Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department will take to support people in the UK with teaching qualifications earned in Ukraine to teach in UK schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Ukrainians can teach without Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for an unlimited period in an academy or a free school, or for up to four years in a maintained school. They can then consider gaining QTS through the Assessment Only route whilst working in this way.
Ukrainians are also able to apply for Initial Teacher Training in England. If they have been granted leave under the Ukraine Family Scheme visa, the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, or the Ukraine Extension Scheme, and have been a resident in the UK, they will be treated the same as a UK resident for higher education funding, including for Initial Teacher Training. More guidance for Ukrainian nationals on becoming a teacher in England is available on the Get into Teaching website, which can be found here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/non-uk-teachers/ukraine.
In early 2023 the Department will open a new route for teachers who trained in a broader range of countries, including Ukraine, to apply to the Teaching Regulation Agency for QTS in England, providing they meet certain criteria. This will provide Ukrainians who meet the relevant criteria to gain QTS by recognition of their existing teaching qualification, making it more straightforward to teach in all types of school in England. More information on this can be found at: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualified-teacher-status-to-overseas-teachers/a-fairer-approach-to-awarding-qts-to-overseas-teachers.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of her Plan for Patients on the availability of dental services on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Will Quince
In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including on the Isle of Wight.
The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans her Department has to expand the range of services available from pharmacies on the Isle of Wight; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect of her proposals for the range of services provided by pharmacies on public healthcare provision on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Will Quince
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-2024 sets out how community pharmacy will be integrated into the National Health Service, deliver more clinical services and provide treatment and advice for minor illnesses. Since 2019, services such as minor illness referrals from NHS 111 and general practitioners and blood pressure checks have been introduced.
In September, the Government announced the agreement with the sector for the remainder of the five-year deal including a one-off investment of £100 million. Under the agreement, we will further expand the range of clinical services offered in community pharmacy. Community pharmacists will manage and initiate contraception and provide additional support to patients newly prescribed antidepressants. Urgent emergency care settings will be able to refer patients to a community pharmacist for a minor illness consultation or an urgent medicine supply. In addition, integrated care boards or NHS England’s regional teams can commission pharmaceutical services and local authorities can commission community pharmacies to provide public health services.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of her Plan for Patients on access to ambulances on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
No specific assessment has been made. However, ‘Our plan for patients’ and the National Health Service plan for winter resilience set out plans to increase capacity for winter 2022/23, including in the Isle of Wight. NHS bed capacity will be increased by the equivalent of at least 7,000 general and acute beds to reduce waiting times for admission from accident and emergency and ambulance handover delays and improve ambulance response times. This is in addition to £150 million allocated to address ambulance service pressures in 2022/23 and a £20 million investment to upgrade the ambulance fleet. ‘Our plan for patients’ also announced a £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, to safely discharge people who are ready to leave hospital and increase bed capacity.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of her Plan for Patients on hospital bed capacity on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
No specific assessment has been made. However, ‘Our plan for patients’ and the National Health Service plan for winter resilience set out plans to increase capacity for winter 2022/23, including in the Isle of Wight. NHS bed capacity will be increased by the equivalent of at least 7,000 general and acute beds to reduce waiting times for admission from accident and emergency and ambulance handover delays and improve ambulance response times. This is in addition to £150 million allocated to address ambulance service pressures in 2022/23 and a £20 million investment to upgrade the ambulance fleet. ‘Our plan for patients’ also announced a £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, to safely discharge people who are ready to leave hospital and increase bed capacity.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of animal welfare protections for serval cats.
Answered by Scott Mann - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
When kept privately as pets, pure servals require a licence under Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. While the focus of the 1976 Act is public safety, licensing conditions also provide for animal welfare protections, such as the provision of accommodation that is a suitable size, temperature and cleanliness, as well as providing adequate and suitable food, drink and bedding material. Whether a serval hybrid would require a licence under the 1976 Act would depend on the generation of the cat. When the list of species which require a licence under the 1976 Act was last amended in 2007 it sought to clarify the position for domestic cat x wild cat hybrids generally. The immediate offspring of a pure serval and a domestic cat would require a licence, but subsequent hybrids from this source would not.
