Bambos Charalambous Alert Sample


Alert Sample

View the Parallel Parliament page for Bambos Charalambous

Information between 15th November 2023 - 14th March 2024

Note: This sample does not contain the most recent 2 weeks of information. Up to date samples can only be viewed by Subscribers.
Click here to view Subscription options.


Written Answers
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Post Offices
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Friday 17th November 2023

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing DVLA services from the Post Office in March 2024 on (a) elderly people and (b) people without internet access.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Post Office Ltd currently provides a limited range of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services and an extension to the current contract has been agreed, ensuring that DVLA services will be available at post offices until the end of March 2024.

The DVLA wants its customers to be able to access its services as quickly and as easily as possible and the role of front office counter services will form part of the considerations of future service offerings, utilising government agreements if necessary.

The vast majority of those licensing vehicles already do so online or via the DVLA’s automated telephone service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The DVLA will continue to ensure that all customers are able to license their vehicles.

Access to Work Programme: Neurodiversity
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to promote the access to work scheme to people with neurodiverse conditions.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

We collaborate closely with external stakeholders, including charities and employer associations, to raise awareness of the support provided through Access to Work across all types of disability and health conditions. We ensure that Access to Work staff, Jobcentre work coaches, health professionals and advisory groups have the information and tools they need to advocate for the scheme.  Recognising the need for clear accessible information, the Access to Work pages on gov.uk have been improved to provide clearer signposting for disabled people and employers.

We also promote Access to Work as part of the Disability Confident scheme.

Access to Work Programme: Neurodiversity
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people with neurodiverse conditions who used the access to work scheme in the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Regarding the information requested, the department has not made an estimate of the number of people with neurodiverse conditions who used the Access to Work scheme in the last 12 months, as this data is not routinely collected.

Access to Work Official Statistics are published annually and include the number of people who received a payment for Access to Work by various customer characteristics, including primary medical condition. However, the publication does not include ‘neurodiverse condition’ as a primary medical condition.

Access to Work Programme: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of prioritising support for people with ADHD through the access to work scheme in the context of shortages in ADHD medication.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

No assessment has been made - Access to Work is not intended to act as clinical support or replacement for medication.

Special Educational Needs
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Monday 27th November 2023

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen mediation through the SEND Change Programme; and what outcome measures will be used to determine the success of those changes.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Mediation proposals are being tested through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Change Programme. These tests aim to develop a best practice model for delivering high-quality mediation provisions.

The proposals being tested include asking local authorities to: signpost new family friendly guidance on mediation in their local offer; take part in pre-mediation meetings; respond to requests for mediation with available dates within 5 working days; and, where possible, to use mediators listed on the Civil Mediation Council/College of Mediators SEND register.

The department will carefully consider the feedback and findings from the Change Programme. The department expects this to include data on mediation timeliness as well as feedback on outcomes and families' experiences of the process. Testing will also help to better understand the required capacity to deliver timely, high-quality mediation and to identify any delivery challenges.

The department is also testing an advisory tailored list in participating local authorities through the Change Programme to gain feedback on the best way to support families as they choose a placement. To illustrate choice, participating families will receive detailed and relevant information about placements that could be suitable to meet the needs of their child, but there will be no change to the existing statutory framework and their existing rights will be unaffected. The department will use the Change Programme as an opportunity to learn how tailored lists can best support family experiences as well as their potential to support local authorities to manage their placements and provision.

Finally, the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan template that local authorities on the Change Programme are now preparing to pilot was extensively coproduced with a wide range of SEND experts, including families themselves. Following this period of testing, the department will finalise and publish the EHC plan template.

Special Educational Needs
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Monday 27th November 2023

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reforms on (a) mediation and (b) choice of education placement for children and young people who have an Education, Health and Care plan are being tested as part of the SEND Change Programme.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Mediation proposals are being tested through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Change Programme. These tests aim to develop a best practice model for delivering high-quality mediation provisions.

The proposals being tested include asking local authorities to: signpost new family friendly guidance on mediation in their local offer; take part in pre-mediation meetings; respond to requests for mediation with available dates within 5 working days; and, where possible, to use mediators listed on the Civil Mediation Council/College of Mediators SEND register.

The department will carefully consider the feedback and findings from the Change Programme. The department expects this to include data on mediation timeliness as well as feedback on outcomes and families' experiences of the process. Testing will also help to better understand the required capacity to deliver timely, high-quality mediation and to identify any delivery challenges.

The department is also testing an advisory tailored list in participating local authorities through the Change Programme to gain feedback on the best way to support families as they choose a placement. To illustrate choice, participating families will receive detailed and relevant information about placements that could be suitable to meet the needs of their child, but there will be no change to the existing statutory framework and their existing rights will be unaffected. The department will use the Change Programme as an opportunity to learn how tailored lists can best support family experiences as well as their potential to support local authorities to manage their placements and provision.

Finally, the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan template that local authorities on the Change Programme are now preparing to pilot was extensively coproduced with a wide range of SEND experts, including families themselves. Following this period of testing, the department will finalise and publish the EHC plan template.

Special Educational Needs
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Monday 27th November 2023

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the new national template for Education, Health and Care plans that is being tested by SEND Change Programme Partnerships.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Mediation proposals are being tested through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Change Programme. These tests aim to develop a best practice model for delivering high-quality mediation provisions.

The proposals being tested include asking local authorities to: signpost new family friendly guidance on mediation in their local offer; take part in pre-mediation meetings; respond to requests for mediation with available dates within 5 working days; and, where possible, to use mediators listed on the Civil Mediation Council/College of Mediators SEND register.

The department will carefully consider the feedback and findings from the Change Programme. The department expects this to include data on mediation timeliness as well as feedback on outcomes and families' experiences of the process. Testing will also help to better understand the required capacity to deliver timely, high-quality mediation and to identify any delivery challenges.

The department is also testing an advisory tailored list in participating local authorities through the Change Programme to gain feedback on the best way to support families as they choose a placement. To illustrate choice, participating families will receive detailed and relevant information about placements that could be suitable to meet the needs of their child, but there will be no change to the existing statutory framework and their existing rights will be unaffected. The department will use the Change Programme as an opportunity to learn how tailored lists can best support family experiences as well as their potential to support local authorities to manage their placements and provision.

Finally, the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan template that local authorities on the Change Programme are now preparing to pilot was extensively coproduced with a wide range of SEND experts, including families themselves. Following this period of testing, the department will finalise and publish the EHC plan template.

Neurodiversity
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Friday 24th November 2023

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the tracking of people with neurodiverse conditions on his Department's diversity monitoring forms.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Diversity monitoring forms, which include the Enterprise Resource Planning system used in the Cabinet Office, use question sets in line with the Office for National Statistics harmonised standards. This is considered best practice across government.

As set out in the Autumn statement, the audit of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) spending is coming to its conclusion and, subject to further work, the Government is streamlining EDI training and HR processes with a view to getting value for the taxpayer. As the Minister for the Cabinet Office, I will be outlining the final proposals in due course.

Sports: Hearing Impairment
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Thursday 7th December 2023

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the allocation of UK Sport funding to (a) deaf athletes and (b) the Deaflympics.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

UK Sport uses funding provided by the Government to support athletes with potential to achieve success in Olympic and Paralympic sports. As the Deaflympics falls outside of Olympic and Paralympic sport, UK Sport are therefore unable to fund athletes targeting this event.

This is in line with the Government’s approach to other Paralympic sports where competition is not offered in an athlete's particular classification or discipline.

Sport England has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to UK Deaf Sport to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level and build wider participation. They have also agreed to explore a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.

d/Deaf athletes do receive Government funding. Sport England has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to UK Deaf Sport to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level and build wider participation. Beyond this, they have also agreed to explore a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore support around elite competitions and suggest potential solutions.

Sports: Hearing Impairment
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Thursday 7th December 2023

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has carried out an equality impact assessment of the elite sport funding of deaf people.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

UK Sport uses funding provided by the Government to support athletes with potential to achieve success in Olympic and Paralympic sports. As the Deaflympics falls outside of Olympic and Paralympic sport, UK Sport are therefore unable to fund athletes targeting this event.

This is in line with the Government’s approach to other Paralympic sports where competition is not offered in an athlete's particular classification or discipline.

Sport England has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to UK Deaf Sport to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level and build wider participation. They have also agreed to explore a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.

d/Deaf athletes do receive Government funding. Sport England has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to UK Deaf Sport to boost deaf sport at the grassroots level and build wider participation. Beyond this, they have also agreed to explore a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore support around elite competitions and suggest potential solutions.

Probate: Waiting Lists
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for grant of probate.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

HMCTS has significantly increased staffing levels in Probate over the past year to help process applications faster. The training and upskilling of those new and existing staff have led to applications taking longer in the short term.

HMCTS have streamlined internal processes to cut down on administrative delay and reduce processing times. We are continuing to invest in improving digital systems and online filing capabilities so users can track progress more easily.

Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.

Measles: Children
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Wednesday 13th December 2023

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 reduce children’s exposure to measles.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is working closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners at the national, regional and local levels to ensure the health system is prepared and can respond to outbreaks. Briefing notes and letters have been sent to the National Health Service and health professional organisations to remind them of existing guidance and ask them to seek assurance of their preparedness to manage measles cases and prevent outbreaks in their settings. National Measles guidance has been updated, and a range of resources have been published including posters and training resources, which are all available at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-measles-guidelines

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-information-and-poster-for-health-professionals

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/measles-guidance-data-and-analysis

In January 2024, a national multi-agency exercise is planned to assess the system-wide preparedness to respond to a large measles outbreak at a regional and national level.

