Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to reduce the number of agency staff employed by the Probation Service.
Answered by Rory Stewart
There were 3,352 FTE band 4 probation officers in post as at 31 December 2018. This figure shows a broadly stable trend with a small increase of 9 (0.3%) since 30 September 2018 and a small decrease of 17 (0.5%) compared to 31 December 2017. In the last year, 707 Probation Service Officers (PSO) were appointed, some of whom will be training to become qualified Probation Officers (PO).
As at December 2018, there were 544 FTE probation Officers in post in the North West Probation Service Division.
We are recruiting more staff into the National Probation Service to reduce the reliance on agency staff. Changes to the recruitment process and eligibility criteria for probation officers have been made resulting in increases in both the volume and diversity of probation officer applicants. A national campaign to recruit probation officers is currently underway and successful candidates will start in July 2019.
HMPPS does not publish data on numbers of vacancies.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on recruiting probation officers in (a) England and (b) North West; and how many vacancies there are in each of those areas.
Answered by Rory Stewart
There were 3,352 FTE band 4 probation officers in post as at 31 December 2018. This figure shows a broadly stable trend with a small increase of 9 (0.3%) since 30 September 2018 and a small decrease of 17 (0.5%) compared to 31 December 2017. In the last year, 707 Probation Service Officers (PSO) were appointed, some of whom will be training to become qualified Probation Officers (PO).
As at December 2018, there were 544 FTE probation Officers in post in the North West Probation Service Division.
We are recruiting more staff into the National Probation Service to reduce the reliance on agency staff. Changes to the recruitment process and eligibility criteria for probation officers have been made resulting in increases in both the volume and diversity of probation officer applicants. A national campaign to recruit probation officers is currently underway and successful candidates will start in July 2019.
HMPPS does not publish data on numbers of vacancies.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled, An inspection of North West Division National Probation Service, published by HM Inspectorate of Probation in February 2019, what steps he is taking to ensure that probation staff are trained on the policy requirements in relation to the use of remote technology.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation found that the National Probation Service’s leadership team in the North West is focused on delivering a high-quality service. It assessed the work of the Division overall as “Good”.
The Inspectorate made eight recommendations for improvement, A programme of building improvement works has already been completed and an action plan has been drawn up to address the remaining recommendations. This was sent to the Inspectorate on 4 March.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled, An inspection of North West Division National Probation Service, published by HM Inspectorate of Probation in February 2019, what steps is he taking to ensure that the premises in the North West used by the Probation Service are of an adequate standard.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation found that the National Probation Service’s leadership team in the North West is focused on delivering a high-quality service. It assessed the work of the Division overall as “Good”.
The Inspectorate made eight recommendations for improvement, A programme of building improvement works has already been completed and an action plan has been drawn up to address the remaining recommendations. This was sent to the Inspectorate on 4 March.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled, An inspection of North West Division National Probation Service, published by HM Inspectorate of Probation in February 2019, what steps is he taking to ensure that probation staff are able to use court staff facilities.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation found that the National Probation Service’s leadership team in the North West is focused on delivering a high-quality service. It assessed the work of the Division overall as “Good”.
The Inspectorate made eight recommendations for improvement, A programme of building improvement works has already been completed and an action plan has been drawn up to address the remaining recommendations. This was sent to the Inspectorate on 4 March.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received in the last six months on the (a) level of charges levied by the DVLA to private parking companies seeking data on vehicle owners and (b) level of proof required by the DVLA before that data is released.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In the last six months, Department for Transport Ministers have answered two Parliamentary Questions about the level of charges for the release of information to private parking management companies.
In the same period, two letters from Members of Parliament were received by Department for Transport Ministers about the level of proof required to support such requests.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Government's timescale is for (a) acknowledging the concluding observations from the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and (b) responding to that convention's recommendations.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government is committed to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to the progressive realisation of the rights for disabled people that it sets out.
