Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the statutory guidance provided to schools on the costs of school uniforms.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms came into force in September 2022. The Department is assessing the effect of the guidance through continued engagement with key stakeholders, including via correspondence received by the Department from parents, head teachers, and uniform suppliers.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of dentists not currently providing NHS services who could do so following the changes he is seeking to make to the dental contracts in (a) Bristol and (b) the South West.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No estimate has been made.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on which dates he has met with the British Medical Association to discuss preventing strike action since his appointment on 25 October 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met the British Medical Association on 12 January 2023. He and I also met the BMA on 2 March, 22 March and 27 March 2023. These meetings included discussion on preventing strike action as part of wider conversations on pay and conditions.
The Government and the BMA Junior Doctors Committee held a constructive discussion on 2 May, in preparation for talks aimed at resolving the current junior doctors dispute.
While these talks are ongoing, we will not provide a running commentary.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the (a) median and (b) mean processing times for (i) registration and (ii) naturalisation applications in each year from 2017 to 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on naturalisation and registration applications made and completed every quarter on the Gov.UK website. This includes performance against the six-month service standard for completing applications. The most recent data set was published on 23 February 2023 and can be found here:
Visas and citizenship data: Q4 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the classification of tricycles in the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (Amendment) Regulations 2015 to account for the need for greater motor wattage for tricycles when climbing hills.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in July 2022, reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to making walking, wheeling and cycling the natural choice for millions more journeys. Equal access for disabled people is at the heart of this and the Department is keeping the prospect of changes to regulations on electric cycles, including tricycles, under review.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on which dates he met the Royal College of Nursing to discuss strike action since his appointment.
Answered by Will Quince
Since his appointment on 25 October 2022, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met the Royal College of Nursing to discuss strike action on the following dates: 10 and 15 November 2022, 12 December 2022, 9 and 12 January 2023, 22, 23, 24, 27 and 28 February 2023 and 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 and 16 March 2023.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to encourage doctors to prescribe gluten-free (a) foodstuffs and (b) other products for people diagnosed with coeliac disease.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Decisions about prescribing rest with the general practitioner or other prescriber who has clinical responsibility for a patient’s care, taking into account relevant clinical guidance. It is not appropriate for Ministers to influence individual prescribing decisions.
The information on how many integrated care boards support prescriptions for gluten free and other products for people diagnosed with coeliac disease is not held centrally.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Integrated Care Boards support prescriptions for gluten-free (a) foods and (b) other products for people diagnosed with coeliac disease in their area prescribing policies.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Decisions about prescribing rest with the general practitioner or other prescriber who has clinical responsibility for a patient’s care, taking into account relevant clinical guidance. It is not appropriate for Ministers to influence individual prescribing decisions.
The information on how many integrated care boards support prescriptions for gluten free and other products for people diagnosed with coeliac disease is not held centrally.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of care home residents who have accessed the EBSS Alternative Funding as a proportion of the total number of care home residents.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government do not at this stage have figures on the number of care home residents who have applied for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding. The figures for the number of eligible households who have applied for the scheme will be available in May.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people can access humanitarian aid in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The humanitarian situation in Sudan is worsening dramatically. The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. We will work with international partners to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves. The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response.