Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what records his Department keeps of when the universal credit IT system is not functioning.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Department keeps records of all incidents where the UC IT system is not available for use, either by DWP staff or by customers where the services are delivered digitally. These records are held electronically in other systems specifically used to record and manage such incidents and provide information that allows the Department to track performance and continuously improve the quality of service it delivers.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of safe return reviews on (a) the resources needed by her Department to implement that policy and (b) the integration of refugees into the UK.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
UK Visas & Immigration already have a dedicated resource in place to undertake safe return reviews when considering settlement applications from those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection. Caseworkers must consider whether there have been significant changes in country conditions or personal circumstances which means that an individual no longer needs our protection.
Those who need protection are normally granted 5 years’ limited leave after which they are able to apply for permanent settlement. This policy has been in place since 2005 when automatic settlement for refugees was abolished, so this Government has never operated a policy of automatic settlement for refugees. All applications are carefully considered on their individual merits and we have always been clear that protection will be granted for as long as it is needed.
Refugees have and will continue to make a valuable contribution to British society but those who want to remain in the UK permanently need to complete a qualifying period of leave before obtaining the benefits of settlement. Refugees have immediate and unrestricted access to the labour market and where it is clear that they continue to face persecution or serious harm on return to their country they are normally granted settlement. Those who are no longer at risk due to significant change in the country situation are able to return home or can choose to apply to remain here under other provisions of the Immigration Rules.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects paragraph 11 of Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016 to be brought into force.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We are currently working with the Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty’s Court Service and the First-tier Tribunal to implement the Secretary of State’s duty to arrange consideration of bail, as set out in paragraph 11 of Schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016. This is just one part of a large number of changes necessary to implement the wider immigration bail provisions in Schedule 10 and it will be commenced alongside those other provisions in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to publicise any changes to the residency rights of EU citizens living in the UK; and if she will provide a telephone number for such people to call for such information.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The rights of EU nationals living in the UK remain unchanged while we are a member of the European Union. We are currently considering the various options as to how EU migration might work once we have left, it would be wrong to set out further positions at this stage.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether a review has been commissioned for completion this year to follow the health and wellbeing needs assessment programme in Immigration Removal Centres which reported in 2015.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Health Needs Assessment process is the responsibility of NHS England regional commissioners. They manage the timetable and format for Health Needs Assessments at Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) in their area. There is an expectation that a full Health Needs Assessment is carried out every three years with an annual refresh which aligns to the NHS England commissioning cycle.
Health Needs Assessments for specific IRCs are put out to tender. A comprehensive Health Needs Assessment would seek input from a variety of organisations and individuals who have experiences of IRCs, usually through a formal stakeholder event, which would include Non-Governmental Organisations.
The 2015 review of the Health Needs Assessment programme established a national baseline for providing services in IRCs. There is no plan to commission a further review.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable and format is for this year's review of the health and wellbeing needs assessment programme in immigration removal centres.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Health Needs Assessment process is the responsibility of NHS England regional commissioners. They manage the timetable and format for Health Needs Assessments at Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) in their area. There is an expectation that a full Health Needs Assessment is carried out every three years with an annual refresh which aligns to the NHS England commissioning cycle.
Health Needs Assessments for specific IRCs are put out to tender. A comprehensive Health Needs Assessment would seek input from a variety of organisations and individuals who have experiences of IRCs, usually through a formal stakeholder event, which would include Non-Governmental Organisations.
The 2015 review of the Health Needs Assessment programme established a national baseline for providing services in IRCs. There is no plan to commission a further review.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NGOs will be able to engage with this year's review of the health and wellbeing needs assessment programme in immigration removal centres.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Health Needs Assessment process is the responsibility of NHS England regional commissioners. They manage the timetable and format for Health Needs Assessments at Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) in their area. There is an expectation that a full Health Needs Assessment is carried out every three years with an annual refresh which aligns to the NHS England commissioning cycle.
Health Needs Assessments for specific IRCs are put out to tender. A comprehensive Health Needs Assessment would seek input from a variety of organisations and individuals who have experiences of IRCs, usually through a formal stakeholder event, which would include Non-Governmental Organisations.
The 2015 review of the Health Needs Assessment programme established a national baseline for providing services in IRCs. There is no plan to commission a further review.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visit visa applications to the UK there were in the year ending 8 July (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016, by (i) overall number of decisions made, (ii) number of family visit visa grants, (iii) number of family visit visa refusals, (iv) number of family visit visa applications withdrawn and (v) number of family visit visa applications which lapsed.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The information on total entry clearance visitor visas granted is released quarterly as part of the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics, available at the .GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested under immigration powers by Immigration Enforcement Teams in Oxford East constituency over the last six-month period for which figures are available.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Home Office databases show that 16 arrests under immigration powers were made on Immigration enforcement visits in the Oxford East constituency in the six months from 1 August 2016 to 31 January 2017.
Asked by: Andrew Smith (Labour - Oxford East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of reducing the age for screening for bowel cancer to people aged 50.
Answered by David Mowat
The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme offers bowel cancer screening every two years to men and women aged 60 to 74, using a self-sampling kit, the Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) test. Anyone over the age of 74 can self refer themselves into the screening programme every two years.
The programme initially offered screening to men and women aged 60 to 69 years old because the risk of bowel cancer increases with age, with over 80% of bowel cancers being diagnosed in people who are aged 60 or over. In the bowel cancer screening pilot, conducted in Coventry and Warwickshire and in Scotland in the late 1990s and early 2000s, over three times more cancers were detected in people aged over 60 than under 60, and people in their 60s were most likely to use a testing kit. In addition, there was not enough endoscopy resource to begin at a wider age range. Men and women aged over 70 have always been able to self-refer for screening every two years if they wish. The programme has now been extended to men and women aged up to 74.
In November 2015, the UK National Screening Committee which advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy, recommended that the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) should replace the currently used FOB test in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Bowel cancer screening using the FIT self-sampling kit will be offered to men and women aged 60 to 74 every two years. Anyone over the age of 74 will still be able to self refer into the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme every two years. FIT is expected to increase screening uptake by around 10% and result in around 200,000 more people a year being tested, potentially saving hundreds of lives. FIT will be implemented from April 2018.
In addition to FOB testing the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is currently rolling out Bowel Scope Screening (BSS), a one off examination which will play a significant role in preventing bowel cancer. Both men and women will be invited for BSS around the time of their 55th birthday. If people are not screened at 55, they can request BSS up to the age of 59. BSS finds and removes any small bowel growths (polyps) that could eventually turn into cancer.
We believe the biggest impact we can have on saving lives from bowel cancer in England is implementing FIT in 2018 and roll-out of BSS to all men and women aged 55.