Navendu Mishra

As set out in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 £355 million of new funding has been made available for zero emission buses. £150 million of this funding has been made available for 2021-22 with the remaining funding available over the Spending Review period.

In addition, up to 900 zero emission buses and associated infrastructure will be supported through existing funding made available since February 2020 from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, the All Electric Bus Town or City scheme and the Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme.

My Department’s has estimated that of these over 50 are already on the road. For example, 32 electric buses and charging infrastructure have been introduced in Greater Manchester as a result of funding provided through the Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme since February 2020.

In addition, Transport for Greater Manchester is developing a business case under the standard process of the ZEBRA scheme to introduce electric buses in Stockport. In total, 17 local transport authorities are working to produce business cases under the standard process of the scheme. The Department will award funding to successful business cases in Spring 2022.

Since assuming office, the Secretary of State’s focus has been to ensure that Smart Motorways are safer than conventional motorways, committing an additional £500 million in infrastructure, technology and communications to make these roads safer.

We welcome the Transport Select Committee’s (TSC) report Rollout and safety of smart motorways, published on 2 November 2021, and its scrutiny. The Department will now consider its recommendations in detail, providing a formal response in due course. This is a serious piece of work which we will engage with closely in the months ahead. We are pleased that the TSC recognises that reinstating the hard shoulder on all all-lane running motorways could put more drivers and passengers at risk of death and serious injury and that we are right to focus on upgrading their safety.

The Department is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts, and there are currently 12 e-scooter rental service providers that have been approved to take part in the trials. Data currently held by the Department indicates that there were 23,635 e-scooters available to rent across all trial areas in September.

A short period driving licence is issued when a driver has a health condition that is progressive in nature or needs to be monitored. The duration of the licence depends on the medical condition and can be between one and ten years.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) recognises the impact on drivers who have to renew their licence more regularly and is working hard to improve their experience. Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition can now renew online. Simplified renewal processes have been introduced for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and this is also being piloted for some mental health conditions. The DVLA is working on adding to the number of medical conditions that can safely be assessed in this way.

The DVLA is working as quickly as possible to process paper applications. To improve the length of time taken to process medical licensing applications, the DVLA has recruited more staff and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham to help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.

A short period driving licence is issued when a driver has a health condition that is progressive in nature or needs to be monitored. The duration of the licence depends on the medical condition and can be between one and ten years.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) recognises the impact on drivers who have to renew their licence more regularly and is working hard to improve their experience. Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition can now renew online. Simplified renewal processes have been introduced for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and this is also being piloted for some mental health conditions. The DVLA is working on adding to the number of medical conditions that can safely be assessed in this way.

The DVLA is working as quickly as possible to process paper applications. To improve the length of time taken to process medical licensing applications, the DVLA has recruited more staff and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham to help reduce waiting times while providing future resilience and business continuity.

Stockport has not yet applied for funding under the On Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.

The Government wants to ensure that drivers can benefit from the transition to zero emission vehicles. The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities to apply to and provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. £20 million is available in 2021-22. At Spending Review 2020 the Government committed £1.3bn for charging infrastructure to 2024/5, and a further £620m has recently been announced to support chargepoints and targeted vehicle grants. This funding includes the Local EV Infrastructure Fund, which will be available to English local authorities in 2022/3. This fund will facilitate the roll-out of larger scale charging infrastructure projects across the country.

New national rail flexible season tickets have been announced as part of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, reflecting modern working patterns and saving many passengers hundreds of pounds. Flexible season tickets are available now to passengers on advance sale and will become valid for travel on 28 June. Great British Railways will use its leadership to simplify the current mass of complicated fares and tickets. Passengers will have simpler digital ticketing, be able to purchase tickets through a single industry website and app. There will be greater convenience for passengers through contactless travel in urban areas using contactless bankcards and smartphones.

I have asked Network Rail to work up a plan to add tactile warning strips to the edges of all mainline station platforms across England, Scotland and Wales, and I will make a further announcement in due course.

I have asked Network Rail to work up a plan to add tactile warning strips to the edges of all mainline station platforms across England, Scotland and Wales, and I will make a further announcement in due course.

Ministers and officials have engaged extensively with the aviation and travel industries throughout the pandemic. We remain committed to an open engagement with the sector and continue to work with industry partners to share information with the aim of ensuring a safe return of international travel and that commercial routes continue to remain open to enable British citizens to return to the UK.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) issues more than three million vehicle excise duty reminders each month. Non-delivery of a reminder may happen in certain circumstances such as, the vehicle keeper having moved house and not advised the DVLA of the new address or it may have been lost in the post. No figures are available, but complaints about non-delivery of vehicle excise duty reminders are rare.

There are a number of ways to license a vehicle, including online or by telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week or at one of around 4,000 Post Office branches across the UK. Customers can also check when their vehicle excise duty is due using the DVLA’s online Vehicle Enquiry Service.

The registered keeper is responsible for ensuring that their vehicle is properly licensed or subject to a Statutory Off Road Notification.

Enforcement activities against unlicensed vehicles accounted for around £88 million in fines and penalties during 2019/20.

The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) is an agreement between train operators providing passenger services in Great Britain. The Secretary of State exercises various roles under the TSA while not being a party to it. If operators agree between themselves to propose changes, the Secretary of State’s approval is required for changes to take effect.

The Department is considering the Leeds to Manchester corridor as part of the Integrated Rail Plan, which is due to be published in December. The Integrated Rail Plan is investigating how best to integrate HS2 Phase 2b with wider transport plans in the North and Midlands and how to deliver benefits from investments more quickly.

In March 2020, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) suspended most of its services in line with Government guidance, whilst maintaining access for critical workers to support the national emergency response.

The DVSA is restoring its testing services with new procedures in place to keep people safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus. As the DVSA has been unable to provide its normal level of service for the past six months, demand for practical driving tests are higher than usual.

The DVSA has now made over 375,000 slots available to the end of January 2021. From 19 October, driving examiners will be increasing the number of tests they conduct from five to six per day; this should help reduce waiting times.

The DVSA’s Deployment team has now returned to its usual way of working by adding new test slots to the booking system at the start of every week.

In March 2020, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) suspended most of its services in line with Government guidance, whilst maintaining access for critical workers to support the national emergency response.

The DVSA’s priority is to restore its testing services with new protective measures and procedures in place to keep people safe and stop the spread of COVID-19. This includes restricting access and movement around driving test centres and closing waiting rooms to driving instructors and candidates. Some waiting rooms are being used as temporary offices to accommodate driving examiners to ensure social distancing measures are adhered to. This is not a step the DVSA has taken lightly but is an important part of helping keep everyone safe as we fight the virus.

The DVSA is working closely with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to identify actions it could take that would allow some waiting areas to be opened up while balancing the need to keep everyone COVID safe.

The DVSA understands this can be difficult for driving instructors and trainers waiting at test centres that are not near to alternative facilities, which is why the DVSA is keeping the situation under review.

