Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Suffolk Fire Service’s (a) fire engine crewing levels, (b) emergency response times, (c) delivery of training and (d) firefighter numbers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The independent inspection of Suffolk Fire Service is underway, led by HMICFRS with a final inspection report anticipated in December.
The specific issues in the question will all be considered as part of the inspection.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the day crewing plus duty system in place at Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
It is the responsibility of fire and rescue services to ensure that they organise their resources effectively to deliver their core functions across prevention, protection and response. This includes decisions relating to duty systems.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications the proposed cuts to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service will have on the safety of the area that service covers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
It is the responsibility of each Fire and Rescue Authority to determine the resources required to deliver fire and rescue services to local communities.
In 2019/20, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority will receive £75.6 million in core spending power. This is an increase of 2.6% compared with 2018/19. In addition, at March 2018, the authority held £37.3 million in reserves, equivalent to 50.4% of core spending power
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that primary care professionals are adequately trained to spot the early signs of rheumatoid arthritis.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) curriculum statement, ‘Professional & Clinical Modules’, makes clear the importance of a prompt diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The condition is identified as a key area of clinical knowledge in the RCGP Advanced Knowledge Test (AKT) content guide. The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service and is a key part of GPs’ qualifying exams.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Quality Standard ‘Rheumatoid arthritis in over 16s’, updated in July 2018, emphasises the need for early for urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis within three weeks.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NICE Guideline CG91, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with rheumatoid arthritis have access to (a) cognitive behavioural therapy and (b) other appropriate psychological interventions.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults: management’, published in July 2018, sets out best practice on the diagnosis, treatment, care support of people living with the condition. The guidance recommends patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are managed by a multidisciplinary team and have access to non-pharmacological management including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support. Psychological interventions (for example, relaxation, stress management and cognitive coping skills) can be used to help adults with RA adjust to living with their condition. NICE has also published guidance on ‘Depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem: recognition and management’, which provides advice and guidance for the appropriate use of cognitive behavioural therapy in the management of a long-term condition. Both sets of guidance can be found via the following links:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June to Question 261149, what assessment the Government has made the accuracy of claims by Amnesty International that at least one member of the Shuhuh Six, Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahi, has been unjustly imprisoned.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As outlined in the answer to Question 261149 of 14 June, our Ambassador in Muscat raised the arrests with the Omani authorities on 27 May. We have received strong assurances from the Omani Government that the individuals arrested were prosecuted in accordance with Oman’s Penal Code and human rights commitments enshrined in Oman’s Basic Law (the Omani constitution). We continue to monitor developments in this case closely.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to implement a national review of fire compartmentation in residential buildings.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are no plans to implement a national review of compartmentalisation in residential buildings
However, I would refer the honourable Member to the Secretary of State's written statement on 6 June announcing a consultation on our proposals for a new system of building and fire safety which puts residents’ safety at its heart. The documents are published at:
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of regional disparities in the preparedness of fire services to respond to high-rise fires.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Nothing is more important than keeping the public safe and the Government recognise the vital role firefighters continue to play in protecting communities. All fire and rescue services have a capability to fight high rise fires. Regular engagement takes place with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) which represents the fire and rescue sector to Government.
They are also required to have integrated risk management plans, which target resources to best protect their communities. Fire & Rescue Authorities have a statutory requirement to have mutual assistance arrangements in place to provide additional support in the event of a major incident occurring. This is augmented by Home Office supported national resilience capabilities.
Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work and will receive around £2.3 billion in 2019/20. Single purpose fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.3% in cash terms in 2019/20 and an overall increase of 0.3% from 2015/16 to 2019/20.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to implement national standards for the pre-determined attendance of firefighters and fire engines for fires in high-rise blocks.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Decisions on crewing and attendance at incidents are for each Chief Fire Officer as part of their Integrated risk management plan, although Government has specifically asked Fire & Rescue Authorities to include the risk of high rise fires in their planning.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fire and rescue services outside of London he has had discussions with on their preparedness for tackling high-rise fires.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Nothing is more important than keeping the public safe and the Government recognise the vital role firefighters continue to play in protecting communities. All fire and rescue services have a capability to fight high rise fires. Regular engagement takes place with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) which represents the fire and rescue sector to Government.
They are also required to have integrated risk management plans, which target resources to best protect their communities. Fire & Rescue Authorities have a statutory requirement to have mutual assistance arrangements in place to provide additional support in the event of a major incident occurring. This is augmented by Home Office supported national resilience capabilities.
Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work and will receive around £2.3 billion in 2019/20. Single purpose fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.3% in cash terms in 2019/20 and an overall increase of 0.3% from 2015/16 to 2019/20.