Corri Wilson

Understanding the full cost to business would require a detailed analysis of their supply chains. This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 April 2016.

Following representations from Ruth Davidson MSP and others, and the strength of feeling concerning the Ayr united and Airdrieonians Football clubs, we have considered the matter and concluded that the judicial functions of the Lord Lyon are devolved to the Scottish Parliament under paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. Accordingly, any question in relation to the judicial functions of the Lord Lyon is for Holyrood rather than Westminster.

On 29 January, the European Commission published its report on the existing regulatory and voluntary frameworks for tackling unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. The Commission concluded that there would be no added value in a specific harmonised regulatory approach at EU level at this stage.

The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and, before the end of its mandate, it will re-assess its position on harmonised regulation.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013 requires the Department to review the performance of the Groceries Code Adjudicator every three years. The first review will cover the period up to 31 March 2016 and will be carried out later this year.

We are currently considering options and making final decisions on the timetable and process for the review. These will be published shortly.

My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a UK/Iceland taskforce to consider the potential for interconnection between the two countries. The taskforce is considering a high-level assessment of the costs and benefits and will make recommendations to Government in May as to whether to continue with a more detailed stage of discussions. This will include an assessment of the impact of the interconnector on system costs.

Victims of overseas human rights abuses by UK businesses can already seek redress through UK courts. We have one of the few jurisdictions in the world where this can happen. I am proud it was a Conservative government that introduced the Modern Slavery Act, which requires companies to report on steps they have taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its supply chains.

The Government works with a range of governments and international organisations to conserve endangered species, including elephants, through various fora, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). I attended the CITES Conference of Parties in 2016 where the UK played a major role in achieving strong outcomes for elephants, that will help ensure their survival in the wild.

Additionally, the Darwin Initiative is a UK Government grant scheme focussed on preserving animal and plant species and their habitats. This has recently funded a project in Mali that aims to protect elephants by halting and reversing degradation, and habitat loss.

Poaching and trafficking pose a major threat to elephants and other species and demand coordinated international action. The UK is leading the global response to tackling the illegal wildlife trade, and last year we supported Vietnam to host a third successful high level conference on the issue, where new actions to deliver on the commitments agreed at the previous London and Botswana conferences in 2014 and 2015 were secured.

At the conference we announced an additional £13million for tackling the illegal wildlife trade, doubling our existing investment. This funding will support a range of initiatives, including British military training for anti-poaching rangers in key African states and financial support for global action by Interpol and other international organisations involved in the fight against wildlife crime.

Difficulties with low prices in the dairy sector were discussed with Commissioner Hogan at Agriculture Council on 15 February. Member States have been invited to present their initial suggestions for how to deal with the ongoing pressure on EU farmers ahead of further talks at Council on 14 March.

The Government does not hold specific data relating to how many British people suffered, or died, as a result of cardiac arrests on-board aircraft. However cases of sudden cardiac arrest are very rare when compared to the number of passengers carried.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is responsible for the regulations relating to equipment to be carried on aircraft operating in Europe and competent national authorities, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) being such a body in the UK, are responsible for oversight of the compliance. The EASA regulations do not require aircraft to carry defibrillators.

Most UK operators, including all long-haul operators, already carry defibrillators.

The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising for our aviation industry from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for the continued participation in the EASA system.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is responsible for the regulations relating to equipment to be carried on aircraft operating in Europe and competent national authorities, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) being such a body in the UK, are responsible for oversight of the compliance. The EASA regulations do not require aircraft to carry defibrillators.

Over a number of years employment data on people with specific long term health conditions has been collected by the Office for National Statistics using the Labour Force Survey. This important survey has allowed the Department to produce useful time series statistics on the employment rates of individuals with long term health conditions, where this information is collected. The Labour Force Survey includes a large range of health conditions that survey respondents can report they experience; however this does not currently include autism as one of the named health conditions and there are no plans to begin collecting this data.

DWP is working with Autism Alliance UK on a national training programme for Jobcentre Plus staff (so that they can better support claimants with autism into work). In addition, the Department has helped to develop a Disability Passport - About Me - to support disabled people, including those with autism, who are seeking jobs and those helping them. Disabled people can share it with their work coach or adviser, to help improve communication and put any reasonable adjustments in place at the earliest opportunity.

Additionally, Improving Lives – the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper sets out the Government’s proposals for improving work and health outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. We are now considering consultation responses and the next steps for longer term reform.

The Department is actively promoting the employment potential of all disabled people across Britain, including those with autism, to employers via the Disability Confident Scheme. To further support employers, the Hidden Impairments National Group, established by DWP, provides an “Uncovering Hidden Impairment toolkit” which is free of charge to employers.

I have met senior representatives from the company to present the pensioners’ arguments and make clear my interest in the matter.

However, the company is meeting its legal obligations.

Any increases to pensions in payment are likely to mean significant additional expenditure for any scheme and its sponsoring employer. Therefore, the Government has no plans to require all schemes to pay increases on pre-1997 pensions.

