Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to develop volunteering as a route to an NHS career; and what support his Department provides to (a) NHS Cadets and (b) other programmes to help support a (i) diverse and (ii) inclusive NHS workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has been working in partnership with Helpforce, St John Ambulance, and Barnardos on a range of initiatives to better support volunteers to take the next step into a career in the National Health Service. With Helpforce, this has included supporting 28 pilot organisations to initiate a Volunteer to Career programme, offering routes into careers with a particular focus on clinical workforce pathways. In addition, NHS England’s partnership with St John Ambulance has led to over 5,000 14 to 18-year-olds enrolling on the NHS Cadets programme to date. In the last year, 80% of those new to the programme were from deprived or under-represented groups who might not otherwise have considered a healthcare career. Finally, with Barnardos, NHS England has developed the Young People’s Health Challenge to inspire seven to 14-year-olds from deprived communities and underrepresented groups to find out more about the NHS, raise health literacy, create aspirations to work or volunteer with the NHS, and reduce health inequalities.
NHS England is working to embed the Young People’s Health Challenge and NHS Cadets programme across the NHS, and ensure sustainability beyond 2024/25. NHS England is also working to share the learning and experiences of the Volunteer to Career programme, developing tools, resources, and guidance that enables all health and care organisations to better support volunteers to move onto careers within the NHS, if they wish to do so.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long-Term Workforce plan, what steps his Department plans to take to recognise the clinical capability of volunteers in enhancing NHS resilience and delivering NHS Career pathways.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England value the excellent contribution that clinically trained volunteers make in supporting the National Health Service, from the thousands of trained Community First Responders across the ambulance service, to volunteers from partner organisations such as St John Ambulance who are commissioned to deliver NHS England’s national ambulance auxiliary offer.
NHS England continues to support the growth and development of volunteering across the NHS, which includes volunteer roles that support the delivery of clinical care where this is appropriate, whilst ensuring volunteers are never substituted for our substantive paid workforce.
Building on learning from the pandemic, NHS England is working with national emergency preparedness, resilience, and response teams, NHS organisations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners, regarding the role of volunteers and the VCSE sector in enhancing NHS resilience.
NHS England has also been working in partnership with Helpforce, St John Ambulance, and Barnardos on a range of initiatives to better support volunteers to take the next step into a career in the NHS.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has not published an annual report since 2019; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resumes publishing these reports.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention met the Chair of the ACMD, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones on the 29th October 2024, as part of this Government’s wider work on tackling the harms associated with drug misuse.
Regular meetings with the ACMD or its Chair will be held as appropriate, in accordance with the important work it does in assessing the evidence of drug harms.
The government will consider outstanding and forthcoming reports carefully.
The ACMD is independent. The publication of its annual report is a matter for the ACMD.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what meetings she has had with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention met the Chair of the ACMD, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones on the 29th October 2024, as part of this Government’s wider work on tackling the harms associated with drug misuse.
Regular meetings with the ACMD or its Chair will be held as appropriate, in accordance with the important work it does in assessing the evidence of drug harms.
The government will consider outstanding and forthcoming reports carefully.
The ACMD is independent. The publication of its annual report is a matter for the ACMD.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies on tackling drug-related harms of all of the recommendations made by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs between 2010 and 2014.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention met the Chair of the ACMD, Professor Owen Bowden-Jones on the 29th October 2024, as part of this Government’s wider work on tackling the harms associated with drug misuse.
Regular meetings with the ACMD or its Chair will be held as appropriate, in accordance with the important work it does in assessing the evidence of drug harms.
The government will consider outstanding and forthcoming reports carefully.
The ACMD is independent. The publication of its annual report is a matter for the ACMD.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Hongkongers who have (a) arrived in the UK under the BN(O) scheme and (b) will be naturalised as British citizens have access to UK (i) consulates and (ii) consular services.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad. This includes British Nationals (Overseas) who, under the Memoranda to the Joint Declaration, are eligible for consular assistance in third countries, but not in Hong Kong, Macao or mainland China. The help we can provide to dual nationals depends on the circumstances and the agreement of the country of the individual's other nationality. China does not recognise dual nationality and considers anyone born in China to a Chinese parent Chinese. This applies to all British citizens travelling to China including those naturalised under the BN(O) scheme.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to communicate the risks associated with travel to Hong Kong to Hongkongers who have (a) arrived in the UK under the BN(O) scheme and are (b) due to be naturalised as British citizens.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO's Travel Advice for Hong Kong explains that Hong Kong does not recognise dual nationality and anyone born in China to a Chinese national parent would be considered by authorities to be of Chinese nationality and treated as a Chinese citizen. Anyone with both British and Chinese nationality may be treated as a Chinese citizen by local authorities, even if they enter on a British passport. This advice applies to all British citizens travelling to Hong Kong, including those naturalised under the BN(O) scheme.