UKHSA, NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners are also working to raise public awareness of the risks and increase measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination coverage, including through national and regional call-recall exercises, communication campaigns and targeted outreach for underserved communities. NHS England has agreed with general practices to focus their annual campaign on local call recall for MMR to ensure that consistent efforts are made to contact those eligible who have not taken up a vaccine offer between November 2023 and March 2024. A national call recall for individuals aged six years old up to and including 25 years old who are not up to date with their MMR vaccine is planned for 2024.

Vaccination: Children
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Wednesday 13th December 2023

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 children’s access to vaccination services.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The Government is committed to improving vaccination uptake rates to fully protect the public from vaccine preventable diseases. The Department works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to improve children’s access to vaccination services through diverse delivery methods, making getting vaccinated easier for all, including those in traditionally under-served groups. NHS England has rolled out additional programmes such as NHS England London’s new drive to increase measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake last summer to improve immunisation coverage for children and catch-up missed vaccinations due to the pandemic.

The Department is working with NHS England and UKHSA to encourage high uptake of all childhood vaccinations, including the polio vaccine, with NHS England London launching the next phase of their polio campaign, delivering a school-based catch-up for children aged between one and 11 years old. This will also provide opportunities to catch up children for other important childhood vaccines, including MMR.

Offenders: Care Leavers
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Friday 12th January 2024

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will update the HM Prison and Probation Service Strategy for Care-Experienced People to include a specific focus on race.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are updating our strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure we are using care-experienced people’s time in the criminal justice system to support them to lead crime-free lives.

This will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience in the criminal justice system, and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system.

We are aiming to publish this strategy later this year.

Children in Care: Racial Discrimination
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Monday 15th January 2024

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate and Barnardo’s to discuss how local authorities can work with partners to prevent the over-criminalisation of Black children in the care system.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We recognise that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. That is why we published a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in 2018 on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-protocol-on-reducing-criminalisation-of-looked-after-children. The protocol was produced with the input of local authority representatives, and other partners. Since the publication of the protocol, the proportion of children in care aged 10-17 who are charged with an offence or receive a caution has reduced from 3% in 2019 to 2% in 2023. Latest data for year ending March 2023 also show that 3% of care leavers age 19-21 were in custody. This figure has remained the same for the last 5 years.

We are also taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour including through our work to improve school attendance.

Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, we are working closely with MoJ to improve support and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system.

The MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. The strategy will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience, and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system. The MoJ are aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.

Children in Care: Racial Discrimination
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Monday 15th January 2024

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate and Barnardo’s to discuss developing a Black Foster Care Network to improve the experiences of Black children in care.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Enfield Southgate to the answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8232: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-01-05/8232.

Recruitment: Advertising
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Thursday 1st February 2024

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring employers to publish salary information when advertising job opportunities.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

There is growing evidence to show that when salary information is not transparent, it has an impact on how people, particularly women and those from ethnic minorities, negotiate pay. This can ultimately result in lower starting salaries and smaller pay rises. In light of this, we have considered the merits of making this a requirement.

However, we appreciate that some employers may find it challenging to be fully transparent about pay, and for many organisations, moving immediately to a system of full pay transparency would require a period of adjustment. We therefore do not believe that introducing a legal requirement to disclose this information is the right course of action.

However, in order to encourage and assist employers in voluntarily adopting this, we are considering what further support employers may need. In addition, our pay transparency pilot will provide insights on the impact it can have.

Pedestrian Crossings
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to enforce pedestrian priority at pedestrian crossing points without traffic control measures as set out in the update to the Highway Code in January 2022.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Highway Code changes to improve road safety for people walking, cycling, and riding horses aim to initiate a positive shift in road user behaviour, by making road users aware of their responsibility to use roads safely and reduce the danger they may pose to others.

Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police, who will decide on the evidence of each individual case, whether an offence has been committed and the appropriate action to take.



MP Financial Interests
30th October 2023
Bambos Charalambous (Independent - Enfield, Southgate)
4. Visits outside the UK
Name of donor: House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus
Address of donor: 1102 Nicosia, Cyprus
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Hotel accommodation for three nights (£459), transport (£182.75) and meals (£106.25), value £748
Destination of visit: Nicosia, Cyprus
Dates of visit: 13-16 February 2024
Purpose of visit: APPG for Cyprus visit to meet the President, Speaker, Members of the Republic of Cyprus Parliament, NGOs and members from civil society to get an update on the current situation in Cyprus and prospects for peace talks.

Source