Trainline, like all Third Party Retailers, operates under a long term license issued by the Rail Delivery Group on behalf of the rail industry. This is part of the industry’s Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. The Department has no role in determining commission rates. During the Covid crisis we have directed operators to encourage passengers to purchase online ahead of travel and online retailers, like Trainline, are one way passengers can buy their tickets online.

In accordance with Franchise Agreements, as varied by the Emergency Measures Agreements, franchisees have responsibility to be Good and Efficient Operators.

This involves collecting rental income from tenants under pre-existing contracts wherever feasible.

All Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Health Professionals (HPs) complete training on neurological conditions, including epilepsy. HPs maintain knowledge through Continuing Professional Development Activity.

All claimants, including claimants with epilepsy are assessed in accordance with the DWP PIP Assessment Guide.

All Healthcare Professionals (HPs) have extensive and rigorous training in undertaking assessments.

Each referral is initially reviewed by a HP, if there is sufficient supporting evidence to provide paper based advice to the department, the HP will assess the claimant on this evidence alone. If they cannot, the claimant will be invited to attend a telephone, video or face to face assessment.

All claimants, including those with hidden disabilities, are assessed in accordance with the PIP Assessment Guide for Providers or Work Capability Assessment Handbook.

We have continuously improved our processes and guidance to minimise the number of customers for whom a telephone or video assessment is not suitable. In such instances, these claimants will be prioritised for a face to face assessment.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has not completed his investigation. This a multi staged process and the report published on 20 July 2021 concluded stage-one of the three-stage investigation.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the PHSO’s report whilst the investigation is ongoing; and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.

Due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policies, we do not have the staffing numbers for 2011 so we have attached the earliest figures we have. The numbers are shown as Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and Headcount (HC).

There are some caveats around these numbers as in 2016 and earlier there were corporate functions (such as HR and finance) included within Child Maintenance Group and these were later subsumed within DWP and there were also some changes to the HR system and how staffing levels were calculated.

It is worth noting that the 2021 staffing figures also reflects that we had in the interim closed down our two older schemes (CSCS and CSA) therefore significantly reducing our caseload.

Child Maintenance Group

Aug-12 Mar-13 Mar-16 Mar-21 Oct-21

FTE 7618.83 7400.65 7433.29 3971.66 3626.66

HC 8708 8503 8738 4791 4368

No assessment has been made.

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit are means-tested welfare support. It is longstanding policy that income-related benefits treat all couples as a single household unit when assessing benefit entitlement. Where claimants have income available to meet their household's everyday living costs, such as through a partner's earnings or savings, their entitlement to benefit is adjusted accordingly.

These benefits are not paid to claimants who have sufficient income available from other sources to support themselves. The general principle is that income, other than earnings, which is provided to meet everyday living costs, is fully taken into account in the calculation. The Government understands disabled people may face additional cost, which is why income provided to meet additional costs through benefits such as Personal Independence Payments and Disability Living Allowance are not taken into account when determining entitlement to benefits.

The Department has brought forward a Green Paper on health and disability support, focusing on the welfare system. The Green Paper will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that enables people to live independently and move into work where possible.

It is vital that the voices of disabled people are at the centre of health and disability policy development. Over the past 18 months I have personally led a series of events in which I have heard from disabled people and their representatives about their lived experiences with the benefits system, including the assessment process. The forthcoming Health and Disability Green Paper will reflect themes coming out of those conversations and ask for views on how best to address them. We will continue our direct engagement with disabled people and groups representing them, up to and following the publication of the Health and Disability Green Paper.

Unlike working age income-related benefits, Pension Credit has no capital limit beyond which entitlement to the benefit ceases.

Pension Credit is an income-related benefit intended to provide a ‘top-up’ for pensioners on a low income. As with all income-related benefits, due regard is given to all of a person’s financial resources when calculating an award. This ensures that taxpayer support is directed to those pensioners who are less well-off and need it most.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Online access to businesses and organisations for Deaf and hearing impaired people is covered by the Equality Act 2010 which requires that service providers make reasonable adjustments to ensure that their information is available in accessible formats. Guidance relating to EA2010 is widely available and can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-guidance.

The Government has no plans to review the rate of Maternity Allowance. Maternity Allowance is intended to enable eligible pregnant women and new mothers, who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, such as the low paid and the self-employed to prepare for, and recover from birth and to bond with their child. We believe that the rate of Maternity Allowance available allows most mothers to do this.

There are no plans to change the way that Maternity Allowance is treated in Universal Credit. Universal Credit is a means tested system of support, and where an individual claims Universal Credit, their award is adjusted to take account of any other financial support that the claimant is already receiving – including earnings, other income and benefits. Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid by the State which is unearned income. Unearned income that is available to help meet daily living costs is taken fully into account in determining the amount of Universal Credit that an individual is entitled to. As such, in determining the entitlement to Universal Credit, Maternity Allowance is deducted pound for pound from the total value of the award. This principle applies to other benefits.

There are no plans to change the way that Maternity Allowance is treated in Universal Credit, the impact of which has already been considered.

The Department takes every care to prevent incorrect payments being made and to ensure that benefits are paid to the correct recipient; we are focused on paying people their correct entitlement from the outset of a claim.

The Department has a clear strategy for tackling fraud, error and debt in the benefits system, which increasingly focuses on the prevention of fraud and error.

Various mechanisms help ensure that monies are paid to the right people. These include the verification of claimants’ information, clear customer communications to ensure benefit claimants provide full and correct claim details and a robust quality checking regime. This Quality Assurance approach includes pre-payment checks on a selection of claims. Outcomes from these and other checks inform on-going training and help prevent the repetition of errors.

The Department continues to make use of its digital capability, including the use of real time information and other data, which helps identify any potential discrepancies in claims.

The Department’s latest estimates of Fraud and Error in the Benefits system were published on 14^th May 2020 and show that estimated losses from official error in 2019/20 accounted for 0.4% of total benefit expenditure.

These statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates

The Department takes every care to prevent incorrect payments being made and to ensure that benefits are paid to the correct recipient; we are focused on paying people their correct entitlement from the outset of a claim.

The Department has a clear strategy for tackling fraud, error and debt in the benefits system, which increasingly focuses on the prevention of fraud and error.

Various mechanisms help ensure that monies are paid to the right people. These include the verification of claimants’ information, clear customer communications to ensure benefit claimants provide full and correct claim details and a robust quality checking regime. This Quality Assurance approach includes pre-payment checks on a selection of claims. Outcomes from these and other checks inform on-going training and help prevent the repetition of errors.

The Department continues to make use of its digital capability, including the use of real time information and other data, which helps identify any potential discrepancies in claims.

The Department’s latest estimates of Fraud and Error in the Benefits system were published on 14^th May 2020 and show that estimated losses from official error in 2019/20 accounted for 0.4% of total benefit expenditure.

These statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates

The Department takes every care to prevent incorrect payments being made and to ensure that benefits are paid to the correct recipient; we are focused on paying people their correct entitlement from the outset of a claim.

The Department has a clear strategy for tackling fraud, error and debt in the benefits system, which increasingly focuses on the prevention of fraud and error.

