Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guarantees are in place to ensure that workers on the horticultural Seasonal Worker visa are (a) transferred to a different Scheme Operator and (b) supported to access work in the event that the Scheme Operator who sponsored their UK visa has their sponsorship revoked.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Scheme Operators are required to have a clear employer transfer pathway in place as a condition of holding their sponsor licence, including transparent criteria for making a transfer request and a process for considering such requests. The Scheme Operators must not normally refuse requests to change employers and may only do so where there are significant reasons preventing a transfer, for example the imminent expiry of a worker’s visa. This is set out in published Home Office guidance, available at: Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a seasonal worker - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
In the event that a Scheme Operator for the Seasonal Worker routes became unlicensed for any reason, the Home Office will consider each case on its own merits and tailor its response accordingly.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to his oral contribution of 23 January 2024 during the debate on Protecting Steel in the UK, Official Report, column 265, whether his Department has undertaken or commissioned an independent assessment of the potential merits of the multi-union plan for steel production at Port Talbot.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
Tata Steel are now conducting a formal consultation period with staff regarding the company’s proposed £1.25bn project to transition to greener steelmaking at Port Talbot.
Prior to this, Tata Steel have been discussing Union’s alternative proposals with them for several months. Ultimately, this is a commercial decision for Tata Steel and engagement with trade unions has always been a process that must be led by the employer.
We are working with Tata Steel to provide up to £100m funding for a dedicated Transition Board, which I chair and includes members from the Welsh Government, to support both affected employees and the local economy.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase capacity and (b) improve infrastructure in the NHS to help tackle dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2019 we committed to doubling funding for dementia research, to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research from causes and prevention to treatment and care, delivering evidence to help prevent, diagnose and treat dementia, enabling the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia.
NHS England are assessing the additional scanning, treating and monitoring capacity which would be required if potential new Alzheimer’s treatments are approved and determined to be both cost and clinically effective. This includes securing additional diagnostic capacity, for instance through magnetic resonance imaging, lumbar puncture, and positron emission tomography and computed tomography.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether workers in the UK on the horticultural seasonal worker visa have access to employment law remedies; what information his Department provides to workers in the UK on the horticultural seasonal worker visa on their rights in the workplace; and how many workers who were issued a horticultural seasonal worker visa for the UK received redress following a complaint about violations of their rights in the workplace in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Migrant workers are entitled to the same rights and protection under employment legislation as resident seasonal workers.
As part of their duties as Seasonal Worker operators, sponsors provide seasonal workers with information about their rights and how to raise concerns. The Home Office monitors this by interviewing workers and engaging with sponsors to check what information is provided and in what format.
The majority of workers also undertake pre-departure orientation courses, developed by the International Organisation for Migration.
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) also produce and distribute similar material at source of recruitment.
The overwhelming majority of migrant complaints are minor and are swiftly addressed by a worker’s scheme operator. Any significant breach of employment rights would be a matter of UK employment law. The Home Office does not have any published data on this particular matter.
The Home Office does not publish data on the length of employment of seasonal workers.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many workers who entered the UK on the horticultural Seasonal Worker visa worked for fewer than 20 weeks, in the most latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Migrant workers are entitled to the same rights and protection under employment legislation as resident seasonal workers.
As part of their duties as Seasonal Worker operators, sponsors provide seasonal workers with information about their rights and how to raise concerns. The Home Office monitors this by interviewing workers and engaging with sponsors to check what information is provided and in what format.
The majority of workers also undertake pre-departure orientation courses, developed by the International Organisation for Migration.
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) also produce and distribute similar material at source of recruitment.
The overwhelming majority of migrant complaints are minor and are swiftly addressed by a worker’s scheme operator. Any significant breach of employment rights would be a matter of UK employment law. The Home Office does not have any published data on this particular matter.
The Home Office does not publish data on the length of employment of seasonal workers.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total budget of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority was in each financial year since 2010-11.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Allocation of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority’s (GLAA) annual budget has been the responsibility of the Home Office since April 2014. Prior to this, the budget was held by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Home Office does not have readily available access to information on total budgets covering the period of 2010-2014 when it was held by DEFRA.
Accordingly, the total GLAA budget in each financial year since its transfer to the Home Office in 2014 is presented in the following table:
Year | Total Budget (£Ms) |
2014-2015 | £1.61 |
2015-2016 | £1.97 |
2016-2017 | £5.60 |
2017-2018 | £7.66 |
2018-2019 | £6.70 |
2019-2020 | £6.70 |
2020-2021 | £6.75 |
2021-2022 | £7.12 |
2022-2023 | £6.62 |
2023-2024 | £7.77 |
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will create a long-term strategy to help people with ADHD to access medication they need.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has no current plans to create a long-term strategy specifically for access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, nor for raising awareness of ADHD or preventing misdiagnosis of ADHD in women and young girls.
