Exit guidance website, www.gov.uk/government/brexit.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

Entering into force of the Prespa Agreement and North Macedonia’s NATO

Accession

The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Sir Alan Duncan):

[HCWS1360]

Her Majesty’s Government has received by Note Verbale a formal notice from the

government in Skopje that the Republic of Macedonia has changed its name to the

Republic of North Macedonia. This follows the entering into force of the Prespa

Agreement. The UK body that deals with geographical names, the Permanent Committee

on Geographical Names (PCGN), recommended that we endorse the change. My Right

Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs agreed.

The Name Issue

The Name Issue had been a matter of dispute between Macedonia and Greece since

1991, when Greece refused to recognise the new state as the ‘Republic of Macedonia’

owing to sensitivities over use of the term Macedonia. The Republic of Macedonia

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-02-26/HCWS1361/

http://www.gov.uk/government/brexit

http://www.gov.uk/government/brexit



became the 181st member of the United Nations, but under the provisional term, the

‘former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’. Until the Prespa Agreement came into force,

this was the designation used by the country in all international fora. In bilateral

communications, the United Kingdom referred to the country by its constitutional name,

the ‘Republic of Macedonia’.

The Prespa Agreement

Under the auspices of the United Nations, negotiating teams from both countries reached

a settlement. The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia signed the Prespa

Agreement on 17 June 2018. The entering into force of the Prespa Agreement earlier this

month resolves the dispute. Under Article 1 (3) of the Agreement, the Republic of

Macedonia is henceforth the Republic of North Macedonia.

NATO Accession

NATO Allies, including the United Kingdom, signed North Macedonia’s Accession

Protocol on 6 February. Greece’s parliament ratified North Macedonia’s NATO Accession

Protocol on 8 February. The Greek government then confirmed to the Macedonian

Government that all necessary steps to ratify the Prespa Agreement were complete. Her

Majesty’s Government is taking forward the process for UK ratification of North

Macedonia’s NATO Accession Protocol. This will involve laying the Accession Protocol

before Parliament for 21 sitting days for scrutiny (as stipulated in the Constitutional

Reform and Governance Act 2010). Once this process is complete, and provided

Parliament has no objections, Her Majesty’s Government will deposit its instrument of

ratification.

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