Various mechanisms help ensure that monies are paid to the right people. These include the verification of claimants’ information, clear customer communications to ensure benefit claimants provide full and correct claim details and a robust quality checking regime. This Quality Assurance approach includes pre-payment checks on a selection of claims. Outcomes from these and other checks inform on-going training and help prevent the repetition of errors.

The Department continues to make use of its digital capability, including the use of real time information and other data, which helps identify any potential discrepancies in claims.

The Department’s latest estimates of Fraud and Error in the Benefits system were published on 14^th May 2020 and show that estimated losses from official error in 2019/20 accounted for 0.4% of total benefit expenditure.

These statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates

There is information on Gov.UK “Financial help if you have children” about the range of assistance available, including but not limited to, Maternity Allowance.

https://www.gov.uk/browse/childcare-parenting/financial-help-children

This includes the Sure Start Maternity Grant of £500 to provide help with the costs associated with the expenses of a baby (or babies in the event of a multiple birth) expected, born, adopted, or the subject of a parental or residence order or other similar arrangements if there are no other children under the age of 16 in the claimant’s family in most cases. The grant is available to people on Universal Credit.

The Department makes consolatory payments, to acknowledge the non-financial impact of Department maladministration. Data is not differentiated by type. For example, payments can be made for: gross inconvenience, hardship, severe distress or gross embarrassment. The total number of consolatory payments, for maladministration, made to benefit claimants

are published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. The information here shows only consolatory payments for maladministration. It also excludes payments to Child Maintenance Group customers as these are not benefit claimants.

Equivalent data for 2020/21 will be finalised at the end of the current reporting year.

Child Maintenance Service are undertaking a range of changes as part of an overall improvement programme. This includes automation of simpler tasks and an improved digital offer, that will enable caseworkers to focus on more complex areas of work, supporting service improvements and increased compliance.

The Government has no plans to review the rate of Statutory Maternity Pay.

Statutory Maternity Pay is intended to enable employed pregnant women and new mothers to prepare for, and recover from, birth and to bond with their child.

Due to COVID-19, since March face-to-face assessments for all disability benefits, including the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) have been suspended. For successful applications to IIDB, award payments will be backdated to the date of application to ensure claimants will not lose out on payments they are entitled to. Reassessment case awards have been extended to ensure that payments continue unhindered on those cases. Any deteriorations which would have meant an increase in award, will be backdated once face-to-face assessments recommence, to ensure no one is left out of pocket.

Eligibility to the Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (‘1979 Act’) is dependent on an individual having an IIDB assessment and their age at the time of this assessment.

We have continued to process IIDB claims and lump sum payments for those individuals with terminal illnesses, and those for Fast Track prescribed diseases. These claims have continued to be assessed as usual without the need for a face to face assessment. Individuals can also then claim under the ‘1979 Act’ if eligible. The IIDB Quarterly Statistics show that 1,560 sufferers and 160 dependents received payments totalling £27,233,989 between March and December 2020 under the ‘1979 Act’. The data can be found here under table 3.1: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefit-quarterly-statistics-data-to-june-2020

We have now begun some paper based assessments for certain prescribed diseases. This allows a decision on such claims and will enable claimants to determine their eligibility to the ‘1979 Act’.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. We continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on disabled people using existing and new data sources. The Department has had discussions with charities, disabled people's organizations’ and individuals to understand the range of experiences disabled people have had during the pandemic and to identify the support needed.

DWP offers financial support for people who are affected by the pandemic, or who need employment-related support in general through Universal Credit, New Style ESA or Pension Credit, all of which can be applied for online. Employer led support is available through Statutory Sick Pay. In addition, people with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus are able to access PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to stay in and enter work. These include the Work and Health Programme, one-to-one support and training through the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access.

The Child Maintenance Service remains committed to ensuring that receiving parents get the money they are owed in maintenance payments, and this has been the case throughout the pandemic. The most recent quarterly statistics show that, in the quarter ending September 2020, 72 per cent of all paying parents paid some of their child maintenance through the Collect & Pay service.

Where compliance is not achieved we may deduct maintenance (and/or any arrears) direct from a paying parent’s. This is one of the Service’s most effective enforcement powers accounting for over half of the maintenance collected under Collect and Pay.

The Service also has tough enforcement powers including deducting as a regular or lump sum deduction from bank accounts, whether they are solely or jointly held as part of a business. Alongside these powers are a range of civil enforcement actions that can be taken through the courts once a liability order has been obtained. These actions include referral to an enforcement agency, committal to prison, and/or disqualification of holding or obtaining a passport or driving licence.

Child maintenance is not taken into account if a parent is also receiving income-related benefits, so can make a real difference to receiving parents and their children. We estimate that there are 120,000 fewer children in low-income households (measured on absolute low income after housing costs) as a result of child maintenance payments.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

There are no current plans to redeploy any department colleagues to the Child Maintenance Service.

However, the Child Maintenance Service are undertaking a range of changes as part of an overall improvement programme that will continue to support increased compliance.

The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. Annual index-linked increases are paid to UK State Pension recipients where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example where recipients are living in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. We continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on disabled people using existing and new data sources. The Department has had discussions with charities, disabled people's organizations’ and individuals to understand the range of experiences disabled people have had during the pandemic and to identify the support needed.

DWP offers financial support for people who are affected by the pandemic, or who need employment-related support in general through Universal Credit, New Style ESA or Pension Credit, all of which can be applied for online. Employer led support is available through Statutory Sick Pay. In addition, people with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus are able to access PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to stay in and enter work. These include the Work and Health Programme, one-to-one support and training through the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to his previous question 142087, that there are currently no plans to change the timing of the customer satisfaction survey.

Maximus’ Customer Satisfaction Survey is focused on the assessment service provided by Maximus. The survey is to help identify how the service can be improved whilst helping to understand the experience of those undergoing an assessment. The survey has no connection with the claims process or the outcome of a customer’s benefit claim.

The department also undertakes its own survey which is designed to monitor customer satisfaction with the services offered by the department and to enable customer views to inform improvements to the delivery of benefits and services.

Assessment providers are monitored and managed against a range of measures, including customer satisfaction. It is essential we receive ongoing feedback from customers and we invite a random sample of customers to provide feedback on the service they receive each month.

There are currently no plans to change the timing of the customer satisfaction survey.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Universal Credit is designed to be a ‘digital-first’ service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support.

Although the Department offers comprehensive support for claimants to use our digital service, there will be occasions when people are unable to make their claim online, so telephone applications can be accepted. In these instances, information normally available through a claimant’s online account will be communicated in an alternative format, which is best suited to an individual’s circumstances. Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentre Plus offices have remained open to support the most vulnerable claimants.

Help to Claim, delivered through Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, was already a multi-channel offer prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, capable of supporting people through the entire Universal Credit claim process by telephone and web chat, up to receiving their first full correct payment on time.

Information on historical debt which has been written off by the Child Support Agency is published on gov.uk and includes available data to the end of September 2020:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2020-experimental/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-june-2020-experimental

Paragraph 6 refers entitled. ‘CSA debt written off’

Homeowners experiencing financial difficulties meeting mortgage repayments because of Covid-19, can apply for a mortgage holiday for up to six months and have until 31st March 2021 to do so. The moratorium on lender repossession has been extended until 1 April.

