Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to actively engage children and young people with a vision impairment in the upcoming SEND Review.
Answered by Will Quince
Throughout the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review, we have engaged extensively with children and young people with a range of SEND, and their parents, to ensure we have heard their views directly about how the system needs to improve, including for those with a visual impairment
The outcome of the Review will be published in the first three months of this year as a Green Paper for full public consultation. We will ensure that our subsequent public consultation is accessible to a wide audience and provide a range of alternative formats to support those with vision, motor, cognitive or learning difficulties and deafness or impaired hearing engage fully in the consultation.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the maximum amount payable under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is for (a) temporary hearing loss and (b) permanent hearing loss, as a result of injuries sustained during military service.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The maximum amounts payable under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) for temporary hearing loss is £6,180 and for total deafness in both ears is £484,100.
The full list of descriptors between Level 13 and Level 2 can be found within Table 7 of Schedule 2 of the AFCS Order 2011 at:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/517/schedule/3/part/1
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to record the effect of occupational hearing loss nationally.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has no plans to record the effect of occupational hearing loss nationally.
HSE publishes information recorded by other agencies about occupational hearing loss in relation to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) and the Labour Force Survey, available from the statistics section of HSE’s website (https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm and https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/statistics.htm).
HSE also sponsors the THOR-GP project, a programme of research into the wider incidence of occupational disease being undertaken at the University of Manchester, which includes occupational hearing loss (http://research.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/epidemiology/COEH/research/thorgp/).
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2021 to Question 133802 on Kickstart Scheme: Disability, what plans she has to record the main disability of participants by type of disability; and whether deafness will be one of the types of disability recorded.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Universal Credit system collects data on claimants disabilities but as this is voluntary we do not currently record specific type of disability or health condition of Kickstart participants. While we do plan to evaluate the experiences of disabled people participating in Kickstart, it will not be possible to quantify specific types of disability owing to the small sample sizes involved.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) deaf and (b) disabled children throughout the world of the decision to reduce the funding allocated to the Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Disability inclusion is an important issue for the FCDO and we are committed to supporting a long-term movement of change for people with disabilities around the world. We will continue to embed disability inclusion across all of our work, including through our Official Development Assistance to fight poverty, improve global health, promote girl's education and achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
We provide direct funding to programmes that support children with disabilities, including those with hearing impairments. For example, through the Girls' Education Challenge, we have helped over 117,000 girls with disabilities receive an education in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Through UK Aid Direct, we also support Deaf Kidz International to ensure the early detection of deafness and maximise their residual hearing and life-chances, reducing their susceptibility to abuse and discrimination.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the number and proportion of personal independence payment assessors who have undergone deaf awareness training.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
All Health Professionals carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments are clinically qualified and registered practitioners in their own field. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) requires all Health Professionals to have a broad training in disability analysis as well as awareness training in specific conditions, which includes deaf awareness training.
During the induction period for new Health Professionals, training is delivered which covers how to effectively communicate with individuals who are deaf or have impaired hearing. This training includes the use of a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, which is provided to individuals with such impairments, where requested. Additionally, Health Professionals have access to a suite of learning materials, which include condition insight reports on deafness, hearing impairments and factors to consider for PIP assessments.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that all personal independence payment assessors have received adequate training to communicate effectively with people who are (a) deaf or (b) hard of hearing.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
All Health Professionals carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments are clinically qualified and registered practitioners in their own field. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) requires all Health Professionals to have a broad training in disability analysis as well as awareness training in specific conditions, which includes deaf awareness training.
During the induction period for new Health Professionals, training is delivered which covers how to effectively communicate with individuals who are deaf or have impaired hearing. This training includes the use of a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, which is provided to individuals with such impairments, where requested. Additionally, Health Professionals have access to a suite of learning materials, which include condition insight reports on deafness, hearing impairments and factors to consider for PIP assessments.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of remote appointments on medical staff with hearing loss and deafness.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to (a) NHS Providers and (b) social care providers on remote appointments and their obligations to meet the communication needs and preferences of people with hearing loss and deafness under the Accessible Information Standard.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of remote medical appointments on people with hearing loss and deafness.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.