Any claimant can request a home consultation for Personal Independence Payment, however a claimant may specifically require a home consultation where their diagnosis suggests extreme difficulty travelling to an assessment due to their health condition or impairment.

All PIP claimants are entitled to use their own equipment to record assessments, within an assessment centre or at their home. This equipment should meet DWP standards. You can find standards for recording PIP assessments, for each Assessment Provider, on their respective websites, or by using the following links:

Atos: http://www.atoshealthcare.com/pip/faq_view/recording_my_consultation

Capita: http://www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/assessment-process.html

The Health Professional does not need to separately consider the recording of a recorded assessment, as they will have conducted the assessment themselves and produced a report; however a copy the recording will be held securely for 14 months following. The Department will consider evidence from the recorded home assessment report in the same way it considers all PIP assessments; by treating people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability.

Any claimant can request a home consultation for Personal Independence Payment, however a claimant may specifically require a home consultation where their diagnosis suggests extreme difficulty travelling to an assessment due to their health condition or impairment.

All PIP claimants are entitled to use their own equipment to record assessments, within an assessment centre or at their home. This equipment should meet DWP standards. You can find standards for recording PIP assessments, for each Assessment Provider, on their respective websites, or by using the following links:

Atos: http://www.atoshealthcare.com/pip/faq_view/recording_my_consultation

Capita: http://www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/assessment-process.html

The Health Professional does not need to separately consider the recording of a recorded assessment, as they will have conducted the assessment themselves and produced a report; however a copy the recording will be held securely for 14 months following. The Department will consider evidence from the recorded home assessment report in the same way it considers all PIP assessments; by treating people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability.

Social care is a means tested service. The Care Act 2014 requires that local authorities must assess any adult who appears to have a care and support need. The Children Act 1989 places a similar duty in relation to children’s needs. Local authorities are subject to the Public Sector Equality duty, which requires them to take steps to meet the needs of people with protected characteristics (which includes disability), where they are different from the needs of others , and to minimise or remove disadvantages resulting from protected characteristics. Local authorities have a duty to ensure that when someone has been assessed as being eligible for care and support due to a disability, they must commission the services to meet those needs. However, it is up to each local authority to decide what services to provide and how much based on local circumstances.

The Government is committed to establishing a fairer, more sustainable basis for funding adult social care, in the face of the future demographic challenges the country faces. We will bring forward proposals in a green paper later this year to put the state funded system on a more secure long-term footing. The Secretary of State for Health, his ministerial team, and officials meet regularly with stakeholders from the voluntary sector. We intend to build on and continue this engagement in developing our proposals. Once published the green paper will provide further opportunity for people across the sector to consider and respond to our proposals.

Clinical commissioning groups and local authorities must work together to meet the needs of people with disabilities, such as sensory impairment, to enjoy independent lives. The Sense report calls for investment in social care.

The Government is giving local authorities in England an additional £2 billion for social care, to help them meet their duties under the Care Act 2014 to determine the social care needs of people, including those with sensory impairment, and to arrange provision accordingly. £1 billion will be provided in 2017-18, ensuring that councils can start to fund more care packages immediately.

The Disabled Facilities Grant allocation is also increasing – from £220 million in 2015-16, to £394 million in 2016-17; this is integrated into the Better Care Fund to support joint planning across housing, health and care for people with disabilities.

Since the meeting of the cross government Autism Programme Board on 16 June 2016, discussions with NHS England have focused on taking forward the actions agreed to improve diagnostic waiting times and outcomes for people with autism. The National Autistic Society and the report of the Westminster Commission on Autism have both suggested that NHS England create a new role of National Clinical Director for autism, and this is a matter for NHS England to consider.

The Autism Programme Board at its last meeting also considered current and possible future sources of autism data. The Board asked that further consideration be given to this issue and for the Department to report back to them before their autumn meeting. This work is on-going.

The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. We are also aware that caring for people with cancer and other illnesses or disabilities can have significant financial implications both for those involved and wider society, for example, the Government, Carers UK and business representatives worked together to produce the Supporting Working Carers report of 2013, which estimated the costs to the exchequer of carers being unable to continue working at £1.3 billion a year.

That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers that were enshrined in The Care Act 2014. On the appearance of needs for support, carers have a right to an assessment that will look at a carer’s wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16.

We also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The Better Care Fund includes £130 million of funding for carers’ breaks in 2015/16.

In 2015 the Government extended to carers a right to request flexible working arrangements, and this helps those carers who wish to balance work and care. We are also funding a £1.6 million pilot project to explore how technology can be combined with professional support from the local authority and the assistance of informal networks to ease the pressure of caring.

The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.

We are also aware that the right support for the person they care for is crucial to improving outcomes for carers. The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015. It recommended improvements across the cancer pathway, including on patient experience, support, and quality of life. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward these recommendations.

As part of our approach to support people living with and beyond cancer, we announced in September 2015 that, by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. These recovery packages, developed in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer, including elements such as physical activity programmes, psychological support and practical advice about returning to work.