Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social workers are (a) permanent and (b) agency staff: and what the cost is of employing each group.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In 2022 there were a total of 31,600 full time equivalent (FTE) child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England. In addition, there were 6,760 social workers in local authorities that were hired as agency staff. This gives a total of 38,360 (FTE) social workers in 2022. The department does not collect data on the cost of employing permanent or agency social workers.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in residential care; and what the average cost is of such placements.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The number of children looked after who were placed in residential care settings on 31 March 2022 was 14,140. The figures include secure units, children’s homes and semi-independent living accommodation, other residential settings, and residential schools. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c54349dc-5494-46a2-7c32-08db63adc612.
Information on placement settings for looked after children is published annually in Table A2 of the ‘Children looked after in England (including adoptions)’ statistical release, available at : https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.
Perfectly aligned costs data are not available. However, the data shown in the 2020/21 Unit Costs of Health and Social Care report shows average costs per placement type. This is available at: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/92342/25/Unit%20Costs%20Report%202021%20-%20Final%20version%20for%20publication%20%28AMENDED2%29.pdf.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children went missing from care in each of the last five years; how many incidents there were; and what proportion of missing children were subsequently found.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department published bold and ambitious plans to reform children’s social care on the 2 February 2023 through ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. It sets out how the department will help families overcome challenges, keep children safe, and make sure children in care have stable loving homes, long-term loving relationships, and opportunities for a good life.
Missing incident are always deeply concerning. The vast majority, 90%, of incidents where a child reportedly goes missing last for 2 days or less. Figures on the number of children looked after who went missing from care, including the number of missing incidents, and those who are still missing on 31 March, were published for the year ending 31 March 2018 to the year ending 31 March 2022 in the table ‘Official Statistics - CLA who were missing from placement’ in the annual ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions, 2022’ statistical release. The table is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c7b14397-1e84-48d2-7c2b-08db63adc612.
Missing incidents were reported for 12,150 of CLA (11%) in 2022. There were 76,890 missing incidents. The number of children still missing from placement at 31 March was 220. A child may have had multiple missing incidents during a year that may have been resolved, only to conclude with a further incident that results in the child being missing again on 31 March.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in care; and how many such children are looked after under kinship care.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The number of children who were in care on 31 March 2022 was 82,170. This information was published for the years ending 31 March 2018 to 31 March 2022 in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions, 2022’, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.
The department does not hold information centrally specifically on children who are looked after under kinship care. However, of the 82,170 children who were in care on 31 March 2022, 12,580 (15%) were placed with a foster carer who is a relative or friend. This information can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/275cbaa4-5400-4920-86d1-08da7eccd8d3.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made (a) an assessment of the effectiveness of heat pumps in older homes and (b) the potential cost to rural home owners of upgrading their home insulation to increase the heat pumps effectiveness.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government analysis suggests around 90% of fossil fuel heated homes, including 70% of fossil fuel heated homes built before 1919, are suitable for low temperature heat pumps, based on evidence of their energy efficiency and electrical connections.
A higher proportion of properties are likely to become suitable following energy efficiency upgrades or by using a high temperature heat pump.
The Government has published an online tool setting out the potential costs to households seeking to upgrade their energy efficiency.
The Government recognises that not all properties will be suitable for a heat pump and there will be a role for alternative low carbon technologies where heat pumps cannot be used.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the data published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities entitled Excess Mortality in England, published on 12 May 2023, if he will commission an investigation into the reasons for trends in the level of (a) unexpected deaths from cardiovascular causes and (b) extra deaths in people under the age of 64 in last 12 months.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department has no plans to commission an investigation into the excess deaths in England in the last 12 months but will continue to monitor and report on levels of excess deaths. A combination of factors has contributed to an increase in the number of deaths, including high flu prevalence, the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy and an interim report will be published in the summer. The strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. The strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions. Interventions set out in the strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will conduct an investigation into the excess deaths in England in the last 12 months.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department has no plans to commission an investigation into the excess deaths in England in the last 12 months but will continue to monitor and report on levels of excess deaths. A combination of factors has contributed to an increase in the number of deaths, including high flu prevalence, the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy and an interim report will be published in the summer. The strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. The strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions. Interventions set out in the strategy will aim to alleviate pressure on the health system, as well as support the Government’s objective to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on covid-19 vaccinations of the study by Fraiman, J., et al., entitled Serious adverse events of special interest following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in randomized trials in adults published in the journal Vaccine on 22 September 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Each COVID-19 vaccine candidate is assessed by teams of scientists and clinicians and only authorised once it has met robust standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness set by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The MHRA and the UK Health Security Agency continuously monitor the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines, including through reviewing all suspected Adverse Drug Reaction reports, and other data from the United Kingdom and internationally. Since the start of the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has also allocated more than £110 million in funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of vaccine safety.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Government has spent on antiviral medication stockpiles against influenza in each year since 2005.
Answered by Will Quince
The following table shows the spend for England by financial year for the procurement of antivirals for use during an influenza pandemic. Years not presented are a nil return.
Year | Total England antiviral historic spend incl. VAT at historic rates £m |
2006/07 | 145.4 |
2008/09 | 189.4 |
2009/10 | 153.0 |
2010/11 | 3.8 |
2011/12 | 30.4 |
2012/13 | 0.6 |
2013/14 | 49.0 |
2015/16 | 1.4 |
2016/17 | 55.9 |
2018/19 | 46.0 |
2019/20 | 104.8 |
2020/21 | 50.4 |
2021/22 | 1.7 |
2022/23 | 8.6 |
Total | 840.4 |
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has produced for UK Visas and Immigration caseworkers on handling requests to escalate delayed applications on the skilled worker route; and what information her Department has published on that process.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
All applications are decided on a case-by-case basis taking into account all relevant compassionate circumstances. There may be some cases that cannot be resolved within the published service standard, due to missing information, or a suitability issue that needs investigating, amongst other reasons. However, the majority of applications are concluded quickly and there are no systemic delays in the route.