Daily Report Tuesday, 7 May 2019
This report shows written answers and statements provided on 7 May 2019 and the
information is correct at the time of publication (06:38 P.M., 07 May 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
Carbon Emissions 5
Companies: Ownership 5
Conditions of Employment 6
Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Secondment 6
Energy Supply 7
Energy: Environment
Protection 7
Fracking: Landfill 8
Fracking: Waste Disposal 8
Fracking: Water 9
Fuel Poverty 10
Living Wage and Minimum
Wage: Non-payment 10
Passenger Ships 10
Post Offices: Closures and
Franchises 11
Renewable Energy: Feed-in
Tariffs 11
Zero Hours Contracts: Holiday
Leave 12
CABINET OFFICE 12
Civil Service Agencies 12
Data Protection: USA 12
DEFENCE 13
Defence: Space 13
Tanks 13
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND
SPORT 13
Broadband: North West 13
Football: Racial Discrimination 14
Marriage 14
Mobile Phones: Cybercrime 15
Sports: East Midlands 15
Television: Licensing 16
Voluntary Work: Young People 16
Young People: Public
Participation 17
EDUCATION 17
Adult Education: Admissions 17
Apprentices 18
Apprentices: Taxation 19
Food: Curriculum 25
Overseas Students: EU
Nationals 26
Primary Education:
Assessments 26
Pupils: Per Capita Costs 26
Schools: Counselling 27
Special Educational Needs:
Warrington 28
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND
RURAL AFFAIRS 29
Birds: Pest Control 29
Dangerous Dogs 29
Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit 30
Fly-tipping 30
Fracking: Landfill 31
Fracking: Water 31
Packaging 32
Poultry 32
EXITING THE EUROPEAN
UNION 33
Brexit 33
FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 33
Bahrain: Human Rights and
Press Freedom 33
Egypt: Gaza 33
Middle East: Peace
Negotiations 34
Oman: Detainees 34
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 34
Antibiotics: Drug Resistance 34
Cancer 35
Cancer: Health Professions 36
Cancer: Social Security
Benefits 36
Cannabis: Medical Treatments 37
Cervical Cancer 37
Diabetes: Diagnosis 38
Gambling 38
Health and Care Professions
Council: Fees and Charges 38
Health Services and Social
Services: Vacancies 39
Health Services: Children and
Young People 39
Health Services: Rural Areas 40
Infant Foods 40
Lung Cancer: Diagnosis 41
Mental Health Services: West
Lancashire 42
Mental Illness: Children 42
NHS 43
Opiates: Misuse 44
Palliative Care 44
Pneumococcal Diseases:
Vaccination 45
School Fruit and Vegetable
Scheme 45
Vaccination 45
HOME OFFICE 46
Alcoholic Drinks: Sales 46
Drugs: Crime 46
Home Office: Staff 47
Immigration: EU Nationals 47
Immigration: Reviews 48
Knives: Crime 48
Lancashire Constabulary:
Expenditure 49
Police: Horses 50
Police: Pensions 50
HOUSE OF COMMONS
COMMISSION 50
Parliament: Huawei 50
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 51
Buildings: Insulation 51
Coastal Areas 51
Derelict Land 52
Grenfell Tower: Fires 52
Local Government: Assets 54
Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local
Government: Secondment 54
Non-domestic Rates 55
INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT 56
Department for International
Development: Wales 56
Developing Countries:
Clothing 57
Developing Countries: Health
Services 57
Developing Countries: Nature
Conservation 58
Developing Countries:
Vaccination 58
Ethiopia: Overseas Aid 58
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance 59
Israel: Palestinians 59
Pakistan: Vaccination 60
Tranexamic Acid 60
Vaccination 60
Vaccination: Prices 61
Zimbabwe: Disaster Relief 62
INTERNATIONAL TRADE 62
Drinks: Exports 62
JUSTICE 63
Birmingham Prison 63
Prison Officers 63
Prisons: Standards 64
Young Offenders: Protection 65
SPEAKER'S COMMITTEE FOR
THE INDEPENDENT
PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS
AUTHORITY 66
Members: Allowances 66
TRANSPORT 66
Durham Coast Railway Line 66
High Speed 2 Railway Line 67
Railway Stations: Hampshire 68
TREASURY 69
Loans: Interest Rates 69
Mortgages 69
Public Health: Finance 69
Regional Planning and
Development: North of
England 70
WALES 70
Wales Office: Contracts 70
Wales Office: Secondment 70
WORK AND PENSIONS 71
Children: Maintenance 71
Employment and Social
Security Benefits: Learning
Disability 72
Employment and Support
Allowance: Appeals 72
Funerals: Fees and Charges 73
Social Security Benefits:
Children 73
Universal Credit 74
Universal Credit: Housing 76
WRITTEN STATEMENTS 77
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND
INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY 77
Business Update 77
EDUCATION 78
Schools update 78
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 78
Rough Sleeping update 78
LEADER OF THE HOUSE 79
Response to the Joint
Committee’s report on the
Draft Parliamentary Buildings
(Restoration and Renewal) Bill 79
NORTHERN IRELAND 80
National Security
Arrangements in Northern
Ireland 1 January 2017 – 31
December 2018 80
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
Carbon Emissions
Stephen Timms: [249176]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he
has to address the projection in his Department’s Updated Energy and Emissions
Projections 2018, published 11 April 2019, that the UK will miss its carbon targets for
2023 to 2027 by 5.6% and for 2028 to 2032 by 9.6%; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry:
Carbon budgets four and five end in 8 and 13 years respectively and we are already
over 90% of the way towards meeting them from a 1990 baseline, even before many
of the policies and proposals in the Clean Growth Strategy are taken into account.
The Strategy sets out our plans to build on our progress in decarbonising the power
sector, while looking further across the whole of the economy and the country. It
includes ambitious proposals on housing, business, transport, the natural
environment and green finance.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-growth-strategy
Stephen Doughty: [249308]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent
discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the US, (b) China and (c) Russia on
reducing their cumulative CO2 emissions.
Claire Perry:
The UK continues to demonstrate the strong leadership needed to tackle climate
change, both at home and abroad. As an issue of significant public and international
importance, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly meet with their
international counterparts to discuss a range of issues including climate change. As
the Cabinet Minister most directly responsible for climate change, I regularly attend
major international climate meetings, recently at COP24 in Poland.
Companies: Ownership
Alison Thewliss: [248713]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many
exemptions have been made under the people with significant control register; and for
what reasons those exemptions have been made.
Kelly Tolhurst:
[Holding answer 2 May 2019]: As at 30 April 2019, 836 live companies were exempt
from the requirements to file information about their People with Significant Control.
This is because they are subject to other disclosure requirements due to their voting
shares being admitted to trading on a regulated market in the UK or EEA, or on
markets listed in Schedule 1 to the Register of People with Significant Control
Regulations 2016.
Exemptions can also be granted in very limited circumstances, in the interests of
national security, the economic wellbeing of the UK, or in the support or prevention or
detection of serious crime. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial
Statement made on 26 January 2016, HCWS488, which set out the circumstances in
which such exemptions would be granted.
Conditions of Employment
Sir Oliver Heald: [248558]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to
the Written Statement of 17 December 2018, Official Report HCWS1184, when he plans
to bring forward detailed proposals on tackling uncertainty around employment status.
Kelly Tolhurst:
The Government has committed to legislate to improve the clarity of the employment
status tests, reflecting the reality of modern working relationships. This will help to
ensure that both businesses and individuals understand their rights and obligations.
Employment status is a complex issue and so it is only right that we take time to
consider how best to achieve change that works for all. We will bring forward detailed
proposals on status in due course.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Secondment
Chris Ruane: [249902]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many
civil servants in his Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the
European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three
years.
Andrew Stephenson:
BEIS does not hold centrally the records of every Department loaned staff have
joined. However, according to reports from BEIS’ two Shared Services providers
during this period, the total number of BEIS staff loaned out in each year is as
follows:
2016 – 47
2017 – 53
2018 – 48
2019 – 27
This data only reflects the loans fully recorded on Shared Services and so may not
reflect all loans out of the Department.
Energy Supply
Alex Sobel: [249358]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he
has plans to abolish the embedded benefits regime for small generators below 100MW.
Claire Perry:
Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator, and decisions
on any changes to charging arrangements are for it to make. Ofgem is considering
the future of some embedded benefits, which relate to the charging arrangements for
smaller generators connected to the electricity distribution system, as part of its
ongoing Targeted Charging Review. The review is seeking to ensure that all parties
connected to the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs. Ofgem
has not yet concluded its review, and is currently considering responses received to a
consultation held earlier this year on reform proposals.
Energy: Environment Protection
Jo Stevens: [248710]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate
he has made of the cost to the public purse of Government green energy projects in each
year since 2015.
Claire Perry:
The costs of renewable energy schemes for electricity are funded through consumer
energy bills, rather than from general taxation.
The Renewable Heat Incentive is funded through general taxation:
COST (£M) 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18
Committed Renewable
Heat Incentive
366 530 713
Source: RHI budget caps, BEIS:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm
ent_data/file/795530/RHI_budget_cap_publication_data_to_end_of_February_2019.p
df
The Department has allocated general taxation for energy innovation spend for green
energy projects, in the amounts of:
COST (£M) 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 (EST)*
Energy Innovation
spend for green
energy projects
373 473 531
Source: BEIS annual returns to the International Energy Association for UK energy
innovation spend.
* Figures for financial year 2017/18 are estimates and figures for 2018/19 are not
currently available.
Fracking: Landfill
Lee Rowley: [248063]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent
estimate he has made of the number of landfill sites needed to dispose of (a) waste water
sludge, (b) sand and (c) filter cake produced from (i) hydraulic fracturing operations and
(ii) associated water treatment in the event that the industry develops as proposed in the
Government's energy policy.
Claire Perry:
The UK shale gas industry is at the very early stages of exploration and we do not yet
know how much shale gas it will be possible to technologically and commercially
extract from UK shale reserves. In order to determine the potential of the industry and
the benefits it could bring the UK, we need exploration to go ahead, and Government
encourages this. Further exploration will be needed to determine the number of
landfill sites required to dispose of waste water sludge, sand and filter cake which
would be created by future shale gas development. Future waste treatment capacity
and its expansion to meet hydraulic fracturing needs is a matter for the industry.
Under Environmental Permitting Regulations, shale gas operators are required to
check the capacity of appropriate waste disposal facilities. If operators cannot
demonstrate an appropriate disposal route to the Environment Agency during the
environmental permitting process, it is likely to refuse their application.
Fracking: Waste Disposal
Lee Rowley: [248062]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent
estimate he has made of the potential amount of (a) waste water sludge, (b) sand and (c)
filter cake produced from (i) hydraulic fracturing operations and (ii) associated water
treatment in the event that the industry develops as proposed in the Government's energy
policy.
Claire Perry:
The UK shale gas industry is at the very early stages of exploration and we do not yet
know how much shale gas it will be possible to technologically and commercially
extract from UK shale reserves. In order to determine the potential of the industry and
the benefits it could bring the UK, we need exploration to go ahead and Government
encourages this. Further exploration will be needed to determine the amount of waste
water sludge, sand and filter cake which would be created by future shale gas
development. Future waste water treatment capacity and its expansion to meet
hydraulic fracturing needs is a matter for the industry.
Lee Rowley: [248066]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate
he has made of the number of universal waste water treatments sites that are (a) capable
and (b) permitted to treat all variations of waste water content generated from hydraulic
fracturing operations.
Claire Perry:
There are five sites in England with the necessary permits to treat all variations of
waste water content generated from hydraulic fracturing. In addition, there are other
sites around the country which, subject to obtaining the relevant permits, could
accept and treat waste water from hydraulic fracturing.
Fracking: Water
Lee Rowley: [248060]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent
estimate he has made of the potential volume of waste water from hydraulic fracturing
operations in the event that the industry develops as proposed in the government's
energy policy. Choose one
Claire Perry:
The UK shale gas industry is at the very early stages of exploration and we do not yet
know how much shale gas it will be possible to technologically and commercially
extract from UK shale reserves. In order to determine the potential of the industry and
the benefits it could bring the UK, we need exploration to go ahead and Government
encourages this. Further exploration will be needed to determine the amount of waste
water which would be created by future shale gas development.
Future treatment capacity, cost and its expansion is a matter for the shale gas and
waste water industries. Both businesses proposing to explore for oil and gas using
hydraulic fracturing, and operators carrying out treatment of any wastes generated,
require environmental permits from the Environment Agency, which are subject to a
detailed site-specific assessment. The permits set legally binding conditions on how
activities are carried out so that the local environment is protected.
Lee Rowley: [248061]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent
estimate he has made of the potential number of waste water facilities that will be needed
to (a) treat and (b) dispose of waste water generated from hydraulic fracturing operations
in the event that the industry develops as proposed in the Government's energy policy.
Claire Perry:
The UK shale gas industry is at the very early stages of exploration and we do not yet
know how much shale gas it will be possible to technologically and commercially
extract from UK shale reserves. In order to determine the potential of the industry and
the benefits it could bring the UK, we need exploration to go ahead and Government
encourages this.
Further exploration will be needed to determine the amount of waste water facilities
which would be required for future shale gas development.
Future treatment capacity is a matter for the shale gas and waste water industries.
Under the Environmental Permitting Regulations shale gas operators are required to
check the capacity of appropriate waste disposal facilities. If operators cannot
demonstrate an appropriate disposal route to the Environment Agency during the
environmental permitting process it is likely to refuse their application.
Fuel Poverty
Mr Jim Cunningham: [249203]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference
to the 2018 Annual Report of the Committee on Fuel Poverty, what steps his Department
is taking to respond to the recommendation for a new Clean Growth Fuel Poverty
Challenge Fund.
Claire Perry:
I am grateful of the advice from the Committee, which we are considering carefully as
part of our plan to update the Fuel Poverty Strategy later in 2019.
Living Wage and Minimum Wage: Non-payment
Stephanie Peacock: [248059]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he
has to publish the names of employers who do not pay the national minimum or national
living wage.
Kelly Tolhurst:
[Holding answer 1 May 2019]: Enforcement of the National Minimum and National
Living Wage (NMW) is a priority for the Government. We are taking tough action
against the minority of employers who underpay; in 2018/19 HM Revenue & Customs
NMW identified a record £24.4 million in arrears for over 220,000 workers and issued
over £17 million in penalties to non-compliant employers. Since 2015 we have
doubled our budget to enforce the NMW.
To date, we have named almost 2,000 employers who underpaid through the NMW
Naming Scheme. As a result of recommendations made by the Director of Labour
Market Enforcement, we have now begun a review of the Scheme to ensure it
continues to effectively deliver our policy objective of ensuring workers are paid fairly
for the work they do. This work is ongoing and will be completed in due course.
Passenger Ships
Zac Goldsmith: [247016]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what
discussions he has had with the Department for Transport on the effect of the Maritime
and Coastguard Agency’s proposals on older UK passenger boats on businesses and
skilled maritime jobs.
Kelly Tolhurst:
[Holding answer 29 April 2019]: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and BEIS
ministers have not had any direct discussions with the Department for Transport
(DfT) on the effect of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals on older UK
passenger boats on businesses and skilled maritime jobs. BEIS officials have
reached out to the MCA and industry to further understand the issue raised. They
also remain closely engaged with DfT on the delivery of the recently published
Maritime 2050 strategy and to support growth ambitions across the maritime sector.
Should my hon. friend wish to discuss this issue, I would be happy to arrange a
meeting.
Post Offices: Closures and Franchises
Rosie Cooper: [248017]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what
assessment he has made of the effect of closing Crown post offices and franchising
services to WHSmith on the sustainability of the post office network.
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 Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the
company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business
and the management of the network is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.
A report by Citizen’s Advice in June 2017 stated that franchised branches are
performing in line with, or better than Directly Managed branches. As part of its
ongoing monitoring role Citizens Advice will continue to track the impact of post office
changes on consumers and customer satisfaction of post offices, including with the
franchising of Directly Managed branches.
Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs
Alex Sobel: [249355]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the
minimum export price level will be on the smart export guarantee scheme.
Claire Perry:
The consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee closed on 5 March 2019. We are
currently analysing the responses we received and will publish a government
response in due course.
Zero Hours Contracts: Holiday Leave
Jim Shannon: [249305]
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether staff
on zero-hours contracts are entitled to annual leave.
Kelly Tolhurst:
All workers, including workers on zero-hour contracts are entitled to receive paid
annual leave.
In 2017, the Unpaid Britain report found that 1.8 million workers are missing out on
£1.8 billion each year, in unpaid holiday leave.
