Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of support for profoundly deaf students in higher education in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department wants to break down the barriers to opportunity, ensuring that people of all ages and backgrounds can undertake activities which provide them with the skills and knowledge to support them throughout their education and into employment.
Higher education providers (HEPs) have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students. Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HEPs.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available to help students with the additional costs they may face in higher education (HE) because of their disability.
DSA can be used for the purchase of specialist equipment, for travel or to pay for non-medical help, which is the human support provided to students to enable them to access their studies. DSA is not means tested and does not have to be repaid.
DSA support for deaf students can include, for example, British Sign Language support, a specialist notetaker, computers, assistive software and specialist equipment, such as radio aids.
All HEPs registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan (APP) approved by the Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS. APPs articulate how HEPS will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups. HEPs should consider the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register published by the OfS which details 12 key risks to equality of opportunity within HE and the student groups most at risk, including disabled students.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for Land Registry staff to work in their offices, and of the effects, if any, of staff working from home on the completion of housing transactions.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
HM Land Registry operates a hybrid working model under which all staff are expected to spend at least 60% of their time on average working in an office, in line with the guidance published by Cabinet Office.
HM Land Registry’s productivity is continuously assessed by management, looking at a variety of factors. It has continued to improve as the hybrid model has evolved over recent times. The majority of HM Land Registry’s information services, which are the most essential services for the completion of property transactions, are now automated.
HM Land Registry’s current processing times are published on GOV.UK here.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the effects of long-term sickness among civil servants on the delivery of public services.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Civil Service provides its employees with a comprehensive range of health and wellbeing tools and policies to ensure that employees remain in work or return to work as quickly as possible following absence due to ill health. In addition, since 2022, the Government People Group has worked with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for HR, and the Joint Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care Work and Health Directorate, to benchmark the Civil Service approach to long term sickness for its employees, and ensure it is aligned to best practice.
Individual departments are responsible for managing their own workforces, including the impact of any sickness absences to ensure the effective delivery of the public services it is responsible for.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effects of flooding in the North West of England in December 2024 and January 2025 on new urban commercial and housing construction.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government recognises the devastating impact that recent flooding has had on the communities affected. The existence of areas of high flood risk is something that local planning authorities should take into account when preparing their plans and assessing the suitability of different locations for development. Our national planning policy is clear that development should be directed to areas with the lowest risk of flooding. Where no alternative sites are available, permission should only be granted where it can be demonstrated that it will be safe for its lifetime taking account of the vulnerability of its users, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and, where possible, will reduce flood risk overall.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the adequacy of road and rail links between Cornwall and London.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government recognises that the people of Cornwall need reliable transport links with London and other parts of the country. That is why we have acted quickly to pass the Passenger Railways Services (Public Ownership) Bill, a key milestone towards the establishment of Great British Railways to bring our railways back under public ownership and deliver services to passengers that we can be proud of. We announced additional funding for roads in the Autumn statement. This provides Local Authorities with stable foundations before the Spending Review statement next year which will build on that provision and help us achieve our five key strategic transport priorities.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the attitudes of the residents of the Isles of Scilly on their transport links with Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government wants everyone to have access to transport provision no matter where they live. That is why we value the opinions of people living on the Isles of Scilly and recognise the difficulties they face as an island community. My officials remain in regular contact with the Isles of Scilly Council and other Government departments to discuss and address these challenges.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the adequacy of sea and air links between the Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
With regards to the lifeline ferry link for the Isles of Scilly, building work is now underway on the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group's new passenger and freight vessels. These new vessels will secure a resilient lifeline connection to and from mainland Cornwall for islanders and their economy going forward.
There are a number of air links between the Isles of Scilly and mainland Cornwall. Isles of Scilly Skybus operate a year-round fixed wing service from St Mary’s Airport to Lands’ End Airport as well as a summer service to Newquay Airport. Penzance Helicopters also operate a year-round service between the Isles of Scilly and Penzance Heliport.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of electronic tagging to monitor convicted criminals sentenced to punishment in the community.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are lots of different types of Electronic Monitoring (EM) and effectiveness is dependent on a number of factors. Some of the EM technology is relatively new and so the Department is undertaking a comprehensive EM expansion programme designed to evaluate the effectiveness of EM on specific cohorts of individuals. We are robustly evaluating the effectiveness of each of the four projects (Acquisitive Crime – targeting burglars, robbers and thieves, Licence Variation, Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence, and Alcohol Monitoring on Licence) to better understand the impacts of different forms of EM.
Evaluations will start to be published from the beginning of 2025. We are unable to predict the conclusions of these evaluations, which will be reviewed by an independent peer reviewer.
There is clear evidence that alcohol monitoring devices positively affect behaviour during the period of monitoring. England and Wales have a comprehensive programme of alcohol monitoring in place compared with international comparators. Since their introduction, alcohol monitoring tags have demonstrated a 97% compliance rate.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of (1) curfew tags, (2) location tags, and (3) alcohol tags, respectively.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are lots of different types of Electronic Monitoring (EM) and effectiveness is dependent on a number of factors. Some of the EM technology is relatively new and so the Department is undertaking a comprehensive EM expansion programme designed to evaluate the effectiveness of EM on specific cohorts of individuals. We are robustly evaluating the effectiveness of each of the four projects (Acquisitive Crime – targeting burglars, robbers and thieves, Licence Variation, Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence, and Alcohol Monitoring on Licence) to better understand the impacts of different forms of EM.
Evaluations will start to be published from the beginning of 2025. We are unable to predict the conclusions of these evaluations, which will be reviewed by an independent peer reviewer.
There is clear evidence that alcohol monitoring devices positively affect behaviour during the period of monitoring. England and Wales have a comprehensive programme of alcohol monitoring in place compared with international comparators. Since their introduction, alcohol monitoring tags have demonstrated a 97% compliance rate.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 November (HL1572), what assessment they have received, if any, from NHS England regarding the impact of working from home on efficiency and outcomes in that organisation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not set NHS England’s working from home policies, and it has not received any assessment from NHS England regarding the impact of working from home on efficiency and outcomes.