There is no option for fortnightly payments in Universal Credit (UC).

Alternative Payment Arrangements (APA) are available to support claimants who cannot manage their single monthly payment where there is a risk of financial harm to the claimant and/or their family. These include more frequent payments. UC staff will always consider an APA where a need has been identified either by a work coach, case manager, or triggered by information received from the claimant, their representative or their landlord.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) has ceased collection of historical debt on 577,900 cases. This comprised of 410,400 cases which were held on CSA systems and 167,500 cases which were held on Child Maintenance Service (CMS) systems.

These cases had system records showing a total debt value of £1,926.6 million. £1,483.2 million from cases held on CSA systems and £443.4 million from cases held on CMS systems.

This information is available in the public domain at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-september-2020-experimental

The department and our assessment providers are committed to providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service to everyone. Individuals are encouraged to alert their assessment provider of any additional requirements they may have and providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.

Individuals can access additional support throughout the assessment process, for example help filling in the questionnaire. Companions are able to join the telephony assessment, as they would have done for the face to face assessment. This is confirmed to the individual in the initial invitation to assessment letter for all telephone assessments. If choosing to request a companion, they will be added to the call by the Health Professional at the start of the assessment.

To further enhance the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) telephony service, PIP providers have implemented a video relay service for claimants with British Sign Language requirements, to enable deaf claimants to participate in an assessment; we are exploring whether this solution could support the Work Capability Assessment process.

The Department takes every complaint incredibly seriously and will investigate any matters raised and respond accordingly as quickly as possible.

The Department does not record complaints information in a way which enables us to answer this question. DWP categorises complaints against specified categories that focus on identifying broadly where service has failed, for example, “DWP staff don’t treat me with respect - You discriminated against me”. It would be under this category Equality Act 2010 breaches would be captured.

As we would have to search through each complaint to obtain specific information about (a) processing of personal independence payment and (b) limited capability for work and work related activities applications would be to interrogate each complaint on a case by case basis to identify whether there had been breaches of the Equality Act 2010, the information requested would therefore could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Our priority throughout this health emergency continues to be to protect the public and staff, while ensuring people get the benefits they are entitled to quickly and safely. Face-to-face assessments remain suspended while we review what activity we can gradually start reintroducing in line with the latest public health advice. We will confirm next steps as soon as possible.

In the meantime, for claimants with the most serious or terminal conditions, claims continue to be processed and decisions made as normal. We are actively considering how to deal with those cases not currently being processed.

We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people using existing and new data sources. There will however be a period until the data needed to fully assess the impact becomes available.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is publishing a rolling programme of data and articles relating to the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. On the 24th April 2020 ONS also published 'Coronavirus and the social impacts on disabled people in Great Britain'. The analysis gives insight into the experience of disabled adults, and where there might be issues that arise for some that differ from those of non-disabled people. This showed that, currently, a lower proportion of disabled people than non-disabled people were worried about transport and caring issues as well as aspects of household finances and work.

That is why we are actively working on policies to provide specific employment support for disabled people both in and out of work. This includes initiatives such as Access to Work (ATW), Disability Confident, Work and Health Programme (WHP) and the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme (IPES), alongside investment in a programme of trials and tests to identify effective models of health and employment support for people with health conditions or disabilities.

The Department regularly meets with stakeholders representing residents, their families, and providers of care and senior sector representatives to discuss issues in adult social care. We will keep the impact of testing policies on individuals receiving care, those who care for them and their loved ones under review.

The Department regularly meets with stakeholders representing residents, their families, and providers of care and senior sector representatives to discuss issues in adult social care. We will keep the impact of testing policies on individuals receiving care, those who care for them and their loved ones under review.

NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor the dementia diagnosis rate on a monthly basis and provide analysis on trends at a regional and sustainability and transformation partnership level to aid targeted recovery efforts. In 2021/22, we allocated £17 million to NHS England and NHS Improvement to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. This funding was made available to clinical commissioning groups in June 2021. Later this year we will set out our plans for dementia in England, which will include a focus on dementia diagnosis.

We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services by 2023/24. The NHS Mental Health Dashboard records spending on mental health, which includes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), expenditure was £57.9 million in 2020/2021 and £61.9 million in 2021/2022. Specific spending on ADHD services is determined locally by Stockport CCG. The CCG is working with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and has identified an independent provider to support those who have waited the longest for ADHD assessments.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have consulted on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards. This includes a standard for adults and older adults presenting to community-based mental health services to receive help within four weeks from referral. However, this is not a maximum waiting time. NHS England and NHS Improvement published the outcomes of the consultation on 22 February 2022 and we will work with the National Health Service on the next steps.

Local commissioners and providers in England should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline: ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’ with respect to adult ADHD assessments. While this guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time for people to receive an ADHD assessment, it recommends that mental health services should form multidisciplinary specialist teams and/or clinics for adults, which should have expertise in the diagnosis and management of ADHD.

There have been no specific discussions as this is a matter for the NHS Staff Council. Reimbursement of travel costs are covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions, jointly agreed by employers and the National Health Service trade unions. The Department continues to work with the NHS Staff Council to ensure terms and conditions arrangements are fit for purpose.

The current rate for staff who use their vehicles to make journeys in the performance of their duties is 56 pence per mile, above HM Revenue and Customs’ approved mileage rate of 45 pence per mile. This rate reduces after 3,500 miles to 20 pence per mile. The NHS Terms and Conditions sets out the process for reviewing the rate of reimbursement every six months. This includes reviewing fluctuations in fuel prices.

The Regional Director of the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in the North West has published a ‘state of the region’ report, which highlights a range of disparities which have widened during the pandemic. The OHID’s Health Inequalities Monitoring for England Tool, the Wider Impact of COVID-19 on Health Monitoring Tool and a local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment indicate that the pandemic has had an impact on the health of the Stockport population. At least 90,000 people in Stockport have been diagnosed with COVID-19, more than 3,600 people have been admitted to hospital and more than 900 people have died.

Work in the North West region continues to increase vaccination rates and address the longer-term and indirect impacts of COVID-19, such as the effect on mental health and the economy.

The COVID-19 spring booster campaign commenced on 21 March 2022 in England and will continue until early summer. Adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed are eligible and will be invited by the National Health Service to book an appointment through the National Booking System. Local NHS teams will also offer vaccinations in care homes. Priority will be given to those eligible whose clinical need is greatest and the longest period of time since their previous dose was administered.

No assessment has been made. As of November 2021, 1,326 nurses are employed at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust - an increase of 127 or 10.6% since November 2020.

The Government has committed to delivering 50,000 more nurses in England by the end of this Parliament. This will be achieved through a combination of improving the domestic training pipelines, international recruitment and focusing on retention of existing staff. We have made available non-repayable training grants to eligible nurses worth at least £5,000 per year.

No specific estimate has been made.

The Government did not accept the recommendation to establish a redress agency as set out in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. It is already possible for the Government and others to provide redress for specific issues where that is considered necessary. Our priority is to improve the future safety of medicines and medical devices, setting high standards for industry to market and manufacture products, with the aim of reducing harm in the future.

Clinical commissioning groups and National Health Service trusts in Stockport and England should have due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management’. While this guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time to receive an assessment for ADHD, it aims to improve diagnosis in adults and children and the quality of care and support provided.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with local authorities’ children’s social care service, education services and expert charities to develop packages to support neurodivergent children, including children with ADHD and their families, through the diagnostic process.

No estimate has been made as appointments for National Health Service dental treatment are managed directly by dental practices.

The Government is clear that we only support the use of e-cigarettes as a tool for smokers to quit smoking. We will continue to strongly discourage non-smokers and children from using them.

Regular use of e-cigarettes amongst children remains low, at around 2% of 11 to 15 year olds in 2018. This is as a result of our strong regulatory framework including restrictions on advertising, packaging and labelling, preventing sales to under 18 year olds and limits on tank sizes and nicotine content.

We have no plans to do so. There have been over four million urgent referrals and over 960,000 people receiving cancer treatment between March 2020 and November 2021. First and subsequent treatments have been maintained at 94% of usual levels between March 2020 and November 2021.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the impact assessment which accompanied the consultation document on aligning the upper age exemption for National Health Service prescription charges with the state pension age examined a range of issues for those on lower incomes. The impact assessment is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/996781/impact-assessment-upper-age-prescription-exemption.pdf

There are no plans to abolish prescription charges in England, as in the devolved administrations.

No specific assessment has been made. However, the impact assessment which accompanied the consultation document on aligning the upper age exemption for National Health Service prescription charges with the state pension age examined a range of issues for those on lower incomes. The impact assessment is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/996781/impact-assessment-upper-age-prescription-exemption.pdf

There are no plans to abolish prescription charges in England, as in the devolved administrations.

It is crucial that the health and care workforce have the necessary skills provide high-quality care for those living with dementia and Parkinson’s.

We announced in the White Paper, that the Government will co-produce a sector-wide Knowledge and Skills Framework building on existing frameworks including the Dementia Training Standards Framework.

Linked to this there will be a Learning and Development offer, providing training places, and qualifications for the workforce, including those supporting individuals with dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made an estimate. Surveillance is carried out for cases who are tested and diagnosed in the United Kingdom. Information is not available on dengue cases or deaths in British nationals who are tested and diagnosed abroad. The UKHSA does not routinely receive data on deaths in the UK or deaths of British nationals abroad caused by dengue.

Work is ongoing to develop the Women’s Health Strategy, which will tackle health inequalities and address improving outcomes for mothers and babies, including a focus on reducing maternal and neonatal disparities. The Women’s Health Strategy will be published in spring 2022.

The 2021 Spending Review confirmed that expenditure on the National Health Service would continue to grow at 3.8% in real terms. The Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership has received approximately £4.7 billion in 2021/22 - an increase of approximately £175 million or 3.9% on the previous year.

Between September 2020 and September 2021, the number of doctors in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in the North West increased by 791 or 4.8% and the number of nurses increased by 1,673 or 3.7%. We are on schedule to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament. In 2020, there were 1,500 additional medical school places available - a 25% increase over three years. This expansion will maximise future workforce supply in the NHS, including in Greater Manchester.

On 23 December 2021, we published ‘Our Vision for the Women’s Health Strategy for England’ and the results of the call for evidence survey. We will publish the analysis of written submissions in due course and the Women’s Health Strategy in the spring.

We have no such plans at present. However, we are investing an additional £79 million in 2021/22 to expand children’s mental health services to allow 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also announced a further £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of the pandemic on children and young people’s mental health, including eating disorders. This is in addition to at least £53 million a year being invested in children and young people's community eating disorder services to 2023/24 under the NHS Long Term Plan.

The UK Health Security Agency has increased the supply of lateral flow device tests and its distribution capability. From 10 January 2022, we expect to deliver approximately seven million tests a day through GOV.UK and 90 million tests a week across the United Kingdom through all delivery channels.

The National Health Service in Greater Manchester is prioritising the safety of patients and staff and the treatment of patients who need urgent and emergency care, including cancer treatment. The Christie and Rochdale Infirmary will continue to provide cancer care and surgery. The temporary pause in elective activity aims to prevent further spread of the Omicron variant.

We are providing £2 billion this year and a further £8 billion in the following three years to increase elective activity and tackle backlogs in elective services in England. The NHS will maintain services wherever possible, with cancer and urgent care such as cardiac and vascular surgery and transplantation unaffected. Diagnostic services, including endoscopy, and the majority of out-patient services will continue wherever possible.

The information is not held in the format requested as while data for COVID-19 related absences is collected, it does not distinguish whether this is related to the Omicron variant.

However, the following table shows the number of staff absences due to COVID-19 related reasons, including self-isolation, in the week to 2 January 2022 for the acute trusts in Stockport constituency, Greater Manchester and the North West National Health Service region.

Source: NHS England and NHS Improvement Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports 2021-22 for acute trusts.

The Department has no plans to extend the list. Our policy on entitlement to help with prescription charges in England is based on the principle that those who can afford to contribute should do so, while those who are likely to have difficulty in paying should be protected.

Extensive arrangements are in already place to help people afford National Health Service prescriptions, including a broad range of exemptions relating to age, income and medical conditions, for which someone with Parkinson’s disease or other degenerative condition may qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge. To support those who do not qualify for an exemption, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

The Department has no plans to extend the list. Our policy on entitlement to help with prescription charges in England is based on the principle that those who can afford to contribute should do so, while those who are likely to have difficulty in paying should be protected.

Extensive arrangements are in already place to help people afford National Health Service prescriptions, including a broad range of exemptions relating to age, income and medical conditions, for which someone with Parkinson’s disease or other degenerative condition may qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge. To support those who do not qualify for an exemption, the cost of prescriptions can be capped by purchasing a prescription pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a quality standard on the education and awareness of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) as well as improved data collection and prevention.

Each medical school in the England sets its own undergraduate curriculum which must meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC) in its Outcomes for Graduates. The GMC would expect that, in fulfilling these standards, newly qualified doctors are able to identify, treat and manage any care needs, including FASD. The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the relevant Royal College and must meet the standards set by the GMC.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of General Practitioners curricula contain sections on foetal alcohol spectrum disorders alongside e-learning training modules. The curriculum for non-medical healthcare professionals is set by the higher education institutes to meet the standards of healthcare regulators. All curricula emphasise the skills and approaches a health care practitioner must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients, including those with FASD.

The Office for Life Sciences has been provided with £95 million for priority healthcare projects on cancer, obesity and mental health and access and uptake of cutting-edge innovations in the National Health Service.

While this will not be directly allocated to research in dementia, funding will continue from the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This includes £375 million announced by the NIHR for research into neurodegenerative diseases on 14 November.

Ministers and officials from the Department meet frequently with HM Treasury regarding the social care system.