The Government wants to ensure that all workers, regardless of the hours they work,
receive the paid time off they deserve. This is why the Government recently ran the ‘It
comes with the job’ advertising campaign encouraging workers to understand their
rights and employers to understand their legal obligations. Government has also
developed new guidance, available on GOV.UK, to help workers and employers
understand holiday pay policy and entitlement. Both the campaign, and the guidance
were aimed at atypical workers, which includes workers on zero hours contracts. To
aid those at risk of not receiving their holiday entitlement, the Government has also
committed to introducing state enforcement of holiday pay for vulnerable workers.
CABINET OFFICE
Civil Service Agencies
Mike Gapes: [248565]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list all current Executive Agencies.
Oliver Dowden:
A list of Executive Agencies is included in Public Bodies 2018-19. This can be found
by following this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-bodies-2018-19-report
Alternatively, a copy is also available in the House Library using the following details:
Public Bodies 2018-19: 2019-0385
Data Protection: USA
Mr David Davis: [246927]
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what measures are in place to prevent the US
Government accessing confidential information on British citizens that is stored with US
hyperscale cloud providers, following the passage of the US CLOUD Act.
Oliver Dowden:
Many countries, including the United Kingdom, assert extra-territorial jurisdiction in
relation to some of their investigative powers as a crucial means of preventing and
prosecuting crime in a world where evidence is increasingly digital and controlled
overseas. The Government understands that the CLOUD Act clarified provisions of
United States’ law in relation to the US authorities’ ability to obtain certain data
hosted abroad and did not mark a radical expansion to the scope or reach of their
powers. The Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation
provide robust safeguards to protect the privacy of those in the UK, and we are
committed to working with other governments including the US to ensure that privacy
is properly respected where jurisdictional interests overlap.
DEFENCE
Defence: Space
Nia Griffith: [249251]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant the Answer of 21 February 2019 to
Question 221566 on Defence: Space, when his Department plans to publish a Defence
Space Strategy.
Stuart Andrew:
The Ministry of Defence is firmly committed to a number of space programmes, and
we are assessing our space capabilities, coherence and requirements. Our strategy
work on space has developed significantly and will play a key role in Spending
Review decisions. we are currently reviewing the right timing for publication of our
strategy.
Tanks
Andrew Rosindell: [247994]
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to reduce the
number of tanks.
Stuart Andrew:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2019, to Question 246488,
to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Kevan Jones).
Attachments:
1. 246488-Challenger Tanks: Repairs and Maintenance [Hansard Extract 29 April 2019,
UIN 246488 (1).docx]
DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Broadband: North West
Stephen Twigg: [246435]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he
has made of the adequacy of level of access to superfast fibre broadband in (a) Liverpool
West Derby constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) North West England; and what steps he
is taking to increase access to that service in those areas.
Margot James:
According to Thinkbroadband; 99.7% of premises in Liverpool West constituency
currently have access to Superfast broadband. 96.8% of premises in the North West,
have access to Superfast broadband. Thinkbroadband does not hold specific
information for Merseyside.
Despite high levels of access to superfast speeds in these areas, many premises are
choosing not to take it up. Current take up rates for broadband stands at 46.6% of
premises in the Merseyside area, and 45.2% in the North West.
DCMS run several voucher schemes which are available to the public to help
increase broadband services across the UK.
The Better Broadband Voucher Scheme is available to those who are unable to
obtain a connection speed above 2Mbps. The Scheme can support access to satellite
broadband, or fixed 4G or wireless connections in some locations. The Better
Broadband Voucher Scheme will be open for applications until 31st December 2019,
ensuring that an affordable basic broadband installation remains available to eligible
applicants. Further information is available at:https://basicbroadband.culture.gov.uk/.
In March 2018 the Local Full Fibre Networks programme launched its £67m Gigabit
Broadband Voucher Scheme. Small to medium sized businesses can claim a
voucher worth up to £2,500, and residents can claim a voucher worth up to £500 as
part of a group project. Businesses and local community groups interested in
requesting a voucher can find details of suppliers in their local area on our website at:
https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/.
Football: Racial Discrimination
Dr Matthew Offord: [247007]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his
Department is taking to tackle racism in amateur football.
Mims Davies:
Following my summit on Feb 25th, Government is working with key groups to deliver
clear, tangible actions to tackle racism at all levels of football. As per my statement to
the house on 11th April, my intention is to announce these interventions, in
partnership with football, before the end of the summer.
Marriage
Martin Vickers: [246991]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the
Government plans to (a) restrict or (b) remove the charitable status of Churches and
other faith-based organisations who express and practise historic orthodox beliefs on the
doctrine of marriage.
Mims Davies:
To be a charity, institutions, including Churches and other faith-based organisations
in England and Wales, must meet the legal test for charitable status set out in the
Charities Act 2011. This requires the institution to have a wholly charitable purpose
for the benefit of the public. The advancement of religion has long been recognised
as a charitable purpose. There is no presumption that a particular charitable purpose
is for the public benefit.
The Charity Commission, as the independent regulator of charities in England and
Wales, is responsible for assessing if an institution meets the legal test for charitable
status.
There are no plans to change the legal test for charitable status which applies to
Churches and other faith-based organisations who express and practise historic
orthodox beliefs on the doctrine of marriage.
Mobile Phones: Cybercrime
Chi Onwurah: [249285]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the
Government is taking to (a) protect critical national infrastructure, business and
consumers from the vulnerabilities to hackers in mobile signalling networks SS7 and
Diameter and (b) mitigate against the risk of such attacks.
Margot James:
It was announced in 2016 as part of the National Cyber Security Strategy that SS7
and Diameter protocols used within mobile networks would be tackled within the
National Cyber Security Center’s (NCSC) published Active Cyber Defence
programme. The NCSC continues to work closely with mobile operators to reduce the
vulnerability of UK networks. In addition, the NCSC works with other critical sectors to
provide guidance on how to mitigate the risks of such attacks.
Sports: East Midlands
Ben Bradley: [247157]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has
made of the cost to the public purse of indoor sports provision in the East Midlands in
each year since 2015.
Mims Davies:
Sporting Future, Government’s sport and physical activity strategy highlighted how
important it is that people are able to access sports provision in the way that best
suits them whether this is indoors or outdoors.
In the East Midlands region Sport England has provided £42,652,294 Exchequer and
£118,453,712 lottery funding since the 2014/15 funding year.
It is not possible for Sport England to provide a cost breakdown between indoor and
outdoor sports provision as funding data is not held in this manner.
Television: Licensing
Martin Whitfield: [249353]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is
taking to ensure that cable and satellite TV companies to share their subscription
information with TV Licensing to improve the investigation and enforcement process as
set out in section 5 of the TV licence free enforcement review.
Margot James:
The government expects the BBC to collect the licence fee in an efficient and
proportionate way to reduce costs and evasion. We continue to explore the feasibility
of subscription data sharing.
Voluntary Work: Young People
Vicky Foxcroft: [248724]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the
Answer of 13 September 2018 to Question 170815 on Voluntary Work: Young People,
how many of the NCS participants eligible for Free School Meals completed the
programme in (a) the UK and (b) London in each of the last five years.
Mims Davies:
NATIONAL CITIZEN
SERVICE 2013 2014 2015 2016
2017*
*
England*
Eligible for
Free School
Meals
Participants 7,302 9,283 12,334 14,427 16,702
Completed 6,535 8,465 11,486 13,459 15,511
London
Eligible for
Free School
Meals
Participants 2,096 1,633 3,106 3,636 4,117
Completed 1,942 1,590 2,967 3,458 3,900
* Participation/completion data is not disaggregated for Northern Ireland; Wales ran
an NCS pilot in 2014, but decided not to roll-out across the country; Scotland decided
not to implement an NCS programme.
** The final participation and completion figures for the National Citizen Service
programme in 2018 are undergoing compliance checks and will be published on
gov.uk by Autumn 2019.
Young People: Public Participation
Jim Shannon: [247068]
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his
Department is taking to increase participation in public life among younger age groups.
Mims Davies:
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched three new
youth voice projects in February 2019, to enable young people to have a say in
national policy making: a Young Commissioners and Inspectors Group, a Civil
Society Youth Steering Group and a digital youth engagement research project.
DCMS also provides funding for the UK Youth Parliament, Youth Select Committee
and Make Your Mark ballot which support young people to raise issues on local and
national levels. The £40 million #iwill Fund, a 4 year joint investment between DCMS
and The National Lottery Community Fund, supports the creation of new
opportunities for young people to volunteer and engage in their local communities.
The National Citizen Service (NCS), a voluntary social development programme for
young people, is helping to build a more responsible, more cohesive and more
engaged society. NCS participants have dedicated over 12 million hours of
volunteering to their local communities.
EDUCATION
Adult Education: Admissions
Chris Ruane: [249227]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in
the number of students enrolling in adult education in each year since 2010.
Anne Milton:
We recognise that participation in adult (19+) further education has decreased. The
latest full year statistics are published on GOV.UK here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-
first-release-sfr.
We are considering adult skills more widely as a department and will therefore be
considering trends in the take-up of adult education as part of this. In addition, we are
looking carefully at further education funding in preparation for the Spending Review.
We are considering how effective our funding and regulatory structures are in
supporting high quality provision, and in line with the aims of the Post-18 Review, to
ensure a coherent vision for further and higher education.
Apprentices
Nic Dakin: [248023]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has received representations
from employers on the effect of the 20 per cent off-the-job training standard on delivering
apprenticeships.
Anne Milton:
The requirement for a minimum of 20% off-the-job training is an important quality
requirement and one of the core, longstanding principles of an apprenticeship.
We work with employer representative bodies to ensure policy and funding rules are
well understood and to gain insight into how apprenticeships are being delivered.
There are a number of employers represented on our Apprenticeships Stakeholder
Board where the off-the-job training has been discussed. The effect of the 20% off-
the-job training standard is frequently raised with me when I meet businesses.
We have recently issued updated off-the-job training guidance and products to
support employers, training providers and apprentices to understand what good off-
the-job training looks like and the benefits of it. These were developed in response to
employer feedback and were tested with stakeholders prior to publication.
Nic Dakin: [248028]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the
Government’s progress on delivering three million apprenticeships by 2020; and if he will
make a statement.
Anne Milton:
In 2015 we set an ambitious goal of 3 million high quality apprenticeships by 2020
and that remains our ambition, but we will not sacrifice quality to meet this figure. We
have introduced a wide range of reforms to apprenticeships to improve their quality
and to encourage employers across England to increase the number of
apprenticeships that they offer.
There have been 1,709,500 apprenticeship starts in England between May 2015 and
January 2019.
We regularly report on progress toward the target in our apprenticeships and
traineeships publications, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.
To support all employers to make the long-term, sustainable investment in training, in
April 2019 we halved the co-investment rate from 10% to 5% for new starts and have
increased the amount that levy-paying employers can transfer to other employers
from 10% to 25%.
We are working to raise awareness of apprenticeships across the country and the
benefits that they bring to both employers and apprentices. Our ‘Fire It Up’
communication campaign seeks to change the way that people think about
apprenticeships and to demonstrate that apprenticeships are an aspirational choice
for anyone.
Nic Dakin: [248029]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the
importance of Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeships in delivering three million
apprenticeships by 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Milton:
Our reforms allow employers to choose the type, quality, level and frequency of
apprenticeships that they offer in order to meet their current and future skills needs.
Level 2 and 3 apprenticeships play an important role in meeting these needs as well
as providing valuable opportunities for individuals. Apprenticeships at these levels still
account for the vast majority of apprenticeship starts. For example, in the first half of
2018/19, there were nearly 175,000 starts at levels 2 and 3, which represents 82% of
total starts for the period.
There are now 440 industry-designed standards, of which 269 are at levels 2 and 3,
meaning there are apprenticeship opportunities at all levels. During the first half of
2018/19, nearly 60% of starts were on these new standards. We can see that
employers are moving quickly to this new higher quality offer.
Apprentices: Taxation
Nic Dakin: [248020]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Audit Office
report, The apprenticeships programme, published on 6 March 2019, HC 1987, what
assessment he has made of the future financial sustainability of the apprenticeship levy;
and if he will make a statement.
Nic Dakin: [248037]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made
of the future financial sustainability of the apprenticeship levy; and if he will make a
statement.
Anne Milton:
The apprenticeship levy is collected by HM Revenue and Customs from all UK
employers with a pay bill above £3 million.
Separately, HM Treasury have set the Department for Education a budget for
apprenticeships in England for the current Spending Review period (to 2019-20). This
budget is distinct from the levy and is not dependent on receipts from the levy. This
budget is used to fund new apprenticeship starts for both levy and non-levy paying
employers and must also cover the ongoing costs of apprentices that are already in
training .
In 2019-20 funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is over
£2.5 billion, double what was spent in 2010-11.
Currently, we expect to remain within budget in this spending review period to the
end of the 2019-20 financial year. A detailed breakdown of spending for 2018-19 will
be published in the Education and Skills Funding Agency Annual Report and
Accounts.
The level of funding for the apprenticeship programme beyond 2019-20 will be
determined by the forthcoming Spending Review.
Nic Dakin: [248021]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2019 to
Question 243426, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of levy funds
in employers’ accounts that will (a) expire and (b) be spent on apprenticeships before
they expire; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Milton:
Levy-paying employers have up to 24 months from the point at which funds enter
their account to spend the funds available. The 24 month expiry period is designed to
give employers time to develop their apprenticeship programmes whilst encouraging
employers to take action to create new apprenticeship opportunities. Funds will only
expire on a month by month basis from May 2019 if an employer has spent less on
apprenticeship training and assessment in the past 2 years than the amount that
went into their account in May 2017.
We do not anticipate that all levy-payers will use all the funds in their accounts,
though they are able to. Income from the levy is used to fund apprenticeship training
for both levy paying and non-levy paying employers.
Levy-paying employers are now able to transfer up to 25% of the annual value of
their levy funds to other employers.
In May 2019, the 24-month expiry date will be reached for the earliest declared levy
funds. We forecast that when the first ‘expiry’ period arrives in May, approximately
£12 million pounds will remain unspent, representing 9% of the total levy funding that
employers collectively paid in April 2017.
Nic Dakin: [248022]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships there are in non-
levy paying businesses; what other Government programmes will be funded by expired
apprenticeship levy funds; and if he will make a statement.
Nic Dakin: [248027]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship starts have been
funded by unspent employer levy funds in (a) 2018 and (b) to the end of March 2019.
Anne Milton:
In the first half of 2018/19 academic year there have been 214,200 apprenticeship
starts reported to date. Of these, 105,700 (49%) starts have been directly supported
by funds from levy payer’s apprenticeship service accounts. There have also been
108,500 (51%) starts which have not been supported directly by levy funds, and the
majority of these starts will be with non levy-paying employers.
We publish data on apprenticeship starts on a monthly basis at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-
first-release-sfr.
In the 2019-20 financial year, the annual funding allocated to the Department for
Education for apprenticeships in England is over £2.5 billion. This funding is distinct
from levy receipts and is used to fund new apprenticeship starts for both levy and
non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices that are
already in training. It is therefore not possible to provide data on how many
apprenticeship starts have been funded by unspent employer levy funds as all
apprenticeship starts are funded from the Department for Education’s budget. At
present, there are no plans to spend expired levy funds on programmes other than
apprenticeships.
Nic Dakin: [248024]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2019 to
Question 243426 on apprenticeships: Taxation, what steps his Department is taking to
increase the amount of apprenticeship levy funds that employers are using; and if he will
make a statement.
Anne Milton:
We continue to work with levy-paying employers to make sure that they can make the
most of the opportunities that our reforms present, and we’ve responded to their
feedback. In April 2019, we increased the amount that levy-payers can transfer to
smaller employers or other organisations from 10 to 25% of their funds each year,
helping them use their levy funds to support apprenticeship starts in their supply
chain or meet local skills shortages.
The number of employer-designed apprenticeship standards available now stands at
440, giving employers more choice than ever and allowing them to spend their levy
funds to develop the skills they need.
Since April 2016, we have provided ongoing face-to-face support for over 1,100 of
the largest levy-paying employers through our national account managers. Since
April 2018, we have extended support over the phone to a further 3,500 large levy-
paying employers. Our support focuses on helping these businesses to build large-
scale, high-quality programmes that deliver a return on their investment.
We have also led a major awareness-raising campaign among the remaining levy-
paying employers, raising awareness of the opportunity to utilise their investment and
helping them understand how to use transfers.
Nic Dakin: [248025]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the proportion
of employer apprenticeship levy funds that will be used in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021
and (d) 2022; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Milton:
Since 2017, we have introduced substantial changes to the apprenticeship funding
system that make it challenging to predict the proportion of levy funds that will be
used this year and over the next few years.
The apprenticeships system is now employer-led and so employers can choose
which apprenticeships they offer and when. This means that the use of levy funds is a
matter for individual employers. We do not expect employers to use all of their levy
funds, but they are able to.
The provider and employer market continues to adapt to the reforms to the
apprenticeships system that were made in 2017. We have also made additional
changes to funding policy this year, increasing the cap on transfers from 10% to 25%
and are reducing co-investment for small employers from 10% to 5%. The effect of
these changes on behaviour will only become apparent in the future.
In combination, these factors mean that it is not possible to make a single reliable
estimate of future levy usage.
When the reforms were designed, we estimated that employers would use around
half of the levy funds available to them, on average, once the changes to the
apprenticeships programme had bedded in. However, levy-paying employers have
taken on fewer starts and used a smaller proportion of their levy funds than
anticipated. Nevertheless, we expect employers to use an increasing proportion of
their levy funds as they continue to develop their use of apprenticeships, and as a
consequence of employers choosing more higher-cost, higher-level apprenticeships
since 2017.
The forthcoming Spending Review, announced by my right hon. Friend, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer at Spring Statement, will determine the level of funding
for the apprenticeship programme from April 2020. As part of this process we will
consider any changes that may be required to future funding arrangements, and the
impact this might have on employers’ use of their levy funds. Until then it is not
possible to estimate employers’ use of their levy funds from 2020 onwards.
Nic Dakin: [248026]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department made
before the introduction of the apprenticeship levy of the (a) proportion of apprenticeship
levy funds that employers would use, (b) number of apprenticeships that would be
delivered and (c) amount of employer apprenticeship levy funds that would be unspent
between 2017 and 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Milton:
In forecasts made before the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, it was
anticipated that employers would use 13% of the levy funds available to them in the
2017-18 financial year. Data from the apprenticeship service show that employers
used 9% (£191m) of the funds available to them in 2017-18.
Our annual budgets for the current Spending Review period (to the end of the 2019-
20 financial year) were set to fund 3 million high quality apprenticeship starts by
2020, based on the mix of training levels and subjects that we expected employers to
choose.
The apprenticeship levy helps to fund all apprenticeships for levy and non levy-paying
employers. At the time that the levy was introduced, it was anticipated that a
proportion of levy funds would remain unspent by employers. We have anticipated
that employers will not use all the funds available to them, though they are able to.
The annual apprenticeships budget, set in advance by HM Treasury, is not
dependent on levy receipts and must fund all learners in the system. When allocating
this budget to fund apprenticeships, we included sufficient flexibility to accommodate
variations in the level of employer demand.
Nic Dakin: [248030]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria his Department is using to
assess the performance of the apprenticeship levy; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Milton:
We have implemented a range of reforms to ensure more high quality apprenticeship
opportunities, including the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, new funding
system and industry-designed standards. Our reforms are still relatively recent and it
will take time for the full benefits of the apprenticeships programme to be realised.
Our apprenticeships reform programme benefits realisation strategy, published in
March 2017, sets out a broad range of performance measures for the programme.
Measures include the number of apprenticeship starts, earnings upon completion,
results from employer and learner surveys and the Further Education (FE) Skills
Index, which is a measure of the productivity impact of the programme over time.
The Skills Index enables us to compare the value of skills investments across the FE
sector, including apprenticeships. The Skills Index looks at the number of learners
and the employment rate for those learners as well as expected additional earnings.
We have added a value of 2% to apprenticeships between the 2016/17 and 2017/18
academic years which we attribute to an increased volume of advanced and higher
apprenticeship achievers as well as a small shift towards sectors with higher wage
returns.
We publish annual updates against our progress. Our last update, published on 30
April 2019, can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-reform-programme-
benefits-realisation-strategy.
Nic Dakin: [248031]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2019 to
Question 243420, what data the Government uses to determine the number of (a)
apprenticeships delivered in each sector and (b) apprenticeship levy funded
apprenticeships delivered in each sector; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Milton:
The Education and Skills Funding Agency does not require levy-paying employers to
document their industry sector when registering an apprenticeship service account,
neither does it require employers who do not pay the levy to register an industry
sector before training their apprentices.
For the period covering the 2012/13 to 2016/17 academic years, the Department for
Education used the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) matched with the Inter-
Departmental Business Register to determine the number of apprenticeship starts in
each industry sector. This information is published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-
characteristics. Figures for the 2017/18 academic year are planned to be published in
Autumn 2019.
The department also uses data from the apprenticeship service and the ILR to obtain
figures on the number of levy and non-levy supported apprenticeship starts broken
down by apprenticeship sector subject area. The latest statistics covering sector
subject area breakdowns for apprenticeship starts are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-
first-release-sfr.
Nic Dakin: [248032]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the apprenticeship levy is
being spent on MBA or equivalent qualifications.
Anne Milton:
Successful completion of the level 7 Senior Leader standard may lead to either of the
three qualifications: MA, MSc or MBA.
The total percentage spend by both levy and non-levy employers on the level 7
Senior Leader apprenticeship standard for the past 2 financial years is below:
YEAR STANDARD PERCENTAGE
2017-18 Senior Leader level 7 Standard 0.02%
2018-19* Senior Leader level 7 Standard 0.51%
TOTAL : 0.28%
*2018-19 is provisional data.
The figures are based on the number of all apprenticeship starts for the level 7 Senior
Leader apprenticeship standard by levy and non-levy employers against total
apprenticeship spend for both financial years.
Details of the Senior Leader standard can be found on the Institute for
Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s website at:
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/senior-leader/.
Nic Dakin: [248033]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the highest amount is of apprenticeship
levy funds that an employer can spend for a single apprenticeship.
Anne Milton:
The new 30-band funding structure was introduced on 1 August 2018 for all new
apprenticeship starts. Details can be found within ‘Apprenticeship Funding in
England’ published on GOV.UK, available here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm
ent_data/file/788312/Apprenticeship_funding_in_England_from_April_2019.pdf.
These bands range from £1,500 to £27,000 and set the maximum price that the
government will contribute towards the training and assessment for an individual
apprenticeship.
The funding band upper limit of £27,000 is the maximum amount of government
funds that levy-paying employers can draw down from their apprenticeship service
accounts to put towards the cost of an individual apprenticeship.
For non-levy-paying employers, at least 95% of the apprenticeship training and
assessment costs will be paid for by the government, up to the agreed funding band
limit.
We know that some employers will wish to use specific delivery models or provide
additional training to their apprentices, which goes beyond what is set out in the
standard. Employers are free to agree a price above the funding band upper limit but
must pay for any additional costs above this.
Food: Curriculum
Dan Jarvis: [R] [249306]
To ask the Secretary of State for the department for Education, whether his Department
plans to introduce food insecurity into the school curriculum.
Nick Gibb:
The Government is committed to addressing food insecurity, particularly for children.
Our eligibility criteria for free school meals support children from the most
disadvantaged backgrounds by providing a free and healthy school meal each day.
Including food insecurity in the National Curriculum is a recommendation arising from
the Children’s Future Food Inquiry. We welcome this report and will reflect carefully
on it over the coming months and consider how we can best respond to the important
issues raised.
The National Curriculum on design and technology in secondary schools covers
cooking, emphasising the importance of this as a crucial life skill that enables pupils
to feed themselves and others affordably and well. The National Curriculum for
citizenship in secondary schools sets out that teaching should prepare pupils to
manage their money well, make sound financial decisions, and plan for future
financial needs. From primary school through to secondary, the mathematics National
Curriculum covers money and how mathematics is necessary for financial literacy.
Overseas Students: EU Nationals
Paul Farrelly: [249238]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether non-UK EU students will be able to
take out loans with the Students Loans Company after the UK leaves the EU.
Chris Skidmore:
We recognise how important it is that students and institutions have information on
eligibility for student support before applications for courses open.
Applications for courses starting in academic year 2020/21 do not open until
September 2019. Eligibility and fee arrangements for prospective EU students who
apply for tuition fee loans and student finance support in that academic year via the
Student Loans Company is under consideration.
Primary Education: Assessments
Tracy Brabin: [249349]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have applied to
participate in the pilot test of reception baseline assessment in the Autumn term of 2019-
20.
Nadhim Zahawi:
The next stage in the reception baseline assessment development process is a large-
scale voluntary pilot, commencing in September 2019. Schools were able to sign up
to take part in the pilot from 1 March to 5 April 2019. We have received a very good
response; we intend to publish the number of schools that have applied to participate
in the pilot in the near future.
Pupils: Per Capita Costs
Helen Jones: [249222]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much per pupil funding was spent on
each student over 16 and in full-time education in Warrington in each year since 2010.
Anne Milton:
16 to 19 funding is based on a national funding formula with a standard base rate of
£4,000 for a full-time 16 or 17 year old student, and additional funding related to the
characteristics of students and their learning programmes. This formula has operated
since 2013/14. A different national funding formula operated before that, but the
figures for the 2 are not consistent.
The average 16 to 19 funding per student for institutions in Warrington is shown
below:
YEAR AVERAGE FUNDING PER STUDENT
2013/14 £4,547
2014/15 £4,446
2015/16 £4,441
2016/17 £4,439
2017/18 £4,441
2018/19 £4,383
The table is based on formula funding per student derived from annual allocations
covering 16 to 19 provision, to institutions based in Warrington (excluding special
schools). Further funding is provided through student support, for high needs
provision and from 2018/19 onwards the industry placement capacity and delivery
fund.
Note that this figure includes both full- and part-time students as we do not allocate
funding separately for these 2 groups. The vast majority of 16-19 year old students
are full-time.
Schools: Counselling
Paul Farrelly: [249236]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2019 to
Question 233483 on Schools: Counselling, what steps he is taking to (a) set minimum
standards for and (b) ensure access throughout England to school counselling services.
Nick Gibb:
It is up to schools to decide what counselling support to provide. The ‘Counselling in
Schools’ guidance referred to in the previous answer, available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools, provides detailed
advice on the benefits that counselling can bring to a school and how to provide
access to safe and effective services. It gives strong advice that, when
commissioning external counselling, schools should look to use providers that can
give assurance the counsellor is properly trained, supported, professionally
supervised, insured and working within agreed policy frameworks and standards, and
accountable to a professional body with a clearly articulated complaints procedure. It
also sets out that where schools employ their own counsellor, they should employ
staff with a minimum of a diploma in counselling (typically two years part time study),
who are on a voluntary register that has been accredited by the Professional
Standards Authority, and ideally hold accreditation with a professional body.
Special Educational Needs: Warrington
Helen Jones: [249223]
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much high needs funding was allocated
to Warrington in each year since 2010.
Nadhim Zahawi:
Local authorities are required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable
schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN)
and disabilities, up to the value of £6,000. This funding comes from the schools’ block
of the dedicated schools grant (DSG).
When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000,
the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess
costs. This top-up funding, and funding for special schools comes from the local
authority’s high needs budget. In December 2018, we announced an additional £250
million in high needs funding up to 2020, bringing Warrington’s total high needs
funding to £20.278 million in 2019-20.
In 2013, the schools and high needs budgets within the DSG were created. As the
DSG includes other budgets such as the early years budget, the department is
unable to provide comparable figures before 2013-14.
The schools and high needs allocations for Warrington since 2013-14 can be found at
the following links:
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-2013-to-2014
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-2014-to-2015
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2015-to-
2016
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2016-to-
2017
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2017-to-
2018
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-
2019
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2019-to-
2020
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Birds: Pest Control
Sir Nicholas Soames: [249802]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information
his Department holds on the consultation conducted by Natural England with countryside
organisations in advance of withdrawing three General Licences on the 24 April 2019.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 29 April 2019 to PQ
246908.
Dangerous Dogs
Jim Fitzpatrick: [247571]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government
will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to allow
rehoming organisations to rehome banned section 1 dogs.
Jim Fitzpatrick: [247572]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the scientific
evidence is for determining that the four breeds of dog banned under the Dangerous
Dogs Act 1991 pose more of a risk to the public then other dog breeds.
Jim Fitzpatrick: [247573]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions
he has had with animal welfare organisations on the rehoming of dogs banned under
section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
David Rutley:
The evidence I provided the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA), as part of its review into controlling dangerous dogs,
sets out what can be done with respect to the transfer of ownership of prohibited
dogs. Defra has also had discussions with animal welfare organisations on the issue.
Evidence is available via the following link:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvfru/1892/1892.pdf
In relation to dog attacks, the Metropolitan Police provided evidence to last year’s
review on controlling dangerous dogs by the EFRA Committee which showed that pit
bull terriers were disproportionately involved in dog attacks (section 3 Dangerous
Dogs Act 1991 offences, completed cases).
The Metropolitan Police figures indicated that in 2015-16 pit bulls were responsible
for 19.3% (92) of all reported dog attacks in Greater London out of a total of 468
cases. Pit bull terriers are considered to represent much less than 19.3% of the dog
population and it is concerning that one type of dog, which does not have high levels
of ownership, is disproportionately responsible for that many dog attacks in London.
In addition, information collected by Defra shows the pit bull terrier to be
disproportionately involved in fatal dog attacks, with seven fatalities out of 34 since
2005 caused by pit bull terriers.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit
Stephen Doughty: [249309]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the
response of 5 March 2019 to freedom of information request number FOI2019/02691,
how many additional Defra group staff have been placed in EU exit roles since 31
December 2018.
David Rutley:
Defra have placed an additional c.700 staff into EU Exit work between 31 December
2018 and 31 March 2019.
The figures for the end of April have not yet been published.
Fly-tipping
Douglas Chapman: [248704]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate the
Government has made of the cost of clearance of fly-tipped materials by local authorities
in England during 2017-18.
Douglas Chapman: [248705]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fly-
tipping incidents were reported by local authorities in England in 2017-18.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
In 2017/18 local authorities in England reported dealing with just under 1 million
(998,000) fly-tipping incidents.
From 2017/18 the Government has stopped producing indicative costs to local
authorities of costs of clearance of fly-tipping because the standard cost units are
now more than ten years out of date.
We still collect actual data on clearance costs for ‘tipper lorry load’ and
‘significant/multi load’ incident categories. In 2017/18 34,000 or 4% of total incidents
were of ‘tipper lorry load’ size or larger. For these large fly-tipping incidents, the cost
of clearance to local authorities in England in 2017/18 was £12.2 million.
Further data on fly-tipping is published at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-
tipping-in-england.
Fracking: Landfill
Lee Rowley: [248065]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many landfill
sites in the UK are permitted to dispose of (a) waste water sludge, (b) sand and (c) filter
cake produced from hydraulic fracturing operations.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
Any sand or sludge resulting from hydraulic fracturing operations will form in the filter
cake that is produced as part of the waste water treatment process. This solid waste
needs to be tested to determine if it is hazardous or non-hazardous before it can be
disposed of at a landfill site. Depending on the results, the filter cake can be sent to
any landfill site that has the necessary permits in place. There are currently 21
hazardous waste landfill sites and 245 non-hazardous waste landfill sites permitted in
England.
Fracking: Water
Lee Rowley: [248064]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many waste
water facilities in the UK are permitted to treat waste water from hydraulic fracturing
operations.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
This is a devolved matter and the below information relates to England only.
There are currently five facilities in England with the appropriate environmental
permits that would allow for the treatment of the waste water from hydraulic
fracturing. There are a large number of sites around the country which, subject to
obtaining the relevant permits, could accept and treat waste water from hydraulic
fracturing.
Lee Rowley: [248067]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what process did
waste water go through in order to be (a) treated and (b) disposed of following hydraulic
fracturing operations in 2018.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
The waste water from hydraulic fracturing was treated using a physio-chemical
process involving the precipitation and filtration of metal solids. Two waste streams
are produced from this treatment process – liquid effluent and solid filter cake. The
liquid effluent is tested to ensure it complies with the strict limits of the trade effluent
consent, and then disposed of to foul sewer. It then undergoes further treatment at
the sewage treatment works, prior to discharge. The filter cake is tested to determine
if it is hazardous or non-hazardous, and then sent to a suitably permitted landfill site.
Packaging
Jim Shannon: [249304]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is
taking to encourage online businesses to use environmentally friendly packaging.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England published in
December last year sets out our plans to reduce plastic pollution and move towards a
more circular economy. This builds on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment
Plan to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste.
Our priority is to prevent or reduce waste in the first place. The Packaging (Essential
Requirements) Regulations already require businesses, including online retailers, to
ensure that all their packaging does not exceed what is needed to make sure that the
products are safe, hygienic and acceptable for both the packed product and for the
consumer. As part of the Resources and Waste Strategy, we have committed to
review the effectiveness of these regulations by the end of next year. These
regulations apply to those responsible for the packing or filling of products into
packaging and those importing packed or filled packaging into the UK from
elsewhere.
We are also consulting on reforms to the way we manage packaging waste. The
reforms to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations
will require producers to fund the full net cost of managing the packaging they place
on the market, once it becomes waste. This creates an incentive for companies,
including obligated online businesses, to use less packaging and to ensure that their
packaging can be recycled at end of life as it will reduce their costs in complying with
the regulations.
We have set out in our consultation options for how we want to enhance the incentive
for producers to make better packaging design choices. The options are for a
modulated fee system or a deposit fee system. These options provide a financial
incentive for producers, in addition to the full net cost fees, to move towards using
more easily recycled packaging materials and formats.
In addition to this, the consultation also sets out a proposal to require online
marketplace businesses to ensure that the packaging that is sold through their
websites from outside the UK is compliant with the regulations.
Poultry
Tim Loughton: [247537]
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the
Answers of 15 April 2019 to Questions 242653 and 242654, for what reason his
Department has not removed the White-Fronted Goose from schedule 2 of the Wildlife
and Countryside Act 1981 given that that goose is endangered on a similar level to the
Greenland White-Fronted Goose.
Dr Thérèse Coffey:
The European white fronted goose is not of global conservation concern so we do not
intend to add any protections for it.
EXITING THE EUROPEAN UNION
Brexit
Andrew Rosindell: [247652]
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether it remains
Government policy for the UK to leave the (a) Single Market and (b) Customs Union.
Mr Robin Walker:
Yes.
We are not seeking membership of the Single Market, or Customs Union, after we
leave the EU, but a bold and ambitious economic partnership. The Political
Declaration sets out a clear vision for the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
The negotiated Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration outline the EU and
UK's shared commitment to a free trade area for goods with no tariffs, quotas or rules
of origin requirements. The Prime Minister has been clear that we will have an
independent trade policy.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Bahrain: Human Rights and Press Freedom
Chi Onwurah: [249287]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment
he has made of the Bahraini ambassador to the UK Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammad
Alkhalifa’s record on human rights and press freedom in Bahrain.
Mark Field:
Bahrain is a human rights priority country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The UK’s relationship with the Government of Bahrain allows us to speak honestly
about a range of issues, including human rights and press freedom. We do not shy
away from sharing concerns at a senior level, including here in London.
Egypt: Gaza
Maria Caulfield: [R] [248728]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent
assessment he has made of the effect of the Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip on the
humanitarian situation in that region.
Mark Field:
Ministers and officials regularly raise the situation in Gaza with the Egyptian
Government both in London and in Cairo. We remain deeply concerned about the
human rights situation in Gaza and support the Palestinian Authority returning to
administer Gaza. The Foreign Secretary discussed Gaza with new Palestinian Prime
Minister Shtayyeh on 20 March. We continue to urge Israel, the Palestinian Authority
and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.
Middle East: Peace Negotiations
Steve Double: [248719]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent
discussions he has had with his US counterpart on that country’s Middle East peace plan.
Mark Field:
We continue to discuss US Middle East peace efforts with the US Administration,
including the Foreign Secretary with Jared Kushner on 10 April. We continue to
encourage the US Administration to bring forward detailed proposals for a viable
Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement that addresses the legitimate concerns of both
parties.
Oman: Detainees
Dr David Drew: [249192]
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make
representations to the Government of Oman on the Shuhuh 6; and what assessments he
undertakes of the human rights record of the Omani authorities.
Mark Field:
The Foreign Secretary has not raised the case in question, however human rights
forms part of our regular bilateral exchanges with the Omani Government including at
the recent Joint Working Group of 25 April. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
encourages all states to uphold their international human rights obligations. Any
allegations of human rights violations are concerning and must be thoroughly,
promptly and transparently investigated.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Antibiotics: Drug Resistance
Rosie Cooper: [248010]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to increase the uptake of (a) new and (b) underused vaccines to tackle
antimicrobial resistance.
Seema Kennedy:
‘Contained and controlled: The UK’s 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance’
recognises the important role of vaccines in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The United Kingdom supports the delivery and uptake of vaccines internationally
through UK Aid programmes, including the Global AMR Innovation Fund, the UK
Vaccine Network, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Vaccine Action Plan.
Through these programmes UK Aid supports initiatives to ensure that all low and
middle-income countries have introduced one or more new or underused vaccines by
2020.
In addition, our expert advisory committees are considering how vaccines can be
better employed to support the control of AMR in the UK.
More generally, vaccinations are a key part of the prevention strategy in the NHS
Long Term Plan. To help increase immunisation uptake, NHS England will undertake
a fundamental review of general practitioner vaccinations and immunisation
standards, funding and procurement. This will support the goal of preventing primary
and secondary infections.
Cancer
Rosie Cooper: [248011]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to support local health leaders to address inequalities in the cancer pathway.
Seema Kennedy:
Cancer Alliances are leading local transformation of cancer services and outcomes to
deliver the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan, which includes actions to reduce
health inequalities and ensure every one with cancer can access screening,
diagnosis and treatment services. To enable this, Cancer Alliances receive funding to
deliver improvement projects, which is adjusted for health need and deprivation of the
local population using the clinical commissioning group (CCG) weighted capitation
formula.
Each Cancer Alliance is regularly provided with data for their Alliance, CCGs and
trusts, as well as a comparison with the other Cancer Alliances and an England
benchmark. The Cancer Alliance Data, Evidence and Analysis Service is also
working with partners to produce inequality breakdowns of key cancer data for
Cancer Alliances to use, such as data on smoking prevalence by deprivation quintiles
at Cancer Alliance level. This data and analysis enables local system leaders to
understand inequalities and target actions to reduce them.
Rosie Cooper: [248013]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the adequacy of the time frame for improving cancer outcomes in the NHS Long Term
Plan.
Seema Kennedy:
The National Health Service can deliver on the ambitions to improve cancer
outcomes within England, set out within the NHS Long Term Plan, by rolling out the
interventions set out in the Long Term Plan; reducing variation across the country;
ensuring the right workforce is in place and is well supported; and harnessing and
quickly adopting research and innovation. Delivery of these actions is underway.
Cancer: Health Professions
Rosie Cooper: [248015]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to address vacancy rates in the NHS cancer workforce.
Seema Kennedy:
Health Education England (HEE) published its Cancer Workforce Plan in December
2017. It was developed in partnership with NHS England and the Five Year Forward
View partners and set out a delivery plan that ensures the National Health Service in
England has the right numbers of skilled staff to provide high quality care and
services to cancer patients at each stage in their care – from accurate early diagnosis
and treatment to living with cancer and end of life care.
The recommendations from this plan include actions to ensure the NHS have enough
staff with the right skills to deliver the funded activity set out in the Cancer Taskforce
Strategy by 2021, and focuses on priority professions to do this.
HEE is currently piloting its international recruitment programme related to the
Cancer Workforce Plan ambitions commencing with clinical radiologists, this will be
used with the intention to recruit at least 89 diagnostic radiographers from overseas.
Over summer 2019, HEE will work with NHS England, NHS Improvement and other
stakeholders, to understand the longer-term workforce implications for further
development of cancer services. This will include exploring sustainable growth
beyond 2021 in key professions including through continued investment in training
places, a greater focus on attracting and retaining students, workforce transformation
and improving the numbers of qualified professionals who go on to work in the NHS.
Cancer: Social Security Benefits
Rosie Cooper: [248014]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has
had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to ensure that the needs of cancer
patients are addressed in the benefits system.
Seema Kennedy:
There are regular discussions with Cabinet ministers on a wide range of subjects but
no specific discussions have taken place on the support for cancer patients within the
benefits system.
As described in the NHS Long Term Plan, personalised care and support planning is
being rolled out across the country, based upon the completion of holistic needs
assessment and provision of ongoing support to self-manage their health and
wellbeing. This will help ensure that the patient is signposted or referred to
community support, including information on financial matters, such as benefits, and
psychological support.
Cannabis: Medical Treatments
Sir Mike Penning: [247998]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral
contribution of 8 April 2019, Official Report, column 26, how the system of second
opinions on the prescribing of medical cannabis oil will be organised; and if he will make
a statement.
Sir Mike Penning: [247999]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his oral
contribution of 8 April 2019, Official Report, column 26, who will be responsible for
offering patients a second opinion on prescribing medical cannabis oil.
Seema Kennedy:
In line with routine clinical practice, patients wishing to seek a second opinion on the
National Health Service will be supported to do so. In the first instance, clinicians
should refer patients for a second opinion using their established protocols. If it is not
possible to obtain a second or further opinion using established protocols then trusts
are instructed to contact their NHS England Regional Medical Director who will be
able to offer further advice around a referral route. The NHS England Regional
Medical Directors will support trusts in identifying a suitable NHS specialist for a
second opinion.
Cervical Cancer
Andy Slaughter: [249244]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to help ensure the approval of the use of Pembrolizumab for the treatment of
cervical cancer given in line with its usage in the Republic of Ireland and the USA; and
when that drug will be made available to people with cervical cancer.
Seema Kennedy:
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was licensed on 12 June 2018 by the United States Food
and Drug Administration for use in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical
cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy.
However, pembrolizumab is not licensed for the treatment of cervical cancer in the
United Kingdom or in the European Union. To obtain a licence for this indication, the
Marketing Authorisation Holder of Keytruda (Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V.) would need
to submit an ‘extension of indication’ application to the European Medicines Agency
including evidence of safety and efficacy.
Diabetes: Diagnosis
Keith Vaz: [R] [247979]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his
Department has made of the potential role of dentists and oral health professionals in
supporting the diagnosis of diabetes.
Seema Kennedy:
The Department has no knowledge of any assessment or planned assessment into
the potential role of dentists and oral health professionals in supporting the diagnosis
of diabetes.
Gambling
Richard Graham: [910735]
What steps he is taking to improve support and treatment for people with a gambling
addiction.
Matt Hancock:
We want to reduce gambling-related harm, protect the vulnerable and make sure that
those experiencing problems are getting the help they need. The NHS Long Term
Plan set out our commitment to invest in expanding National Health Service specialist
clinics to help more people with serious gambling problems.
Health and Care Professions Council: Fees and Charges
Peter Heaton-Jones: [249347]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) discussions he has
had with representatives of the Health and Care Professions Council and (b)
representations his Department has received on the potential effects on health
professionals of that organisation's decision to increase registration fees.
Stephen Hammond:
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has many
discussions with stakeholders across the health and care sector. I have written to the
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) asking it to consider the impact of its
proposed fee rise on part-time workers, which was raised by hon. Members at a
Westminster Hall Debate held on 14 March 2019. The HCPC responded to this letter
on 1 May, explaining the practical difficulties and potential perverse incentives of
introducing differential fees for part-time workers.
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 79
items of correspondence received since 24 September 2018 about the HCPC’s
decision to increase registration fees. This figure represents correspondence
received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only. In addition to this,
the Department has received nine Written Parliamentary Questions on this matter,
and engaged with hon. Members at a Westminster Hall Debate on the proposed
HCPC fee rise on 14 March 2019. The HCPC is independent of Government and
funded by registrants’ fees on a cost recovery basis.
Health Services and Social Services: Vacancies
Louise Haigh: [249334]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has
made of the number of workforce vacancies in the health and social care sectors.
Stephen Hammond:
Posts may be vacant, for a variety of reasons including maternity and career breaks.
Trusts make decisions based on local needs about how they fill these posts, including
looking at short-term options for cover, including bank and agency staff.
Since April 2017, NHS Improvement collect vacancy rates of National Health Service
staff from individual NHS trusts and publish them as part of their ‘Quarterly
performance of the NHS provider sector’ report found at the following link:
https://improvement.nhs.uk/documents/4942/Performance_of_the_NHS_provider_se
ctor_for_the_quarter_ended_31_Dec_2018.pdf
As at 31 December there were 100,521 full time equivalent vacancies in NHS trusts,
this is an 8.4% vacancy rate. Of these, approximately 80% and 85% of the nursing
and medical vacancies are being filled by bank and agency staff.
Skills for Care estimate that there are approximately 110,000 jobs that are vacant in
adult social scare, this is an 8% vacancy rate.
The NHS People Plan sets out the next step in our mission to make the NHS a world
class employer and deliver the workforce which the NHS needs.
Health Services: Children and Young People
Steve McCabe: [249197]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Children
and Young People's Transformation Programme in the NHS Long Term Plan, published
in January 2019, if he will publish the timeframe for the implementation of the essential
paediatric Workforce implementation plan; and take steps to ensure that the workforce
implementation plan will be funded from the public health budget.
Stephen Hammond:
The National Health Service budget will increase by £33.9 billion in cash terms, the
equivalent of £20.5 billion in real terms by 2023/24, reflecting the fact that the NHS is
the Government’s top spending priority.
The NHS Long Term Plan prioritises services for children and young people. It
provides a clear focus on improving the health of children and young people across
mental health, learning disabilities, cancer and elsewhere. It is critical in prioritising
services for children and young people in future, and it will continue to influence the
wider issues that impact on children’s health. Creation of a Transformation
Programme for Children and Young People will provide an improved strategic and
coordinated response to meet the diverse needs of children and young people.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has asked
Baroness Harding to take forward the development of a People Plan, as part of the
overall implementation plan for the Long Term Plan, in order to ensure the challenges
of supply, reform, culture and leadership can be met. This will sit alongside the
broader Implementation Plan that will be developed at all levels to make the Long
Term Plan a reality. An interim People Plan will be published this spring and a full
plan will be published within two months of the conclusion of the Spending Review.
Health Services: Rural Areas
Sir Greg Knight: [249234]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his
Department has made of patients' preferences and needs in determining the proximity of
the provision of hospital services in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Greg Knight: [249235]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had
with health trusts on maintaining adequate, locally-provided hospital services in rural
areas; and if he will make a statement.
Seema Kennedy:
Views on patients’ preferences around the proximity of hospital services are not
collected nationally. However, individual clinical commissioning groups may consult
with patients on such matters as part of their patient participation and engagement
work.
The Department has not held discussions with health trusts on maintaining adequate,
locally-provided hospital services in rural areas. However, the NHS Long Term Plan
confirms that a standard model of delivery will be developed for use in smaller acute
hospitals who serve rural populations.
Infant Foods
Mrs Sharon Hodgson: [247997]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) dates,
(b) attendees and (c) topics of meetings his Department has had with representatives of
the formula milk industry in 2018 and 2019 to date.
Seema Kennedy:
The Department has provided details of meetings between Departmental officials with
representatives of the formula milk industry. Meetings organised by executive
agencies or the Food Standards Agency have not been included. We have not
disclosed details of staff attending as they were not Senior Civil Service grade. The
information is shown in the following table.
DATE ORGANISATION DISCUSSION
26 February 2018 Nestle Presentation on action on
sustainable diets
26 March 2018 Nestle Phone call
25 April 2018 Danone and Nutrica Early Years Nutrition
Partnership
6 June 2018 British Specialist Nutrition
Association (BSNA), Nestle,
Nutrica
Notifications for Foods for
Special Medical Purposes
22 June 2018 Nestle Planning for visit
4 July 2018 Nestle Visit
11 July 2018 Danone Aptamil
30 July 2018 Danone Childhood Obesity Chapter 2
14 August 2018 Nestle Childhood Obesity Chapter 2
22 August 2018 BSNA Phone meeting
10 September 2018 Danone and Nestle Advertising roundtable
14 November 2018 BSNA Nutrition legislation meeting
15 November 2019 Danone Reformulation, Brexit pressure,
and Chapter
22 November 2019 BSNA Forthcoming CODEX
CCNFSDU40
Lung Cancer: Diagnosis
Sir Mark Hendrick: [247983]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is
taking to raise awareness of lung cancer diagnosis among non-smokers.
Ben Bradley: [248070]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise
awareness of lung cancer among people that have never smoked cigarettes.
Seema Kennedy:
Public Health England (PHE) continues to run awareness campaigns focused on the
symptoms of lung cancer where the messaging is relevant to both smokers and non-
smokers.
