Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2019 to Question 236388 on Religious Buildings: Security, what plans are in place to enable his Department to consult communities on the security of places of worship.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Places of Worship Protective Security Fund (POW) is a key commit-ment in the Hate Crime Action Plan published in 2016. The scheme has been running for three years, and we ensure we continuously listen to feedback from faith communities on the scheme, including the independent panel to the scheme made up of representatives across faith groups. This feedback has resulted in improvements being made for each year of the scheme.
In March the Home Secretary announced an increase in the amount of funding for the POW scheme to £1.6m, for 2019-20. We are working urgently to make commercial improvements to the scheme to make it easier for places of worship to apply, reducing the administrative burden and widening the eligibility criteria.
More widely, following the events in Christchurch, the Home Secretary committed to consulting with faith communities to understand what more could and should be done to help protect faith communities at their places of worship. We will be working with groups such as the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, Tell Mama and those representing other faiths as part of this consultation. This engagement with communities is starting immediately with opportunities for wider consultation, including from people feeding in on individual basis, following thereafter. We will be outlining how to engage on Gov.UK shortly
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations he has received from community faith groups on the security of places of worship.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Places of Worship Protective Security Fund (POW) is a key commit-ment in the Hate Crime Action Plan published in 2016. The scheme has been running for three years, and we ensure we continuously listen to feedback from faith communities on the scheme, including the independent panel to the scheme made up of representatives across faith groups. This feedback has resulted in improvements being made for each year of the scheme.
In March the Home Secretary announced an increase in the amount of funding for the POW scheme to £1.6m, for 2019-20. We are working urgently to make commercial improvements to the scheme to make it easier for places of worship to apply, reducing the administrative burden and widening the eligibility criteria.
More widely, following the events in Christchurch, the Home Secretary committed to consulting with faith communities to understand what more could and should be done to help protect faith communities at their places of worship. We will be working with groups such as the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, Tell Mama and those representing other faiths as part of this consultation. This engagement with communities is starting immediately with opportunities for wider consultation, including from people feeding in on individual basis, following thereafter. We will be outlining how to engage on Gov.UK shortly
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the level of threat to places of worship by far-right politically motivated violence in the UK; and what plans he has to support those places of worship.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The threat to places of worship from far-right violence is considered independently of government by the police and Joint Terrorism Assessment Centre (JTAC) and the police consider appropriate action to be taken in light of these assessments.
The Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme is a key Home Office commitment in the Hate Crime Action Plan to respond to concerns about faith-based hate crime. The scheme is open to Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faiths and provides funding for physical security measures at places which are vulnerable to hate crime.
Decisions on funding are based on eligibility criteria set out in the Home Office guidance to applicants and the recommendations of the multi-faith independent advisory panel (with security expertise), this process therefore includes an assessment of vulnerability to hate crime. Last month, we announced an uplift of funding for the 2019/20 Places of Worship scheme to £1.6 million. This is double the amount awarded in 2018/19.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating funding to mosques for security on a risk-assessed basis.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The threat to places of worship from far-right violence is considered independently of government by the police and Joint Terrorism Assessment Centre (JTAC) and the police consider appropriate action to be taken in light of these assessments.
The Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme is a key Home Office commitment in the Hate Crime Action Plan to respond to concerns about faith-based hate crime. The scheme is open to Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faiths and provides funding for physical security measures at places which are vulnerable to hate crime.
Decisions on funding are based on eligibility criteria set out in the Home Office guidance to applicants and the recommendations of the multi-faith independent advisory panel (with security expertise), this process therefore includes an assessment of vulnerability to hate crime. Last month, we announced an uplift of funding for the 2019/20 Places of Worship scheme to £1.6 million. This is double the amount awarded in 2018/19.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle retail crime and violence against shopworkers in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.
I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies – including the Associ-ation of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.
On 21 January I announced that we will launch a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.
In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department collects to monitor the effectiveness of money allocated from the public purse to early years early intervention strategies in (a) Kirklees and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Public Health Outcomes Framework is a comprehensive source of data at local authority unitary, county and district level on the extent to which local strategies are successful and effective in improving outcomes for children in the early years. It is available at the following link: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework.
