Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary on its decision to make second and subsequent bail applications remote by default.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.
The Lord Chancellor is supportive of any efforts to help ensure sufficient capacity in the courts to hear bail applications and to remove principal structural barriers to applications being submitted, and he welcomes the revised guidance launched by Judicial Office which sets out that all second and subsequent bail applications to the Crown Court should be heard remotely unless ordered otherwise by a judge.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the potential additional cost to the public purse for the continued use of the digital case management system as well as Common Platform by Crown Courts.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Whilst the detailed allocation of funding to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for 2024/25 is still being finalised, the annual support cost for Digital Case Management system is expected to be £0.6 million for the foreseeable future, plus another £0.4 million to complete work on an interface between this and Common Platform in 2024/25.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing time limits on asylum cases for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office takes our duty of care towards children and young people extremely seriously and we prioritise applications from children and young people.
The Home Office does not currently have a target time for processing applications for asylum, but is committed to ensuring claims are considered without unnecessary delay. We have already made progress in prioritising claims with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.
Introducing a service standard for asylum claims is a complex consideration which needs to be balanced between the requirements of operational efficiency, the needs of service users and the integrity of asylum control measures, including the implementation of the Illegal Migration Act. A project to review these considerations, along with scope and potential implementation timescales, will be undertaken. Once the project is completed, a final decision will be taken on any potential asylum claim service standards.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a social worker workforce strategy that prioritises (a) recruitment, (b) retention and (c) professional pathways.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2021, the Government set out its strategy for the social care workforce in The People at the Heart of Care white paper. This set out our commitment to the continued success of the social work profession, and included plans to develop the domestic care workforce, including the launch of the care workforce pathway and an investment of over £20 million for adult social care nurse and social work apprenticeships.
On 10 January 2024, the Government announced a new fund to support the recruitment of social work apprentices into adult social care, over the next three years. Nearly £8 million from this fund has already been released to local authorities, and in the summer there will be another opportunity to apply to this fund.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of No Recourse to Public Funds on people who are (a) destitute and (b) facing destitution.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office is committed to the continuous review of the NRPF policy and are engaging with public and private sector organisations on a regular basis to understand the impacts of the NRPF condition.
The Government published an overarching Equality Impact Assessment on the Compliant Environment measures, of which No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is part; Compliant environment: overarching equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
In general, temporary migrants are expected to support themselves and any accompanying family members in the UK without recourse to public funds. This is a well-established principle that protects taxpayer-funded public services from becoming overburdened.
Nonetheless, there are important safeguards in place for those in genuine need. Migrants with permission under the Family or Private Life routes, or the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) routes, can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘Change of Conditions’ application. An individual on these routes can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted if they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, if there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child, or where they are facing exceptional circumstances affecting their income or expenditure.
For all other immigration routes (other than Family or Private Life, or the Hong Kong BN(O) routes), the general expectation is that they will return to their home country should they become unable to meet their essential living needs in the UK. If there are particularly compelling circumstances why leaving the UK is not possible, discretion can be used to consider if the circumstances justify access to public funds.
Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established either that there is a risk to the wellbeing of a child or there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution: for example, where a person has community care needs or serious health problems. Support provided to a child by local authorities is not dependent on the immigration status of the child or their parent(s).
Migrants with NRPF who have paid the necessary National Insurance contributions or have relevant periods of employment or self-employment, can claim contributory benefits and statutory payments such as New Style Jobseekers Allowance, Statutory Sick Pay, and the State Pension.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will end the use on children of (a) the inverted wrist hold and (b) other pain-inducing restraints.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The syllabus for training staff in under-18 young offender institutions and the secure training centre in Managing and Minimising Physical Restraint (MMPR) focuses exclusively on behaviour management and restraint.
It is essential that staff are trained for every aspect of their role, including in techniques they may need to use to prevent serious physical harm to a child or adult. Staff will continue to be trained in the safe use of pain-inducing techniques, as part of a separate package of interventions for use only in situations where that is the only means of preventing serious physical harm.
Any response must be necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in view of the risk of harm which is present. All instances where a pain-inducing technique is used are subject to detailed scrutiny by on site MMPR Coordinators, as well as by members of the Independent Restraint Review Panel.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish the revised Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice before the end of this parliament.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are continuing to discuss revisions to the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice, consulted on in 2022, with the Ministry of Justice. Further details on next steps will be shared with the sector in due course.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of specialist (a) training and (b) accreditation on (i) alcohol and (ii) other drugs for social workers.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The regulator for the social work profession, Social Work England, sets professional standards. These are standards all social workers must meet. The professional standards include that social workers must be able to address social care needs arising from substance misuse. Social workers complete initial education and training and then they are supported by an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). For child and family social workers the ASYE is due to be replaced by an Early Career Framework. Post-qualification training of social workers is the responsibility of employers such as local authorities and the NHS.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of changes in the level of social security benefits on people living in unsuitable housing.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions spends around £30bn a year on housing support for renters in both the private and social rented sectors. Benefit rates and the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) are reviewed annually.
From April this year the Government is investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This significant investment ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit gain on average, nearly £800 in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
LHA provides a reasonable level of housing support towards rental costs in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
The Department works closely with other government departments, stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned defunding of the level 3 Criminology qualification on the criminal justice workforce pipeline (a) in general and (b) for jobs that contribute to maintaining national security.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that students in post-16 education have access to a high quality suite of qualifications that are easy to choose from and which provide the best chances for progression into higher study, or into a skilled job. The department firmly believes that, until the Advanced British Standard (ABS) is introduced, A Levels and T Levels are the best route at Level 3 to achieving those outcomes. A Levels are world class qualifications that provide the best preparation for higher education in most academic subject areas, including the social sciences.
The government’s view is that A Levels should be the academic qualifications of choice at Level 3. This is based on evidence about progression and attainment for students who study A Levels compared to those who study other academic qualifications at Level 3. Students who study A Levels tend to both do better and have higher completion rates at university than students who studied other qualifications, even when taking into account background characteristics.
An impact assessment was undertaken to consider the post-16 reforms at Level 3 as a whole, which can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091841/Revised_Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_in_England_impact_assessment.pdf.
The study of criminology at Level 3 is not generally an entry requirement for criminology and other related degree courses. A Level sociology, which is in the same sector subject area of sociology and social policy, will serve students wishing to progress to criminology degrees. Students wishing to progress into other careers in criminal justice and national security, such as legal, policing or prison and probation services, could also undertake other A Levels such as law, combined with small alternative academic qualifications in approved subjects such as uniformed protective services.
Development of the ABS is a decade long reform programme. Therefore, removal of funding from technical qualifications overlapping with T Levels is continuing as planned. The technical parts of the ABS are much closer to the T Level than any other qualification, meaning that T Levels will be the most future proof qualification for students at 16 to 19.
As the department reforms applied general qualifications, it will be up to colleges to decide what they offer to ensure that students have access to a wide range of publicly funded qualifications. As education is a devolved matter, the devolved administrations may take a different approach to post-16 education.