Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
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 introduce mental health support in schools in relation to the effect of social media.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
We are aware of the potential health harms of screen use and social media, on both the mental and physical health of young people and are undertaking several actions relevant to this area.
In line with the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, on 20 December the Government announced the first wave of 25 trailblazer sites that will test the plans set out in ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, published in December 2017.
These new plans will significantly increase the availability of mental health support to children and young people, including creating new Mental Health Support Teams working in and near schools and colleges to support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions. Mental Health Support Teams will provide brand new services and are intended to offer earlier help and intervention with issues such as online harms and the adverse effects of social media.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2018 to Question 164527 on Buildings: Insulation, what estimate he has made of the number of hospitals in England and Wales of any height that have combustible (a) cladding and (b) insulation.
Answered by Steve Barclay
This summer, the Government consulted on the use of combustible cladding on buildings. Following this consultation, we confirmed on 1 October that we will take forward this ban on all high-rise buildings that contains flats, as well as hospitals, residential care premises and student accommodation, above 18 metres. This ban will be delivered through changes to building regulations guidance and will limit materials available to products achieving a European classification of Class A1 or A2. This ban will apply to all new buildings and refurbishment.
Data is not held centrally on hospitals or other National Health Service buildings that have combustible cladding. NHS trusts are locally responsible for their fire safety within existing legislation, and the NHS fire safety guidance, Firecode, is provided to support them in doing this. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, NHS organisations must, as far as is reasonably practical, make sure that everyone on the premises, or nearby, can escape safely if there is a fire. They will therefore consider the ban on combustible cladding as part of the regular fire risk assessments they carry out on their existing estate.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2018 to Question 164527 on Buildings: insulation, how many hospitals above 18 metres have rainscreen cladding.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, National Health Service organisations must, as far as is reasonably practical, ensure that everyone on the premises are safe in a fire situation. Therefore, they must consider the ban on combustible cladding as part of the regular fire risk assessments they carry out on their estate when they have new developments or refurbishment. This will include whether it applies to all walls irrespective of height.
As part of the NHS response to the Grenfell tragedy a review of cladding used on NHS properties was undertaken and 10 were identified with buildings that used Aluminium Composite Material. Mitigation actions were immediately implemented, with the agreement of the Fire and Rescue Services, with plans being put in place for its removal and replacement. The Department is funding this work.