Where a serval was kept and exhibited to the public for seven days or more a year (otherwise than in a circus or pet shop), rather than a licence under the 1976 Act, they would need to be licensed and inspected under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. Under the 1981 Act, zoos are required to meet strict obligations in relation to animal welfare, conservation, and education. The animal welfare requirements are set in the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. The standards are currently under review following a 16 week consultation that ended on Tuesday 21 st June.
The commercial sale of cats, including servals, as pets is regulated under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The 2018 Regulations set out clear requirements for those who sell cats commercially. Licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences.
Further to these specific protections, these animals are also protected under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The 2006 Act requires those in charge of animals to protect them from harm and to ensure their key welfare needs are provided for. Those in charge of animals who fail to protect them from harm, or fail to provide for their welfare needs may be prosecuted and face penalties including a custodial sentence or an unlimited fine, or both.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what advice his Department provides to journalists subject to Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is currently developing reforms regarding the challenges which Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) present to journalists and others involved in freedom of expression relating to the public interest. Our recent Call for Evidence on SLAPPs consulted media professionals and journalists, inviting their views and experiences to inform our legislative reforms.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his timetable is for introducing legislative proposals on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
I refer to my answer to the Hon. Member for Croydon North on 7 September, the Government is currently considering options in relation to SLAPPs.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure it delivers on the Government's commitments made in the Global Ocean Alliance 30by30 initiative.
Answered by Steve Double
Since 2019, the UK has been leading the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) of countries championing ambitious ocean action under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the ‘30by30’ target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The ocean has historically been underrepresented in the CBD, and the GOA plays an important role in raising the profile of ocean and marine issues.
In addition to leading the GOA, the UK also serves as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature & People, alongside Costa Rica and France. The HAC champions 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. Between these two UK-led alliances, 120 countries support 30by30 for the ocean, and over 100 countries support 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. The HAC and the GOA are complementary alliances, working closely together and pushing in the same direction to ensure that the 30by30 target is adopted at CBD COP15.
As we approach the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the CBD in December 2022, the UK will continue working with Costa Rica, France, and members of the HAC and GOA, to call for the 30by30 target to be enshrined within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
The UK is committed to securing an ambitious outcome at COP15, including ambitious outcomes for the ocean, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally by 2030. However, it is also crucial that we continue working after COP15 to support the global implementation of the GBF, including the 30by30 target.
Achieving a global 30by30 target will require an international effort, from all Parties and sectors. The UK is leading the way, with 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protecting 38% of UK waters. We have built a comprehensive network of MPAs and are focusing on making sure they are protected properly. 98 MPAs in English inshore waters already have byelaws in place to protect sensitive features from damaging fishing activities. The first four offshore byelaws have now also been implemented and plans are in place to protect all offshore sites by the end of 2024, using new powers in the Fisheries Act 2020. The Government has also committed to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) following the response to the Benyon Review. We are now consulting on candidate pilot HPMAs.
In addition, the UK continues to provide support for marine protection internationally, including through the £500 million Blue Planet Fund. The Blue Planet Fund, financed from the UK overseas aid budget, will support developing countries to protect and sustainably manage their marine resources and address human-generated threats across four key themes: biodiversity, climate change, marine pollution, and sustainable seafood.
Asked by: Bob Seely (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
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 improve access to NHS dental treatment in rural and isolated communities.
Answered by James Morris
The Department and NHS England have recently announced improvements to the National Health Service dental system to increase access, target patients with higher oral health needs and make NHS dentistry a more attractive place to work for dentists and their teams.
This will assist regional commissioners to address the needs of NHS dental patients in rural and isolated communities through focused commissioning. It also aims to support practices to utilise members of the dental team to deliver care, particularly where there may be challenges in recruiting and retaining NHS dentists. Since July 2022, NHS England has asked practices to deliver 100% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients, including in rural and isolated areas.