Damien Moore

I have noted the findings of the recent Ofsted focus visit to Sefton Borough Council’s children’s services department, including the two areas for priority action identified in their report.

My officials have been working with Sefton Borough Council on their response and met again with the Chief Executive and the new Interim Director of Children’s Social Services on 19 May 2021 to discuss how the findings will be addressed.

I am minded to issue an Improvement Notice and appoint an advisor for 12 months. This will require Sefton to establish an improvement board and draw up an improvement plan to ensure that the two areas identified are addressed within that 12 month period.

We will continue to work closely with colleagues at Sefton Borough Council as they take forward their improvement plan.

Apprenticeships provide people with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed to start an exciting career in a wide range of industries, everything from artificial intelligence, archaeology, data science, business management, and banking. We want more people to benefit from high quality apprenticeships. Since May 2010, there have been 8,940 apprenticeship starts in Southport (constituency) and 30,760 in Sefton (local authority).

We are supporting employers to offer new apprenticeship opportunities by increasing the incentive payment to £3,000 for every new apprentice hired between 1 April and 30 September 2021 as part of the government's Plan for Jobs. We continue to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to enable Kickstart placements to turn into apprenticeships where that is the right thing for the employer and the young person.

In addition, we are supporting the largest ever expansion of traineeships and working with employers to develop new occupational traineeships in rail, construction and engineering which will create a pathway for young people to progress into apprenticeships or other employment. The government confirmed an additional £126 million in the latest budget to fund a further 43,000 traineeship places in the 2021/22 academic year, and we have extended the £1,000 incentive payments for employers who offer traineeship work placement opportunities to July 2022.

To encourage more young people to consider apprenticeships, we are promoting apprenticeships in schools across the country through our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme. This free service provides schools and teachers with resources and interventions to help better educate young people about apprenticeships. In the Skills for Jobs white paper, published in January, we announced that we will be introducing a 3 point plan to enforce the Baker Clause, our requirement that all maintained schools and academies provide opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to visit schools to talk to all year 8 to 13 pupils. This includes creating clear minimum legal requirements, specifying who is to be given access to which pupils and when. This is an important step towards real choice for every pupil.

The information requested is not held centrally in the form requested. There is no official definition for the term “working class” and it is not used by the Department for Education in formal statistics.

Young people can leave a school setting at age 16 or age 18. National statistics are published on the proportion of young people achieving level 2 qualifications (level 2 is 5 (or more) GCSEs at grades 9-4/A*-C or equivalent) by ages 16 to 19. Figures are published by pupil characteristics including free school meal (FSM) eligibility which can be used as an indicative measure for low income. Information provided is for those not achieving level 2 but that does not mean they left school with no qualifications.

In the Sefton local authority, the total proportion of 16 year olds not achieving level 2 is 37% in the 2019/20 academic year compared with 30% five years ago. Looking at those who were eligible for FSM, 65% had not achieved level 2 compared with 50% five years ago.

At age 18 in Sefton, the total proportion not achieving level 2 was 22% in 2019/20 compared with 15% five years ago. Looking at those who were eligible for FSM, 47% had not achieved level 2 compared with 30% five years ago.

The accompanying table shows a five year time series for both ages and includes gender and those not eligible for FSM. Comparable figures are not available for Southport or by ethnicity.

National estimates which show level 2 attainment by gender, FSM status and ethnicity are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/level-2-and-3-attainment-by-young-people-aged-19/2019-20. These detailed breakdowns are not published by local authority.

The Department remains committed to providing world class education, training and care for everyone, whatever their background, and taking the action needed to address disparities.

Due to the ongoing disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, it was announced on 6 January that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned this summer. This year, pupils will be awarded grades determined by their teachers and based on a range of evidence, only being assessed on the content they have been taught and not what they have missed. Whilst we recognise that teachers will need to assess their pupils this year on a range of evidence, in many ways, assessing pupils and determining their standard of performance is an important part of teachers’ roles in a typical year.

The Department continues to work closely with Ofqual and the exam boards to ensure that teachers feel supported. As part of this process, we are regularly engaging with the teacher unions and other sector representatives to ensure the processes developed and guidance which supports them reflects their feedback. The Joint Council for Qualifications and the exam boards have published extensive guidance and materials for schools and colleges to support teachers with their assessment, marking, and making their judgements of pupils’ performance.

Exam boards are responsible for setting their exam fees, taking into account the costs involved with alternative arrangements in 2021. Exam boards will need to cover their costs, and the Department expects they will make commercial decisions on fees and refunds on that basis. Given the unusual circumstances this year, it is not possible for them to have certainty about their 2021 costs in advance.

Keeping children safe is our utmost priority.

From 20 July, early years settings (including nurseries and childminders) have been allowed to return to normal group sizes. This is because there is moderate to high scientific confidence in evidence suggesting younger children are less likely to become ill with COVID-19, and high scientific confidence that children of all ages have less severe symptoms than adults if they do get ill. Furthermore, early years settings are already required to operate within strict staff-child ratio and space requirements.

We continue to expect that early years settings will consider how they can minimise mixing within settings, for example where they use different rooms for different age groups, keeping those groups apart as much as possible.

Settings are also required to follow a Public Health England endorsed ‘system of controls’ to minimise risks. For example, enhanced cleaning, thorough hand cleaning, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) where applicable. Detailed guidance has been issued and is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe; and here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

Activities for families and their young children, for example baby and toddler groups, can operate provided they, and the premises they operate from, follow relevant government guidance.

Guidance on which premises and businesses are legally able to open is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance.

Providers should also have regard to and, where relevant, ensure that they are following guidance on the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-safe-use-of-multi-purpose-community-facilities.

Ofsted registered early years providers should ensure they are following guidance for early years and childcare providers, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

Our guidance for early years providers details the package of support the government has put in place for workers and businesses which will benefit childcare settings, including:

• confirmation that the government will continue to pay local authorities for free early years entitlement places for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds

• the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced would be extended from 29 May. Those eligible under the SEISS will be able to claim a second and final grant in August, which will be capped at £6,570 in total

• for the self-employed (including childminders), the minimum income floor has been temporarily relaxed, meaning Universal Credit can be accessed at a rate to match statutory sick pay

The guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#funding.

Further information about the Chancellor’s announcement is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-extends-self-employment-support-scheme-and-confirms-furlough-next-steps.

Following my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s announcement on 28 May that the government’s five tests have been met, the decision was made, based on all the evidence, to ask childcare providers to welcome back all children below statutory school age from the week commencing 1 June. This includes childminders who will additionally be able to care for school aged children, up to the statutory maximum and in line with their current Ofsted registration. The department has published a planning guide to help childcare providers prepare to open their settings for all children, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june.

As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced to the House on 18 March, the Government has taken the difficult decision to cancel all examinations due to take place in schools and colleges in England this summer, as part of the fight to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes all GCSE examinations.

The Department’s priority for GCSE students is to ensure they can move on as planned to the next stage of their education, including starting college, sixth form courses or apprenticeships, in the autumn. We will ensure they are awarded a grade which reflects their work. Our intention is that a grade will be awarded this summer based on the best available evidence, including any non-examination assessment that students have already completed. The qualifications regulator Ofqual is working urgently with examination boards to set out proposals for how this process will work and more information will be provided as soon as possible.

The Department recognises that some students may nevertheless feel disappointed that they have not been able to sit their examinations. If they do not believe the correct process has been followed in their case, they will be able to appeal on that basis. In addition, if they do not feel their calculated grade reflects their performance, they will have the opportunity to sit an examination, as soon as is reasonably possible after the beginning of the new academic year. Students will also have the option to sit their examinations in summer 2021.