Since May 2020, we have made available more than £2.5 billion to support the adult social care sector and prevent the transmission of COVID-19. From March 2020, we have committed over £6 billion to councils through un-ringfenced grants to tackle the impact of COVID-19 on services, including adult social care. These pressures are kept under review and the need for further support will be assessed through the winter.

Ministers and officials from the Department meet frequently with HM Treasury regarding the social care system.

Since May 2020, we have made available more than £2.5 billion to support the adult social care sector and prevent the transmission of COVID-19. From March 2020, we have committed over £6 billion to councils through un-ringfenced grants to tackle the impact of COVID-19 on services, including adult social care. These pressures are kept under review and the need for further support will be assessed through the winter.

No such estimate has been made as the numbers of general practitioner (GP) appointments are not collected in advance.

However, the most recent data suggests that the number of in person appointments with GPs recorded in these regions in September 2021 was 840,000 or 24% of the total in the North West region, 320,000 or 24% of the total in Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) and 50,000 or 29% of the total in Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Nationally, 25% of appointments with GPs were face-to-face in September 2021.

The number of appointments recorded in practices overall was 2,082,230 or 59.2% of the total in the North West region, 755,792 or 57% of the total in Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership STP and 104,457 or 61.7% of the total in Stockport CCG. Nationally, 60.8% of appointments in practices were face-to-face in September 2021.

We have recently launched a £250 million Winter Access Fund, to support general practitioner (GPs) and assist patients to see or speak to GPs and their teams. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the profession to understand how we can continue to help GPs and improve their working environment, in light of the pressures from the pandemic.

We have not made a formal assessment. As private contractors, general practitioners (GPs) make their own workforce plans and hiring decisions. However, we encourage recruitment of certain roles through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). The ARRS currently offers 12 roles and those employed through the Scheme contribute to multi-disciplinary teams.

GP practices also work with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in their local areas through Primary Care Networks (PCNs). PCNs build on existing primary care services and enable greater provision of personalised, coordinated and integrated health and social care closer to home.

There is currently no planned date for publication of a strategy to deliver the dementia moonshot.

However, we have committed to invest £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases, including dementia. A new dementia strategy, which will set out our plans in England for future years, including on research, will be published in 2022.

We are providing councils with £1.6 billion of new funding per year from 2022/23 to 2024/25 for social care and other services. We are also assuming councils will have flexibility to increase the adult social care precept by 1% per year. We have also confirmed £5.4 billion for adult social care reform. This includes over £3.6 billion to reform the social care charging system and enable all local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair rate for care and over £1.7 billion to institute major improvements across the social care system in England.

In September 2021, there were 1,841 more full time equivalent doctors in general practice compared to September 2019. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and the profession to increase the general practice workforce in England. This includes measures on recruitment, addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encouraging them to return to practice.

Last year, 3,793 number of doctors started general practitioner (GP) training, exceeding the target of 3,500. We have committed to increasing the number of GP training places to 4,000 a year from 2021, from 2,700 in 2014.

The UK Health Security Agency is currently trialling the use of direct LAMP, the most mature saliva test validated and available to deploy, for individuals with special educational needs and disabilities in a small number of restricted pilots. It is also being considered for other appropriate settings. These trials will consider a range of factors around the benefits of the tests and how they are used. The UKHSA will continue to review and evaluate the usability of emerging technologies.

People who have received both doses of a vaccine as part of a clinical trial, including Novavax, will be offered a booster vaccination, if eligible in line with the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Doses of the booster vaccine are currently being offered to individuals who received their first vaccination in phase one of the programme in the JCVI’s priority groups one to nine.

On 14 October we announced a package of measures to support general practice manage increasing workloads, catch up on the backlog of care and improve access. In addition, Greater Manchester and Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group is supporting general practice in Stockport by focussing on increasing workforce capacity to reduce demand on individual general practitioners (GPs). Local commissioners and providers are utilising extra volunteer and paid staff to deliver the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programmes and the urgent treatment centre is relieving urgent demand on GPs. GPs in Stockport are making full use of additional roles, such as physiotherapists and medicine co-ordinators, and providing training for receptionists to signpost patients to the most appropriate member of the practice team.

In 2019, there were 827 Dengue cases in the United Kingdom. The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) plans to publish reports of cases in the future. Surveillance of Dengue infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland comprise laboratory reports from the UKHSA Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory, includes demographic information for patients and their travel history. However, outcome data including deaths are not collected.

In 2019, there were 827 Dengue cases in the United Kingdom. The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) plans to publish reports of cases in the future. Surveillance of Dengue infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland comprise laboratory reports from the UKHSA Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory, includes demographic information for patients and their travel history. However, outcome data including deaths are not collected.

NHS England and NHS Improvement recently invested an additional £95 million in maternity services to support the recruitment of 1,200 more midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians. An equity and equality strategy, funded by a further £6.8 million, has been published to address the causes of inequalities in outcomes and experiences of maternity care. The NHS Resolution Maternity Incentive Scheme is working to improve the recording of incidents through its ten safety actions, by encouraging the use of the Perinatal Mortality Review Tool and improving the quality of reporting to the Maternity Services Data Set.

The data requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

We have secured tens of millions of additional blood tubes, including importing additional supplies from the European Union and the United States, which are now in National Health Service use, and there continues to be stock in place to ensure clinically urgent testing continues. Patient safety is my top priority and we are working closely with NHS England and the devolved administrations to minimise any impact on patient care and return to a normal service as soon as possible.

This data is not held centrally.

Individuals who took part in clinical trials and received a full dose of the Novavax vaccine can now use the NHS COVID Pass to demonstrate their COVID-19 status. However, it is the decision of the Government of the country the person is travelling to to set their inbound travel policy. The Chief Medical Officer has written to his counterparts in the European Union and European Economic Community and discussions are ongoing with other countries, including through the G7, the European Commission and the World Health Organization to shape the approach taken around the world to sharing health status for travel.

The Vaccines Taskforce and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are working with Novavax to help ensure their COVID-19 vaccine is authorised as quickly as possible. The decision to license a vaccine is made by the MHRA.

The Department continues to monitor data on accident and emergency (A&E) waiting time standards.

The National Health Service plans for a wide range of scenarios ahead of winter and will continue to adapt plans in line with any further advice from Public Health England.

Children attending accident and emergency departments are usually seen in dedicated facilities by specialist staff trained in children’s medicine. Children are protected by the National Health Service constitution in the same way as adults and should receive care and be admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival at an Emergency Department. The NHS Long Term Plan is a strategy supporting reform of urgent and emergency care services to ensure all patients get the care they need quickly and relieve pressure on A&E departments.

We have no current plans to do so. Individuals who participate in trials should speak to their trial contact on such matters as the release of test results. The Department will ensure that trial participants are not disadvantaged in terms of any future domestic vaccine certification, if introduced, compared to anyone else who has had their vaccines under the standard National Health Service programme.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to midwifery-led continuity of carer, so that it becomes the default model of care for women using maternity services across England by March 2023.

NHS Planning Guidance 2021/2022 outlines the cancer recovery priorities and the key actions to encourage patients to come forward and ensure capacity is in place to treat them. Local systems, drawing on advice and analysis from their Cancer Alliance, will ensure that there is sufficient diagnostic and treatment capacity in place to meet cancer needs.

Cancer Alliances bring together clinical and managerial leaders from different hospital trusts and other health and social care organisations, to transform the diagnosis, treatment, and care for cancer patients in their local area. These partnerships enable care to be more effectively planned across local cancer pathways, to ensure consistency.

This information is not held centrally.

Guidance has been provided to support vaccine trial participants who wished to be unblinded at a time when they became eligible for an approved COVID-19 vaccine. This suggests individuals should discuss with the principle investigator at the site in which the participant was recruited who are best placed to advise on the options following unblinding.

In general, participants who only received a placebo would be recommended to receive the deployed COVID-19 vaccine schedule. Those that received a full course of an active vaccine, would be advised that further doses of deployed vaccine were not advisable. Whilst antibody tests were performed in the study, the advice on further vaccination would be based on the record of the participant's previous doses in the trial.

Guidance has been provided to support vaccine trial participants who wished to be unblinded at a time when they became eligible for an approved COVID-19 vaccine. This suggests individuals should discuss with the principle investigator at the site in which the participant was recruited who are best placed to advise on the options following unblinding.

In general, participants who only received a placebo would be recommended to receive the deployed COVID-19 vaccine schedule. Those that received a full course of an active vaccine, would be advised that further doses of deployed vaccine were not advisable. Whilst antibody tests were performed in the study, the advice on further vaccination would be based on the record of the participant's previous doses in the trial.

We have made no such estimate as the number of people purchasing private care is not collected centrally.

General practice is open and has been throughout the pandemic. Appointment numbers have risen to 32.2 million in May 2021 and over half of all appointments were face to face.

We continue to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and general practice to assess the impact of different types of appointment and to improve access for all patient groups. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the impact of their policies on different protected characteristics, one of which is age. NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care to inform its long-term strategy.

The NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan committed to spending up to £15 million on 15 specialist problem gambling clinics by 2023/24. This funding includes the provision of treatment for gaming disorders through the National Centre for Gaming Disorders, which was set up to provide treatment for problem gamers aged 13 to 25 years old, living in England and Wales. The service sits alongside the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London.

Public Health England’s (PHE) ‘Wider Impacts of COVID-19 on Health’ tool is monitoring the wider impacts of the pandemic on population health and is available at the following link:

https://analytics.phe.gov.uk/apps/covid-19-indirect-effects/

PHE has worked with colleagues across Government, to track impacts on mental health and wellbeing using data and research from a wide range of sources. The ’COVID-19: mental health and wellbeing surveillance’ report, which also looks at the effects on children and young people, is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing-surveillance-report

On 31 May 2021, the World Health Organization recommended a new nomenclature system for variants under investigation (VUIs) and variants of concern (VOCs) using the Greek alphabet for non-scientific audiences. Public Health England (PHE) began using this system in all external communications as of 2 June. Not all variants designated VUI or VOC status by PHE have been assigned WHO labels. PHE will continue to incorporate the Greek alphabet labels as they are announced. The Government has adopted the WHO naming conventions in discussing and reporting on work on COVID-19 variants.

We recognise that a compassionate approach to facilitating hospital visits, balanced with the need to manage the risk of infection, is essential when supporting the care of patients. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s visiting guidance is regularly assessed and reviewed for its impact on patient care.

The data is not held in the format requested.

Since the ‘Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020’ report we have introduced access and waiting time standards for both Early Intervention in Psychosis and Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. Over one million adults already access IAPT services each year and this will be expanded to cover a total of 1.9 million by 2023-24.Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are expanding and transforming mental health services in England, investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023-24. This will see spending for mental health services growing faster than the overall National Health Service budget.

There are now specialist perinatal mental health community services for new and expectant mothers in every part of the country and we are extending this further, with 26 new mental health hubs, offering physical health checks and psychological therapy, by April 2022. We have met our commitment for an additional 70,000 children and young people accessing NHS-funded mental health services and school or college-based mental health support teams. We are committed to further increasing this to 345,000 by 2023-24.

Those participating in United Kingdom vaccination trials can request a letter from the trial they are participating in to confirm their vaccination status, which will include vaccine type and dose information. The Government is exploring how vaccine information for those on clinical trials can be linked to the NHS App, as well as to a non-digital solution.

The information is not held in the format requested

As part of COVID-19 recovery planning we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to look at improving the provision of therapies to disabled children. NHS England and NHS Improvement published guidance entitled ‘COVID-19 restoration of community health services for children and young people: second phase of NHS response in the community health restoration’, updated on 31 July 2020. This makes clear that essential community services, including therapies such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, must be prioritised for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities aged up to 25 years old and who have an Education Health and Care Plan in place or who are going through an assessment for one.

We are in regular contact with care homes and providers in order to assess adherence to this guidance and ways in which this can be improved. If a resident or their family have concerns that the care home is not following visiting guidance appropriately then they can raise them with the home in the first instance. If the resident or family are still dissatisfied, the Care Quality Commission will investigate complaints.

Private providers which are listed on GOV.UK have declared and evidenced compliance with the relevant minimum standards for testing services, including the relevant stage of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service accreditation if the provider is processing tests or taking swabs. The minimum standards are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/testing-on-day-2-and-day-8-for-international-arrivals

The Department is continuing to monitor each provider supplying testing for international arrivals, including assessment of their delivery, customer service and reporting services. We are also carefully monitoring issues raised by the public about private test providers, raising every complaint with providers. We are taking rapid action with companies where appropriate. Providers delivering inadequate services receive a five-day warning to demonstrate they have rectified their service and if they are unable to do so, they are removed from the GOV.UK list.

We have no current plans to do so.

Since requirements were introduced for international travel testing, the costs of travel testing have fallen significantly. The Government is committed to working with the travel industry and private testing providers to reduce the cost whilst also ensuring travel is as safe as possible.

NHS Test and Trace tests are available at the market mid-point. A list of providers offering testing bundles for international arrivals is available at GOV.UK, allowing travellers to find tests at an appropriate price. We also offer deferred payment plans and hardship support for people who cannot afford to pay for the cost of managed quarantine and testing. In some circumstances this may be available to those who are not in receipt of income related benefits.

Departmental data show in the week ending 26 April 2021, 82.5% of care homes in England were able to accommodate residents receiving visitors within care homes, compared to 40.3% at the beginning of March 2021. The Care Quality Commission are investigating concerns about visiting where these are raised and offering support to assist care homes in opening up further to allow more visits in and out of care homes.

Arrivals from amber list countries must take a test on or before day two for variant surveillance and unless they receive a positive result from their day two test, on or after day eight, to improve the efficacy of quarantine. Those travelling from a ‘green list’ country only need to take a test on or before day two. Arrivals should follow quarantine guidelines until they receive negative day two and day eight test results.

