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Written Question
Infected Blood Inquiry
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendations of the first interim report of the Infected Blood Inquiry.

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

The Inquiry’s first interim report contained the recommendation that an interim payment of no less than £100,000 be paid to all those infected and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes. The Government made these payments in October 2022, and these payments continue to be made to eligible beneficiaries upon being accepted onto the schemes.


Written Question
Foster Care: North West
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in (a) St Helens North constituency and (b) the North West.

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

The department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so that foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as aiding the retention of foster carers already in place.

St Helens North is participating in this programme, working in a regional cluster group, ‘Foster4’, which is led by Warrington.

Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is increasing the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24.

In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers.

The department will also build on its investment since 2014 of over £8 million to advance the work of the Mockingbird programme, an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.


Written Question
Research: Finance
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to research projects based in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) the North West and (c) the UK in the last 12 months.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

In the 12 months leading to the start of January 2024, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) awarded:

  • None to organisations located in St Helens North constituency during this period;
  • £264m to organisations performing research projects in the North West of England
  • £4.9bn to organisations performing research projects in the UK.

These figures include a range of investments made via UKRI’s Research Councils and Innovate UK, but the figure excludes formula-based block grants deployed through universities which will also have gone to research projects in this region.


Written Question
Urban Areas: Newton-le-Willows
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 5.140 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, when plans to publish details of funding for Newton-Le-Willows.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Prime Minister’s Long Term Plan for Towns will see up to £20 million of funding and support from the Government for Newton-Le-Willows over the next decade. I wrote to the Member for St Helen’s North and the Leader and Chief Executive of St Helen’s Borough Council on 19 March 2024 setting out next steps for developing the Long Term Plan for their town. This included details of the funding that will be provided for Newton-Le-Willows.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of how many people in St Helens North constituency have been affected by the infected blood scandal.

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

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in St Helens North constituency.


Written Question
Languages: GCE A-level
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools in (a) St Helens North constituency and (b) the North West she expects to offer A-Levels in modern foreign languages in the next five years.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not produce projections of future trends of the number of students taking specific qualifications or future trends in the number of schools or colleges offering specific qualifications.

The department recognises the importance of the study of languages in Britain and is taking steps to increase the number of pupils studying languages at GCSE level and beyond. This is particularly important given that languages became non-mandatory at GCSE in 2004. The recently launched Language Hubs programme is comprised of 15 lead hub schools from across England, including a hub based in the North West. The lead hub schools will work with other schools in their areas to improve standards of language teaching, in line with recommendations of the Teaching Schools Council’s 2016 ‘Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy Review’.

Managed by the National Consortium for Languages Education, the programme provides high-quality teacher Continuing Professional Development and includes improving transition from key stage 2 to key stage 3, increasing opportunities among disadvantaged pupils to study languages, and increasing the access to home, heritage, and community languages.


Written Question
Casement Park: Finance
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for Casement Park.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

My Department is engaging with the Department for Communities, which is responsible for the procurement process for the redevelopment of Casement Park, including direct engagement with local partners on their funding contribution. I wrote to the Northern Ireland Minister for Communities on 27 February to say that it is vital to understand what the most recent costs associated with the redevelopment of Casement Park are.


Written Question
Euro 2028: Northern Ireland
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Northern Ireland can host Euro 2028 games alongside the rest of the UK and Ireland.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Department for Communities is responsible for the redevelopment of Casement Park, including direct engagement with local partners on their funding contribution.

The UK Government will need to receive confirmation of the updated cost of the Casement Park project from the Department for Communities before detailed consideration can be given to allocating taxpayers' money, particularly given wider public sector funding challenges. This has yet to be received. The Northern Ireland Minister for Communities has written to me on this matter and I replied on 27 February 2024 to say that it is vital to understand what the most recent costs associated with the redevelopment of Casement Park are.


Written Question
Casement Park: Finance
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Irish Government on the funding of Casement Park.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

My Department has engaged with a number of stakeholders in relation to funding for Casement Park, including with the Irish Government. I welcome the announcement by the Irish Government that it is willing to contribute €50m to the redevelopment of the stadium.

The Department for Communities is responsible for the procurement process for the redevelopment of Casement Park, including direct engagement with local partners on their funding contribution. I wrote to the Northern Ireland Minister for Communities on 27 February to say that it is vital to understand what the most recent costs associated with the redevelopment of Casement Park are.


Written Question
Casement Park: Investment
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to announce the investment decision on Casement Park.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

My Department is engaging with the Department for Communities, which is responsible for the procurement process for the redevelopment of Casement Park, including direct engagement with local partners on their funding contribution. I wrote to the Northern Ireland Minister for Communities on 27 February to say that it is vital to understand what the most recent costs associated with the redevelopment of Casement Park are.