Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish the outcome of the Measures to reform post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment consultation, which closed on 26 February 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and the available data, which will help inform decisions on detailed policy questions. Any decisions to progress with reforms to non-compete clauses require consideration of the benefits and risks before implementation and we are not able to provide further comment on future plans at this stage. A response to the consultation will be published on the GOV.UK website in due course.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase police capacity in Staffordshire to tackle serious violent crimes.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We are increasing the number of police officers in England and Wales by 20,000 by the end of March 2023 and I am pleased to say excellent progress is being made in delivering against this target.
Due to their hard work and commitment, police forces in England and Wales have already recruited 11,053 additional officers, 55% of the 20,000-officer target.
As at 30 September 2021, Staffordshire police had recruited 149 additional officers against a combined allocation of 179 additional officers for years one and two of the uplift programme. These officers are tackling crime and keeping the communities of Staffordshire, safe. The deployment of officers is a decision for operationally independent Chief Constables.
We are committed to reducing serious violence and putting an end to the tragedies afflicting our communities. It is important that we work across government, statutory, private, and voluntary sectors to turn the tide of violence and deliver change. Tackling serious violence forms a key part of the Government’s Beating Crime Plan, which sets out our strategic vision to cut crime and protect victims. The Government is making £130.5m available this year to tackle serious violence, including murder and knife crime.
We acknowledge there is more to do which is why we are bringing forward the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill so the law-abiding majority can be confident they are safe.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Knife Crime Prevention Orders; and when those orders will be rolled out to police forces across England and Wales.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Knife Crime Prevention Orders have been introduced to protect lives and to prevent vulnerable people from becoming serious criminals. The police are confident they will be a valuable additional tool to prevent crime and keep our communities safe.
On 5 July 2021, we introduced the pilot for Knife Crime Prevention Orders across the Metropolitan Police area. There will be a robust and scientific evaluation of the pilot and it will allow us to judge the effectiveness of the orders before any decision is taken about whether to roll out the orders nationally. A report following the pilot must also be laid before Parliament before Knife Crime Prevention Orders can be introduced across England and Wales.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of knife crime in Burton in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Government is making on rolling out evening and weekend GP appointments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
General practice appointments in the evenings and weekends are available across the country. Patients can see a doctor, nurse or other member of a practice team at a time that is convenient to them, 365 days per year including on bank holidays.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to enable the provision of additional services in GP surgeries in Burton constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information is not held in the format requested. However, evening and weekend face to face and virtual appointments are offered by East Staffordshire Primary Care Network, with practices providing appointments on a rota system. Weekend appointments are also available from a hub location within the East Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that work is underway across providers, CCGs and the local authority to optimise care provision in the area. The Staffordshire Integrated Care System continues the launch of general practitioner (GP) referrals into the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) and there are plans for East Staffordshire Primary Care Network, to begin implementing the GP CPCS later in the year.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GP surgeries in Burton constituency offer appointments in the evening and at weekends.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The information is not held in the format requested. However, evening and weekend face to face and virtual appointments are offered by East Staffordshire Primary Care Network, with practices providing appointments on a rota system. Weekend appointments are also available from a hub location within the East Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that work is underway across providers, CCGs and the local authority to optimise care provision in the area. The Staffordshire Integrated Care System continues the launch of general practitioner (GP) referrals into the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) and there are plans for East Staffordshire Primary Care Network, to begin implementing the GP CPCS later in the year.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
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 improve access to mental health services in community settings.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
NHS England and NHS Improvement have consulted on introducing five new waiting time standards that have been developed with pilot and early implementer sites. These include waiting time standards for access to community mental health services for adults and children and young people. The consultation closed on 1 September 2021 and NHS England and NHS Improvement expect to publish the response to the consultation on the proposals by the end of this year.
In addition, we have published our Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for 2021/22, which includes an additional £110 million to expand adult community mental health services including psychological therapies, implementing the community mental health framework, investment in crisis services, as well as additional investment in suicide prevention programmes.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
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 help increase access to primary care services in the community.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have committed to delivering an extra 50 million appointments a year in general practice by increasing and diversifying the workforce. This will improve access for patients and additional support for staff to provide a wider range of care options for patients outside of hospital. We have made available an additional £270 million from November 2020 until September 2021, ringfenced for general practice, to ensure general practitioners (GPs) and their teams are able to continue to support all patients during the pandemic.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have advised that National Health Service sight tests are now back to, or above, pre-pandemic levels. NHS dentists have been asked to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups, followed by overdue appointments. The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England to increase access to dental care, taking into account infection prevention and control and social distancing requirements.
The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 sets out how community pharmacy will support the NHS Long Term Plan by providing more clinical services such as treating minor ailments. Since 2019 a range of services have been introduced that reduce some pressure on other parts of the NHS, in particular GPs.
Asked by: Kate Kniveton (Conservative - Burton)
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 improve access to hospital specialists in community settings.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
As part of its work to expand access to diagnostic services in the community, the National Health Service is establishing community diagnostic hubs. The hubs will provide acute diagnostic services normally provided in hospitals, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, X-rays, echocardiograms and endoscopy. The NHS is planning to open 44 hubs this year which will deliver an additional one million scans.