Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) doctor, and (2) nurse, shortfall in NHS hospitals in (1) January, (2) February, and (3) March; how those positions were filled; and who took on those roles.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department does not hold the data requested.
The Government has pledged to increase nurse numbers by 50,000 in England by 2025. As part of this commitment, eligible pre-registration nursing students enrolled on courses at English universities from September 2020 will receive a payment of at least £5,000 per academic year which they will not need to pay back. There will be up to £3,000 additional funding for some students to support with childcare costs, students studying specialist subjects or students studying in areas struggling to recruit.
An additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places are being made available for domestic students in England - a 25% increase over three years by September 2020.
The interim NHS People Plan committed to re-balancing the supply of doctors across geographies and specialties. When the final NHS People Plan is published, scheduled to be later this year, it will explore options for growing the medical workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many BAME NHS staff are working directly on the COVID-19 frontline; whether such staff are provided with any specific safety information or guidance in addition to any guidance provided to all NHS staff working on the frontline; and if so, (1) what is that guidance, and (2) where such guidance is published.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Data on the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) National Health Service staff working directly on COVID-19 is not held centrally.
Guidance for all BAME colleagues working in the NHS has been published by NHS England and is available on the NHS England website. This is in addition to information from NHS Employers on COVID-19 and the prioritisation and management of risk, including ethnicity. NHS England is prioritising engagement with staff and staff networks and are looking to hear and learn from lived experience, to share guidance, and to hear views on what support is required nationally. NHS England has started a series of webinars with staff networks across organisations and disciplines using existing BAME, faith and other networks.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many BAME NHS staff have been diverted to the COVID-19 frontline in NHS hospitals since 1 January; and what percentage of those moves were not to provide additional capacity but to fill vacant roles.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they intend to provide to (1) consumers, and (2) insurers, about endowment policies that are set to mature during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Financial Conduct Authority has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Consumers should check the terms of their individual policies and contact their provider if they wish to make changes to their policy.
The Government encourages customers who are concerned about the current financial situation to get in touch with their lender or insurer at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss their options.
On the 17 March, the Chancellor announced on behalf of the sector that banks and building societies will offer a 3-month ‘mortgage holiday’ for borrowers that are financially struggling with their repayments. This forbearance measure will enable affected borrowers to defer their mortgage payments for up to 3 months while they get back on their feet. In addition, the FCA issued guidance confirming that this captures borrowers whose mortgage is in a closed book or owned by a firm that is not regulated for mortgage lending.
Furthermore, lenders have agreed a 3-month moratorium on possession action to start immediately to provide customers with reassurance that they will not have their homes repossessed at this difficult time, meaning firms cannot commence or continue repossession proceedings against customers at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require that endowment policy providers allow policy holders to (1) extend the terms of, and (2) make additional contributions to, such policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Financial Conduct Authority has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Consumers should check the terms of their individual policies and contact their provider if they wish to make changes to their policy.
The Government encourages customers who are concerned about the current financial situation to get in touch with their lender or insurer at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss their options.
On the 17 March, the Chancellor announced on behalf of the sector that banks and building societies will offer a 3-month ‘mortgage holiday’ for borrowers that are financially struggling with their repayments. This forbearance measure will enable affected borrowers to defer their mortgage payments for up to 3 months while they get back on their feet. In addition, the FCA issued guidance confirming that this captures borrowers whose mortgage is in a closed book or owned by a firm that is not regulated for mortgage lending.
Furthermore, lenders have agreed a 3-month moratorium on possession action to start immediately to provide customers with reassurance that they will not have their homes repossessed at this difficult time, meaning firms cannot commence or continue repossession proceedings against customers at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of endowment policies maturing during the pandemic on the number of people who are left with a shortfall and cannot repay their mortgage; and what steps they are taking to support such people.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Financial Conduct Authority has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
Consumers should check the terms of their individual policies and contact their provider if they wish to make changes to their policy.
The Government encourages customers who are concerned about the current financial situation to get in touch with their lender or insurer at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss their options.
On the 17 March, the Chancellor announced on behalf of the sector that banks and building societies will offer a 3-month ‘mortgage holiday’ for borrowers that are financially struggling with their repayments. This forbearance measure will enable affected borrowers to defer their mortgage payments for up to 3 months while they get back on their feet. In addition, the FCA issued guidance confirming that this captures borrowers whose mortgage is in a closed book or owned by a firm that is not regulated for mortgage lending.
Furthermore, lenders have agreed a 3-month moratorium on possession action to start immediately to provide customers with reassurance that they will not have their homes repossessed at this difficult time, meaning firms cannot commence or continue repossession proceedings against customers at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients diagnosed with COVID-19 have needed intensive care since 1 March; of those, how many have needed breathing assistance from respirators; how long each of those patients spent in intensive care; and how many such patients (1) recovered, (2) died, and (3) are still in intensive care.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Data is not available in the format requested. Data relating to the COVID-19 response is published online on a monthly basis via statistical work areas on the NHS England website.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide all secondary school students with laptops and broadband routers; and what criteria they use to determine which students should receive any such provision.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government will provide devices for the most disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for exams (in Year 10), receive support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Local authorities, trusts and other relevant organisations overseeing schools will be given guidance on how to place online orders for government-funded and allocated devices. We recognise that local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices.
Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school or children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we will also provide the capability for them to access the internet. 16 to 19-year-olds without a suitable device will be eligible for support via the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Additionally, the country’s major telecommunication providers will make it easier for families to access selected educational resources by temporarily exempting these sites from data charges.
For those in rural areas or without a connection, schools will be able to draw on support from the BBC which is broadcasting lessons on television; and may choose to draw on the many resources offers which have been made by publishers across the country.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) critical care beds have been used in intensive care units, and (2) intensive care units have experienced a shortage of critical care beds.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The number of critical care beds in use changes over time, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS England’s published critical care beds data is attached. The latest data is February 2020 which provides the numbers of critical care beds available in England.
Since the last published figures, critical care capacity has been increased to ensure the National Health Service can provide effective and appropriate care to patients critically ill with COVID-19, while also keeping other critically ill patients safe from infection.
The NHS will be provided the resources it needs to keep the public safe at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases involving the UK the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave rulings on in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, and (3) 2017 to date; what were the broad subject-matters covered by those actions; and what proportion of the CJEU’s rulings in those cases went in the UK’s favour.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
From 2015 to present, the UK has received judgments in 161 cases on which it made submissions. The annual figures are as follows:
● 54 judgments in 2015;
● 48 judgments in 2016; and
● 57 judgments in 2017.
The cases included in these figures covered a wide range of subjects. The subjects covered included VAT, competition law, international sanctions, citizens’ rights, consumer protection, the four freedoms, the common agricultural policy, transport, food standards, equalities, data protection, asylum and immigration, and international private law.
These figures include all cases in which the UK made written submissions, and are not limited to cases in which the UK was a party, or cases referred to the CJEU from UK courts. They involve abstract questions of EU law, and are not expressly for or against the UK. Nonetheless, we estimate that the Court mostly or completely followed the UK’s submissions in approximately 50% of the judgments in this period.