Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 lockdown for people who are shielding or over the age of 70.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government will continue to ensure support is available for those who need it for as long as people are advised to follow shielding guidance. We know this is challenging guidance to follow and we want to ensure that people who are shielding continue to receive the right advice for them at a time.
From 1 June those shielding may wish to spend time outdoors once a day. This can be beneficial for mental and physical wellbeing for people of all ages, particularly those shielding alone. The advice is for people who are shielding to spend time outdoors alone or with members of their own household or, for those shielding alone, with one person from another household.
To ensure vulnerable individuals, including those shielding and the over 70s, we have put a core support offer in place to help them stay at home where they wished to follow this advice, including delivering over 2 million free food boxes, providing priority supermarket delivery services, providing care, ensuring people can get medicines delivered to their homes and enlisting the help of National Health Service volunteer responders in delivering shopping and calling people for a ‘check in and chat’.
We have also announced £5 million of funding for mental health charities to support adults and children and a further £4.2 million is being awarded to mental health charities as part of the Government’s £750 million package of support for the voluntary sector during the pandemic.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking as part of the social care strategy to promote to all people over the age of 60 the NICE Guideline NG16 that sets out that it is possible to "delay or prevent ... dementia, disability and frailty in later life".
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department has prioritised prevention and through the Care Act 2014 it has required local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support.
The Challenge on Dementia 2020 commitments included action on risk reduction, and messaging has been incorporated in the NHS Health Check for all eligible adults in England aged 40-74 to increase dementia awareness and motivate people in midlife to make positive changes.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether public-sector pension boards, pension companies and insurance companies are involved in the social care strategy.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government will consult with a range of sectors, including the financial services industry, when considering social care reforms.
The Government’s priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that this does not reduce the need for a long-term action plan for social care. Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges that we face as a society.
There are complex questions to address, which is why we have invited cross-party talks. These will take place at the earliest opportunity in light of the current circumstances. The Government will then bring forward a plan for social care for the longer term.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the West Midlands Ambulance Service are downgrading the role of Community First Responders in Staffordshire.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons given by West Midlands Ambulance Service for downgrading the role of Community First Responders in Staffordshire.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration was given by the West Midlands Ambulance Service to upgrading the role of Community First Responders in other parts of its area to bring the roles into line with the role in Staffordshire before the decision was taken to downgrade the role of Community First Responders in Staffordshire and bringing that role into line with other parts of the West Midlands Ambulance Service area.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the current enhanced role of Community First Responders in Staffordshire has proved more effective in terms of (1) quality, and (2) safety, when compared to the work of Community First Responders in other parts of the West Midlands Ambulance Service area.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they provide on the role of Community First Responders.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Ambulance services have operated with Community First Responders (CFRs) for many years in mainly rural areas and they play a vital role in responding to the highest priority 999 calls whilst paramedics are en-route.
West Midland Ambulance Service (WMAS) recognise that Community First Responders (CFRs) play a key role in protecting local communities and they want to enhance that by increasing the number of CFRs, using a consistent model of response, so that even more lives can be saved.
Since the introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme, ambulance services have a clearer indication of the severity of each 999 call and so can assign the most appropriate response to that call, which may include the dispatch of a CFR, to ensure that each patient receives the right response for their clinical need.
WMAS plan to use their CFRs to target the most seriously ill patients, in the way that CFR schemes were originally set up.
The Government are content with the approach WMAS are taking regarding CFRs and have no concerns regarding their future plans.
In 2015, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives published a document on the use of CFRs. The document seeks to reduce national variation in the governance of CFR schemes and aims to addresses the deployment of CFRs across all categories of calls. A copy of Volunteer Responders Governance Framework is attached.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to support the nomination by the Republic of South Korea of the nurses Marianne Stoger and Margaritha Pissarek for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As set out by the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, it would not be appropriate for the British Government to comment on the nominations submitted for the Nobel Peace Prize 2020 by the Government of the Republic of South Korea.
Asked by: Lord Crisp (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accessibility of elections for blind and partially sighted people; and what steps they intend to take to ensure that the new photographic ID requirement does not decrease that accessibility.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Lords)
In 2018 the Government issued a Call for Evidence on Access to Elections. It received over 250 responses and in a subsequent response paper set out some of the things it was going to look at, including elements that address accessibility issues for people with sight loss.
With regard to piloting voter identification in polling stations, the Government has worked with the Access to Elections Working Group, which includes people from RNIB, Mencap and other organisations representing disabled people, to consider how accessibility can be maintained. The Government has also worked with a wide range of other stakeholders. We will continue consultation with all of these organisations, keeping Public Sector Equality Duty compliance at the core of our planning for the roll out of voter ID in Great Britain.
We are also starting to bring forward measures which respond to issues raised in the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections, with the proposals announced as part of the package around the Queen’s Speech. These will include increasing the range of support available to voters with disabilities in polling stations and allowing a wider range of people (such as carers) to assist disabled voters in polling stations if needed.