The Department is working closely with private providers to ensure tests and results are delivered on time to support individuals to meet legal requirements and end their quarantine period on time. Private providers performance for day two and day eight testing is continually monitored including their ability to provide samples, analysis and report results on time. We take rapid action when providers deliver inadequate services. This includes providers receiving a five-day warning to demonstrate they have rectified their service and if they are unable to do so, they are removed from the appropriate GOV.UK list.

As individuals are contracting a private service the Department does not offer compensation. However, we advise any customers who have had, or are having, a customer service issue with a private test provider, to first report this back to the provider. If the issue cannot be resolved, the consumer should to contact their local trading standards office.

Consumers are able to complain directly with the Department about private providers and we monitor these complaints and address these directly with private providers.

The Department is working closely with private providers to ensure tests and results are delivered on time. Private providers performance is continually monitored including their ability to provide samples, analysis and report results on time. The Department takes rapid action when providers deliver inadequate services. This includes providers receiving a five-day warning to demonstrate they have rectified their service and if they do not, they are removed from the appropriate GOV.UK list.

The Government has made no such estimate and no assessment has been made.

In charging for care, local authorities must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) 2014 Regulations and have regard to the Care and Support statutory guidance. Where additional support is needed, the local authority can be asked to carry out a financial assessment review to ensure the right level of income is retained to meet needs that are not being met by the local authority.

The data requested on postponed care is not collected centrally.

The data requested on postponed care is not collected centrally.

Data is not available in the format requested.

Phesgo has been funded for eligible patients through the National Health Service since 10 February 2021. There are no restrictions on which providers can prescribe Phesgo. It is therefore for clinicians, in discussion with their patients, to decide on the most appropriate treatment.

Patients with breast cancer at Stepping Hill Hospital are clinically managed by the Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust has agreed to use Phesgo. Patients at the hospital should therefore begin receiving this treatment in the near future.

From March 2020 to the end of February 2021, over two million people have been urgently referred and over 520,000 people started receiving cancer treatment. First and subsequent cancer treatments have been maintained at 87% of the level in 2019.

The National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance for 2021/22 sets out plans to accelerate the restoration of elective and cancer care. Local systems, drawing on advice and analysis from their Cancer Alliance, will ensure that there is sufficient diagnostic and treatment capacity in place to meet the needs of cancer to return the number of people waiting for longer than 62 days to the level of February 2020 or to the national average in February 2020 where this is lower and meet the increased level of referrals and treatment required to address the shortfall in number of first treatments by March 2022.

In July 2020 the Care Quality Commission published a report on the ‘Impact of COVID-19 on the use of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards’ (DoLS), which recorded a significant decrease in the number of DoLS notifications between March 2020 and May 2020, compared with data from the previous year.

There has been no change to DoLS legislation in light of the pandemic and the Department has issued extensive guidance for health and social care staff on applying the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and DoLS during the pandemic. This guidance reiterates the importance of ensuring people have access to the human rights protections the Mental Capacity Act offers and offers advice on COVID-19 testing, deprivation of liberty, DoLS and best interests decision-making. The Department continues to update this guidance based on feedback from stakeholders, including people with lived experience and partners in local government, health and social care.

Details of NHS Test and Trace contract awards, including the value, are published on the Government’s Contracts Finder site. We have Memorandums of Understanding with public sector organisations, which set out the working arrangements between the Test and Trace programme and those organisations.

Since 18 January 2021, 266 contracts relating to NHS Test and Trace have been awarded.

Details of NHS Test and Trace contract awards, including the value, are published on the Government’s Contracts Finder site. We have Memorandums of Understanding with public sector organisations, which set out the working arrangements between the Test and Trace programme and those organisations.

Since 18 January 2021, 266 contracts relating to NHS Test and Trace have been awarded.

Details of NHS Test and Trace contract awards, including the value, are published on the Government’s Contracts Finder site. We have Memorandums of Understanding with public sector organisations, which set out the working arrangements between the Test and Trace programme and those organisations.

Since 18 January 2021, 266 contracts relating to NHS Test and Trace have been awarded.

In July 2020 we set out a target date for implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) of April 2022. We are working towards public consultation which will inform our plans for full implementation.

Until the LPS comes into force, it is vital that all bodies with legal duties under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) continue to operate these important safeguards to ensure the rights of people without relevant mental capacity are protected. The Department is working with national organisations including Health Education England, the Social Care Institute for Excellence and Skills for Care, to ensure that DoLS training continues until the LPS is implemented. In preparation for the implementation of the LPS, organisations should ensure that staff are also up to date with relevant Mental Capacity Act 2005 training.

In July 2020 we set out a target date for implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) of April 2022. We are working towards public consultation which will inform our plans for full implementation.

Until the LPS comes into force, it is vital that all bodies with legal duties under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) continue to operate these important safeguards to ensure the rights of people without relevant mental capacity are protected. The Department is working with national organisations including Health Education England, the Social Care Institute for Excellence and Skills for Care, to ensure that DoLS training continues until the LPS is implemented. In preparation for the implementation of the LPS, organisations should ensure that staff are also up to date with relevant Mental Capacity Act 2005 training.

On 30 March, we published an update to our visiting guidance for supported living and extra care settings, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supported-living-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-supported-living

The default position in this guidance is that visits should be supported and enabled wherever it is safe to do so and explains how providers can develop a policy for visiting which mitigates risks. For example, lateral flow testing is now available to providers who are currently eligible for staff testing. There are still some national restrictions in place across England which people in supported living, and their family and friends, must follow. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

The information requested is not available. The collection of data on cancelled operations has been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to release capacity across the National Health Service to support the response.

The information is not collected in the format requested, as sickness absence data is only collected at trust level rather than individual site.

The following table shows the number of appointments in general practice in Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group in each year since 2018. General practitioner appointment data was first collected in 2018. Data by constituency is not available.

Source: NHS Digital

No waiting list data is held centrally on adults or children wishing to access National Health Service dental services in Stockport, the North West or England.

The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer for England to increase levels of service, as fast as is safely possible. On 29 March we announced that the threshold for full NHS contractual payment would be raised to 60% of normal activity. Nearly 700 urgent dental care centres also remain open across England to ensure that patients are able to access urgent dental treatment. We continue to explore what more can be done to increase capacity including piloting pre-appointment testing.

No waiting list data is held centrally on adults or children wishing to access National Health Service dental services in Stockport, the North West or England.

The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer for England to increase levels of service, as fast as is safely possible. On 29 March we announced that the threshold for full NHS contractual payment would be raised to 60% of normal activity. Nearly 700 urgent dental care centres also remain open across England to ensure that patients are able to access urgent dental treatment. We continue to explore what more can be done to increase capacity including piloting pre-appointment testing.

No waiting list data is held centrally on adults or children wishing to access National Health Service dental services in Stockport, the North West or England.

The Department is working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer for England to increase levels of service, as fast as is safely possible. On 29 March we announced that the threshold for full NHS contractual payment would be raised to 60% of normal activity. Nearly 700 urgent dental care centres also remain open across England to ensure that patients are able to access urgent dental treatment. We continue to explore what more can be done to increase capacity including piloting pre-appointment testing.