We have provided our first report to the UN Committee as requested. We published this report on 6 September 2018. This report and accompanying ministerial letter setting out the UK's progress are available on GOV.UK website:
I tabled a Written Statement (HCWS938) on 6 September 2018, providing an update on the UK’s follow-up response to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-06/HCWS938
We will be responding to the recommendations in the Concluding Observations during our next periodic review, currently scheduled for 2023. In the meantime, we will be preparing in due course, as recommended by the UN Committee, a progress update on the 2016 inquiry recommendations.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, what recent steps the Government has taken to support the (a) inclusive education of disabled children and young people and (b) progressive removal of barriers to education and participation in mainstream education.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government’s commitment to inclusive education of disabled children and young people and the progressive removal of barriers to learning and participation in mainstream education is at the heart of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. We have made substantial reforms to strengthen the SEND system in recent years, to improve the identification and meeting of the needs of children and young people and to improve families’ experiences of the system. As part of this, the Children and Families Act (2014) secured the general presumption in law of mainstream education in relation to decisions about where children and young people with SEND should be educated, complementing the protections in the Equality Act (2010) against disability discrimination.
Recent steps we have taken to help disabled children and young people reach their full potential in mainstream education include the fact that we have been closely monitoring the pressures on high needs budgets and have provided additional high needs funding for local authorities, alongside their 2019-20 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations: a further £125 million in 2018-19 and £125 million of high needs funding for 2019-20.
We are investing £365 million in the Special Provision Capital Fund from 2018 to 2021, helping local authorities create new school places and improve existing facilities for children and young people with SEND. This capital funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities can use it as they see fit to improve special provision in their local areas. The funding can be invested in a range of settings, including mainstream and special schools or academies. We have required local authorities to publish their plans on how they use this funding, and these show that many local authorities intend to expand their specialist provision in mainstream schools.
We recognise the importance of staff in mainstream schools having the skills to identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This is why, for example, we have awarded a 2 year, £3.4 million contract to the Whole School SEND Consortium, led by Nasen, to deliver a programme of work to drive education institutions to prioritise SEND and equip schools to identify and meet the relevant training needs of their workforce. We have also funded the Autism Education Trust since 2011 to deliver autism awareness training to education staff in early years, schools and further education settings. This training has so far reached more than 195,000 people - not just teachers and teaching assistants, but also support staff such as receptionists, dining hall staff and caretakers, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting pupils with autism. We are also reviewing the current SEND content in the Initial Teacher Training provision (ITT) and building on our existing SEND specialist qualifications to develop a continuum of learning from ITT, through teachers’ early careers and into specialist and leadership roles in support of the upcoming Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's obligations under Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the free school programme; and how many special schools have opened under that programme.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Our ambition for children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities is exactly the same as it is for all children – we want them to be able to do their best in school and reach their potential, including in free schools.
As part of our commitments under the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we are committed to inclusive education of disabled children and the progressive removal of barriers to learning and participation in mainstream education. The Children and Families Act 2014 secures the general presumption in law of mainstream education in relation to decisions about where children with SEN should be educated; and the Equality Act 2010 provides protection from disability discrimination. The SEN system rightly places considerable weight on the views of parents as to where a child with complex needs should be educated. While many parents of disabled children choose mainstream education, others will want a specialist setting. Some children have complex SEN that mean that the best educational experience for them is in a school that specialises in meeting those needs. For them, a special school is a positive choice.
We have opened new special schools through the free schools programme: as of 1 January 2019, there are 34 open special free schools, and a further 55 special free schools have been approved to open in the future.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish its consultation on the regulation of orphan drugs after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Government is committed to the safe and effective regulation of medicines in the United Kingdom; ensuring patients and the public have fast access to new, innovative medicines, including medicines for rare diseases.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) launched in October 2018 a consultation on the regulation of medicines in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit, which included the proposed UK approach to the regulation of orphan medicines post-exit, including on incentives to encourage such medicines onto the UK market. Following this consultation, the MHRA, on 3 January 2019, published guidance on the UK proposed arrangements for the regulation of orphan medicines, in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit. This can be accessed at the following link: