Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to reopen dental treatment services as part of the Government’s easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To meet the Government social distancing measures and to contain the spread of COVID-19 all routine dentistry was suspended at the start of the pandemic.
NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that National Health Service dentistry outside urgent care centres will begin to gradually restart from 8 June where practices assess that they have the necessary personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control. The aim is to increase levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety.
A copy of the letter that was published can be found at the following link:
We still expect all NHS dental practices to provide urgent telephone advice and triage. Dentists are giving urgent advice remotely and, if needed, prescriptions for painkillers or antibiotics. All urgent face to face treatment that is clinically necessary will still be available for patients who are triaged by their dentist or NHS 111 into one of over 600 urgent dental care centres set up by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
To support dentists and teams to reopen safely NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer have published a standard operating procedure covering the recovery transition.
This can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What steps his Department has taken to help support communities in north Cornwall during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Heappey
The Armed Forces’ contribution to the Government’s COVID-19 response has been invaluable. North Cornwall is no exception.
Mobile Testing Units deployed to Bude, Bodmin and Launceston, providing a vital service to local communities.
Nine military planners deployed to assist the Devon and Cornwall Local Resilience Forum with PPE distribution and testing, and a team of two soldiers were available to courier testing kits to Residential Care Homes across Cornwall and Devon.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the findings for the 2016 and 2017 Sea Angling survey will be published.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Publication of the Sea Angling surveys for 2016 and 2017 has been delayed due to the Government’s response to COVID 19. The findings are now due to be published in the summer of this year.
Reports for 2018 and 2019 are due to be published later in the year, and will set out estimated catches by recreational sea fishers as well as their economic contribution.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to issue guidance for Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities on administering the test in relation to sea bass in s.157(2)(b) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009; and if his Department will consult with Fish Legal in the development of that guidance.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are independent statutory authorities, directly responsible for managing sea fisheries resources in their districts sustainably. The Secretary of State does not have a role in confirming emergency byelaws; rather, each IFCA is empowered to decide to introduce an emergency byelaw and whether it meets the qualifying criteria set out in section 157(2) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Defra has supported the IFCAs by providing best practice guidance on IFCA byelaw-making, including emergency byelaws made under section 157, which is accessible via the GOV.UK and IFCA websites. Defra has not received further requests for clarification from the IFCAs regarding the current statutory guidance on the qualifying criteria.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with members of the expatriate community that spend short periods of time in the UK when finalising the legislative proposals on the two week quarantine period for people returning to the UK during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kevin Foster
From 8 June, all passengers arriving in the UK without having travelled through another part of the Common Travel Area are required to self-isolate for 14 days, apart from those on a short list of exemptions.
Those spending fewer than 14 days in the UK can depart again before the 14 days are complete.
Communications have been set up to clarify these measures to all those coming to the UK. These are available at the border and on gov.uk.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps with (a) recreational fishermen and (b) Fish Legal to clarify the guidance for Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities on the introduction of emergency bylaws under section 157 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are independent statutory authorities and have direct responsibility to sustainably manage sea fisheries resources in their districts. Therefore, it is for each IFCA to decide whether a situation warrants an emergency byelaw and if this meets the qualifying criteria as laid down in Section 157 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. Defra has provided best practice guidance on IFCA byelaw-making, including emergency byelaws made under section 157, this is available online through GOV.UK and IFCA websites. Defra has not been approached by any IFCA to provide further statutory guidance on the aforementioned qualifying criteria.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the Post Office during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government views the services provided by the Post Office as essential and that is why, on 23 March, the Government designated 'key worker' status to Postmasters and their staff, allowing their children to remain in school. This has meant that subject to social distancing guidelines, Post Office has sought to keep as many branches opens as possible during the Covid-19 outbreak. To support postmasters through this period, Post Office has provided income top ups to many thousands of branches in April, May and June.
This support backs Postmasters for their dedication and hard work in keeping their Post Office open and ensures that some of the country's most vulnerable people can continue to benefit from the essential services the Post Office provides.
BEIS continues to work with Post Office to ensure as many branches can remain open as possible and particularly that communities’ access to essential services is protected during this challenging time.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What additional financial support he is providing to help protect victims of domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We have announced an unprecedented £76 million extra funding to support survivors of?domestic abuse, sexual violence, modern slavery and vulnerable children and their families. This includes £28 million for victims of domestic abuse.
This funding will help front line charities to provide support to those in need, including through virtual or telephone-based services.
This funding is part of comprehensive measures to support vulnerable people through the pandemic and we are working closely with local bodies, charities and other partners to ensure they get the support they need.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to help support people claim back their deposits from tour operators if in the event that overseas travel plans are affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority. If the CMA finds evidence that companies are failing to comply with the law, the CMA will take appropriate enforcement action, which could include taking a firm to court if it does not address its concerns.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to reduce incidences of livestock theft from farmers in Cornwall.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is clear that livestock theft should be reported to the police so that is can be investigated appropriately. To ensure that Police Forces have the resources they need to deal with these crimes when they do occur, the Government has committed to increasing the number of police officers by 20,000 over the next three years. Up to 6,000 additional officers are to be recruited by the end of the financial year. The deployment of these additional officers will be a matter for the chief officer of police and the regional police and crime commissioner.