The framework includes data on outcomes for children aged 5 from the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP). Further information on the EYFSP is broken down by local authority and available to view at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2017-to-2018. We do not publish this data at constituency or combined authority level.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on raising the base rate of education funding for 16-18 year olds.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Treasury Ministers regularly receive representations on all aspects of public spending from a range of individuals and organisations, including Further Education funding. For instance, I recently met with colleagues from both sides of the House to discuss the issue further.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that there are sufficient community podiatry services to meet demand in (a) Huddersfield and (b) England.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Podiatry services in Greater Huddersfield are provided by Locala Community Partnerships as part of a wider community services contract commissioned by Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.
Following a public consultation process undertaken in 2017, Locala has made a number of changes to the service to ensure that it is able to meet the current and predicted future demand. This will mean that those patients whose feet have been assessed as 'at risk' or people with significant podiatry need will be eligible for treatment by Locala Podiatry Services and will ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need and highest risks are seen at the right time, every time.
Locala have publicised the changes widely to service users and to local general practitioner practices. Those who are not eligible for the service are being provided with advice and guidance on foot care and signposted to alternative services including Huddersfield University Foot Clinic, independent podiatrists, and to a new nail cutting service which is being delivered by Age UK.
To address the shortfall in podiatrists nationally, NHS England has supported the development of bespoke recruitment campaigns for clinical professions where needed within any workforce shortfalls – this has recently included a focus on podiatry. Health Education England monitor closely the provision of training places and take up to support capacity provision.
Within community services, and podiatry services specifically, measures are in place to help review and improve services against targets for foot hygiene. National audit data is published through reports such as the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit which is available at the following link:
The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit enables all diabetes footcare services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on people's foot hygiene of recent changes in the level of podiatry services available.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Podiatry services in Greater Huddersfield are provided by Locala Community Partnerships as part of a wider community services contract commissioned by Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.
Following a public consultation process undertaken in 2017, Locala has made a number of changes to the service to ensure that it is able to meet the current and predicted future demand. This will mean that those patients whose feet have been assessed as 'at risk' or people with significant podiatry need will be eligible for treatment by Locala Podiatry Services and will ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need and highest risks are seen at the right time, every time.
Locala have publicised the changes widely to service users and to local general practitioner practices. Those who are not eligible for the service are being provided with advice and guidance on foot care and signposted to alternative services including Huddersfield University Foot Clinic, independent podiatrists, and to a new nail cutting service which is being delivered by Age UK.
To address the shortfall in podiatrists nationally, NHS England has supported the development of bespoke recruitment campaigns for clinical professions where needed within any workforce shortfalls – this has recently included a focus on podiatry. Health Education England monitor closely the provision of training places and take up to support capacity provision.
Within community services, and podiatry services specifically, measures are in place to help review and improve services against targets for foot hygiene. National audit data is published through reports such as the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit which is available at the following link:
The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit enables all diabetes footcare services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of NHS podiatry services in Huddersfield.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Podiatry services in Greater Huddersfield are provided by Locala Community Partnerships as part of a wider community services contract commissioned by Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.
Following a public consultation process undertaken in 2017, Locala has made a number of changes to the service to ensure that it is able to meet the current and predicted future demand. This will mean that those patients whose feet have been assessed as 'at risk' or people with significant podiatry need will be eligible for treatment by Locala Podiatry Services and will ensure those patients with the greatest clinical need and highest risks are seen at the right time, every time.
Locala have publicised the changes widely to service users and to local general practitioner practices. Those who are not eligible for the service are being provided with advice and guidance on foot care and signposted to alternative services including Huddersfield University Foot Clinic, independent podiatrists, and to a new nail cutting service which is being delivered by Age UK.
To address the shortfall in podiatrists nationally, NHS England has supported the development of bespoke recruitment campaigns for clinical professions where needed within any workforce shortfalls – this has recently included a focus on podiatry. Health Education England monitor closely the provision of training places and take up to support capacity provision.
Within community services, and podiatry services specifically, measures are in place to help review and improve services against targets for foot hygiene. National audit data is published through reports such as the National Diabetes Foot Care Audit which is available at the following link:
The National Diabetes Foot Care Audit enables all diabetes footcare services to measure their performance against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines and peer units, and to monitor adverse outcomes for people with diabetes who develop diabetic foot disease.