Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to update the research on what steps firefighters should take when facing a fire since the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
How firefighters tackle fires is an operational matter for fire and rescue services. In 2012, responsibility for the creation and maintenance of national operational fire-fighting guidance was transferred to the sector. National Operational Guidance for Incident Command is an essential guide to the safe systems if needed at an incident. National Operational Guidance is considered as national best practice and is regularly reviewed. The sector is currently developing national incident command standards and the NFCC has already issued guidance on simultaneous evacuation. We are also considering a proposal from the National Fire Chiefs Council to develop a research programme on these matters.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support improved provision of services by local authorities for vulnerable children.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
All children, no matter where they live, should have access to the support they need to keep them safe, provide them with a stable and nurturing home, and overcome challenges to achieve their potential. That is why, at the Spending Round 2019, the government confirmed an additional £1 billion grant for adult and children’s social care in 2020-21. Overall, core spending power is expected to rise from £46.2 billion to £49.1 billion in 2020-21, an estimated 4.3% real terms increase.
However, funding to local government is only part of the solution. We are also implementing an extensive programme of reforms designed to deliver improved outcomes for these children, young people and families. This includes investing £84 million over the next 5 years in targeted, evidence-based interventions to improve the support provided to vulnerable children and their families and enable more children to stay at home thriving in stable family environments. On top of this, we have committed nearly £270 million since 2014 to drive improvement and innovation in children’s social care.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies producing and selling tobacco products do not circumvent the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 through changes to packaging design.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tobacco regulations in England are enforced by local authorities through Trading Standards, this includes the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015. The Department keeps track of enforcement and compliance through these regulations.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of firefighters.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work.
Operational decisions are for each fire and rescue authority to make as part of the integrated risk management planning process and it is for individual fire and rescue services to make decisions on the number of firefighters they employ.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) safety and (b) regulation of taxis.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
My Department will shortly issue statutory guidance to licensing authorities on how they should use their extensive existing powers to protect taxi and private hire vehicle passengers. Next year revised best practice guidance will be issued recommending ways that licensing authorities can use those same powers to enable the trade the thrive and deliver the services passengers demand.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps he has taken to support aid agencies in northern Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are deeply concerned by the ongoing situation in Northeast Syria. We remain in regular contact with our partner aid agencies to ensure they have the flexibility they need to meet increased humanitarian needs. The biggest challenge facing agencies is security of staff, with recent events resulting in NGO international staff being evacuated and local staff having to continue delivery under difficult circumstances. We continue to work with partners to ensure continued humanitarian access.
Last financial year we provided over £40 million in humanitarian assistance in Northeast Syria, and intend to continue our support at that level this financial year; this funding is flexible and allows partners to direct resources to help those affected by Turkish military action.
The Secretary of State has also been in contact with Sir Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, to identify any gaps in the humanitarian response, and ensure those affected by the situation in Northeast Syria are getting the support they need.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart to ensure that the Turkish authorities respect international humanitarian law in northern Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are seriously concerned about reports of violations of International Humanitarian Law during the military offensive by Turkish forces and their Syrian allies. We expect all parties to respect their obligations towards civilians and under International Humanitarian Law. The Foreign Secretary conveyed this message to the Turkish Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on 10 October and the Prime Minister made this clear to President Erdogan on 20 October.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whats steps the Government is taking to increase the proportion of students in pupil referral units achieving passes in GCSE (a) English and (b) Maths.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are many reasons why children who attend alternative provision (AP) at Key Stage 4 may face challenges gaining good GCSE grades in English and maths. The Department is currently looking closely at what we need to do to ensure AP provides high quality education and the right support for these children that will enable them to succeed. The Department wants to be as ambitious for them as we are for all children and young people.
As part of this the Department has already launched a £4 million AP Innovation Fund which is delivering nine projects focused on testing ways to improve outcomes for children in AP.
The Department will build on the best practice that my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and I have seen on visits to schools like Everton Free School and London East Alternative Provision school in Tower Hamlets.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children under five years old living in poverty.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
HM Treasury use the ‘Household below average income (HBAI)’ statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions to determine the number of children living in low-income households.
Tackling child poverty will always be a priority for the government. The government’s view is that work remains the best route out of poverty: children in households where all adults are working are five times less likely to be in relative low income (before housing costs) than those in workless households.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of children under five years old who are obese.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Child Measurement Programme measures the heights and weights of children in Reception (four to five-year olds) in England.
The data for the 2018/19 school year showed that 9.7% (57,869) of children in Reception were obese. This is based on 95% (597,812) of children in Reception eligible for measurement. These data are available to view at the following link:
The Health Survey for England measures the height and weight of a small sample of children annually. The latest available report, from the 2017 survey, shows that 10% of two to four-year-olds surveyed were obese. This is based on measurements taken from 536 children. These are available to view at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2017
No data is collected centrally for children below the age of two.