Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Public Health England’s findings that people with learning disabilities were three to six times more likely to die from covid-19 than the general population during the first wave of covid-19 was taken into account when developing the vaccine prioritisation policy.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent expert advisory committee which advises the Government on vaccination. The JCVI reviewed data on COVID-19 mortality from OpenSAFELY, QCOVID and Public Health England (PHE). This included the PHE report on mortality in people with learning disabilities.
After consideration of the evidence, the JCVI advised that people with severe and profound learning disabilities and Down’s syndrome should be offered vaccination in the first phase of the programme.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent correspondence his Department has received from the Northern Ireland Office on implementing a disregard for compensation payments made under the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
My department is aware of the situation regarding Northern Ireland Historic Abuse Payments and how they are treated within the benefit system.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 33 of The Northern Ireland Protocol, CP346, published on 10 December 2020, which categories of trader (a) can and (b) cannot benefit from a grace period to 1 April 2021 from official certification for products of (i) animal origin, (ii) composite products, (iii) food and feed of non-animal origin and (iv) plants and plant products.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
As the Command Paper underlines, the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs will engage in a rapid exercise to identify the authorised traders able to draw on the grace period from official certification for products of animal origin, composite products, food and feed of non-animal origin and plants and plant products. The Government will not discriminate against smaller suppliers or between different companies in implementing these practical measures. This list will be in place by the end of the year.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to correspondence from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee relating to matters raised at the oral evidence session on Wednesday 16 September, dated 11 September 2020, which (a) victims’ groups and (b) individuals he has consulted since that date as part of that period of sensitive engagement with key stakeholders, and on which dates those meetings took place.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials from the Northern Ireland Office regularly meet representatives from civic society, including victims groups, community representatives, religious leaders and individuals from across academia and the peace and reconciliation sector. Engagement on the subject of legacy is ongoing.
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 59, on what date stakeholder engagement on forthcoming legacy legislation was paused by his Department; and on what date this engagement was resumed.
Answered by Robin Walker
In the Spring, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials met a number of victims groups and other key stakeholders to discuss legacy issues. Following these discussions, it was clear that the full and sensitive engagement required on this difficult subject would be difficult to deliver effectively while the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic were ongoing.
Notwithstanding this, a degree of engagement has and continues to take place where possible. The Secretary of State remains committed to engaging with all parts of the community in Northern Ireland, including victims groups, in order to make progress on legacy issues.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 59, which civil society (a) organisations and (b) individuals (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department have met as part of the legacy engagement process in each of the last nine months.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and officials from the Northern Ireland Office regularly meet various representatives from civic society, including community representatives, religious leaders and individuals from across academia and the peace and reconciliation sector. Engagement on the specific issue of legacy is ongoing, where possible within the constraints imposed by current circumstances.
The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. Publications for the Northern Ireland Office can be found on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Luton South during his oral statement on 30 November 2020, Official Report, column 69, when he plans to bring forward legislation based on the proposals and framework outlined in Written Ministerial Statement HCWS168 published on 18 March.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that it will bring forward legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles in a way that focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims, and ends the cycle of investigations, which has failed victims and veterans alike.
We have also made clear our commitment to working with all parts of the community in Northern Ireland as part of this process. While the challenging circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic have had an impact on our ability to engage effectively and sensitively, we remain determined to make progress on legacy issues as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish a list of (a) members of the Board of Trade and (b) trade envoys.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Board is chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board. She is its only standing member. The list of advisers to the Board of Trade is available on GOV.UK.
Regarding Trade Envoys, I refer my Honourable Friend to the answer given to Sir Christopher Chope by my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands) on 9th November 2020, UIN: 111412.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to Annex A of the New Decade New Approach Agreement, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the merits of and (b) progress on establishing the Independent Fiscal Council.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Fiscal Council is an important new part of the governance of Northern Ireland. It has the potential to make a huge contribution to fiscal sustainability in Northern Ireland over the long-term and strengthen Northern Ireland’s fiscal performance. The Northern Ireland Department of Finance is leading on developing the Terms of Reference for the Fiscal Council. The Northern Ireland Finance Minister has recently updated the Assembly that his department is now actively refocusing on this issue.
In his engagement with Executive ministers, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has consistently emphasised the need to press ahead with an Independent Fiscal Council as a priority in his regular communications with members of the Executive and at both previous meetings of the Joint Board.
The UK Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to agree terms of reference that reflect our joint ambitions for this new institution and get it up and running as soon as possible.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
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 (a) increase provision of rehabilitation services for people with (i) neurological conditions and (ii) multiple sclerosis who have become deconditioned as a result of covid-19 lockdown restrictions and disruption of healthcare services and (b) provide additional provision of those services to meet the needs of people recovering from covid-19.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS England and NHS Improvement advised in-person consultations should only take place when absolutely necessary. Providers have been rolling out remote consultations using video, telephone, email and text message services as a priority, including for those with neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
In-person rehabilitation services should now be resumed. The Association of British Neurologists published guidance on recommencing neurology services in the recovery phase of the pandemic, assessing which services and patients require urgent prioritisation. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also provided prioritisation advice for restarting community services, which aims to meet the needs of people with neurological conditions safely and effectively. This guidance can be found at the following links: