Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether any ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to their Department since 2019.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
No ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to the Department since 2019.
The Provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation. Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.
Similarly, the provision of severance payments for special advisers is set out in the Model Contract, which is available on gov.uk, including provisions for repayment of severance if reappointed. The cost of severance payments made to special advisers across government is published annually by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether any ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to their Department since 2019.
Answered by Fay Jones
No ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) since 2019.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether any ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to their Department since 2019.
Answered by Lord Jack of Courance
The Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General can confirm that no redundancy payments have been returned to the department since 2019.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to introduce further funding rounds under the natural flood management programme.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We want to mainstream the use of Natural Flood Management (NFM) and expect the £25 million NFM programme will help inform how we do that. While we do not currently have plans for further rounds, we would encourage applicants to apply for NFM funding as part of our wider £5.6 billion investment in flood and coastal defences.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to allow people who are aged 18 and 19 and not in (a) education and (b) training to resit maths GSCE for free.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This government recognises the importance of numeracy skills for adults, both in work and everyday life. That is why the department is continuing to support participation in mathematics provision, including retaking GCSEs, for all 16 to 19 year olds and adults who need it.
The department introduced the mathematics and English Condition of Funding in 2014 which ensures all 16 to 19 year olds continue to study English and mathematics to level 2 (GCSE grade 4+ or equivalent) as part of their study programme.
The Adult Education Budget also supports all adults (19+) in England who do not yet hold a relevant qualification or have Level 2 skills the right to study for a qualification in mathematics for free.
Under the Education Skills and Funding Agency funding rules, a learner will not be fully-funded to just resit an examination where no extra learning takes place.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending funding for the National Tutoring Programme on the attainment gap in 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department has invested over £1 billion in the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which runs from the 2020/21 academic year to the 2023/24 academic year. The NTP is a time limited, four-year programme to support pupils to catch up following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The department remains committed to the objective that tutoring should be embedded across schools in England, following the end of the NTP.
Schools are best placed to decide how to spend their funding, depending on their unique circumstances and priorities, which may include spend on tutoring.
Tutoring is included in the menu of approaches in the pupil premium guidance for school leaders.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce diagnostic waiting times for people with suspected young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.
However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the rate of diagnosis for people who develop symptoms of dementia before the age of 65.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.
However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.
The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of age-appropriate support offered by Integrated Care Boards for people with young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care.
The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes, and preferences of each individual, including those with young onset dementia, should be taken into account when planning and providing their care.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to provide (a) guidance and (b) resources to support Integrated Care Systems in developing a designated care pathway for people with young onset dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care. The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines.
The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the NICE’s standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes, and preferences of each individual should be taken into account in planning and providing their care.
Guidance on dementia care in hospital is referenced in The Dementia Care Pathway, and signals that commissioners should continue to actively engage in local system leadership. An improvement agenda should be developed jointly with key partners, including healthcare providers, social care, local government, and the voluntary and independent sectors. Additionally, on 24 January 2024, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy covering six conditions, including dementia.