Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on the implementation of the National Kinship Care Strategy.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
‘Championing Kinship Care’, which was published on 15 December 2023, sets out the department’s vision for a future kinship care system and how kinship carers can be better supported, so that more children can thrive. The department is investing £20 million of funding in 2024/25 to help move towards a children’s social care system with kinship at its heart.
The department will launch a Pathfinder programme in 2024 in up to eight local authorities to provide special guardian kinship carers, who care for previously looked after children, with a financial allowance to be paid at the same rate as foster care. This programme will be backed by an investment of £16 million in 2024/25 and the department will explore expanding eligibility to broader cohorts of kinship carers and all local authorities in the future, subject to the findings of our evaluation. The department is currently working through the criteria for the eight local authorities, and will share further information on the Pathfinder in the coming months.
The department also announced £3.8 million in 2024/25 to expand the role of Virtual School Heads to specifically include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care. Local authority funding allocations were published in March 2024 and the role extension will come into effect from September 2024.
The department is also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access if they wish to within this Spending Review period. The department is pleased to confirm the charity Kinship as the successful training partner and that the service went live in April 2024.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on the implementation of the financial allowance pathfinder.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will launch a Pathfinder programme in 2024 in up to eight local authorities to provide special guardian kinship carers, who care for previously looked after children, with a financial allowance to be paid at the same rate as foster care. This programme will be backed by an investment of £16 million in 2024/25 and the department will explore expanding eligibility to broader cohorts of kinship carers and all local authorities in the future, subject to the findings of our evaluation. Local authority selection will take place this year. The department will also work with an evaluation partner to make sure that the programme can provide robust evidence for future rollout. The department will share further information on the Pathfinder in the coming months.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the eight local authorities selected for the financial allowance pathfinder.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will launch a Pathfinder programme in 2024 in up to eight local authorities to provide special guardian kinship carers, who care for previously looked after children, with a financial allowance to be paid at the same rate as foster care. This programme will be backed by an investment of £16 million in 2024/25 and the department will explore expanding eligibility to broader cohorts of kinship carers and all local authorities in the future, subject to the findings of our evaluation. Local authority selection will take place this year. The department will also work with an evaluation partner to make sure the programme can provide robust evidence for future rollout. The department will share further information on the Pathfinder in the coming months.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the potential merits of increasing the purchase price limits on ISAs to exceed £250,000.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps all aspects of savings policy under review, and any changes of this kind would be made at a relevant fiscal event.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to increase protections for house purchase expenses prior to exchange of contracts.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Announcements will be made in the usual way.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of treatment for glioma on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new licensed medicines, including medicines for glioma, to determine whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NICE aims to publish guidance on new medicines as close as possible to licensing. Any medicine for glioma, recommended in draft NICE guidance, will be eligible for funding through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point a positive draft guidance is published, in line with the standard arrangements for cancer medicines.
On 24 April 2024, the NICE published draft guidance recommending a new treatment for glioma in children and young people that will be available to eligible patients once supply of the treatment is available.
There are currently no licensed dendritic cell therapies for glioma. A number of dendritic cell therapies are in development for the treatment of glioma, and any new licensed and NICE recommended treatments would be funded by NHS England, in line with NICE’s recommendations.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to provide dendric cell therapy for glioma.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates all new licensed medicines, including medicines for glioma, to determine whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NICE aims to publish guidance on new medicines as close as possible to licensing. Any medicine for glioma, recommended in draft NICE guidance, will be eligible for funding through the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point a positive draft guidance is published, in line with the standard arrangements for cancer medicines.
On 24 April 2024, the NICE published draft guidance recommending a new treatment for glioma in children and young people that will be available to eligible patients once supply of the treatment is available.
There are currently no licensed dendritic cell therapies for glioma. A number of dendritic cell therapies are in development for the treatment of glioma, and any new licensed and NICE recommended treatments would be funded by NHS England, in line with NICE’s recommendations.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many meetings of the Net Zero Innovation Board have taken place since February 2023.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Net Zero Innovation Board provides strategic oversight of government funding of net zero innovation programmes and has met four times since February 2023 – in July, October and December 2023 and March 2024.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the Net Zero Innovation Board last met.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Net Zero Innovation Board provides strategic oversight of government funding of net zero innovation programmes and has met four times since February 2023 – in July, October and December 2023 and March 2024.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) officials in his Department on compensation and support for affected Equitable Life policyholders.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 and there are no plans to reopen any previous decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.