Childcare providers are making a vital contribution in our fight against Covid-19. The Department for Education has confirmed that it will not claw back funding from local authorities for any periods of closures where settings are closed on medical advice or if children are not able to attend due to Covid-19. The government expects local authorities to follow the department’s position, and continue early years entitlements funding for childminders, pre-schools and nurseries. This should also apply to those infant and primary schools that deliver the early years entitlements. This will minimise short-term disruptions to early years providers’ finances and allow the system to recover more quickly.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has also announced a package of support for businesses that will include many early years and childcare providers. This includes business rates relief, a range of loans and grants and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme means that for employees who are not working but kept on payroll, the government will contribute 80% of each worker’s wages of up to £2,500, backdated to 1 March 2020. Providers can access this scheme while continuing to be paid the early entitlements funding via local authorities.

The department continues to work alongside Public Health England and with early years sector representatives to ensure that measures taken are in the best interests of the health of our nation whilst minimising the impact on individual childcare settings.

The latest guidance for schools and other educational settings can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

The Department carried out a public consultation on possible solutions to the complex pavement parking problem. This closed on 22 November 2020 and received over 15,000 responses. The Department is now carefully analysing the responses and the results will inform decisions on the next steps.

The Government recognises the challenging circumstances businesses in the travel industry face as a result of Covid-19. Firms, across the economy, that are experiencing difficulties have been able to draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor. This includes support through loan guarantees, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We estimate that the air transport sector (airlines, airports and related services) will have benefitted from around £7bn of government support since the start of the pandemic.

The extension of Government-backed loans and furlough payments announced at the Budget build on the support package available and will help ensure this vital and vibrant part of the UK economy is ready to bounce back in the wake of the pandemic.

We continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.

I have asked Network Rail to develop a programme to aim to install platform edge tactile strips on every platform in Great Britain.

I will make a further announcement in due course.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services have been available and unaffected throughout the pandemic and are the quickest and easiest way to renew a registration certificate or a driving licence. Motorists are strongly advised to use these channels where possible. However, many people still choose or have to apply using a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person.

The number of applications awaiting processing fluctuates on a daily basis as registration certificates and driving licences are issued and new applications received. The DVLA is currently processing paper applications for registration certificates and driving licences within around six weeks of receipt. However, drivers with a medical condition may experience further delays because the DVLA is often reliant on receiving information or test results from medical professionals before a licence can be issued, to ensure drivers can meet the required medical standards.

The DVLA has had a reduced number of operational staff on site to allow for social distancing, in line with Welsh Government requirements. The DVLA has leased an additional building to accommodate more operational staff and has extended the opening hours of its contact centre. During the pandemic to help streamline processes and improve work flow the DVLA has accelerated the development of additional online services to reduce paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign. Further digital service enhancements are underway.

The Department has made no such assessment. Local authorities are responsible for developing and implementing schemes such as Liveable Neighbourhoods.

The Department has consistently made clear in its guidance to local authorities that effective engagement with communities is key to delivering schemes that work for everyone. It is for local authorities to determine what consultation and engagement is appropriate.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) has provided the Department for Transport with a completed monitoring and evaluation form for schemes funded in Tranche 1 of the Active Travel Fund and has submitted the first monitoring and evaluation form for the packages being delivered in Tranche 2 of the Fund. In addition, officials from the Department and LCRCA have held regular meetings to discuss scheme progress. The scheme in Southport town centre experienced delays with the provision of materials which have recently been made available, and the scheduled completion date is now March 2022.

Government has published safer transport guidance for operators which sets out measures to assess and address the risks of coronavirus for passengers and staff. In line with this, all train operators are expected to carry out their own risk assessments on the most appropriate action to take.

Risk assessments are expected, where possible, to enable social distancing of 2 metres or 1 metre with risk mitigations, taking account of factors such as the design of different types of rolling stock. Some operators of long-distance services have limited ridership by selling only a set number of seats and requiring reservations. In addition, train operators have increased services levels as we move through the roadmap to provide additional capacity as demand increases. Operators are also providing information on how busy services are likely to be so that passengers can plan ahead and use quieter services where possible.

The Department wants to see a high quality rail retailing service which allows passengers to buy their tickets quickly and conveniently. Ticket Vending Machines are one part of the overall retail service, alongside other ways to buy tickets including online purchase and pay-as-you-go. As ticket buying is modernised we will look to the rail industry, including in future Great British Railways, to ensure that the overall retail offer is appropriate to the needs of passengers, including those without access to the internet.