For example, the PHE Be Clear on Cancer ‘Respiratory Symptoms’ campaign
encourages those with a persistent cough or inappropriate breathlessness to visit
their doctor, with the aim of improving earlier diagnosis of heart and lung disease,
including lung cancer. The campaign has run twice nationally, in 2016 and 2017. This
campaign can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/be-clear-on-cancer
The precursor to this campaign centred on one main symptom, that of a persistent
cough, as a possible symptom of lung cancer. This lung cancer campaign ran
nationally three times, in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
The Be Clear on Cancer campaign materials, explain that although lung cancer is
more common in smokers, those who have never smoked can also get the disease,
including details of the number of people diagnosed with lung cancer each year. The
leaflet is available at the following link:
https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/46/resources/1744
Mental Health Services: West Lancashire
Rosie Cooper: [249245]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made on
the number of mental health beds that are currently available in West Lancashire.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
Information on the number of mental health beds is not held at constituency level.
The average number of consultant-led, overnight, mental illness beds available in
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust is 518 as at Q3 2018/19.
Note:
Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust (RW5) is used as an indication of consultant-
led mental illness beds available in West Lancashire
Source: KH03 NHS England and NHS Improvement
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-
occupancy/
Mental Illness: Children
Rosie Cooper: [248004]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to
identify a potential link between perinatal mental illness and emotional and behavioural
problems in children.
Rosie Cooper: [248005]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the effectiveness of NHS services to (a) identify and (b) treat perinatal mental illnesses.
Rosie Cooper: [248006]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has
made an assessment of the potential link between perinatal mental illness and emotional
and behavioural problems in children.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The Chief Medical Officer found in her 2014 annual report, ‘The health of the 51%:
women’, that the evidence shows that mental health problems in pregnancy and the
first year after birth are experienced by up to 20% of women, and if untreated, this
can affect the emotional and reasoning development in their children. Perinatal
mental illnesses are associated with risks of negative child outcomes, which can
persist into late adolescence and adulthood. These risks are more likely in children of
women with chronic mental illness or who are living in poverty. Further information is
available in the report which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officer-annual-report-
2014-womens-health
In addition, the costs of perinatal mental health problems, a 2014 report by the Centre
for Mental Health and London School of Economics identified that 72% of the cost of
untreated mental illness relates to adverse impact on the child. This report is
available at the following link:
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/costs-of-perinatal-mental-
health-problems
The NHS is implementing its plans to identify and treat more people with perinatal
mental illnesses. The NHS Five Year Forward View for Mental Health included a
commitment to increase access to perinatal mental health services to an additional
30,000 women by 2020/21. The work is underway to build capacity and capability in
specialist perinatal mental health services. In April 2019, NHS England confirmed that
new and expectant mothers are now able to access specialist perinatal mental health
community services in every part of the country.
The NHS Long Term Plan contains an ambition to build on this with a further 24,000
women to be able to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24.
Specialist care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth,
which will provide an extra year of support.
Public Health England leads on the Improving Prevention and Population Health work
stream of the National Health Service Maternity Transformation Programme. One of
its priority areas is to reduce the impact of perinatal mental illness. This can be
viewed at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/mat-transformation/
NHS
Rehman Chishti: [910734]
What steps he is taking to secure the long-term future of the NHS.
Matt Hancock:
We are increasing the National Health Service budget by £33.9 billion in cash terms
over the next five years. This major investment will support the NHS to continue to
deliver world class care. The NHS Long Term Plan has set out a vision for the NHS,
ensuring that every penny is well spent.
Opiates: Misuse
Chris Ruane: [249231]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30
April 2019 to Question 247598, on opioids: misuse, what assessment he has made of the
potential merits of monitoring dependence and addiction rates in relation to commonly
prescribed opioids; and if he will make a statement.
Seema Kennedy:
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of monitoring dependence and
addiction rates in relation to commonly prescribed opioids.
Public Health England is undertaking a public health evidence review of available
data and published evidence on the problems associated with some prescribed
medicines, including dependence and withdrawal, including opioids. The review is
due to report in summer 2019.
Palliative Care
Rosie Cooper: [248012]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the effectiveness of the NHS Long Term Plan in achieving the Government’s
commitment to end variation in end-of-life care by 2020.
Caroline Dinenage:
‘Our Commitment to you for end of life care’, published in July 2016, set out what
everyone should expect from their care at the end of life and the actions we are
taking to make high quality care a reality for all. Since its publication, NHS England
has been working to deliver the Choice Commitment, as set out in the Government’s
Mandate to the National Health Service. Through its National Programme Board for
End of life Care, a range of activity has been coordinated and undertaken with all key
system partners care and stakeholders to improve equity of access to, and
experience of, palliative and end of life care. A progress report was published the
following year on 21 September 2017.
Key to reducing variation and delivering personalised care is ensuring that patients
are identified as likely to be in their last year of life. This means their end of life care
can be improved by personalising it according to their needs and preferences at an
earlier stage. However, it is also vital that services are available to provide the care to
people in the community and in their homes in a timely way. The Long Term Plan
published on 7 January 2019, set out significant investment and activity to drive
further improvement in both these areas in support of the Government’s Choice
Commitment.
Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination
Rosie Cooper: [248009]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of the effect on public health of changing the dosing schedule for pneumococcal
conjugate vaccine from three to two doses.
Seema Kennedy:
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a two-
dose schedule for the infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar13 is
appropriate for the United Kingdom.
The JCVI’s advice was given full consideration, taking into account the potential
public health implications, such as impact on cases of pneumococcal disease, before
a decision was made to implement it. The decision is based on the effectiveness of
the vaccine and years of high uptake, which has helped to provide protection to the
rest of the population and has successfully controlled many types of pneumococcal
disease in this country.
The evidence shows that two doses will sustain the excellent results we have already
seen. We are confident that the world-class disease surveillance system we have in
this country means our expert committee can closely monitor the impact of this
change.
School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme
Dan Jarvis: [R] [249307]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has
any plans to make the Free Fruit and Vegetable Scheme available to all school children
in England.
Jackie Doyle-Price:
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme provides children in Key Stage 1 attending
state-funded primary schools with one free portion of fruit or vegetable every school
day. There are no current plans to extend the Scheme.
Vaccination
Rosie Cooper: [248007]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to
respond to the consultation on the cost-effectiveness methodology for vaccination
programmes.
Seema Kennedy:
Although we had hoped to publish the Government’s response to the report of the
Committee on Cost Effectiveness Methodology for Immunisation Programmes and
Procurement in April, alongside a summary of consultation responses, the
Government’s response is still being considered, and a publication date is still to be
decided.
Rosie Cooper: [248008]
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made
of trends in the level of vaccination in England.
Seema Kennedy:
Public Health England monitors trends in vaccine coverage levels and works with
NHS England to increase vaccine uptake to offer the best possible protection against
vaccine preventable diseases.
Coverage for most routine universal childhood vaccination programmes is reported
through the COVER (cover of vaccination Evaluated Rapidly) programme. Coverage
data can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#cover-of-vaccination-
evaluated-rapidly-programme
HOME OFFICE
Alcoholic Drinks: Sales
Jo Platt: [248072]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has
to review the requirement for holographic ID for the purchase of alcohol.
Victoria Atkins:
The Home Office has no plans to review the requirement for a holographic mark or an
ultra-violet feature on identification used for the purchase of alcohol. In due course,
the mandatory licensing condition that includes this requirement will need to be
amended to allow the use of digital forms of identification. However, at present there
are no industry standards on which to base such an amendment.
Drugs: Crime
Ben Bradley: [245982]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has
made of the potential links between retail crime incidents and illegal drug use.
Victoria Atkins:
We know that there is a strong link between drug misuse and offending, and
offenders who use heroin and crack cocaine are estimated to commit 45% of all
acquisitive crime.
The Government recognises that there are strong links between drug misuse and
offending. Our Drug Strategy is clear that supporting people to address their
dependence on drugs through treatment and recovery support is critical to tackling
the risk of reoffending. This includes the use of health-based, rehabilitative
interventions within the criminal justice system to help prevent further substance
misuse and offending.
In addition, I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group which brings together
key partners to drive forward progress on tackling retail crime.
Home Office: Staff
Jessica Morden: [249252]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many FTE staff work in the
Third Country Unit in her Department.
Caroline Nokes:
The total number of active staff who work in the Third Country Unit is currently 17.12
FTE.
The Third Country Unit are currently recruiting staff, and this is expected to be
concluded by the end of June, at which time the total will be 35 FTE.
Immigration: EU Nationals
Carol Monaghan: [249330]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the impact assessment
on the European temporary leave to remain scheme included an assessment of the effect
of that scheme on the differentiated system of academic courses across the UK.
Carol Monaghan: [249331]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation the
Government has had with EU students in Scotland on the European temporary leave to
remain scheme.
Carol Monaghan: [249332]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to
prepare for a potential increase in applications for Tier 4 visas from students as a result of
the European temporary leave to remain scheme.
Carol Monaghan: [249333]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation she has had
with her counterpart in the Scottish Government on the potential increase in applications
for Tier 4 visas as a result of the European temporary leave to remain scheme.
Caroline Nokes:
The transitional arrangements under European Temporary Leave to Remain will only
be required in the event that the UK leaves the EU without securing a deal. The
Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal remains our top priority.
The Government has regular contact with representatives of the education sector,
and the Scottish Government, and will continue to consult with the relevant
stakeholders during the course of our 12 month engagement with stakeholders on the
UK’s future skills-based immigration system.
As we move towards the future system, the Government will continue to consult with
internal stakeholders to ensure that operational capability is given due consideration
as we build an immigration system that works for the whole of the UK, including the
education sector.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle: [249352]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22
February 2019 to Question 221003 on Immigration: EU Nationals, whether organisations
have been contracted to translate the settled status registration (a) process and (b) app
into British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement.
Caroline Nokes:
The EU Settlement Scheme is supported by a Grant Scheme to support various
groups including deaf people. We will announce further details in due course.
All EU Settlement Scheme communications campaign videos, including video
guidance on how to use the app, as well as all translated versions, are subtitled.
These videos are available on Gov.uk.
The Settlement Resolution Centre which provides help and information to individuals
completing their EU Settlement Scheme application can be contacted via e-mail.
Immigration: Reviews
Afzal Khan: [249360]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reviews his
Department is undertaking into immigration issues; and what the topic is of each of those
reviews.
Caroline Nokes:
The Home Office is conducting a number of reviews across the immigration system,
including, the Wendy Williams lessons learned review, the forward-looking Borders,
Immigration and Citizenship System review and Darra Singh’s assessment of the
Home Office’s response to the use of DNA evidence in immigration cases.
It is important that we reflect very closely on our policies and our rules to ensure we
have an immigration system that provides control but is also fair and humane.
Therefore at any time, as a matter of routine, the Home Office will be reviewing
aspects of the performance and operation of the immigration system.
Knives: Crime
Paul Farrelly: [249237]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of
the implications for his policies of the findings of the College of Policing's knife crime
briefing published in April 2019.
Victoria Atkins:
We welcome the Knife Crime Evidence Briefing published by the College of Policing
on 27 April as a valuable contribution to the response to knife crime and serious
violence. The report is consistent with the evidence and approach that we set out in
the Serious Violence Strategy which we published in April last year. Specifically, the
briefing supports the Government’s view that tackling knife crime and serious
violence cannot be solely focused on law enforcement, but it should also involve a
multi-agency approach involving a wide range of sectors, including education, health,
social services, housing, youth services, victim services and others. This is why we
launched our consultation on a new legal duty to ensure public bodies take action to
prevent serious violence on 1 April. The consultation explores how a legal duty will
support effective multi-agency work. It is open to everyone to respond and can be
found here https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/serious-violence-new-legal-
duty-to-support-multi-agency-action. The consultation closes on 28 May.
The College of Policing briefing is consistent with the approach we are tak-ing
through the £22 million Early Intervention Youth Fund, which is already supporting 29
projects delivering interventions to young people at risk of becoming involved in knife
crime and serious violence. We have also launched the £200 million Youth
Endowment Fund, which will be delivered over the next 10 years to support
interventions with children and young people at risk of involvement in crime and
violence, focusing on those most at risk to steer them away from violence and to offer
them a better future. In addition, our national knife crime media campaign - #knifefree
– is raising awareness of the consequences of knife crime amongst young people,
and through the Offensive Weapons Bill we will be introducing new Knife Crime
Prevention Orders to help the police divert young people who they know are at risk of
becoming involved in knife crime, to make more positive life choices.
Lancashire Constabulary: Expenditure
Sir Mark Hendrick: [247984]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much Lancashire
Constabulary spent on providing policing resources to sporting events throughout
Lancashire in (a) 2018 and (b) 2014.
Mr Nick Hurd:
Spending information of this nature is not held centrally by the Home Office.
It is for elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how
their force’s resources are deployed, including those to provide public order support
to sporting events.
Police: Horses
Sir Mark Hendrick: [247985]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police horses have
died as a result of injuries sustained whilst on active duty in (a) England and (b)
Lancashire in each of the in the last five years.
Mr Nick Hurd:
The Home Office does not hold centrally any information on the number of police
horses injured whilst on duty in service of police forces.
Police: Pensions
Mr Jim Cunningham: [249822]
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is his Department
taking to tackle the variations in the payment of police pensions to widows and widowers
in the constituent parts of the UK.
Mr Nick Hurd:
Policing is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Scottish
Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for the design and
funding of police pensions, including provisions for widows and widowers, in those
parts of the United Kingdom. The Government takes decisions on public service
pensions in line with its duty to ensure that public services are affordable, sustainable
and fair.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Parliament: Huawei
Jo Platt: [248073]
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of
Commons Commission, whether Huawei equipment is used in the parliamentary (a)
telecoms and communications network and (b) security and surveillance network.
Tom Brake:
[Holding answer 1 May 2019]: No Huawei equipment is used in the parliamentary
telecoms, communications, security or surveillance networks.
The only use of Huawei kit is for mobile cellular enhancement. Firstly, this is in
devices (commonly referenced as MiFi devices) that are used to boost access to the
parliamentary mobile phone provider’s network (O2) where signal strength is
problematic. The MiFi devices do not connect to the Parliamentary network and
should be viewed as extensions to the O2 mobile phone network. This equipment is
branded O2 rather than Huawei.
Secondly, there already is, and there will be some additional, Huawei equipment
installed by the four Mobile Network Operators to provide cellular signal
enhancement in Parliament.
Huawei components are used by all the major mobile telephony networks in the UK.
Parliament has no evidence on which to base a recommendation either in favour of or
against the use of Huawei kit on such networks. The risk of mobile phone
telecommunications networks use of Huawei kit is managed at a national level by the
National Cyber Security Centre, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure
and the private sector, and Parliament takes its lead from the national stance on the
risks present from its use.
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Buildings: Insulation
Mr Steve Reed: [249313]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant
to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245804 on Buildings: Insulation, who the
contract to carry out the BS 8414 test has been awarded to.
Kit Malthouse:
Following an open competition the contract for a BS 8414 test of a High Pressure
Laminate cladding system has been awarded to the Fire Protection Association.
Coastal Areas
Giles Watling: [248769]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
steps he is taking to support coastal communities.
Jake Berry:
We are committed to supporting coastal communities to unlock barriers to their
development and growth, and to strengthen their appeal as places to live, work and
visit.
On 23 March, we announced a £36 million funding boost for coastal communities
supporting 70 projects around the English coastline.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/james-brokenshire-announces-over-36-million-
for-the-great-british-coast.
This included a £663,000 Coastal Communities Fund Round 5 grant towards a
£925,000 project (“Unlocking the Essex Coast Path”) to promote the Essex coast as
a high quality visitor destination with a diverse tourism offer. Resorts along the Essex
coast, including Clacton, will benefit from the project.
The Government will have invested over £200 million in the Great British Coast by
2020 through dedicated programmes like the Coastal Communities Fund and the
Coastal Revival Fund, to help generate jobs and boost businesses and bring iconic or
at-risk heritage and community assets back into economic use. This investment is
having tangible results in our coastal towns. The Coastal Communities Fund alone
has invested over £218 million in 354 projects across the UK since 2012. The Fund is
helping to create or safeguard over 18,000 UK jobs and generate £363 million in new
visitor spend.
Since 2015 we have provided £1.46 million to help establish 146 Coastal Community
Teams around the English coastline. These Teams ensure the local community
works together with the local authority, businesses, and local stakeholders to agree
priorities for economic development in their area. Jaywick Sands Coastal Community
Team was established in 2015 and is working to create a “new coastal village”,
seeking to improve housing and social conditions for local residents, and stimulate a
change in market conditions.
Derelict Land
Jack Brereton: [247150]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how
much funding the Government has allocated from the public purse to help increase the
viability of new housing development on brownfield sites in areas with lower market
values.
