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Written Question
Military Exercises: Infrastructure
Thursday 23rd November 2023

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) unilateral, (b) bilateral and (c) multilateral exercises his Department has conducted on the protection of undersea cables and critical national infrastructure in each year since 2010.

Answered by James Heappey

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not the lead Department for resilience of undersea cables in the UK Marine Area; that responsibility sits with the Department for Science and Technology. Defence has therefore not conducted dedicated exercises related to the protection of such infrastructure over the time period in question.

Defence does, however, frequently rehearse the capabilities which would be called upon in response to a threat to our subsea infrastructure. MOD has underwater capabilities able to be employed to monitor and assure subsea infrastructure, and has invested in a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) programme to enhance these capabilities further. These allow us to maintain maritime situational awareness, improve our ability to detect threats in the North Atlantic, and as a sovereign nation allow us to contribute to the defence and deterrence of the Euro Atlantic area.

We continue to invest in strong working relationships with neighbouring states and alliance partners within NATO, to enhance our ability to respond to threats in this domain. We are committed to prepare for, deter and defend against threats to our subsea infrastructure.


Written Question
Prisoners: Ethnic Groups
Tuesday 12th July 2022

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking in response to the survey of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women in prison published by the Independent Monitoring Boards and Criminal Justice Alliance in April 2022.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

HMPPS are considering the findings of the IMB / CRA reports and will act accordingly. We recognise that race disparities persist in the Criminal Justice System, and we are committed to actively tackling the impact of this across MoJ. In December 2020 HMPPS launched the Race Action Programme, which will increase the diversity of our workforce, address the risk of bias in our policies and tackle disparity in outcomes for prisoners, people on probation and children in our system.

The Female Offender Strategy also included a clear commitment to look at how the distinct needs of ethnic minority and non-British national women can be better addressed. This is being taken forward by the Female Offender Minority Ethnic working group, which brings together officials and stakeholders to work together to improve outcomes for this cohort of women.

There is no place for racial abuse in prisons, which should be safe, orderly and decent places for both prisoners and staff. As set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper we are introducing training for staff in women’s prisons to address the diverse needs of all women in their care. This will include cultural competence training to equip our staff with an increased knowledge of the effects of culture, faith and sustaining family relationships for ethnically diverse communities, increasing their confidence and skills in supporting all offenders, including those subjected to racial abuse.

Information on the number, grade and allocated duties of equality staff is not held centrally. The majority of HMPPS PGDs have a dedicated Regional Equality Lead (Band 8 & Full Time) who coordinate activity and drive a regional strategy designed to best represent the unique situations arising in that part of the country, representative of the staff and prisoner population. Profiles for equalities work are decided at a local level to ensure they best fit the nature of individual establishments.


Written Question
Australia and Japan: Military Alliances
Monday 17th January 2022

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on UK national security of the signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement between Australia and Japan.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

The UK has been tracking the progress on the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between Australia and Japan given our own ongoing RAA negotiations with Japan which were formally announced in September 2021.

We share close defence and security relationships with both Australia and Japan. As demonstrated by our recent announcement on the AUKUS alliance, and through the sharing of extensive intelligence through the Five Eyes alliance, the UK shares a unique level of trust and cooperation with Australia.

We are also deepening our defence relationship with Japan. Last year saw the successful visit to Japan of the Carrier Strike Group 21 and the associated bilateral and multilateral joint exercises, as well as an announcement in December of plans to develop jointly a future fighter aircraft engine demonstrator and explore further combat air technologies.

We trust that this commitment by two of our partners in the region may lead to more opportunities for defence engagement as we continue to work together to address global security challenges in the region.


Written Question
NATO
Monday 5th July 2021

Asked by: Mary Robinson (Conservative - Cheadle)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

What steps he is taking to modernise and strengthen the NATO alliance.

Answered by Ben Wallace

The UK is working with Allies to ensure NATO continues to protect the Euro-Atlantic area from current and future threats. At the Summit on 14 June, leaders agreed new proposals on deterrence and defence, emerging and disruptive technology, resilience, strengthening relationships with NATO Partners and climate security. NATO remains the cornerstone of our defence and the UK is the leading European Ally in the Alliance.


Written Question
NATO
Monday 5th July 2021

Asked by: Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

What steps he is taking to modernise and strengthen the NATO alliance.

Answered by Ben Wallace

The UK is working with Allies to ensure NATO continues to protect the Euro-Atlantic area from current and future threats. At the Summit on 14 June, leaders agreed new proposals on deterrence and defence, emerging and disruptive technology, resilience, strengthening relationships with NATO Partners and climate security. NATO remains the cornerstone of our defence and the UK is the leading European Ally in the Alliance.


Written Question
Health: Disadvantaged
Friday 25th June 2021

Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Health Creation Alliance Primary Care Networks and place-based working: addressing health inequalities in a COVID-19 world. A partners perspective, published on 13 April, what consideration they have given to ensuring every Primary Care Network employs a Strategic Relationship Development Lead whose role is to build relationships between primary care, communities and local partners.

Answered by Lord Bethell

No assessment has been made. However, the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to work with key stakeholders to consider the best ways to tackle health inequalities.

The five-year framework for the General Practitioner Contract included a commitment to introduce a service specification through which Primary Care Networks will identify and address the most pressing health inequalities in their local area. This will be supported by new members of staff employed under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. This scheme includes roles such as social prescribing link workers, whose focus includes identifying and supporting local voluntary and community groups to become sustainable and that community assets are nurtured.


Written Question
Pupils: Allergies
Monday 22nd March 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance is in place on the provision schools must make for children with allergies at risk of anaphylaxis.

