Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the mental health and wellbeing of babies and very young children, especially given the evidence surrounding the cumulative impact of poor mental health outcomes that begin early in life.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
In March 2021, the Government published The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days, a copy of which is attached. This vision sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is investing approximately £300 million to improve support for families through the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme. The programme is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision and is delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. This investment includes £100 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support. Many local authorities without funding have also chosen to implement elements of the vision.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made, if any, in reaching a settlement in cases of individuals who have developed (1) blood clots, and (2) life-changing conditions, such as transverse myelitis, after receiving the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine; and what assessment they have made of the level of payment being awarded under the Vaccine Damage Payment scheme.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government knows there are some extremely rare cases where individuals have sadly experienced harm following vaccination against COVID-19, and recognises how difficult this is for those individuals and their families. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases, including where there may be ongoing litigation that may involve the Government.
As part of business-as-usual work, the Government reviews the payment amount of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), alongside all routine policy on a regular basis. There are no plans at this time to change the level of payment awarded under the VDPS.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there was a different COVID-19 testing strategy for care homes for (1) the elderly, and (2) working age adults with learning disabilities; and if so, why.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths have been reported within learning disability services since 5 March, broken down by (1) race, (2) age, and (3) gender, compared with the equivalent period last year. [T]
Answered by Lord Bethell
NHS England can confirm that five people with a learning disability, autism or both have died within a specialist inpatient setting between 5 March and 30 April 2020, the latest data available. This includes people who were transferred from a specialist inpatient setting to an acute setting and subsequently died. In the same period last year less than five people died within a specialist inpatient setting. NHS England hold demographic data on gender, age and ethnicity of these patients, but cannot provide them due to the low patient numbers leading to a high chance of patient identification.
Public Health England are undertaking a thorough analysis of data on the deaths of people with learning disabilities, including looking at age, gender and ethnicity of people who have died. This will draw on data published by NHS England and the Care Quality Commission to understand the impact of COVID-19 on this group of people and the specific risks that they may face from the virus.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they estimate they will be able to quantify the number of COVID-19 deaths, in particular the number of deaths of those from at risk groups, including people with learning disabilities, regardless of whether confirmation by diagnostic tests was possible.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The number of deaths of various at-risk groups has been published by the Office for National Statistics. This include a breakdown of deaths by the most common underlying conditions, ethnicity, age and occupation.
NHS England publishes data on deaths of patients with a learning disability in England (LeDeR programme) who have either tested positive for COVID-19 or are considered to have had COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the guidance that allows people in hospital who have (1) dementia, (2) a learning disability, or (3) autism, to be allowed to have a visitor during any hospital admission also applies in care homes.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Specific guidance has been produced for visiting care homes. This can be found in the Admission and Care of Residents during COVID-19 Incident in a Care Home guidance which is attached.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on home working for parents whilst schools are closed during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what assessment they have made of the benefits of having one parent work from home as the primary care giver.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government has advised everyone to work from home if possible. Guidance on staying at home is available here:
We have also asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, but asked schools and all childcare providers to continue to provide care for a limited number of children, including children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the COVID-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home. Guidance for schools is available here:
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funding to science and discovery centres which are not eligible for the support available to museums and cultural organisations.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
We recognise that these are extremely difficult conditions for leisure attractions such as science and discovery centres. These organisations educate and entertain visitors of all ages on what science is and the important discoveries over the centuries that have changed all our lives.
We have announced unprecedented support for business and workers, including those in the tourism and attractions sector, to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes the Job Retention Scheme, VAT payment deferrals for firms and £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses. The Chancellor has also announced a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.
Our immediate national priority is containing the spread of the virus. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will be encouraging people to visit leisure attractions once again. On 11th May 2020 the Government published a roadmap setting out how we expect organisations such as science and discovery centres to open back up and welcome visitors again.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing schemes to encourage charitable donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, including giving donors 100 per cent of tax relief rather than splitting that relief through Gift Aid.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
In recognition of the vital role that the charity sector plays in the UK, the Government has long provided tax reliefs to help charities carry out their charitable aims. This includes the provision of tax reliefs directly to charities to increase the amount they have to spend on charitable activities; and on donations, to incentivise charitable giving. Gift Aid is widely supported and is worth around £1.3billion (2018-19). Giving 100% tax relief to the donor for donations to charities would mean charities losing out on valuable Gift Aid income. However, those who wish to receive 100% tax relief can make their donations through Payroll Giving.
As part of the government’s £750million support package for charities, the government announced it would match-fund public donations to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal on 23 April, starting with a contribution of at least £20 million to the National Emergencies Trust appeal. The event has raised over £33 million in donations from the general public. We encourage the public to continue donating to the National Emergencies Trust appeal, which is coordinating national support for local charities doing vital work during the pandemic.
Asked by: Baroness Hollins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what personal protective equipment they plan to provide to personal assistants and carers working with disabled adults, including those who are in receipt of continuing health care funding; and when any such equipment will be provided.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Care home and home care providers are being issued with personal and protective equipment. We are also engaging with key health and social care stakeholders to understand what more we can do to help the ensure continuity of supply.
Additionally, we are working with wholesalers to help ensure a longer-term supply of all personal protective equipment, including gloves, aprons, facemasks and hand sanitiser, to all care sectors.