Kit Malthouse:
Bringing brownfield land back into use is a priority, which is why every local authority
is now required to publish and maintain a register of brownfield land, containing up-
to-date information on brownfield suitable for housing in the area. While it is for local
authorities to plan and bring forward suitable land, our funding programmes,
delivered through Homes England, are also supporting brownfield land being brought
forward. As at the end of March 2019, £909 million of the Home Building Fund Long
Term Fund (74 per cent of total spend) had been spent on contracted schemes which
will lead to 70,062 housing units (61 per cent of unlocked units) being developed on
brownfield land. Other funds will also help to bring forward new housing on brownfield
sites, such as our £450 million Accelerated Construction programme and our £5.5
billion Housing Infrastructure Fund. Whilst this funding is available to all areas of the
country, all applications undergo an assessment of their value for money for the
taxpayer.
Grenfell Tower: Fires
Mr Steve Reed: [249310]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether
officials of his Department have met with Professor Anna Stec to discuss her research
into environmental contamination as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Kit Malthouse:
The Government Chief Scientific Adviser has established an independent Science
Advisory Group to quality-check the scientific methodology, testing process and
analysis of results at each stage of the Government-led programme of additional
Grenfell environmental checks. Professor Stec is a member of this group and
MHCLG officials have attended meetings. The Science Advisory Group has reviewed
Professor Stec’s research and reiterated their previous view that it does not change
the approach or timetable of the Government-led environmental checks programme,
on the basis that the research is preliminary which recommends the need for further
investigations.
In February 2018, MHCLG officials participated in a multi-agency teleconference
chaired by the West London Clinical Commissioning Group and including officials
from Public Health England to discuss Professor Stec’s research. Professor Stec
outlined her emerging research which had not been shared at this stage with
Government, its agencies, the NHS or local authority.
Mr Steve Reed: [249311]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what
reason comprehensive checks to assess environmental and health risks in the area
around Grenfell Tower were not announced before October 2018.
Kit Malthouse:
Independent air quality monitoring has been carried out around Grenfell Tower since
June 2017, and has shown the risk to public health to be consistently low. Analysis of
the long-term impact of the fire on public health was already ongoing and will
continue by Public Health England, including consideration of a longer term
environmental monitoring strategy. We recognise the community has concerns about
the possibility of soil contamination following the Grenfell Tower fire, and therefore
announced additional environmental checks to reassure the bereaved, survivors and
wider community that any environmental risks to public health will be fully assessed
and appropriate action taken.
Mr Steve Reed: [249312]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether
Stage 1 of the additional environmental checks due to be carried out by AECOM in the
area around Grenfell Tower has commenced.
Kit Malthouse:
An independent specialist contractor, AECOM, has been appointed to undertake
Stage 1 of the checks which involves background research to identify historical
sources of pollution, analysis and exploratory sampling to inform the development of
a more detailed specification for the main stage of the site investigation.
Exploratory sampling in priority locations has started and community workshops took
place on 25 and 27 April to inform the scope and priorities for Stage 1 of the
investigation. We expect this stage to take about three months from start to finish.
Local Government: Assets
Chris Philp: [248058]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the
process for councils to dispose of property assets is; whether councils must demonstrate
best value; and what the obligations of the council where a property is being transferred
to a wholly owned subsidiary of that same council are.
Kit Malthouse:
Public bodies should generally dispose of surplus land (including property assets built
on that land) at the best possible price reasonably obtainable. However, the
Government recognises that disposing of such land at less than best consideration
can sometimes create wider public benefits.
With regards to land (and property assets) held in the General Fund, a general
consent issued under section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows local
authorities to dispose of land held for purposes other than housing or planning at an
undervalue of less than £2 million, without seeking a specific consent from the
Secretary of State where they consider it will help secure improvement of the
economic, social or environmental well-being of the area. Secretary of State consent
is required for disposals of such land at an undervalue of more than £2 million.
Specific Secretary of State consent is required for disposals of land held for planning
purposes regardless of the sale value.
Specific rules also apply to housing land (including property assets). The 2013
General Consent under section 32 of the Local Government Act 1988, permits a local
authority to dispose of such land at market value subject to condition that:
(a) the disposal the property asset is not subject to a secure, introductory or demoted
tenancy to occupy from the local authority to a landlord who is not another local
authority;
(b) the disposal of land where there is Reversionary Interests in Houses and Flats; or
(c) the disposal of land to a body in which the local authority owns an interest except:
(i) where the local authority has no housing revenue account; or
(ii) in the case of a local authority with a housing revenue account, the first 5
disposals in a financial year.
Secretary of State consent is required if a local authority wishes to dispose of housing
land (including any property assets built on that land) at less than best value,
including disposal to a local authority housing company.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Secondment
Chris Ruane: [249912]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how
many civil servants in his Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for
Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the
last three years.
Jake Berry:
No staff from this department have been seconded to the Department for Exiting the
European Union or the Department for International Trade during the last three years.
There have been eighteen outward loans to the departments in question during the
last three years as shown in the table below.
NUMBER OF
OUTWARD LOANS
BY HOST
DEPARTMENT AND
THE YEAR
COMMENCED 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 TOTAL
Department for
Exiting the
European Union
3 11 1 15
Department for
International
Trade
0 3 0 3
Total 3 14 1 18
Non-domestic Rates
Gloria De Piero: [249258]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of discretionary business
rate relief for childcare providers offering funded places; and which local authorities offer
that relief.
Gloria De Piero: [249259]
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what
assessment he has made of effect of the cost of business rates on the financial
sustainability of the childcare sector in England.
Rishi Sunak:
Decisions on whether to grant discretionary business rates reliefs are taken by
individual local authorities, and the Government does not hold data on whether local
authorities award that relief to childcare providers.
Since Budget 2016 the Government has introduced business rates measures in
England worth £13 billion over the next five years. This includes switching the
indexation of business rates from the retail price index to the consumer price index,
representing a cut in rates to all ratepayers, including childcare providers, worth over
£6 billion over the next five years. The Government has also doubled the threshold
for 100 per cent small business rate relief meaning that 655,000 businesses including
many childcare providers now pay no business rates at all.
The Government monitors the childcare provider market closely through a range of
research projects and plans to spend around £3.5 billion on our early education
entitlements this year alone.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Department for International Development: Wales
Chris Ruane: [249228]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of
29 April 2019 to Question 245944 on Department for International Development: Wales,
how many organisations based in Wales bid for (a) contracts and (b) grants from her
Department in the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Harriett Baldwin:
In 2018-19, two companies registered in Wales bid for DFID’s International Multi-
Disciplinary Programme (IMDP) framework contract.
DFID is undertaking a schedule of regional Open for Business events across the
country to help local businesses make the most of opportunities to deliver UK aid. An
Open for Business event took place in Cardiff last year and was attended by 52
Welsh companies. These events are an opportunity for two-way communication to
encourage companies to compete for DFID business to share their vital skills and
expertise and understand the simplified process for contract applications.
Chris Ruane: [249230]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of
29 April 2019 to Question 245944, on Department for International Development, Wales,
how many companies based in each region and nation of the UK secured contracts from
her Department in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19; and what the value of each contract was.
Harriett Baldwin:
In 2017-2018, 95% of awarded contracts were to companies based in England with
5% going to companies based in Scotland. In 2018-19, 97% of awarded contracts
were to companies based in England with 3% going to companies based in Scotland.
DFID is undertaking a schedule of regional Open for Business events across the
country to help local businesses make the most of opportunities to deliver UK aid.
Last year we held ‘Open for Business’ events in Birmingham, Leeds, London and
Cardiff, Belfast, Newcastle and Edinburgh which were attended by over 600 business
people. These events are an opportunity for two-way communication to encourage
companies to compete for DFID business to share their vital skills and expertise and
understand the simplified process for contract applications.
Developing Countries: Clothing
Paul Farrelly: [248600]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has made an
assessment of the potential merits of working with her international counterparts to create
a standardised code of conduct and expectations for garment factories in developing
countries; and if she will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin:
DFID is committed to improving conditions in garments factories, including those
which supply clothing to UK stores, through a range of multi-national initiatives,
including those to improve codes of conduct. These initiatives include:
• the £30 million Responsible Accountable Transparent Enterprise programme which
works through the Ethical Trading Initiative and United Nation’s Global Compact to
support the development and implementation of standards and codes, including for
the garment sector specifically;
• the Bangladesh “Sustainability Compact” which commits the Government of
Bangladesh, the European Union, the United States, Canada and the International
Labour Organisation to improve labour rights, building safety, health and safety,
and responsible business conduct; and
• DFID co-hosting of ‘The Fair Fashion in Africa’ event on 2 May to explore further
opportunities to help female garment workers in Africa access quality jobs that
support their economic empowerment.
Developing Countries: Health Services
Jim Shannon: [249293]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the is
Government taking to support Commonwealth governments to establish universal health
coverage systems to ensure that children do not die from preventable diseases.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK is a strong advocate for the achievement of universal health coverage to
ensure child survival, through strengthening health systems. DFID provides technical
assistance and financial support directly to countries, including Commonwealth
governments. The UK invests around £1 billion per year through bilateral aid
programmes in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, and
our support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has contributed to the safe vaccination of
over 700 million children.
Jim Shannon: [249294]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her
Department has allocated to the promotion of universal health coverage in developing
countries.
Harriett Baldwin:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 April 2019 to Question 241478.
Developing Countries: Nature Conservation
Mr Ranil Jayawardena: [249336]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she
has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of using UK Official Development
Assistance to help protect endangered species.
Harriett Baldwin:
Ministers from my department, the FCO and Defra have met to plan the
Government’s response to tackling the illegal wildlife trade. DFID is now providing
funding to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, the Global Wildlife Programme
and a range of forestry programmes to protect endangered species.
Developing Countries: Vaccination
Rosie Cooper: [248001]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department
is taking to provide marginalised children with access to vaccines.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK believes all children should have access to lifesaving vaccines, no matter
where they live. Equitable vaccine coverage is therefore a key priority for the UK’s
support for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This investment provides immunisation to the
poorest children in 68 of the world’s poorest countries. Gavi will vaccinate an
additional 76 million children by 2020, preventing 1.4 million deaths from vaccine
preventable diseases.
As well as providing support to strengthen the overall health system, Gavi focuses on
improving access and equity by identifying the populations and geographical areas
most likely to be under immunised and at risk of outbreaks. Gavi have also adapted
their model to include a Fragility, Emergency and Refugees policy which provides a
more quick and flexible response in fragile countries. This has helped reach
unimmunised children in places like Syria and in Rohingya refugee camps in
Bangladesh.
As a Gavi Board member, the UK advocates for equitable coverage as a core priority
both now and in the future strategy.
Ethiopia: Overseas Aid
Andrew Rosindell: [249872]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official
Development Assistance her Department plans to allocate to Ethiopia in 2019.
Harriett Baldwin:
The 2019/2020 budget for DFID Ethiopia is £292 million. This will support the delivery
of essential health, education, climate resilient, water and sanitation, and
humanitarian services, as well as support Ethiopia to become a more prosperous,
climate resilient and stable nation that can graduate from aid in the future.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Rosie Cooper: [248000]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department’s
priorities are for the replenishment period and strategy review with Gavi, The Vaccine
Alliance.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK is delighted to be hosting the Gavi Replenishment in 2020. Gavi has
immunised over 700 million children, saving 10 million lives from preventable
diseases. The UK is proud to have played a significant role in delivering these
extraordinary results.
As hosts of the Replenishment Conference, our priority will be to help Gavi secure
the funding it needs to further deliver its life-saving work. The replenishment period is
also a terrific opportunity to demonstrate the impact of the UK’s contribution to Gavi
for the world’s poorest and to recognise the extraordinary work done by British
innovators, academics and health advocates to support Gavi’s mission.
The next strategic period for Gavi is critically important and the UK will continue to
press for further improvements. This includes promoting equitable coverage of
immunisation to leave no-one behind and ensure vaccines are available for the most
vulnerable. The UK will also prioritise ensuring our investment in Gavi is sustainable
and delivers maximum value for money by supporting countries to effectively
transition from Gavi support to increased domestic funding.
Israel: Palestinians
Andrew Percy: [249260]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 1
April 2019 to Question 236490, what comparative assessment she has made of whether
the Palestinian Authority prisoner payment system is equivalent to conventional welfare
payments.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK Government deplores any act of violence or incitement to violence. The UK
government does not consider the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) prisoner payments
system to be equivalent to conventional welfare payments. The UK government
acknowledges that people in need are entitled to access support that is based on
objective social need. For this reason we continue to press the PA to make the
prisoner payments system more needs based, transparent and affordable. UK
Ministers have raised this personally with the Palestinian Foreign Minister, and
officials raised this with the PA at senior levels most recently on 28 March 2019. No
UK aid is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners or their families.
Pakistan: Vaccination
Mr Jim Cunningham: [249205]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department
is taking to tackle the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation in Pakistan.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK is deeply concerned about the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation in
Pakistan and its potential to undermine the hard-fought gains that have been made in
protecting children from vaccine preventable diseases. We are tackling this
misinformation through our strong support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
(GPEI) and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. These organisations use a range of tools to
monitor this – including population surveys, media and social media monitoring and
through community dialogue.
Through GPEI and their local implementing partner UNICEF, the UK is contributing to
the appointment of a new social media team working to address the causes of polio
vaccination hesitancy and refusal in Pakistan.
Furthermore, UNICEF, through their support from Gavi and the UK, assisted the
development of an Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization Strategy for
the Government of Pakistan to support immunisation activities.
Tranexamic Acid
Tom Tugendhat: [248054]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the outcome was of
her discussions with the UN and NGO partners on improving access to tranexamic acid
for women with post-partum haemorrhage.
Harriett Baldwin:
Discussions on improving access to tranexamic acid for women with post-partum
haemorrhage continue. It is unacceptable that 830 mothers still die in pregnancy and
childbirth every day. Tranexamic acid is a powerful tool to manage the severe
bleeding that causes many of these deaths. We are supporting the Reproductive
Health Supplies Coalition – a network of over 500 private corporations, NGOs and
donors – to look specifically at the barriers to scaling up use of this important drug.
Vaccination
Rosie Cooper: [248002]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is
taking steps to promote competition in the vaccines market.
Harriett Baldwin:
Healthy vaccine markets are essential to provide adequate supplies of vaccines at
affordable prices for poor countries. This, in turn, improves availability and drives
demand for immunisation. The UK supports healthy vaccine market competition
through our investment in Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
A core part of Gavi’s mission is to promote competition and reduce the cost of
vaccines. Gavi now supports 17 manufacturers to provide critical vaccines at a lower
cost. Many of these manufacturers are now based in low and middle income
countries. This has successfully generated over US$764 million in cost savings in
2017 alone and has reduced the cost of immunising a child by 17% since 2016.
The UK also supports Gavi’s Advanced Market Commitment for Pneumococcal
Vaccines (AMC), an innovative approach to fostering market competition. By
incentivising investment in research and development in the pneumococcal vaccine,
the AMC has expanded manufacturing capacity and helped develop a healthy
pipeline for vaccine production. This has helped enable 143 million children in 58
countries to be vaccinated against severe pneumonia.
Vaccination: Prices
Rosie Cooper: [248003]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department
is taking to increase price transparency for vaccines.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK recognises the importance of providing affordable vaccines for the poorest
nations. Through UK support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the price of common
childhood vaccines has reduced by 17% since 2016. Bringing down vaccine prices is
part of a wider strategy in Gavi to increase access to vaccines and our significant
investment supports global initiatives to increase vaccine transparency and help
ensure their affordability.
Gavi helps secure the lowest price for vaccines for 68 of the world’s poorest
countries. Gavi procures its vaccines through UNICEF, which makes public its
historic, current and future prices for vaccines. For countries who are not eligible for
Gavi-subsidised vaccines, the UK also advocates and supports its partners to make
prices publicly available online. This helps establish benchmark prices so countries
can negotiate better deals.
Outside of Gavi supported countries, the UK is supportive of the World Health
Organisation’s Global Strategy and Plan of Action and Roadmap for Access to
Medicines. These plans help increase global price transparency whist also
encouraging innovation that is crucial for future vaccine development.
Zimbabwe: Disaster Relief
Sir Henry Bellingham: [247991]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, in addition to recently
announced humanitarian assistance, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the
immediate and the long-term development needs in Zimbabwe are met after Cyclone
Idai.
Harriett Baldwin:
The UK has committed £2.45 million which will go towards supporting water and
sanitation, child protection and cash grants in cyclone affected areas. In addition UK
will continue to focus on poverty reduction, humanitarian assistance including helping
people to cope with pre-existing drought and economic crisis.
