Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of service provision for (a) deaf and (b) blind people in Norfolk.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations are required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people, as well as to everybody else. These changes are called reasonable adjustments.
NHS England has issued guidance for National Health Service commissioners with respect to the Reasonable Adjustments Digital Flag, also known as the Flag. The Flag has been developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments required by an individual across the NHS, wherever the person is treated.
In addition, NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including patients with sight or hearing loss. NHS England has completed its review of the AIS and aims to publish the revised AIS soon.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme will be open.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to acting on the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Report and providing compensation to victims as quickly as possible. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority is established in law and work is progressing to put the operational systems in place with the expectation of beginning payments by the end of this year. To date, over £1 billion has been paid in interim compensation to infected people who were registered with the existing Infected Blood Support Schemes and their bereaved partners.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme will replace the Infected Blood Support Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There will be no immediate changes to the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS). Under the current proposal published on 21 May by the previous Government, payments will continue to be made at the same level until 31 March 2025 and they will not be deducted from any compensation awards. From 1 April 2025, people who receive IBSS payments will continue to receive payments until such time that their case is assessed under the new Scheme by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. Once assessed under the Scheme, the applicant will be able to choose how to receive their compensation, either as a lump sum or periodic payments. I gave a statement to the House on Friday 26th July to update on the progress made on responding to the Infected Blood Inquiry and committed to providing regular updates on this work going forward.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many registrations have been made with the Infected Blood Interim Compensation Payment Scheme since 21 May 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In June 2024 the Government paid £728.91m in interim compensation payments to 3,659 people who were infected and registered with the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS).
As of 30 June 2024, 4,606 people who were infected, or their bereaved partners registered with the IBSS have received interim compensation payments totaling over £1 billion.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of Safety Valve agreements on the delivery of local authorities' statutory obligations to children and young people with SEND.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities high needs budgets are under significant pressure, and the department is considering what support and reforms are needed to secure better outcomes and experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and to secure local authorities financial sustainability.
The Safety Valve programme is intended to help local authorities provide an improved SEND service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young people with SEND. Safety Valve agreements have been established only where both the local authority and the department agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with SEND.
Safety Valve agreements are not intended to release local authorities from their obligations to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND, and the department would not enter into an agreement with a local authority if it compromised their ability to meet these obligations. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through its monitoring process and provides support and intervention if they go off track. The future use of Safety Valve agreements is also under review. The department does not hold any specific data on the potential impact of Norfolk’s Safety Valve agreement.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish any data it holds on the potential impact of the Safety Valve agreement on the provision of special educational needs support in Norfolk.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities high needs budgets are under significant pressure, and the department is considering what support and reforms are needed to secure better outcomes and experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and to secure local authorities financial sustainability.
The Safety Valve programme is intended to help local authorities provide an improved SEND service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young people with SEND. Safety Valve agreements have been established only where both the local authority and the department agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with SEND.
Safety Valve agreements are not intended to release local authorities from their obligations to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND, and the department would not enter into an agreement with a local authority if it compromised their ability to meet these obligations. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through its monitoring process and provides support and intervention if they go off track. The future use of Safety Valve agreements is also under review. The department does not hold any specific data on the potential impact of Norfolk’s Safety Valve agreement.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Safety Valve intervention programme on the provision of SEND services by local authorities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities high needs budgets are under significant pressure, and the department is considering what support and reforms are needed to secure better outcomes and experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and to secure local authorities financial sustainability.
The Safety Valve programme is intended to help local authorities provide an improved SEND service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young people with SEND. Safety Valve agreements have been established only where both the local authority and the department agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with SEND.
Safety Valve agreements are not intended to release local authorities from their obligations to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND, and the department would not enter into an agreement with a local authority if it compromised their ability to meet these obligations. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through its monitoring process and provides support and intervention if they go off track. The future use of Safety Valve agreements is also under review. The department does not hold any specific data on the potential impact of Norfolk’s Safety Valve agreement.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review Safety Valve agreements with local authorities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities high needs budgets are under significant pressure, and the department is considering what support and reforms are needed to secure better outcomes and experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and to secure local authorities financial sustainability.
The Safety Valve programme is intended to help local authorities provide an improved SEND service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young people with SEND. Safety Valve agreements have been established only where both the local authority and the department agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with SEND.
Safety Valve agreements are not intended to release local authorities from their obligations to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND, and the department would not enter into an agreement with a local authority if it compromised their ability to meet these obligations. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through its monitoring process and provides support and intervention if they go off track. The future use of Safety Valve agreements is also under review. The department does not hold any specific data on the potential impact of Norfolk’s Safety Valve agreement.