Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving control of the Crown Estate in Wales to the Welsh Government.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
Effective working relationships already exist between the Crown Estate and the Welsh Government.
There is no public appetite at all in Wales to devolve the Crown Estate, which would serve merely to fragment the market and delay the further development of key projects in Wales.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Home Office:
If she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Justice to develop an overarching national strategy to improve the outcomes for neurodivergent people in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We are working closely with the Ministry of Justice on the development of a national strategy to improve outcomes for neurodivergent people in the criminal justice system (CJS).
The recent Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report on neurodiversity in the CJS is welcome. I look forward to discussing this with the new Secretary of State for Justice.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the data collected by the ZOE COVID Symptom Study which found that runny nose, headache, sneezing and sore throat are the most common symptoms of covid-19 in fully vaccinated people and children, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the list of symptoms which trigger the need for a covid-19 test.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Experts continue to keep the symptoms under review as our understanding of the virus develops. We assess the data from the COVID Symptom Study in addition to other surveillance studies and will update our guidance if necessary.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the HMICFRS report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System report, published on 15 July 2021, what steps are being taken to implement the use of screening tools for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to enable screening for adults upon entering prison.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working closely with the Ministry of Justice to gather more evidence on the use of screening tools, including screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults within the criminal justice system in England. An action plan in response to the recommendations of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, is due to be published in October 2021 and will address this recommendation.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the HMICFRS report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System report, published on 15 July 2021, what steps his Department is taking to develop a strategy for neurodiversity in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We welcomed the Evidence Review Report on Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, which has highlighted the importance of gaining a better understanding of the needs of people with neurodivergent conditions across the criminal justice system.
The report suggests that potentially half of the adult prison population has some form of neurodivergence. The report identifies current gaps in provision and areas of good practice, and it provides six recommendations as to how current provision might be improved.
The first recommendation is to develop a cross government overarching neurodiversity strategy across the criminal justice system. An action plan in response to the report is due to be published in October 2021 and my department is currently engaging in discussions with all of the relevant departments to identify appropriate steps to work towards this key recommendation.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps she is taking to meet the UK’s international obligations on refugees and asylum seekers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those in need. Since 2015, we have resettled more than 25,000 people – more than any other EU country – and we have a new global UK Resettlement Scheme running.
The Nationality and Borders Bill, which was introduced last week, will fix the broken asylum system in the UK and ensure that access to the UK’s asylum system is based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
What recent discussions he has had with devolved Administrations on the December 2020 Northern Ireland Protocol agreement with the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
I was pleased that we could agree a fantastic deal on the Protocol in December. It delivers on the commitments we made to the people of Northern Ireland, maintaining unfettered access, protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK Customs Territory, and ensuring that Great Britain to Northern Ireland trade flows as smoothly as possible.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is in constant contact with the Executive on matters relating to the Protocol, as was the case throughout the Transition Period. This includes regular engagements with the First and deputy First Ministers, as well as cross-Government forums like the EU Exit Operations Committee and JMC(EN).
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What discussions he has had with (a) his counterparts in EU member states and (b) the Secretary of State for Transport on the diplomatic implications of the operation of the UK's border with the EU from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Wendy Morton
I continue to speak regularly to my counterparts in Europe.
The FCDO continues to work closely with colleagues across Government, including the Secretary of State for Transport, to maintain smooth operation of the UK's border with the EU for both freight and passengers.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Education:
What steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of education received by school pupils during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All primary and secondary schools in England are now expected to provide remote education for the majority of their pupils and students, with the exception of vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers, who can attend school or college in person. Where vulnerable children and young people and children of critical workers do not attend school or college, we expect schools and colleges to provide them with remote education.
We have updated the remote education guidance for schools to clarify and strengthen expectations while on-site attendance is restricted, drawing on our evolving understanding of best practice in remote education. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf#page=46&zoom=100,72,76.
To ensure all pupils continue to access high-quality education, we are securing 1.3 million laptops, investing over £400 million to support access to remote education. A comprehensive package of support continues to be available to schools and colleges which can be accessed via the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education. As part of that support, we have published a ‘Review Your Remote Education Provision’ tool to help schools to understand their remote education strategies and signpost them towards packages of support to help them meet basic requirements and go further in their strategies, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-your-remote-education-provision?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=53522a25-c275-4777-996d-ade6d8f11bd5&utm_content=immediately.
We have asked schools to publish information about their remote education provision on their websites by 25 January and published an optional template to support schools in setting out that information, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-remote-education-information-to-parents-template.
During the spring term Ofsted will conduct monitoring inspections of schools most in need. These will have a strong focus on remote education and an emphasis on being supportive. In addition, Ofsted will inspect schools of any grade if it has any significant concerns about a school’s provision, including in relation to remote education. Where parents approach Ofsted with concerns, having first sought to resolve them with the school, Ofsted will consider and take action where appropriate. This could mean discussing the complaint with the school, or if necessary, inspecting the school.
Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps he is taking to help prevent a second wave of covid-19 infections after the easing of lockdown measures.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We have set out five tests that will need to be satisfied before any lockdown measures are eased which are as follows:
To offset the risk for a second peak, a certain degree of social distancing measures will need to remain. We have rapidly and very significantly expanded our testing capability and are developing a test and trace programme to support the next phase of our Covid-19 response.