In addition to the recently announced humanitarian assistance, UK Aid operates an
extensive programme in Zimbabwe, working to support the poorest and most
vulnerable as well as at the same time helping lay the foundations for a more
prosperous, peaceful and democratic Zimbabwe, driving growth and poverty
reduction. DFID’s priorities in Zimbabwe are:
• Strengthening peace, democracy, and good governance
• Promoting economic reform and prosperity
• Strengthening resilience and responding to crises
• Supporting basic services for the poorest and most vulnerable
Sir Henry Bellingham: [247992]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department
is taking to support climate change resilience programes in Zimbabwe after Cyclone Idai.
Harriett Baldwin:
UK Aid supports climate change resilience in 30 of Zimbabwe’s 59 rural districts. The
UK is helping over a million people to cope with the effects of climate change through
the adoption of more climate-resilient agricultural practices, diversifying livelihoods,
and developing plans and policies for climate resilience.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Drinks: Exports
Andrew Rosindell: [247993]
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking
to increase the export market of UK beverages.
Graham Stuart:
UK beverages are an important contributor to our overall food and drink exports and
were worth £7.6bn in 2018, an increase of 4.9% on 2017. Whisky alone accounted
for over 63% of beverage exports and DIT works with bodies such as the Scotch
Whisky Association across trade policy and market access, working to reduce trade
barriers and assist getting products into overseas markets.
DIT collaborates closely with industry directly and key stakeholders such as the Wine
and Spirits Trade Association across a wide range of export promotion activities such
as meet the buyer events and trade missions; both in the UK and overseas.
JUSTICE
Birmingham Prison
Richard Burgon: [247134]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 2 April
2019, Official Report HCWS1475 on HMP Birmingham, what the costs to the public purse
would be of the public sector providing the quality of service referred to in the Statement;
and where that explanation has been published.
Edward Argar:
The information referred to in the Written Statement relates to the competition to
operate the new prisons at Wellingborough and Glen Parva, Her Majesty’s Prison &
Probation Service has provided a ‘public sector benchmark’, against which potential
operators’ bids will be rigorously assessed. For the Wellingborough competition, this
work has already been undertaken and has informed the specification and
affordability threshold for this competition. We are clear that where bids do not meet
sufficient quality or value-for-money thresholds, the public sector will act as the
provider.
The Government remains committed to a diverse market of prison operators and
competition for custodial services remains an important way of achieving that and
driving quality of operations and innovation across the system.
Prison Officers
Imran Hussain: [249324]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers in bands three to five
in each prison have less than three years' experience.
Lucy Frazer:
The number of HMPPS band 3-5 prison officers in post, as at 31 December 2018,
with less than three years’ experience in each prison can be found in the
accompanying excel table.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold staffing numbers for privately managed prisons
and, as such, their workforce statistics are not published. Every privately contracted
prison is robustly scrutinised by an on-site Prison Service Controller who monitors
their performance, including staffing levels. Some privately run prisons are among the
best across the estate, and we are able to take rapid action if standards drop.
We commend our hard-working prison officers who do a vital job in protecting the
public every day, often in challenging and difficult circumstances.
We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. We’ve improved induction
processes to ease transition into the job, provide care and support for our staff and
offer additional training. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly
with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new
recruits remain in the service.
Attachments:
1. Table [Copy of Copy of PQ 249324_final table.xlsx]
Imran Hussain: [249325]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers in bands three to five
in each prison have three or more years' experience.
Lucy Frazer:
The number of HMPPS band 3-5 prison officers in post, as at 31 December 2018,
with three or more years’ experience in each prison can be found in the
accompanying excel table.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold staffing numbers for privately managed prisons
and, as such, their workforce statistics are not published. Every privately contracted
prison is robustly scrutinised by an on-site Prison Service Controller who monitors
their performance, including staffing levels. Some privately run prisons are among the
best across the estate, and we are able to take rapid action if standards drop.
We commend our hard-working prison officers who do a vital job in protecting the
public every day, often in challenging and difficult circumstances.
We want prison officers to stay and progress their careers. We’ve improved induction
processes to ease transition into the job, provide care and support for our staff and
offer additional training. These measures are part of the work we are doing directly
with Governors to address local issues and ensure experienced staff and new
recruits remain in the service.
Attachments:
1. Table [Copy of Copy of PQ 249325_final table.xlsx]
Prisons: Standards
Imran Hussain: [249326]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons are currently in special measures.
Edward Argar:
The following prisons are in special measures as of 01 May 2019:
Aylesbury, Bedford, Birmingham, Bristol, Chelmsford, Elmley, Exeter, Guys Marsh,
Hewell, Lewes, Liverpool, Nottingham, The Mount, Wandsworth, Winchester, and
Wormwood Scrubs.
Special measures are put in place where an assessment of performance based on a
combination of data, management information, judgement from senior operational
management and external scrutiny determines that a prison needs additional
specialist support to improve to an acceptable level.
Young Offenders: Protection
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: [249316]
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 211 of the IICSA
report Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009–2017, published February
2019, what the terms of reference are of the safeguarding review being carried out on the
children’s secure estate; what date the review was established; and what the timetable is
for the report from that review to be published.
Edward Argar:
The Youth Custody Service’s internal safeguarding review was established in April
2018, under the following Terms of Reference:
1. Review, and where appropriate revise, the current operational policies for
Safeguarding within the Youth Secure Estate;
2. Review the processes for handling allegations and complaints, including but not
limited to, access, response, investigation and the support offered to children and
young people
3. Review the corporate governance structures for safeguarding given the transfer of
functions from the Youth Justice Board (YJB) to the Youth Custody Service (YCS)
4. Review the staff recruitment and vetting procedures in place and systems for
referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
5. Review the safeguarding training offer and arrangements for all staff
6. Review information sharing arrangements between different departments within
establishments, for example between Safeguarding and Security teams.
7. Ensure the YCS is compliant with and executing its duties in relation to the Working
Together guidance issued by the Department for Education, and any other relevant
statutory requirements
8. Scope and establish working relationships with relevant external stakeholders. For
example, the chairs of Local Safeguarding Children Boards on the custodial care of
children; Association of Directors of Children’s Services; YJB etc.
9. Make recommendations on policies, processes and procedures, as deemed
necessary to improve safeguarding measures for children and young people
10. Share and disseminate good practice with staff across the youth secure estate, in
line with the YCS’s emerging continuous improvement model.
The YCS safeguarding report is in the process of being finalised and I will write to you
when the report has been submitted to me.
SPEAKER'S COMMITTEE FOR THE INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS
AUTHORITY
Members: Allowances
John Spellar: [249206]
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what involvement did the Speaker's
committee had in the formulation of the new claims system for hon. Members'
allowances.
Mr Charles Walker:
As part of its role to approve IPSA’s Estimate, in March 2016, the Speaker’s
Committee approved funds for a wide-ranging improvement programme, including
plans for a new IT system, IPSA Online. This took into account longstanding
feedback from MPs and their staff about the need to modernise and improve IPSA’s
systems and processes. In subsequent years, the Speaker’s Committee has
scrutinised progress on this programme via the annual Estimate approval process, as
well as other formal and informal updates.
The Speaker’s Committee had no direct input into the design of IPSA Online, but has
received regular updates on the key features of the system and IPSA’s plans for
engagement and training activities.
More generally, IPSA engaged with MPs and staff members throughout the
development of IPSA Online through activities including surveys, meetings, usability
testing and training sessions, in order to take account of their needs and preferences.
IPSA is committed to ongoing liaison with MPs and their staff to gain further feedback
on the new system now that it has been launched.
TRANSPORT
Durham Coast Railway Line
Grahame Morris: [249265]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the
public purse of the refurbishment of the Sprinter trains for the Durham Coast Line.
Andrew Jones:
It is not possible to isolate the cost to the public purse of refurbishment of sprinter
trains for the Durham Coast route as the costs of doing this (and offsetting increases
in revenue resulting from it) were part of a much wider programme of rolling stock
transformation that was offered as part of the winning bid and associated overall
subsidy requirement offered in 2015 by Arriva.
High Speed 2 Railway Line
Dame Cheryl Gillan: [249174]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people working on High Speed
Two have signed a non disclosure agreement with his Department.
Ms Nusrat Ghani:
The Department for Transport does not hold non-disclosure agreements with any
individuals working on High Speed 2.
Keir Starmer: [249342]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussion he (a) has had and (b) plans
to have with HS2 Ltd on the £23 million funding required for the movement of 18 per cent
of Euston approaches excavation material by Rail.
Ms Nusrat Ghani:
HS2 Ltd has recently adopted plans to enable excavated material from the
construction of the HS2 Euston Station to be moved by rail. These plans require the
construction of rail infrastructure to enable a reduction of around 55,000 lorry
movements from the Euston area.
HS2 Ltd has also considered opportunities for use of rail transport to take away
excavated material from construction of the Euston approaches. This option was
rejected on basis of the level of costs required to construct the rail infrastructure and
provide and maintain the freight service compared to the limited amount of excavated
material that could be removed.
As the design progresses, HS2 Ltd and its contractors are committed to realising
further opportunities for the use of rail to transport construction materials to the
Euston worksite and will continue to provide regular updates to stakeholders and the
local community
Keir Starmer: [249344]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what environmental impact assessment he
has made of moving Euston approaches excavated material by HGV.
Ms Nusrat Ghani:
The environmental effects of moving all of the excavated materials arising from the
construction of the HS2 Euston Station and Euston Approaches by road was
assessed and published in the HS2 Environmental Statement (2015) Additional
Provision 3 (AP3). This includes likely significant effects of HGV movements on road
traffic, air quality, noise and other relevant topics in accordance with Environmental
Impact Assessment methodology.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/supplementary-environmental-statement-
2-and-additional-provision-3-environmental-statement-supplementary-environmental-
information
Keir Starmer: [249345]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that HS2
Ltd and his Department are working with the (a) local community and (b) Camden Council
to maximise the movement of material by rail from (i) Euston Station and (ii) Approaches
areas in order to minimise the number of additional HGV lorry movements through
Camden.
Ms Nusrat Ghani:
In accordance with the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement and assurances
provided to Camden Council, HS2 Ltd has identified an option to maximise the
movement of material by rail. In developing proposals with its contractors, HS2 Ltd
has a regular dialogue with Camden Council through existing forums and with the
local community through the Euston Community Representatives Group, which
represents local groups and associations in the Camden area, in addition to making
information available on its local ‘HS2 in Camden’ website.
Tulip Siddiq: [249346]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the total budget for High Speed 2
will be uprated from 2015 to 2019 prices; and whether the revised benefit cost ratio
calculation for that project will include benefits that arise from expenditure on (a) local
regeneration strategies and (b) other wider economic impacts in the cities along the High
Speed 2 route.
Ms Nusrat Ghani:
The decision whether to uprate the total HS2 budget from the current 2015 price base
will be taken alongside the Spending Review.
The Spending Review will also consider the latest benefits associated with High
Speed 2. This will include Wider Economic Impacts in line with the department’s
Transport Appraisal Guidance.
The department is working with local authorities across the UK to develop growth
strategies to ensure the benefits of HS2 are fully realised in local areas.
Railway Stations: Hampshire
Rachel Reeves: [249267]
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help
ensure that there is adequate (a) lighting and (b) CCTV coverage at (i) Bramley Station
and (ii) all local rail stations.
Andrew Jones:
Arriva Rail North has a station investment programme and will be spending around
£60 million over the length of the franchise to improve the quality of their stations on
the network. The work includes LED lighting, improving accessibility, rainwater
harvesting and plans for redundant buildings. Under the plan, Bramley will receive
new seating, new signage, and LED lighting has already been installed.
TREASURY
Loans: Interest Rates
Paul Farrelly: [249240]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential
merits of introducing an anti-usury law to cap interest rates and give borrowers more
protection.
John Glen:
On 1 April 2014 the Government transferred regulatory responsibility for consumer
credit from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The FCA proactively monitors the market, focusing on the areas most likely to cause
consumer harm. The Government has given the FCA the power to cap all forms of
credit, and the FCA can do so if it thinks it is necessary to protect consumers.
The FCA introduced a price cap on the cost of payday lending in 2015, and more
recently introduced a price cap on rent-to-own which came into force on 1 April 2019.
The Government has strong concerns about the practices that the FCA has identified
in the rent-to-own market, and welcomes the FCA’s decision to introduce a price cap.
The FCA has said that it will keep the issue of capping the cost of credit in other
markets under review.
Mortgages
Chi Onwurah: [249284]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to address
the loyalty penalty in the mortgage market.
John Glen:
HMT notes that consumer engagement in the mortgage market is high, with over
three quarters of borrowers switching within 6 months of the end of an introductory
deal.
HMT has worked closely with the FCA to consider how to remove the regulatory
barriers that prevent some customers from accessing better deals. HMT welcomes
the FCA’s plans to move the affordability assessment from an absolute test to a
relative one. This change removes the regulatory barrier that prevented some
customers, who otherwise may have been able to switch, from accessing new
mortgage products.
HMT will continue to support the work the FCA is currently undertaking to improve
switching and consumer engagement in the mortgage market.
Public Health: Finance
Sir Alan Campbell: [249887]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he plans to use the Spending Review to
invest in public health.
Elizabeth Truss:
The forthcoming Spending Review is an opportunity for the Government to make
decisions on public spending in the round. As part of that, the Treasury will work
closely with other departments to assess public health priorities.
Regional Planning and Development: North of England
Chi Onwurah: [249286]
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to use the forthcoming
Spending Review to invest in the Northern Powerhouse.
Elizabeth Truss:
Since 2010, over 60% of the increase in UK employment has come from regions
outside of London and the South East, and all regions of the North of England have
seen faster nominal productivity growth over that time period than London and the
South East. The Government is continuing to support the Northern Powerhouse, for
example, the £2.5bn Transforming Cities Fund as well as Devolution deals for
Manchester, Liverpool and North of Tyne. We will continue to support this growth
through the Spending Review later this year.
WALES
Wales Office: Contracts
Chris Ruane: [249229]
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many companies based in (a) Wales, (b)
the UK, (c) the EU and (d) the rest of the world had contracts or grants awarded by his
Department in each of the last three years; and what the value of those contracts or
grants was.
Kevin Foster:
The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales does not issue contracts directly. The
Office buys goods and services under Government frameworks agreements and
receives procurement services from the Ministry of Justice. The Office has not
awarded any grants.
Wales Office: Secondment
Chris Ruane: [249915]
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many civil servants in his Department have
been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the
Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.
Kevin Foster:
None.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Children: Maintenance
Frank Field: [248589]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which groups of parents are not
required to pay child maintenance; and what estimate her Department has made of the
number of parents who are primary carers for children who do not receive child
maintenance.
Will Quince:
All parents have a responsibility to support their children. Where an application is
made to the Child Maintenance Service, a liability will be calculated based on the
gross taxable income of the paying parent, provided all the relevant parties can be
identified and are classed as habitually resident in the UK.
In certain circumstances, where the paying parent: has a gross a weekly income
below £7 per week; is a child; is in prison; is aged 16-17 years old and in receipt of
prescribed benefits; is receiving a work based training allowance; is in a care home,
hospital or receiving home care; this liability will be nil.
The following publication includes statistics on the child maintenance arrangements
of separated families:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/separated-families-population-statistics
Information on the number of parents who are primary carers for children but do not
receive child maintenance is not readily available and to provide it would incur
disproportionate cost.
Frank Field: [249881]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to
collect and publish (a) the number of deductions from benefits and (b) instances of
sharing non-compliant parents' information with credit reference agencies.
Will Quince:
This question has been interpreted as referring to actions taken by the Child
Maintenance Service. The Department does hold information regarding:
1. deductions from the benefits received by a paying parent on the Child Maintenance
Service in order to pay Child Maintenance;
2. instances in which the details of non-compliant paying parents on the Child
Maintenance Service have been shared with credit reference agencies.
The Department has no immediate plans to publish this information. However, with
the completion of the Child Support Agency case closure programme, and the
implementation of the new Child Maintenance compliance and arrears strategy, the
Department continues to review what information is included in regular publications.
Employment and Social Security Benefits: Learning Disability
Stephen McPartland: [249271]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to support
people with learning disabilities access (a) benefits and (b) employment opportunities.
Justin Tomlinson:
Universal Credit provides enhanced personalised support for all claimants. All
claimants receive continuous tailored support managed through personal work
coaches, who know each person. Our work coaches receive extensive training to
ensure they can offer effective support to different claimant groups, including those
with learning disabilities.
From 1 April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice
Scotland are delivering the new ‘ Help to Claim’ support to claimants making a new
Universal Credit (UC) claim or moving from a legacy benefit to UC because of a
change of circumstances. The Citizens Advice Help to Claim service offers tailored,
practical support to help people make a UC claim up to receiving their first full correct
payment on time. It is available online, through web-chat, through a Freephone
number and face to face through local Citizens Advice services.
Telephony support is also available through the Universal Credit Freephone line for
claimants who cannot make or maintain their claim online. Where a claimant is
unable to manage their own affairs, an appointee can act on their behalf, taking
responsibility for making and maintaining a claim.
Personal Independence Payment can be paid to disabled people irrespective of their
employment status. Claimants with a severe mental health or behavioural condition,
learning disability, developmental disorder or cognitive problems, who may have
difficulty engaging with the claims process, and with no support network in place can
be provided with additional support during the claims process if they need it. This
support can include help filling in the form or the questionnaire and additional
protections for failing to return the questionnaire or for failing to attend a face-to-face
assessment.
We are supporting disabled people, including those with learning disabilities, to
prepare for employment, enter and retain work through a range of initiatives, for
example: Access to Work; the Local Supported Employment proof of concept; and
the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support scheme, which is expected to
be running by the end of 2019.
Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals
Faisal Rashid: [249916]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department
issues to GPs on the provision of fit notes for patients who are undergoing an appeal for
employment and support allowance.
Justin Tomlinson:
The Department provides guidance on the benefits system for GPs which is
available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-short-guide-to-the-benefit-
system-for-general-practitioners.
Funerals: Fees and Charges
Steve McCabe: [249851]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has
made of the number of families were unable to afford the funeral of family member in
each of the last five years.
Will Quince:
No such assessment has been made.
Funeral poverty is not just an issue for Government. Providers of funeral services,
including the church, funeral directors, local authorities and owners of crematoriums,
all have a role to play in ensuring funerals are accessible for everyone.
Social Security Benefits: Children
Stephen Timms: [249180]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her
Department has made of the effect of the two-child limit on families with a low income;
and if she will make a statement.
Alok Sharma:
It is the Department’s view that providing support for a maximum of two children or
qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit will ensure fairness
between those supporting themselves solely through work and those receiving
benefits.
The Government continues to take action to help families with the cost of living,
including raising the national living wage, reducing the Universal Credit earnings
taper, raising the income tax personal allowance, introducing tax-free childcare and
30 hours a week of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds.
Furthermore, under Universal Credit, working families can claim back up to 85% of
their registered childcare costs each month. This can be claimed up to a month
before starting a job. For families with two children this could be worth up to £13,000
a year.
The Government has assessed the impact of the policy from an equality and human
rights perspective throughout its development and in preparation for its
implementation. The Department published statistics related to the first year of policy
implementation in June 2018, and have committed to subsequent annual releases.
Universal Credit
Stephen Timms: [249177]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to include
an income assessment form in the application for advance payments for universal credit;
and if she will make a statement.
Alok Sharma:
Introducing an income assessment could cause delay to Universal Credit (UC) new
claim advances, the purpose of which is to provide fast access to a payment for
people in financial need until their first UC payment’s due.
The Department will increase the maximum recovery period for advances on new
claims from 12 months to 16 months from October 2021. If an unforeseen event
occurs that would result in hardship once recovery begins, in certain circumstances,
repayments can be deferred for up to 3 months.
Stephen Timms: [249178]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the
value of advanced payments that will be paid to claimants of universal credit in 2019.
Stephen Timms: [249179]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pension, what estimate she has made of the
value of advanced payments that will be paid to claimants of universal credit in each of
the next five years.
Alok Sharma:
Universal Credit (UC) new claim advances provide fast access to a payment for
people in financial need until their first UC payment is due. Assistance of up to 100%
of the total expected monthly award, which is paid back over a period of up to 12
months, and from October 2021 up to 16 months, is available.
The estimated value of advanced payments that were paid to Universal Credit (UC)
claimants for new claims and benefits transfers in the financial year 2018/2019 is
£502m ( source: DWP internal statistics).
The projected value of advanced payments that will be paid to claimants of UC for
new claims and benefits transfers in each of the next five years is £676m in
2019/2020 rising to £862m in 2023/2024. This projection is line with the expected
increase in UC claims.
YEAR PROJECTED ADVANCES SPEND (£M)
2019/2020 £676
2020/2021 £682
2021/2022 £678
2022/2023 £766
YEAR PROJECTED ADVANCES SPEND (£M)
2023/2024 £862
Source: DWP internal modelling of advances.
Notes:
1. The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was
collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to
National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should
therefore be treated with caution.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £million.
Steve McCabe: [249201]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will bring forward legislative
proposals to ensure that the universal credit childcare support offer does not require
parents to (a) pay childcare costs upfront and (b) provide receipts.
Will Quince:
We recognise the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying upfront
childcare costs. Where the initial month’s childcare costs may prevent a claimant
from starting work, Jobcentres will use the Flexible Support Fund to help claimants in
the first instance. This is a non-repayable award, which can be used to meet the
upfront childcare costs to help support a claimant into work.
For claimants who are in work and need help with upfront childcare costs, budgeting
advances are available that can be used to cover the cost of paying upfront childcare
costs or a deposit.
The payment of Universal Credit Childcare costs is based on monthly reporting by the
claimant of the actual childcare costs the household incurs. Claimants are required to
provide a receipt of the eligible costs they have paid and these are then reimbursed
within their Universal Credit award. Such monthly reporting ensures accuracy whilst
reducing the levels of error and the possibility of overpayments.
Mr Jim Cunningham: [249202]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of
the implications for her Department's policies of the Trussell Trust recommendation to
change the five-week wait for universal credit payments to reduce the use of foodbanks.
Alok Sharma:
No UC claimant has to wait five weeks for their first payment. If required, advances of
up to 100 per cent of their expected UC award are available to claimants from day
one of their claim. Advances are paid back over a maximum of 12 months and in the
Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for
these advances will be extended further, allowing claimants up to 16 months. This is
just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support
claimants such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto
Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a
two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and
Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.
Universal Credit: Housing
Neil Gray: [248698]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of
new claimants for universal credit received two weeks’ run-on housing benefit while
waiting for their first payment (a) in the last six months and (b) in the last month for which
information is available.
Will Quince:
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur
disproportionate cost. However, since it was introduced in April 2018, all Housing
Benefit claimants, whose Housing Benefit award was ended because of a new claim
to Universal Credit, have been awarded the two-week Transition to Universal Credit
Housing Payment.
Neil Gray: [248699]
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has
made of the proportion of claimants of universal credit who have a deduction for housing
rent arrears in the first month of their claim in the last month for which data is available.
Will Quince:
The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants
who have incurred debt. Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in
place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. Last resort deductions can be
applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their gas,
electricity and water cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears
of these essential services. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level
of deductions being made, they can contact the Department to request that a
reduction in their deductions be considered.
The latest available data is for eligible claims to UC Full Service that are due a
payment in December 2018. Of those claims with a payment in December 2018
relating to the first month of their claim, 2% have a deduction to repay rent arrears.
This equates to 3,000 claims.
Notes
• Rent arrears deductions are defined as arrears of rent and/or service charges
relating to a rented property
• Figures for rent arrears deduction include only those claims with a non-zero rent
arrears deduction.
• Figures rounded to nearest 1,000.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS
BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Business Update
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and
Corporate Responsibility (Kelly Tolhurst): [HCWS1540]
CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY AND REFORM OF THE COMPANIES REGISTER
One of the key foundations of our modern Industrial Strategy is delivering a strong,
transparent and attractive business environment in the UK. The strength of the UK’s
business environment is founded on our fair and open regulatory frameworks. The
Companies Register is the base on which that strength is built.
While the overwhelming majority of UK corporates operate wholly legitimately, concerns
have been expressed about the the misuse of UK corporate entities, the filing of false
information on the companies register held at Companies House and the use of innocent
people’s information on the register to commit fraud and other acts of harm.
In the last three years there have been almost 10,000 complaints to Companies House
from people concerned about their personal details, with worries including fraud and
misuse of personal details topping the list.
We are therefore seeking views on a series of reforms to limit the risks of misuse. These
include measures to: provide greater certainty over the identity of those shown as
owning, running or controlling companies, including identity verification; improve the
accuracy and usability of data on the register; protect personal information; ensure
compliance and take action against offenders; and deter abuse of UK-registered
corporate entities. We are committed to minimising burdens on law abiding businesses,
especially the smallest. The consultation will therefore look at the best way to minimise
burdens on businesses.
These reforms build on our global reputation as a trusted and welcoming place to do
business and a leading exponent of greater corporate transparency.
The UK has one of the highest ratings for cracking down on anonymous companies, and
the government’s proposed measures build on the Britain’s world-leading anti-corruption
activity. In 2016, the UK became the first country in the G20 to introduce a public register
of company ownership, while new protections against identity fraud for company directors
were introduced in 2018.
These measures will boost the reputation of the UK’s business environment, ensuring
reliability of the UK’s company register. Knowing that a company’s information is accurate
and transparent is a fundamental part of a leading business environment – giving
entrepreneurs and businesses the confidence they need to do business in the UK.
I will place a copy of the consultation in the Libraries of the House.
EDUCATION
Schools update
The Secretary of State for Education (Mr Damian Hinds): [HCWS1541]
Today the Secretary of State for Education will provide a statement to the House,
announcing the publication of the Timpson review of school exclusion and the
Government's response. Both the review and response have been published on gov.uk.
HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Rough Sleeping update
Secretary of State for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(James Brokenshire): [HCWS1539]
Early Adopters of the Rapid Rehousing Pathway
In December, I announced the locations of the first 11 Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs,
one of four elements that make up the Rapid Rehousing Pathway which were announced
in the £100 million Rough Sleeping Strategy last August. I am pleased to say that all 11
hubs are now operational. Furthermore, I can confirm that all 42 early adopters of the
Pathway, announced in February, are working hard to get staff in place and several are
already delivering services. These 53 early adopters are focused on making sure that
those who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, are rapidly getting the support
they need to move away from the street and sustain secure accommodation.
Rapid Rehousing Pathway new funding
I have now announced the allocations of up to £25.6 million of the second round of Rapid
Rehousing Pathway funding. For 108 areas of the country this funding will provide:
• 20 additional Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs, to rapidly assess the needs of people
who are sleeping rough and those who are at risk of sleeping rough and support
them to get the right help quickly. This will bring the total number of hubs to 31, 16
more than the minimum that we committed to in the 2018 Rough Sleeping
Strategy.
• Up to £6.8 million of funding for 61 areas for Supported Lettings, offering flexible
support funding to help people with a history of rough sleeping to sustain their
tenancies in homes made newly available across the housing sector.
• At least 130 Navigators who will develop relationships with and help over 2,500
people who sleep rough to access appropriate local services, get off the streets
and into settled accommodation.
• Up to £3.5 million to establish or support 30 Local lettings agencies to source,
identify, or provide homes and advice for rough sleepers or those at risk.
A full list of the areas funded is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-rehousing-pathway-2019-to-2020-
funding-allocations
With this funding, local areas will be able to connect people with the right support and
sustainable housing to move them swiftly away from the street and facilitate their
recovery. This important work is part of delivering on the commitments outlined in the
Rough Sleeping Strategy and is crucial in bringing us a step closer towards ending rough
sleeping.
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Response to the Joint Committee’s report on the Draft Parliamentary Buildings
(Restoration and Renewal) Bill
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Andrea
Leadsom): [HCWS1537]
Today, the Government publishes its response to the Joint Committee’s report on the
draft Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill.
The Joint Committee published its report on 21 March 2019. This report followed careful
consideration by the Committee, taking evidence from a range of interested experts and
stakeholders. The report set out a series of helpful recommendations on the content of
the Bill and on wider issues related to R & R, including matters for the Shadow Sponsor
Body to consider.
The Joint Committee was appointed by the House of Commons on 26 November 2018
and the House of Lords on 29 November 2018. It scrutinised the draft Parliamentary
Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill (‘the Bill’) by considering written and oral
evidence from a range of contributors, including the Leader of the House of Commons,
The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP and the Leader of the House of Lords, The Rt Hon
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park.
The Government welcomes the Committee’s report and considered evidence-based
approach the Chair and Members of the Committee have taken in scrutinising the Bill.
The support of the Committee and its endorsement of the overarching aim of the draft Bill
is very important in progressing this important and pressing work. The Government is
committed to establish in statute the necessary governance arrangements to oversee the
restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, and in doing so ensuring it
provides for value for money for the taxpayer.
The Government is committed to introducing the Bill as soon as possible. We recognise
that this is a significant and urgent task given the current state of disrepair of the Palace.
The recent incidents in the Palace of Westminster, including masonry falling from the
building have further highlighted the urgency of the works to restore and renew the
Palace of Westminster. The tragic fire at Notre Dame has also served as a reminder of
the risks to this historic and iconic building.
NORTHERN IRELAND
National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland 1 January 2017 – 31 December
2018
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Karen Bradley): [HCWS1538]
This is a summary of the main findings from the report by His Honour Brian Barker QC,
the Independent Reviewer of National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland,
covering the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018. His Honour Brian Barker
concludes:
Throughout the reporting period I have been briefed periodically on the state of threat in
Northern Ireland. I received presentations from PSNI and MI5 on the practical effect of
their co-operation and mutual reliances. My visits to PSNI establishments and to MI5 left
an impression of deep commitment and professionalism, further demonstrated by their
openness and willingness to respond to all aspects of my enquiries. Strong cross-border
links continue with An Garda Siochana.
The context in which national security activities are performed in Northern Ireland
remains challenging and members of the security forces continue to require vigilance in
relation to their personal security. Dissident republicans continue to express political
conviction to justify violence and law breaking, while loyalist paramilitaries maintain
control in areas by self-justified intimidation and administration of violence. As in recent
years there have been successes and considerable effort devoted to containing and
disrupting dissident groups. Nevertheless, planning and targeting continues and attacks
occur.
The number of security related incidents for this reporting period are broadly similar to my
previous report; in 2017 shooting incidents rose from 49 to 58, whilst the number of
security related deaths decreased from 6 to 2. There were 30 bombing incidents, and
casualties from paramilitary style assaults (excluding fatalities) increased from 65 to 74;
casualties from paramilitary style shootings (excluding fatalities) also increased from 20
to 27. The number of persons arrested and charged under s.41 of the Terrorism Act
decreased from 18 to 13.
This period I have focused on Covert Human Intelligence Sources [CHIS]. There is
excellent cooperation between MI5 and PSNI on CHIS operations, including frequent
meetings between PSNI and MI5 at a senior level to discuss CHIS policy and operations.
In accordance with the St. Andrews principles, PSNI manage the majority of national
security CHIS. There is a systematic review procedure for CHIS.
The political situation is difficult and complex and throughout this reporting period
Northern Ireland was without a functioning Executive and Assembly, despite a number of
attempts at negotiations between parties; concern about the effect of the political situation
was a recurring theme in many of my stakeholder engagements.
I met a range of stakeholders in this reporting period, including the Northern Ireland
Policing Board (NIPB), the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI), the Attorney
General (AG) and the Committee on Administration of Justice (CAJ). NIPB highlighted
the effect of not being able to fully operate, due to the lack of a functioning Executive or
Assembly, and raised concerns that crucial decisions, such as an inability to retain their
independent Human Rights Advisor, could lead to a diminution of trust in their work.
PONI outlined the challenge of balancing a large volume of Troubles-era complaints
against a limit to the resources available to investigate.
The Committee on Administration of Justice (CAJ) raised concerns about the effect of the
lack of an NI Executive and the potential impact of EU Exit. They reported that their
relationship with PSNI was good and improving. CAJ proposed a framework where the
operational boundaries of MI5 and PSNI responsibilities relating to NIRT, paramilitarism
and extreme right activity was published. CAJ believe this would have an international
benefit and would give accountability and public acceptability.
A meeting with the Attorney General (AG), John Larkin QC, was productive. Within the
scope of his remit, the AG explained his hope for improvement to certain elements of the
criminal justice system, such as more informative defence statements and better
monitoring of entrapment accusations and subsequent requests for disclosure.
Overall, I continue to be impressed with the standards and commitment of the senior
members of MI5 and the PSNI and understand the frustration all stakeholders experience
due to the lack of a functioning Executive .
I have measured performance in this reporting period against the five key principles
identified in relation to national security in Annex E to the St Andrews Agreement of
October 2006. My conclusions are set out in the attached table.
Attachments:
1. Table for WMS 7 May 2019 [Table for National Security WMS.doc]