It is the responsibility of local commissioners to make appropriate provisions available to meet the health and care needs of their local population. With respect to assessment, diagnosis and treatment for ADHD, integrated care boards, NHS trusts and health professionals should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management.
This guideline aims to improve recognition and diagnosis of ADHD, specifically highlighting the importance of recognising ADHD in women and girls, and to improve the quality of care and support that people of all ages who are diagnosed with ADHD receive.
The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out our plans for boosting health outcomes for women and girls and improving how the health and care system listens to women. Improving information provision for women and girls is a priority. In July 2023, we launched a women’s health area on the National Health Service website. This brings together over 100 topics, including ADHD, and our ambition is for the NHS website to be the first port of call for women and girls seeking information.
The NICE guideline also covers considerations on pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD. The guideline states that for children aged five years old and over and for adults, medication should be offered if ADHD symptoms are still causing a significant impairment in at least one domain, after environmental modifications have been implemented and reviewed. Overall, the decision and timescale for initiating medication should be a clinical decision based on the individual patient.
We are aware of current disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to some other medicines which should be largely resolved by April 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will create a long-term strategy for raising awareness of ADHD in women and young girls.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has no current plans to create a long-term strategy specifically for access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, nor for raising awareness of ADHD or preventing misdiagnosis of ADHD in women and young girls.
It is the responsibility of local commissioners to make appropriate provisions available to meet the health and care needs of their local population. With respect to assessment, diagnosis and treatment for ADHD, integrated care boards, NHS trusts and health professionals should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management.
This guideline aims to improve recognition and diagnosis of ADHD, specifically highlighting the importance of recognising ADHD in women and girls, and to improve the quality of care and support that people of all ages who are diagnosed with ADHD receive.
The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out our plans for boosting health outcomes for women and girls and improving how the health and care system listens to women. Improving information provision for women and girls is a priority. In July 2023, we launched a women’s health area on the National Health Service website. This brings together over 100 topics, including ADHD, and our ambition is for the NHS website to be the first port of call for women and girls seeking information.
The NICE guideline also covers considerations on pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD. The guideline states that for children aged five years old and over and for adults, medication should be offered if ADHD symptoms are still causing a significant impairment in at least one domain, after environmental modifications have been implemented and reviewed. Overall, the decision and timescale for initiating medication should be a clinical decision based on the individual patient.
We are aware of current disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to some other medicines which should be largely resolved by April 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will create a long-term strategy to help prevent misdiagnosis of ADHD amongst women and young girls.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has no current plans to create a long-term strategy specifically for access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, nor for raising awareness of ADHD or preventing misdiagnosis of ADHD in women and young girls.
It is the responsibility of local commissioners to make appropriate provisions available to meet the health and care needs of their local population. With respect to assessment, diagnosis and treatment for ADHD, integrated care boards, NHS trusts and health professionals should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management.
This guideline aims to improve recognition and diagnosis of ADHD, specifically highlighting the importance of recognising ADHD in women and girls, and to improve the quality of care and support that people of all ages who are diagnosed with ADHD receive.
The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out our plans for boosting health outcomes for women and girls and improving how the health and care system listens to women. Improving information provision for women and girls is a priority. In July 2023, we launched a women’s health area on the National Health Service website. This brings together over 100 topics, including ADHD, and our ambition is for the NHS website to be the first port of call for women and girls seeking information.
The NICE guideline also covers considerations on pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD. The guideline states that for children aged five years old and over and for adults, medication should be offered if ADHD symptoms are still causing a significant impairment in at least one domain, after environmental modifications have been implemented and reviewed. Overall, the decision and timescale for initiating medication should be a clinical decision based on the individual patient.
We are aware of current disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of ADHD. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to some other medicines which should be largely resolved by April 2024.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will create a long-term strategy to ensure supply of key medication for ADHD.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers, and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, which should be largely resolved by April 2024. We have also added ADHD products to the list of medicines that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the United Kingdom, to protect supplies for UK patients. We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine supply issues can be and want to assure you that we are working with the respective manufacturers to resolve the issues with ADHD medicine supply in the UK as soon as possible, and to help ensure patients are able to access these medicines in the short and long term.
While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and help mitigate risks to patients. There is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems and which works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, devolved administrations, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when shortages do arise.