Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the changes to death certification process support in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024, but has not made a specific assessment of the impact of the reforms in the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency or Staffordshire.
The median time taken to register a death since the introduction of the reforms in England and Wales has typically been eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days. It is important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September, and this makes direct before and after comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.
The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Government is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) proportion of people impacted by flooding in homes who have accessed financial support through the (i) Property Flood Resilience grant and (ii) Flood Recovery Framework.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Flood Recovery Framework (FRF) has been activated four times since its publication in 2017. A total of 13,538 flooded residential properties have been reported by eligible local authorities across all four activations. Of the two MHCLG schemes that provide support to households, 11,689 community recovery grant payments and 9,967 council tax discount payments have been made to date.
The Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Grant Scheme is currently running for Babet (6/11/23 - 06/05/25) and Henk (08/01/24 - 08/07/25). Data for these will be available after each of the schemes close later this year.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Network Rail on the use of the word passenger.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State regularly discusses all aspects of Network Rail’s performance with the CEO and Chair of Network Rail. She supports Network Rail in its efforts to engage with passengers in a clear manner that recognises passengers' position at the heart of the railway.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support probation officers working in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
West Midlands Probation region is committed to supporting probation officers across Staffordshire, including those working in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area. The challenges faced by probation staff are recognised and the region continues to take steps to ensure their wellbeing and professional development.
The Lord Chancellor has committed to bringing in at least 1,000 new probation officer trainees by March 2025 to bolster probation capacity. Across the West Midlands region, there are currently 186 trainee officers. In North Staffordshire, caseloads are carefully managed to make sure staff have the capacity to deliver effective supervision.
The Probation Service Learning and Development Model sets out the mandatory, required, and desirable learning for Probation Officer (PO) and Probation Services Officers (PSO). Support includes digital (e.g. videos, podcasts, interactive experiences and virtually delivered learning), as well as face to face delivery and a suite of resources. Alongside this, HMPPS launched a new learning programme in 2024 for all new Senior Probation Officers focused on developing their skills to support Probation Officers to deliver high quality probation practice.
Regional staff support and wellbeing leads cover both prison and probation. Their role includes coordinating wellbeing services, peer services and liaison with human resources (HR) and other stakeholders. An updated HMPPS Staff Support Directory was published in May 2024. A range of well-being and support initiatives are in place across North Staffordshire.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of job centres on economic growth in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Jobcentre colleagues understand the labour market needs of their local areas. Across Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire, our Jobcentre teams engage with employers and providers to host job fairs, Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes, recruitment events and group information sessions to support customers to improve their ability to enter and retain employment. Higher participation in the labour market, and more people in work are key to supporting the Government’s mission to kickstart economic growth.
As announced in the recent Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. This new service will transform our ability to support people into work, help those on low pay to increase their earnings, and create a more flexible workforce for a fast changing, higher skilled jobs market. This transformation is expected to contribute to economic growth by addressing local skills gaps and providing tailored support to meet the needs of local labour markets.
Since September 2024 we have delivered 42 Sector Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in Staffordshire with the majority of them supporting the Construction, Education & Teaching, Transport and Adult Social Care. Thes SWAPs have supported several employers with their recruitment activity.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to support parents who live in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire into work.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our recently published Get Britain Working White Paper sets out our aspirations to overhaul the Jobcentre system and establish a new Job and Career Service, which will focus on people’s skills and careers instead of just monitoring and managing benefit claims. This will be kickstarted by £55million of investment, to help people – including parents - get into work, stay in work, build skills and progress in their career.
The Get Britain Working White Paper also committed DWP to supporting and providing all areas in England with resource to produce a local ‘Get Britain Working Plan’. Initially focussing on economic inactivity, local Get Britain Working plans will enable all areas to take the lead in shaping a coherent offer of support for their local citizens, including the offer of support for parents, across work, health, and skills.
We are also considering how we can improve our support to help parents into work as part of our Child Poverty Strategy which will be published later this year.
At present Work Coaches provide individual, tailored support to all customers across the country, this includes advice to parents on childcare support or help to address their skills gaps to aid career progression.
Both areas also have access to The UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which was extended for a further year until March 2026. Areas are free to select from three investment priorities, with People and Skills interventions are designed to help reduce the barriers some people – including parents - face to employment, support them closer towards employment and education, reduce economic inactivity and to fund skills support.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the number of appeals against Special Educational Needs and Disabilities decisions in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire; and if she will meet the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme to discuss the impact of those appeals on families in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission inspection of Staffordshire special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services took place in February 2022 and identified two outstanding areas of weakness. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly. The department has appointed a SEND Advisor along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium to support the Local Area Partnership.
The department knows that many parents struggle to get the right support for their children, particularly through what can be a long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan application and appeals process. We understand the urgency and the need to drive improvements but also are mindful that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable system reform.
The department is working closely with experts on SEND reform, recently appointing a Strategic Advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children, and families, as we consider next steps.
We published independently commissioned insight, that suggests if the system is extensively improved through early intervention and better resourcing in mainstream schools, it could lead to many more needs being met without an EHC plan in a mainstream setting. This would remove the need for a Tribunal appeal.
As the Minister responsible for SEND and high needs, the hon. Member for Newcastle-Under-Lyme can contact my office and I would be pleased to meet with him to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with Barclays Bank on technical issues impacting (a) payments and (b) transactions for customers in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (ii) Staffordshire since 31 January 2025.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government was sorry to hear of the issues impacting Barclays customers over the weekend including those in my Hon. Friend’s constituency but understands that Barclays’ services are restored, and the firm has committed to ensure customers are not left out of pocket as a result of the issues.
Engagement with specific firms is a matter for the sector’s regulators, including the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, who will continue to monitor the firm and the impact of the issues.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people impacted by the Barclays IT outage in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government was sorry to hear of the issues impacting Barclays customers over the weekend including those in my Hon. Friend’s constituency but understands that Barclays’ services are restored, and the firm has committed to ensure customers are not left out of pocket as a result of the issues.
Engagement with specific firms is a matter for the sector’s regulators, including the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, who will continue to monitor the firm and the impact of the issues.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people in Newcastle-under-Lyme have accessed financial support through the (a) Property Flood Resilience grant and (b) Flood Recovery Framework.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Newcastle-under-Lyme has not been eligible for the Flood Recovery Framework or the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Grant Scheme when they have been activated in recent years.
With localised flooding incidents, we expect Local Authorities to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities.