Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer to Question 189778 on 20 June 2023 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Disability, how many projects his Department have commissioned to increase high street accessibility for disabled people through local growth funding in the last three years by location.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have engaged extensively with stakeholders including local authority officers, the LGA, charities and networks representing disabled people and sector leads to develop the pavement licensing measures. Pavement licence provisions were amended to ensure that the impacts on disabled people are fully taken into consideration by local authorities when making decisions.
The needs of disabled persons must be taken into account by the authority when determining whether furniture put on the highway would be an unacceptable obstruction. In doing so, authorities are required to have regard to the needs of disabled people and the recommended distances required for access by disabled people, as set out in guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not centrally collect data on the number of projects delivered by local authorities which seek to increase high street accessibility.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of measures introduced to support outdoor dining during the covid-19 pandemic on disabled people and their access to pedestrian areas.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have engaged extensively with stakeholders including local authority officers, the LGA, charities and networks representing disabled people and sector leads to develop the pavement licensing measures. Pavement licence provisions were amended to ensure that the impacts on disabled people are fully taken into consideration by local authorities when making decisions.
The needs of disabled persons must be taken into account by the authority when determining whether furniture put on the highway would be an unacceptable obstruction. In doing so, authorities are required to have regard to the needs of disabled people and the recommended distances required for access by disabled people, as set out in guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not centrally collect data on the number of projects delivered by local authorities which seek to increase high street accessibility.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with abortion providers on the implementation of safe access zones.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of perinatal mental health services among ethnic minority communities.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Health Service is committed to addressing unwarranted variation and health inequalities and promoting equality, including for Perinatal Mental Health services. This includes supporting services to ensure appropriate access for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, to ensure that women from all backgrounds who need specialist Perinatal Mental Health support receive it.
NHS England’s Perinatal Mental Health programme is taking steps to ensure: training and development are available to ensure the workforce is culturally competent, diverse and representative of communities; equalities ambitions are embedded into strategic plans and governance arrangements; coproduction is embedded in service design, development and governance structures; regions and local health systems are supported to develop and achieve equality ambitions for their populations; data is available to understand trends in inequality in access, experience and outcomes to specialist Perinatal Mental Health services; third sector groups and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors are included to support groups at risk of health inequalities.
In addition, NHS England published its first Advancing Mental Health Equalities Strategy in October 2020, laying out plans for addressing inequalities in access, experience and outcomes in mental health care.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department produced a Ministerial response under the write round process to the Department for Education's review of the relationships, sex and health education curriculum.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Evaluation of the Support for Migrant Victims pilot, published on 4 August 2023, when her Department plans to take a decision on the reservation to Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention.
Answered by Sarah Dines
We are carefully considering the findings of the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme pilot evaluation to inform any future policy decisions. Once we have considered all the evidence in the round, we will communicate our decision on the Article 59 reservation.
In the interim we have extended the funding for the scheme until March 2025 with up to £1.4 million allocated in financial years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, ensuring we maintain support for migrant victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support local communities who have a (a) village hall and (b) other community building impacted by Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 197493 on 11 September 2023.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department produced a ministerial response under the write round process to the Department for Education's review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.
Answered by George Freeman
The Secretary of State for Education has been clear she is very concerned about reports of inappropriate materials being used to teach relationships and sex education (RSHE). The Government has brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance as a result, including conducting a public consultation as soon as possible.
The statutory guidance clearly states that the guidance will be reviewed every three years from first teaching (September 2020) and so the decision to review the guidance does not require collective agreement. The Secretary of State for Education will seek collective agreement to the consultation documents through a write-round process, before publishing the consultation in the autumn. This process is not yet underway.
As part of the review, an expert panel has been established to advise the Secretary of State on what topics should and should not be taught in school and the introduction of age limits. This will provide clear guidance for teachers about when certain topics can be addressed.
In tandem to this work, the Oak Academy is producing a suite of materials to support teachers to create age-appropriate lessons plans and ensure that they have access to appropriate materials.
The Government is determined to make sure RSHE teaching leaves children equipped to make informed decisions about their health, wellbeing and relationships, in a sensitive way that reflects their stage of development.
The Government expects new statutory guidance to be released in the coming months. It will then be subject to public consultation to conclude by the end of the year, coming into statutory force as soon as possible after that.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are restrictions in place preventing sports massage therapists from treating people aged under 18.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no legal restrictions in place preventing sports massage therapists from treating people aged under 18.
We urge anyone seeking sports massage therapy to take the time to find a reputable, insured and appropriately qualified practitioner who is on a voluntary register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to ensure that adequate safeguarding checks are made on sports massage therapists.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is committed to a proportionate system of oversight for health and care professions and the types of assurance in place will vary by profession based on the specific risk profile.
Anyone undertaking or seeking employment as a sports massage therapist will be subject to employer checks, which may include a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Self-employed sports massage therapists can also obtain a basic criminal record certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service, which will show any unspent convictions or cautions they have.
Sports massage therapists can also join voluntary registers, including the Complementary and Natural Council register, which is accredited under the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care’s Accredited Registers Programme. The Programme provides assurance to the public when choosing and using health and care services by independently assessing organisations who register practitioners who are not regulated by law.
We urge anyone seeking sports massage therapy to take the time to find a reputable, insured and appropriately qualified practitioner who is on a voluntary register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.