Ann Clwyd

I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Ms Lucas) by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) on 29 June 2015, UIN 4073.

This information is not held centrally.

Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive. Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Departments are required to maintain records in compliance with the Public Records Act 1958, and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and have record keeping systems in place. The National Archives monitors compliance and regularly conducts and publishes Information Management Assessments of departments.

The Government accepted Sir Alex Allan's recommendations, published on 17 December 2015, that more needs to be done to ensure that departments are capturing and maintaining accurate records. The Cabinet Office is working with departments and The National Archives to deliver this.

Departments are required to maintain records in compliance with the Public Records Act 1958, and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and have record keeping systems in place. The National Archives monitors compliance and regularly conducts and publishes Information Management Assessments of departments.

The Government accepted Sir Alex Allan's recommendations, published on 17 December 2015, that more needs to be done to ensure that departments are capturing and maintaining accurate records. The Cabinet Office is working with departments and The National Archives to deliver this.

All government departments have record keeping systems in place, and The National Archives regularly conducts and publishes information management assessments of departments.

I refer the hon. Member to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement of 16 March.

Information on military and dual use export licences is published as Official Statistics in the quarterly and annual reports on Strategic Export Controls which are all available to view on GOV.UK. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences.

Data currently covers all years from 2008 up to 31 December 2015.

As announced on 30 September, draft legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty to five years will be published for consultation around the turn of the year. We will welcome comments from animal welfare charities who have campaigned for this change.

The UK remains deeply concerned for the three million people living in Idlib governorate, the majority of which is currently controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). DFID is working closely with UN and NGO partners to deliver life-saving assistance such as food, shelter and healthcare to the most vulnerable people across Idlib, including those who have been displaced by recent escalations in violence. In 2018/19, we provided over £80 million to support such humanitarian activities in Northwest Syria. Our programmes across Syria have extensive controls in place to ensure that aid delivered by DFID-funded partners reaches those who need it and does not benefit extremist groups such as HTS.

In addition to our humanitarian effort, the UK continues to use our position in the UN Security Council to advocate for the protection of all civilians, aid workers and journalists in Syria, and was instrumental in convening two emergency UN sessions on Idlib on 10 and 17 May. Most recently, at a meeting of the UN Security Council on 28 May, the UK called for the Syrian regime to abide by international law and for all parties to adhere to agreed ceasefires and cessations of hostilities in Idlib.

HMG makes robust use of oversees security and justice assessment (OSJAs) process to manage any risks arising from security and justice assistance delivered overseas.

The UK’s work in Pakistan is focused on peace and stability, making democracy work, jobs and growth and providing basic services.

Across Government, through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) UK aid is used to support the reform of justice institutions and the development of provincial rule of law strategies, improving Pakistan’s capacity to counter terrorism, deal with organised crime, supporting the work of civilian and military agencies to handle Improvised Explosive Devices, and strengthening Mutual Legal Assistance.

Local communities are consulted prior to road projects being finalised. Asian Development Bank (ADB) consultants engage communities in preparing Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plans which ensure compensation for displacement and loss of livelihoods. During implementation ADB experts continue to consult communities and ensure the activities are delivered using the ADB’s environmental and social policies. Local communities are also consulted on design and implementation of community centres constructed along improved roads.

The Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 20 March 2018. The UK recognised Bangladesh’s strong national track record in cyclone and monsoon preparedness and response, and asked that this expertise be applied to the Rohingya response and that options are provided for people to move to land that is at a lower risk of flooding. UK Ministers and officials continue to liaise with Government of Bangladesh counterparts on this issue.

In November 2016 DFID published its Civil Society Partnership Review which recognises that civil society is facing unprecedented pressure around the world. It commits to robustly defending the rights of civil society and standing alongside civil society to prevent encroachments to freedom of expression and association.

DFID works closely with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and other development partners to monitor the human rights situation in its focus countries.

We are seeking to continue human rights provisions as the UK transitions existing EU free trade deals into a UK form. The government will lay a report in Parliament for each signed agreement laying out any changes from the original. These are largely technical changes.

We are seeking to continue human rights provisions as the UK transitions existing EU free trade deals into a UK form. The government will lay a report in Parliament for each signed agreement laying out any changes from the original. These are largely technical changes.

All export licence applications are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted and refused on GOV.UK and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data

Currently this includes information up to 30 September 2018. Information covering 1 October to 31 December 2018 will be published on 16 April 2019 and information covering 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019 will be published in July 2019.

Licence applicants are required to provide full details of the proposed end-use of the items to be exported. These are then assessed as part of the licence application process, which is considered against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Criteria. Post export, the Department receives information from a variety of sources, either directly or via other Government Departments, including from Non-Government Organisations and through diplomatic reporting.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) undertakes an annual exercise to assess where it can best focus its resource to help UK exporters. DIT’s Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) consults with an extensive overseas network, other government departments and industry organisations to understand the international export opportunities available to UK companies, and to judge which markets present the most significant defence and security export opportunities.

No estimate has been made as this information is not available.

Information on Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance sanction decisions, by referral reason, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions

The Department has not made an assessment into any potential causal link between social security sanctions and the deaths of vulnerable claimants.

The Department does not collect information on the cause of death of an individual.

If information is received that a DWP claimant has died and it is alleged that DWP activity may have contributed to this, we would carry out an internal review to establish whether anything should have been done differently.

A decision to impose a sanction is not taken lightly, and claimants are given the opportunity to provide a ‘good reason’ for not complying before the decision is made.

Safeguarding measures are in place to protect vulnerable ESA recipients if there is a failure to meet a requirement. Either a DWP visiting officer undertakes a Home Visit or a Work Programme provider must make face to face contact to ensure individuals fully understand what they have been requested to do and the consequences of failing to do what is required of them.

The Department collected management information on former Remploy disabled employees that gave consent to be tracked during the 18 month People Help and Support Package (PHSP). Although this package ended in August 2015, former Remploy disabled employees that continue to need support can continue to access the specialist employment support that is available for all disabled people including Work Choice and Specialist Employability Support.

The table below is taken from the August 2015 Labour Market Statistics and shows the last data on number of former Remploy employees in work; claiming JSA or claiming ESA in England, Scotland and Wales.

These statistics were gathered as part of the 18 month People Help and Support Package (PHSP) made available to ex-Remploy employees. We do not have the required data broken down by constituency and we did not collect data for those looking for work but not claiming ESA or JSA.

When the PHSP ended in August 2015, 1,523 former disabled employees had received support from a Personal Case Worker and 867 were in work. A total of 1,182 jobs had been found, 422 were on ESA and 234 on JSA.

DWP asked all disabled former employees made redundant from Remploy to give permission to be tracked. The data we have are necessarily incomplete because they only record the progress and outcomes of those individuals who gave this permission.

For all disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures, the Government put in place the £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package (PHSP). The support package provides help to each affected disabled former employee for up to 18 months from the date they left Remploy.

As part of this support package the Department also asked all disabled former employees made redundant from Remploy to give permission to be tracked, and can only monitor the progress and outcomes of those individuals that have given permission.

Latest figures show that (a) 17 disabled former Remploy Aberdare workers are choosing to work with our Personal Case Workers to find another job and (b) 13 are currently in work, (c) 8 confirmed their intention to retire at the time they left Remploy, (d) 1 is in receipt of Employment Support Allowance, (e) and 3 are in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance.

The data is not held centrally in the format requested.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits to achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability or autism who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by 2023/24. The NHS Planning Guidance requires a 35% reduction as soon as possible in 2019/20.

In May 2019, the Care Quality Commission published their thematic review interim report regarding the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide inpatient and residential care for people with, or who might have, mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. We accepted all the recommendations and will undertake independent reviews of the care of everyone with a learning disability or autism detained in long-term segregation.

The Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 applies in relation to the use of force (restraint) in mental health units which provide National Health Service-funded treatment.

The aim of the Act is to bring more rigour and accountability around the recording, reporting and training of staff in the use of force in mental health units, with a view to reducing the use of restrictive practices.

The Act applies to all patients, children, young people and adults, who are being assessed or receiving treatment in a mental health unit.

The Assuring Transformation (AT) dataset provides data on the numbers of people with a learning disability and/or autism receiving inpatient care commissioned by the National Health Service in England. The AT dataset does not cover other secure settings such as young offender institutions or secure children’s homes.

According to the AT dataset, the number of inpatients under the age of 18 with autism in a secure hospital ward between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 was 70.

The following table shows the number of inpatients under the age of 18 with autism in a secure hospital ward by year, from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2019, according to the AT dataset.

Note:

The Assuring Transformation collection covers England, but includes patients whose care is commissioned in England and provided elsewhere in the UK. These figures represent the number of patients who are receiving inpatient care at the end of each month. Figures have not been revised with more recent information, but show the position at the end of each month as extracted from the system at that time.

Values have been rounded to the nearest five to minimise disclosure risks associated with small numbers.

Some patients have not been formally diagnosed with either a learning disability or autism but remain in the collection as they are understood to fall under one of these categories and as such were returned by data submitters.

The above table includes patients who are under 18 at the start of the reporting year but may have turned 18 during the year.

Inpatients may appear across more than one year.

The data is not held centrally in the format requested.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits to achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability or autism who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by 2023/24. The NHS Planning Guidance requires a 35% reduction as soon as possible in 2019/20.

In May 2019, the Care Quality Commission published their thematic review interim report regarding the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide inpatient and residential care for people with, or who might have, mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. We accepted all the recommendations and will undertake independent reviews of the care of everyone with a learning disability or autism detained in long-term segregation.

The Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 applies in relation to the use of force (restraint) in mental health units which provide National Health Service-funded treatment.

The aim of the Act is to bring more rigour and accountability around the recording, reporting and training of staff in the use of force in mental health units, with a view to reducing the use of restrictive practices.

The Act applies to all patients, children, young people and adults, who are being assessed or receiving treatment in a mental health unit.

The Assuring Transformation (AT) dataset provides data on the numbers of people with a learning disability and/or autism receiving inpatient care commissioned by the National Health Service in England. The AT dataset does not cover other secure settings such as young offender institutions or secure children’s homes.

According to the AT dataset, the number of inpatients under the age of 18 with autism in a secure hospital ward between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 was 70.

The following table shows the number of inpatients under the age of 18 with autism in a secure hospital ward by year, from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2019, according to the AT dataset.

Note:

The Assuring Transformation collection covers England, but includes patients whose care is commissioned in England and provided elsewhere in the UK. These figures represent the number of patients who are receiving inpatient care at the end of each month. Figures have not been revised with more recent information, but show the position at the end of each month as extracted from the system at that time.

Values have been rounded to the nearest five to minimise disclosure risks associated with small numbers.

Some patients have not been formally diagnosed with either a learning disability or autism but remain in the collection as they are understood to fall under one of these categories and as such were returned by data submitters.

The above table includes patients who are under 18 at the start of the reporting year but may have turned 18 during the year.

Inpatients may appear across more than one year.

In March 2018, NHS England published their policy document ‘Clinical Commissioning Policy Proposition: Mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischaemic stroke’ which outlines key recommendations for diagnosis, referral, and patient pathways for intervention, and treatment.

The document can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/clinical-commissioning-consultation-may-2017/user_uploads/mechanical-thrombectomy-policy-proposition.pdf

Stroke treatment outcomes are monitored by the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme against outcome measures for services which include:

- Time from onset to thrombectomy;

- Time from onset to arrival at thrombectomy centre;

- Time from arrival to arterial puncture; and

- Time from arterial puncture to thrombectomy.