Answered by Vicky Ford

Governing bodies of maintained schools and proprietors of academies have a legal duty to ensure that their school has a policy in place to support pupils with medical conditions. The department’s statutory guidance ‘Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions at School’ makes it clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the needs of pupils with medical conditions, including allergies. The guidance provides advice on a range of areas including staff training, administration of medicines and consulting with parents. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

Schools should also be aware of Department of Health and Social Care guidance for schools on adrenaline auto-injectors: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-emergency-adrenaline-auto-injectors-in-schools. Any member of staff may volunteer to take on the responsibilities set out in this guidance, but they cannot be required to do so.

We have also made allergies part of the Health Education curriculum for all pupils in state funded schools, which has been mandatory since September 2020. Schools must have regard to the guidance we have issued, which sets out that pupils should be taught about the facts and science relating to allergies, immunisation and vaccination: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

In addition to this, officials in the department work closely with the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, of which the Anaphylaxis Campaign is a member, to explore how we can supplement the statutory requirements with accessible resources to help schools to improve the way they support children with allergies.


Written Question
Pupils: Bullying
Friday 18th December 2020

Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle bullying of (a) LGBT and (b) other students in schools.

Answered by Vicky Ford

The government has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated, and we are committed to supporting schools to tackle it. All schools are legally required to have a
behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying, and have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies and monitoring approaches to best suit their environment. The department provides advice for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.

We have published a research report which details common strategies that specific schools have found to be effective for combating bullying, including case studies with examples about actions schools have taken to improve preventative practices and support for LGBT pupils. It is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/approaches-to-preventing-and-tackling-bullying.

We have also published ‘Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including hate-based bullying. It is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/school-leaders/?filter=guidance-and-training-school-leaders.

On 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust - to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying both in person and online. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those with SEND, those who are victims of hate related bullying and those pupils who identify as LGBT.

We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education. This includes content on the different types of bullying, the impact it has, the responsibility of bystanders, and how to get help.

We are investing £10 million through behaviour hubs. Schools with exemplary positive behaviour cultures can work closely with schools that want to turn around their behaviour, alongside a central offer of support and a taskforce of advisers. The aim is to improve their culture, and spread good practice across the country. ?The first hubs are planned to launch in spring 2021, and will run for an initial period of 3 years.

The Government Equalities Office invested £4 million over 4 years, from 2016, to support schools in preventing and addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, reaching 2250 schools in England. This funding concluded in March 2020, and the Department for Education is currently evaluating next steps, as the department responsible for anti-bullying in schools. The department will confirm what funding is available for the financial year 2021-22, in light of the Spending Review outcome. We will also consider what more the department can do to ensure that schools have the right support to prevent bullying of pupils with protected characteristics.


Written Question
Schools: Bullying
Friday 6th November 2020

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle bullying in schools.

Answered by Vicky Ford

The government has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated and we are committed to supporting schools to tackle it. All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy, with measures to prevent all forms of bullying, and have the freedom to develop their own anti-bulling strategies and monitoring approaches, to best suit their environment.

The department provides advice for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional, and mental health needs. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.

Where bullying is reported to the school, it is important that school staff take prompt action to support the bullied pupil and prevent the bullying from happening again. On 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust in order to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying both in person and online. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers.

We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education. This includes content on the different types of bullying, the impact it has, the responsibility of bystanders, and how to get help.

In our drive to tackle behaviour issues and bullying, we have strengthened teachers' power to enforce discipline and promote good behaviour. This includes giving teachers powers to discipline pupils for poor behaviour which takes place outside of the school gates, and extending their searching powers so they can search for, and in certain circumstances delete, inappropriate images (or files) on electronic devices, including mobile phones.

We are investing £10 million through behaviour hubs. Schools with exemplary positive behaviour cultures can work closely with schools that want to turn around their behaviour, alongside a central offer of support and a taskforce of advisers. The aim is to improve their culture and spread good practice across the country. The first hubs are planned to launch in Spring 2021 and will run for an initial period of 3 years.

The hubs programme builds on Tom Bennett’s independent review of behaviour in schools, Creating a Culture: how school leaders can optimise behaviour (2017). In November 2018 we published Respectful School Communities, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including sexual bullying and sexual harassment. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice and get further support.


Written Question
Schools: Coronavirus
Wednesday 29th July 2020

Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement on 7 June of grants worth more than £750,000 to help schools and colleges respond to the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and wellbeing, how many schools have received funding; and how much of that funding each such school has received.

Answered by Baroness Berridge

Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been working closely with partners to provide resources and update guidance to support and promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

As part of a package of support for schools on 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 funding would be available to three anti-bullying organisations. These include the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust. This is to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying both in person and online. More details are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers.

We have since made progress on the other support to schools. The department in collaboration with Public Health England and NHS England, delivered two webinars in July to provide further mental health support. The first webinar was for schools and colleges to support teachers in promoting and supporting the mental wellbeing of children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak. The second event was for stakeholders across the local system to support strengthening of local partnerships to further support children and young people’s mental health as they return to school. We had around 10,000 sign up to the first webinar and around 1,300 to the second, and they are now available online for wider use.

There have been over 19,000 unique downloads of the relationships, sex and health education training module on teaching about mental wellbeing since it was published on 8 June. The guidance for schools is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-and-colleges-to-reopen-in-full-in-september.

To support the return to school, the government has also announced an additional £650 million ‘catch-up’ premium, as part of our wider £1 billion COVID catch-up package, to be shared across all state-funded schools over the 2020-21 academic year. The Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding, which includes further information about interventions to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Details can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.