Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle the shortage of NHS dentist appointments.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In July 2022, we announced a package of improvements to the National Health Service dental system, detailed in ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care. The changes we have implemented include a contractual requirement for NHS dentists to keep their NHS.UK profiles up to date to make it easier for patients to seek treatment, improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work and greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver NHS treatment, while enabling full use of the dental team.
These changes came into effect towards the end of 2022. NHS England have published additional guidance for dentists and commissioners as part of this package. Patients who are struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.
NHS England, regional teams and integrated care boards across England are also working together to ensure that patients continue to have access to NHS dental care. We know that we need to do more, and we are working with NHS England and stakeholders to consider additional reforms of the NHS dental system coming shortly this year.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 introducing compulsory mental health lessons in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Health education became a statutory part of the National Curriculum in September 2020. The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.
In primary school, pupils learn simple self-care techniques, including the importance of rest, time spent with friends and family and the benefits of hobbies and interests. At secondary school, teaching includes the benefits of community participation and voluntary and service-based activities on mental wellbeing and happiness.
Pupils are taught how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health, such as anxiety and depression. Pupils are also taught where and how to seek advice, including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing or ability to control their emotions.
As part of the review of the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance, the Department will undertake a deep dive into whether suicide prevention should be a statutory part of the curriculum.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 assessment of the potential merits of reforming the system of electricity standing charges.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Standing charges are capped under the price cap, set by Ofgem, and ensure millions of households pay a fair price for their energy. The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers. The standing charge reflects the on-going costs that fall on a supplier to provide and maintain a live supply to a customer.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the opportunities provided to people with Down's syndrome after they leave full-time education.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department wants to provide all young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with Down's syndrome, with good opportunities which allow them to transition from education into a fulfilling adult life.
On 2 March, we published the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan in response to the Green Paper published in March 2022. The Plan outlines the government’s mission for the SEND and AP system to fulfil children and young people’s potential, build parent’s trust, and provide financial sustainability.
We are developing good practice guidance to support consistent, timely, high-quality transitions for children and young people with SEND and in AP. This will look at transitions between all stages of education from early years and will focus initially on transitions into and out of post-16 settings. This includes transitions into higher education, employment, adult services, and for young people leaving AP at the end of key stage 4, building on learning from the recent Alternative Provision Transition Fund.
The government is committed to supporting pathways to employment for disabled learners, including through strengthening the Supported Internship programme. We are investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the Supported Internships Programme and support more young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans into employment. The Internships Work consortium has been appointed as the delivery partner for this investment. They will be working closely with local authorities to double the number of supported internships per year by 2025 and will engage with all partners in the system to level up the quality of internships across the country. Over 700 job coaches will be trained by 2025 to ensure interns receive high-quality support on their work placements.
In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced up to £3 million to pilot extending Supported Internships to young people with learning difficulties and disabilities, but without EHC plans.
To further help with preparation for adulthood, the department is supporting the Department for Work and Pensions to develop an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs, including for people with Down’s syndrome and other forms of SEND. The Adjustments Passport will capture the in-work support needs of the individual and empower them to have confident discussions about adjustments with employers.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 ensure that people who give birth to a child with Down's syndrome are provided with adequate maternity care.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Women who give birth to a child with Down syndrome need maternity care that is tailored to the needs of the woman and those of her baby. The National Health Service, through its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, is committed to listening to each woman and offering her a Personalised Care and Support Plan.
The Down Syndrome Act 2022, which received Royal Assent in April 2022, requires my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to publish guidance for relevant authorities across health, social care, education, and housing on practical steps that organisations should take to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome. By setting out in guidance the steps it would be appropriate for health authorities to take when providing services and support to people with Down syndrome and their families, we believe there will be a wider positive impact for expectant parents who are told their unborn baby may have Down syndrome.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help increase the (a) number and (b) proportion of social houses built with adaptations for people with disabilities.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
Following our consultation on options to raise the accessibility of new homes, we published a government response on 29th July 2022, setting out our plans to mandate the current optional and higher M4(2) requirement in Building Regulations as a minimum standard for all new homes, including new social homes. Government will consult further on the technical changes to the Building Regulations to mandate the higher M4(2) accessibility standard.
Additionally, since 2010 Government has invested £4.8 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2022-23), delivering an estimated 490,000 home adaptations.
The DFG is tenure neutral, so irrespective of the type of property in which a person lives, eligible disabled people should be able to receive the home adaptations that they need subject to a means test and assessment of need.
The £11.5 billion Affordable Homes programme (2021-26) (England) also includes delivery within the programme of new supply of specialist supported housing, including for people with disabilities, alongside investment through DHSC’s Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund (England).
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support companies that produce high specification machining parts for aeronautics.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government has been supporting UK aerospace research through the £685m Aerospace Technology Institute programme. Sharing in Growth, an intensive competitiveness improvement programme, has received £86m to support aerospace suppliers. It has created c.2,500 to 3,500 additional jobs and generated a net impact on turnover of £799m to £1,145m across all beneficiaries. The Department is now also working with industry to develop Supply Chain Solutions, an industry funded supplier competitiveness programme.
This support helps attract inward investment into the UK, enables exports and helps secure major contract wins such as the recent Airbus deal with Air India.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing age restrictions on music played by radio stations.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
There are rules in place to protect under-eighteens in relation to programme scheduling and content, as well as to protect the public generally in relation to harmful and / or offensive material. These are set out in the Broadcasting Code, which is published by Ofcom in its role as the independent regulator with responsibility for broadcast content and standards. Ofcom also publishes guidance to broadcasters in relation to offensive language, including with regard to lyrics in music tracks, and takes enforcement action, where appropriate, to deal with breaches.
The Government has no plans to introduce additional regulatory burdens on radio stations.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published on 20 October 2022, whether (a) police forces and (b) local authorities are recording the ethnicity of people arrested on suspicion of child sexual exploitation.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise the significant work of the Inquiry over its 7 years of investigation on these important issues. We owe it to the victims and survivors to give the Inquiry’s final recommendations proper time, consideration, and attention.
The Government continues to carefully consider all of the findings and each of the recommendations of the Final Report and will respond in the coming weeks.
The Government has already taken key steps to drive up data quality in policing by funding regional child sexual abuse analysts in every policing region. This includes making it mandatory from April 2022 for police forces to record demographic information, including the ethnicity of those arrested and held in custody as a result of their suspected involvement in grooming gangs.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it compulsory for home economics to be taught to key stage 4 students.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Learning how to cook is an important life skill for pupils. To facilitate this for Key Stage 4 pupils, the Department introduced a food preparation and nutrition GCSE in 2016 which requires pupils to understand and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating when preparing and cooking food. As part of the 2014 design and technology curriculum, the Department introduced a strand called ‘cooking and nutrition’, which is compulsory for pupils aged 5 to 14. Through this strand, children are taught how to cook with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition.