Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a Minister in her Department leads on policy on supporting children through parental separation.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ministers work closely across government to support children, including those going through parental separation.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible for private family law, which includes marriage and divorce. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the MoJ responsible for this is Lord Bellamy KC.
In my role as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing at the department, I work closely with Lord Bellamy KC at the MoJ, including through the national Family Justice Board, which we jointly chair.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the prevalence of certificates of sponsorship for care workers being sold overseas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office is aware of allegations of the selling of Certificates of Sponsorship to care workers overseas. All allegations of abuse are investigated but no wider assessment of the prevalence of this activity has been undertaken.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 adequacy of the provision of Riluzole for patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that one of the suppliers of riluzole 50 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. However, alternative suppliers have stock available. We are working closely with all the manufacturers and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure supplies remain available for patients in the United Kingdom.
We have well-established processes for managing and mitigating medicine supply issues, which involve working with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve access to Riluzole for patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are aware that one of the suppliers of riluzole 50 milligram tablets is experiencing a supply issue. However, alternative suppliers have stock available. We are working closely with all the manufacturers and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure supplies remain available for patients in the United Kingdom.
We have well-established processes for managing and mitigating medicine supply issues, which involve working with the pharmaceutical industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the devolved governments, and others operating in the supply chain to help ensure patients have access to the treatments they need.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on (a) cat and (b) other pet theft.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 November 2023 to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby, PQ 599.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a ban on trail hunting on land owned by her Department.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since the introduction of the Act, many hunt organisations across the country have worked hard to adapt their activities towards trail hunting, which is intended to retain important traditions as part of the fabric of rural life without harming wildlife. The Government takes wildlife crime seriously. In 2022, Defra more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25. The Government will not amend the Hunting Act.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to use the same model for the commissioning of social care services.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Care Act, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to ensure a diverse range of high-quality person-centred care and ensure that support services are provided to meet the needs of the local population. We recognise that this is challenging, and the Government intends to develop a set of national commissioning standards, to set clear expectations of what good commissioning looks like and to drive greater consistency across the country. We are also investing in a new training offer for senior commissioners, to enhance strategic leadership capability and ensure they have the skills they need to shape their markets well.
We recently published the Market Sustainability Insights Report, which summaries some of the approaches local authorities in England are taking to building sustainable and innovative care markets. It is designed to be a supportive tool for local authority commissioners and it is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-market-sustainability-plans-insights-report
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) the treatment of Ahmad Manasra and (b) other related investigations into allegations of torture and human rights abuses in Palestine.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's position is clear: all states, including Israel, must exercise their legitimate right to self-defence in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary will continue to engage regularly and closely with their Israeli counterparts on this issue. Our focus right now is securing sustained humanitarian access to Gaza, securing the release of British hostages and showing solidarity with Israel in defending itself against Hamas.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of processes for social care users to (a) acquire the care they need and (b) file complaints.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made up to £8.1 billion available over this year and next to strengthen adult social care provision with the aim of ensuring everyone can access high quality care that enables choice, control and independence.
Local Authorities are responsible for the delivery of social care. Local authorities must assess individuals’ care and support needs and, where the person is eligible, meet those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authorities in making their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
By law, all health and social care services must have a procedure for dealing efficiently with complaints, and anyone who has seen or experienced poor-quality care has the right to complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
If an individual is not satisfied with the way a provider or local authority has dealt with a complaint, they may escalate it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman who can investigate individual concerns.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a recent assessment of the impact of the Hunting Act 2004 on levels of fox hunting.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not hold this data. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.