Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on acquired brain injury.
Answered by Michael Gove - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
I can assure the Hon Member that all colleagues across government recognise the importance of coordinating support for people with acquired brain injury, as I highlighted to him in our meeting of 1 July. The Hon Member is a powerful champion of this significant cause on which government is determined to make progress.
In line with the practice of successive governments, I am not able to disclose details of internal discussions, but I will update the Hon Member on the government’s work on this issue in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the health and wellbeing of pupils with brain injury of the change in the level of funding for mentoring those pupils.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
No child or young person should be held back from reaching their potential, including those with complex special needs and disabilities such as an Acquired Brain Injury. This is why we have announced £780 million of additional high needs funding for next year (2020-21), which is an increase of 12% compared to this year, bringing the total amount for supporting those with the most complex needs to £7.2 billion. This will be the largest year-on-year increase since the high needs funding block was created in 2013.
Every local authority will see an increase in high needs funding of at least 8% per head of population aged 2 to 18. Sunderland will receive £28.4 million in high needs funding. This will provide valuable extra resources so that support is in place to make sure that no pupil or student is left behind.
When deciding on the provision to be made for a particular child or young person with a special educational need or disability (SEND), schools and local authorities must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice. The SEND Code of Practice is clear that professionals working with children and young people with SEND should involve the parents or the young person at every stage of planning and reviewing support and take account of their wishes, feelings and perspectives.
If a child or young person has an Education, Health and Care plan, the plan should set out exactly what support they should be receiving.
Every school is also required to have a policy in place to support pupils with medical conditions and this should be easily accessible for school staff and parents or carers. Governing bodies have a duty to ensure that arrangements are put in place.
The SEND system focuses on what works to meet a child’s need rather than the starting point of what condition does this child have.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people living with acquired brain injury receive neuro-rehabilitation; and what plans his Department has to increase that proportion.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This information is not collected. However, the majority of patients with acquired brain injury can access the services they need routinely through secondary care and community services which are commissioned locally.
In 2015, NHS England published ‘The Principles and Expectations for Good Adult Rehabilitation’ to support commissioners on delivering rehabilitation care locally. Building on this, in 2016, NHS England published further rehabilitation guidance, setting out a commissioning model and the evidence base for delivering high quality rehabilitation services. The guidance can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/rehabilitation-comms-guid-16-17.pdf
For those with the most serious brain injuries and rehabilitation needs, NHS England commissions specialised rehabilitation services at a national level to an agreed service specification.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
What estimate he has made of the number of primary school children receiving specialist educational support following an acquired brain injury.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We do not collect this data, but the special educational needs system is designed to put in the right support for children irrespective of their condition. We are committed to driving up the quality of this support across the country, including through an extra £780 million high needs funding next year.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of people in prison with traumatic brain injuries.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The MoJ does not hold information on the number of prisoners who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. NHS England commission health care services in prison and include questions on head injury in the secondary health screen which all prisoners receive.
Recent studies that have examined the prevalence of traumatic brain injury in prisons in England and Wales indicate this may affect between 46 to 70 per cent of the male population. On 6th February 2019, The Disabilities Trust published their ‘Making the Link’ Evaluation Report on their service to support female offenders with acquired brain injury in HMP Drake Hall. The report found that, of the 173 female offenders screened at HMP Drake Hall, 64% reported a history indicative of a brain injury. Additionally, in 2017-2018, The Disabilities Trust ran a Brain Injury Linkworker pilot at six sites in the adult male estate. It is expected that the evaluation from this pilot will be published in due course.
MoJ has formed a cross-government group on Acquired Brain Injury with colleagues from NHS England, DHSC, the Home Office and HMPPS. This group will consider the findings from both pilots, alongside other emerging evidence, to help determine next steps to better support this cohort of vulnerable offenders.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to establish a cross-departmental taskforce to address the issues and recommendations outlined in the report of the all-party parliamentary group on acquired brain injury entitled Acquired brain injury and neurorehabilitation - time for change.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Officials at the Department worked with colleagues across Government to respond to recommendations of the report by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on acquired brain injury. This response, which outlined the broad range of activity underway to address the issues raised by the APPG, was issued on 19 February 2019. A copy of the response is attached.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce a pilot to trial screening for traumatic brain injuries on entry into prison.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
NHS England has commissioned liaison and diversion services in custody suites and courts aimed at identifying those who are vulnerable. It is anticipated that by 2020-21, that service will cover the whole of England.
All children and young people within the secure estate are screened for brain injury through the comprehensive health assessment tool.
The NHS England prison health care national standards service specification requires providers to screen individuals where it is suspected that they may have an acquired brain injury. If an adult prisoner presents with a significant brain injury, a specialist neurological referral is made.
There are specific diagnostics for those whose presentations suggest a cause for concern. Where individuals so assessed are then sentenced to custody, this information will be passed to the escorts for prison reception.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) male and (b) female prisoners who have suffered a traumatic brain injury at some point in their life.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The MoJ does not hold information on the number of male and female prisoners who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. NHS England commission health care services in prison and so may capture this information locally as part of their screening process.
On 6th February 2019, The Disabilities Trust published their ‘Making the Link’ Evaluation Report on their service to support female offenders with acquired brain injury in HMP Drake Hall. The report found that, of the 173 female offenders screened at HMP Drake Hall, 64% reported a history indicative of a brain injury.
In 2017-2018, The Disabilities Trust also ran a Brain Injury Linkworker pilot at six sites in the adult male estate. Findings from this pilot suggest that acquired brain injury is a key issue to be considered within the secure environment. Recent studies that have examined the prevalence of traumatic brain injury in prisons in England and Wales indicate this may affect 46% to 70% of the male population.
It is right that as a society we endeavour to better understand, diagnose and address the symptoms of brain injuries. This is equally true for the Criminal Justice System. We are working closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to carefully consider the recommendations from both pilots, alongside other emerging evidence, to help determine next steps to better support this cohort of vulnerable offenders.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of incidents of concussion in schools in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
It is important that children with medical conditions, such as acquired brain injury, are supported to receive a full education.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.
Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3, and covers a range of areas including staff training. Staff training is critical in enabling school staff to provide the support needed to pupils with medical conditions. The statutory guidance is clear that governing boards should ensure that any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs has received suitable training. It also states that training should be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions, and to fulfil the requirements as set out in individual healthcare plans.
The information requested on number of incidents of concussion in schools is not held centrally.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the requirements for training teachers how to (a) identify and (b) treat acquired brain injury are.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
It is important that children with medical conditions, such as acquired brain injury, are supported to receive a full education.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff, within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.
Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3, and covers a range of areas including staff training. Staff training is critical in enabling school staff to provide the support needed to pupils with medical conditions. The statutory guidance is clear that governing boards should ensure that any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs has received suitable training. It also states that training should be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions, and to fulfil the requirements as set out in individual healthcare plans.
The information requested on number of incidents of concussion in schools is not held centrally.