Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to allow parents to claim funded hours for their child if they are cared for by a registered childminder who is also a member of their extended family.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Childminders are a key part of the childcare market and they will play a significant part in the government’s increased early years entitlements offer.
Funding made available in the dedicated schools grant (DSG) for the entitlements to early education for two, three and four-year-olds cannot be claimed by, or spent on, childminders providing childcare for related children. This restriction is placed on local authorities funding relatives and is set out in the Childcare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) Section 18(4)(c). The 2006 Act specifically excludes care provided for a child by a parent or other relative, and section 18(8)(c) of the 2006 Act states that a relative, in relation to a child, means ‘a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister, whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership’.
This approach avoids creating an incentive for adults to register to become childminders and being paid to look after related children that they are already looking after on an informal basis.
A local authority can choose to fund a childminder providing care for a related child. However, this would have to be from the local authority funds that are independent of the DSG.
In the case of a nursery or pre-school, the funding is not necessarily paid to an individual who is caring for a relative, but to the setting which provides early education to a group of children, which may include a child related to a member of staff.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including suicides as reportable incidents under the RIDDOR process.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) are made under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and apply to all sectors and workplaces in Great Britain.
Under RIDDOR, at Regulation 6, requires the responsible person to report:
A suicide would not meet the criteria for reporting under RIDDOR as it is not a death resulting from a work related accident or occupational exposure. An ‘accident’ is defined under RIDDOR as an unforeseen and unintentional incident.
Suicides will be considered in an Inquest conducted by a Coroner or Procurator Fiscal (in Scotland) who will make the decision whether the death was ‘suicide’. The Coroner/Procurator Fiscal can refer cases to the HSE, or other public body, if they consider there is an ongoing risk to others.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serving police officers in each force took their own lives in each of the last eight quarters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not collect information centrally on how many serving police officers have taken their own lives.
This information is held by individual Police Forces.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school classrooms were closed due to maintenance and structural issues in the most recent 12-month period for which data are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day to day basis, to manage the maintenance of their schools. The Department does not therefore hold information on the number of buildings closed due to maintenance and structural issues.
The Department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in schools and colleges at the heart of its policy decisions. The Government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
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 reduce the time between an urgent GP referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients in Blackburn constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is already taking steps to reduce cancer treatment waiting times across England. Reducing the time between an urgent general practitioner referral and the commencement of treatment for cancer for patients is a priority for this Government. The Department is working jointly with NHS England on implementing the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care’. The Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis and treatment activity.
In the 2023/24 Operational Planning Guidance, NHS England announced that it is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years to support delivery of the strategy and the operational priorities for cancer, which includes increasing and prioritising diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer.
Additionally, the Government recently published the ‘Major conditions strategy: case for change and our strategic framework’ on 14 August 2023, which sets out our approach to making the choices over the next five years that will deliver the most value in facing the health challenges of today and of the decades ahead, including cancer.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of radiotherapy linear accelerator (LINAC) machines will be over their recommended lifespan by the end of (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Will Quince
Since April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS (2022-25).
Recent Capital Planning Guidance sets out the expectation that the majority of radiotherapy equipment, particularly linear accelerator (LINAC) machines, will need to be replaced at ten years of age, to make progress on Long Term Plan priorities. The guidance states that Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) need to develop replacement plans as part of their multi-year capital plans, in partnership with specialised commissioners, Cancer Alliances and Radiotherapy Operational Delivery Networks, based on an assessment of equipment age, capacity and demand, opportunities to improve access, and service risk.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Avanti West Coast on possible alterations to planned services in (a) August and (b) September 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast weekday timetables for August and September 2023 are publicly available on the Avanti website. Department officials routinely engage with Avanti and its Owning Group, including on all significant timetabling and performance decisions. We are holding them to account for matters within their control and will continue to use all contractual levers to drive the best outcomes for passengers.
As previously advised to line-of-route MPs, to help maintain the progress it has made so far, Avanti has been taking steps to build in greater resilience in key periods. Given the continued disruption arising from a greatly increased annual leave burden, Avanti is temporarily suspending a limited number of targeted services between 24 July and 9 September 2023. These temporary reductions, spread across its routes and targeted at times of least impact, will help prevent short notice cancellations for passengers, giving them confidence that what they see in the timetable will run reliably. It’s important to note that, throughout this period, Avanti will continue running more services than last year.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on average, how many daily services does he expect Avanti West Coast to run in (a) August and (b) September.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast run a seven train per hour timetable which equates to 264 weekday services, 244 on Saturdays, and 202 on Sundays. However, from 24 July to 8 September, Avanti has removed 20 trains a day from its weekday timetable, to enable it to run a more reliable service for its customers, minimising unplanned, short-term cancellations. This is a temporary measure and from 9 September it will return to current levels. The base position is subject to change as Avanti agrees plans to mitigate the impact of strikes and Network Rail engineering works, particularly on weekends.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many daily services Avanti West Coast runs under its current timetable.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast run a seven train per hour timetable which equates to 264 weekday services, 244 on Saturdays, and 202 on Sundays. However, from 24 July to 8 September, Avanti has removed 20 trains a day from its weekday timetable, to enable it to run a more reliable service for its customers, minimising unplanned, short-term cancellations. This is a temporary measure and from 9 September it will return to current levels. The base position is subject to change as Avanti agrees plans to mitigate the impact of strikes and Network Rail engineering works, particularly on weekends.
Asked by: Kate Hollern (Labour - Blackburn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Avanti West Coast on possible service reductions in (a) August and (b) September; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast weekday timetables for August and September 2023 are publicly available on the Avanti website. Department officials routinely engage with Avanti and its Owning Group, including on all significant timetabling and performance decisions. We are holding them to account for matters within their control and will continue to use all contractual levers to drive the best outcomes for passengers.
As previously advised to line-of-route MPs, to help maintain the progress it has made so far, Avanti has been taking steps to build in greater resilience in key periods. Given the continued disruption arising from a greatly increased annual leave burden, Avanti is temporarily suspending a limited number of targeted services between 24 July and 9 September 2023. These temporary reductions, spread across its routes and targeted at times of least impact, will help prevent short notice cancellations for passengers, giving them confidence that what they see in the timetable will run reliably. It’s important to note that, throughout this period, Avanti will continue running more services than last year.