Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in prison have epilepsy.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England collects internal management data on this however the statistics are not considered robust enough to be published.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 of 23 January 2024 to Question 10209 on Refugees: Homelessness, what steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the support his Department provides to local authorities to reduce the risk of homelessness for new refugees.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We have welcomed nearly 200,000 Ukrainians to the UK since the war began and provided £1.1 billion to councils through a tariff for each arrival in their area to support guests and sponsors. Most Ukrainians have been able to sustain housing without the need for homelessness support. This year councils across the UK have been allocated £150 million to help prevent homelessness for Ukrainian households and others at risk of homelessness, and there will be an additional £120 million available next year.
The vast majority of Afghans who were in bridging hotels have been supported to move into settled accommodation. We have provided a £35 million package for local authorities to increase the support available to Afghans and help overcome the specific barriers they face in accessing the housing system, including £7,100 per person in flexible housing fund to help households into settled accommodation. There is also £9,150 per household available to local authorities for homelessness costs, and up to 6 months wraparound funding of £28 per person per day for those in temporary accommodation.
We will continue to support the Afghan cohort into settled housing, including through the £450 million third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund which follows the first two rounds of £750 million to help house Ukrainian and Afghan families in England. The Department continues to monitor homelessness in these groups, working closely to support local authorities so they are able to carry out their duties.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has consulted (a) autistic people and (b) the families of autistic people as part of their review of the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department reviewed the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework (ECF) during 2023, in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation and groups of sector experts, including Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) specialists. This review included a public call for evidence.
Following this review, the updated and combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) was published on 30 January 2024, for delivery from 2025.
The department’s review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and early career teachers (ECT) when supporting pupils with SEND. There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND, some of which has been adapted from the new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Special Educational Needs Coordinators to be relevant for trainees and ECTs. The department has also made some edits to existing statements to improve inclusivity for SEND throughout the framework.
Recognising the importance of ensuring trainees and ECTs are confident in supporting pupils with SEND to succeed, the department will also be enhancing the requirements on ECF lead providers when creating SEND exemplification materials.
The ITTECF is based on the best peer-reviewed evidence about what works and is designed to emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching. The framework therefore deliberately does not detail approaches specific to particular additional needs, such as autism, but focusses on what makes the most effective teaching. When reviewing the frameworks in 2023, the department tested this approach with SEND educational experts, with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children, particularly those with special educational needs.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of one-to-one learning for pupils who need to catch up on time missed in school as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is investing over £1 billion in tutoring via its flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This has seen nearly five million tutoring courses commence since the programme started in November 2020, including over two million in each of the last two academic years. In the current academic year, 346,000 courses have started up to 5 October 2023. Just under half of pupils who have received tutoring are disadvantaged, which means that the programme is disproportionately targeting these pupils.
There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. The Education Endowment Foundation has found that, on average, pupils who receive small group tutoring may make four months additional progress. The department’s external evaluation of year two of the NTP, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, shows that School Led Tutoring has had a positive impact on pupil attainment at both key stage 2 and key stage 4.
The department’s Implementation and Process Evaluation for the third year of the programme found that 78 per cent of senior leaders, teachers and tutors perceived that the NTP had a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and that 74 per cent felt the NTP was helping to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Tutoring Programme in closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is investing over £1 billion in tutoring via its flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This has seen nearly five million tutoring courses commence since the programme started in November 2020, including over two million in each of the last two academic years. In the current academic year, 346,000 courses have started up to 5 October 2023. Just under half of pupils who have received tutoring are disadvantaged, which means that the programme is disproportionately targeting these pupils.
There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. The Education Endowment Foundation has found that, on average, pupils who receive small group tutoring may make four months additional progress. The department’s external evaluation of year two of the NTP, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, shows that School Led Tutoring has had a positive impact on pupil attainment at both key stage 2 and key stage 4.
The department’s Implementation and Process Evaluation for the third year of the programme found that 78 per cent of senior leaders, teachers and tutors perceived that the NTP had a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and that 74 per cent felt the NTP was helping to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with headteachers on the effectiveness of one-to-one learning for pupils who need to catch up on time missed in school as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is investing over £1 billion in tutoring via its flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This has seen nearly five million tutoring courses commence since the programme started in November 2020, including over two million in each of the last two academic years. In the current academic year, 346,000 courses have started up to 5 October 2023. Just under half of pupils who have received tutoring are disadvantaged, which means that the programme is disproportionately targeting these pupils.
There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. The Education Endowment Foundation has found that, on average, pupils who receive small group tutoring may make four months additional progress. The department’s external evaluation of year two of the NTP, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, shows that School Led Tutoring has had a positive impact on pupil attainment at both key stage 2 and key stage 4.
The department’s Implementation and Process Evaluation for the third year of the programme found that 78 per cent of senior leaders, teachers and tutors perceived that the NTP had a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and that 74 per cent felt the NTP was helping to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of the National Tutoring Programme.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is investing over £1 billion in tutoring via its flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP). This has seen nearly five million tutoring courses commence since the programme started in November 2020, including over two million in each of the last two academic years. In the current academic year, 346,000 courses have started up to 5 October 2023. Just under half of pupils who have received tutoring are disadvantaged, which means that the programme is disproportionately targeting these pupils.
There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. The Education Endowment Foundation has found that, on average, pupils who receive small group tutoring may make four months additional progress. The department’s external evaluation of year two of the NTP, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, shows that School Led Tutoring has had a positive impact on pupil attainment at both key stage 2 and key stage 4.
The department’s Implementation and Process Evaluation for the third year of the programme found that 78 per cent of senior leaders, teachers and tutors perceived that the NTP had a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and that 74 per cent felt the NTP was helping to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of epilepsy (a) awareness and (b) first aid training for prison staff.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The HMPPS National Health and Safety Arrangements for First and Emergency Aid (publishing.service.gov.uk) require each prison to complete a first aid needs assessment, taking account of local risk and demand. All sites must have in place suitable numbers of adequately trained staff, equipment, and facilities to meet the need for first aid provision. First Aid training provided to prison staff – such as the course provided by St Johns Ambulance, which includes a wide range of topics, including how to deal with epileptic seizures – meets the standard required to comply with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations.
Information for all HMPPS staff about epilepsy is provided on the Occupational Health employee information website https://hmpps.workplacewellbeing.com/guidance/epilepsy/. This explains how epilepsy affects safety at work, and how managers can ensure adequate first aid cover by reviewing risk assessments, implementing reasonable adjustments, and making referrals to Occupational Health.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with epilepsy have died in prison (a) from all causes and (b) as a direct result of their epilepsy in the last ten years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisoners. All deaths in prison custody are subject to a coroner’s inquest.
The HMPPS National Health and Safety Arrangements for First and Emergency Aid (publishing.service.gov.uk) require each prison to complete a first aid needs assessment, taking account of local risk and demand. All sites must have in place suitable numbers of adequately trained staff, equipment, and facilities to meet the need for first aid provision. First Aid training provided to prison staff – such as the course provided by St Johns Ambulance, which includes a wide range of topics, including how to deal with epileptic seizures – meets the standard required to comply with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will have discussions with business on the potential merits of putting information about domestic abuse on period products.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government engages regularly with businesses and employers to raise awareness of domestic abuse and to ensure that all survivors can access support to encourage a whole system response to improving signposting to services which are accessible to all.
We do not currently have plans for such an initiative.