The Department has worked with the rail industry to enhance ticket buying facilities, including ensuring that smart tickets are accepted at stations across almost all of the network. Passengers have the choice of travelling without a paper ticket, such as by receiving barcode tickets straight to their phones. The Williams Shapps Plan for Rail also commits the Government to introducing far more convenient ways to pay using a contactless bank card, mobile or online.

The Department’s statutory guidance to local authorities on the management of their road networks in response to COVID-19 strongly encourages them to introduce measures to support more cycling and walking in their areas, but it does not require them to do so. All combined authorities and local transport authorities were allocated funding from the Emergency Active Travel Fund in 2020/21, but there was no obligation on any authority to accept the funding or to introduce active travel schemes: these are decisions for local authorities. The Department plans to write to the same authorities shortly inviting bids for capital funding for active travel schemes to be delivered in 2021/22.

The Department has commissioned a formal national evaluation of the Active Travel Fund (ATF) which will consider this matter in some detail. A baseline report of schemes selected for evaluation is scheduled to be received by the Department in December 2022 as we know it takes time to understand the long-term impacts of new cycling infrastructure. This will be followed by a final report in late 2024. Local authorities have also been required to submit regular monitoring reports to the Department on their use of active travel funding. In the meantime, the Department’s 2020 Road Traffic Estimates for Great Britain, published on 28 April 2021, suggest that the amount of cycling in 2020 was 46% higher than it was in 2019, and the highest level of cycling on the public highway since the 1960s.

We are looking at a range of measures to increase rail performance across Manchester including the route between Southport to Manchester Piccadilly. This is part of the consultation on Manchester timetable changes which was held earlier this year and the responses are still being considered.

The government committed to bringing forward vital sector-wide reforms and commissioned Keith Williams to carry out the first root and branch review of the rail industry in a generation. I am delighted to confirm that we published the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail on 20 May, which sets out how the Government will transform the railway. These reforms will create a more accountable, efficient and truly-passenger focused railway.

Link to the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-british-railways-williams-shapps-plan-for-rail

We received numerous representations about the potential changes to Southport to Manchester Piccadilly train service as part of the consultation on Manchester timetable changes that was held earlier this year, including from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. These responses are still being considered.

DWP takes fraud and error very seriously and it should be noted that, during a period when we have faced the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, fraud and error in the benefits system remains low, with 95% of benefits, worth more than £200bn. paid correctly in 2020/21.

We recognise that a small percentage of Universal Credit claims made during COVID-19 are in payment incorrectly and we are now re-visiting those cases which have the highest residual risk of incorrectness. Any overpayments will be pursued and where fraud is a factor, we will consider formal action.

We continue to invest in fraud and error prevention, with the Chancellor announcing £44m at the Spring Budget to support the expansion of both our Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service and our new Enhanced Checking Service and the development of Transaction Risking as a means of identifying high risk claims.

Our work with other Government departments and law enforcement agencies, both nationally and across borders, helps ensure appropriate intelligence and resources are shared,

enabling the totality of any criminality to be identified and investigated.

Our Annual Report and Accounts published on 15 July 2021 provides more information on what we are doing to prevent fraud from occurring: DWP annual report and accounts 2020 to 2021

As a result of the Triple Lock, the full yearly basic State Pension is now over £2,050 higher than in 2010 in cash terms.

Decisions on the rates for State Pensions are made each Autumn as part of the Up-rating review by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

We are committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve; the State Pension is the foundation of support for older people

DWP is committed to ensuring that the Access to Work (AtW) scheme is accessible to visually impaired people. We work closely with stakeholders (including organisations who support blind and visually impaired people) to identify and deliver improvements to the scheme to broaden its accessibility and reach.

Recent accessibility improvements include:

• completing work to ensure our online application journey is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidance (v 2.1); ensuring the service works with all major screen readers, screen magnifiers and other assistive software
• creating accessible versions of four Access to Work claim forms. These products are compatible with popular assistive software such as JAWS, Windows NVDA and Zoomtext. Customers can also request versions in a format of their choice if these do not meet their needs.

In addition, we are currently developing an online journey to enable citizens to claim the grant; this will be fully accessible and allow users to submit claims, check the status of claims and view their remaining grant. We have done extensive user research and prototype testing with users who have visual impairments to ensure the future service meets their needs. We are also discussing ways of reducing the amount of invoices and other evidence users might need to upload or supply; ensuring a more inclusive service across all channels.

To raise awareness of the scheme, Access to Work was supported with paid campaign activity that ran between 24 February and 31 March, and the Department continues to assess how the scheme can be promoted to support both those with visual impairment and people with other disabilities and health conditions. The campaign ran across a broad channel mix to reach a wide but targeted audience. To coincide with the Access to Work campaign launch, we also produced a new Access to Work toolkit. This was shared with a wide range of stakeholders, including Business Disability Forum, Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), Disability Rights UK and the RNIB.

The Department aims to respond to correspondence from hon. Members and their constituents within 20 working days wherever possible. Where the matters raised are complex it may take longer, but we aim to keep any delay to a minimum.

The Cabinet Office publishes information about individual Department’s performance in responding to hon. Members; the most recent information will be published in due course.

The income information for a child maintenance calculation is obtained directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This method is consistent for all of our paying parents including earnings from self-employment.

Either parent may request a variation to a maintenance calculation to allow the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to consider some circumstances which are not covered by the basic calculation. This includes unearned income such as rental income from property or land, or dividends and interest from savings and investments. If a variation succeeds, the maintenance liability may be adjusted.

Cases involving complex income or suspected fraud can be referred to the CMS’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU), a specialist team who can request information from financial institutions to check the maintenance calculation accurately reflects financial circumstances. If an investigation finds evidence of criminality the FIU may seek to prosecute or forward to HMRC for fraud action.

When a payment has not been received from an employer through a Deduction from Earnings Order (DEO), the Child Maintenance Service receive an alert and takes prompt action to investigate.

Account Managers and enforcement colleagues engage with employers to ensure they understand the DEO process and legal implications of not implementing the order, which could result in prosecutions or fines.

We have also introduced a new on-line service specifically for employers to ensure money deducted through DEOs is promptly allocated and paid to customers.

The Chancellor has announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment. Employers can put workers on temporary leave and the government will pay them cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, providing they keep the worker employed.

The Chancellor has also confirmed that, depending on their status, workers on zero hours contracts may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and we would urge people to explore this avenue too.

The Chancellor has announced a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme that will help millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.

The scheme brings parity with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, whereby the Government committed to pay up to £2,500 each month in wages of employed workers who are furloughed during the outbreak.

The vaccination programme is developing an overseas vaccine service to support English citizens and residents. This will enable these vaccination events to appear in the national vaccine database and general practitioner records. The devolved administrations are considering establishing similar solutions. This will support those who have been vaccinated overseas and travelling for work who require a NHS COVID Pass. It will initially support the four vaccines recognised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and administered within the jurisdiction of a recognised medical regulator.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have published the 2021/2022 priorities and operational planning guidance. This includes guidance to transform community and urgent and emergency care to prevent non urgent attendance at emergency departments, improve timely admission to hospital and reduce length of stay.

£450million has been invested to upgrade accident and emergency (A&E) facilities, with funding awarded to over 120 separate National Health Service (NHS) trusts. NHS trusts have used the new funding to expand waiting areas and increase the number of treatment cubicles, helping them boost A&E capacity.

From 16 August 2021, those who are fully vaccinated, participants of approved vaccine trials, individuals under 18 years and 6 months of age, and those unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons, are not required to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case. Such individuals will instead be advised to take a polymerase chain reaction test or given age-related public health advice (in the case of young children).

Individuals who do not fall within the categories above will be legally required to self-isolate if they are the contact of a positive case.

From 16 August 2021, those who are fully vaccinated, participants of approved vaccine trials, individuals under 18 years and 6 months of age, and those unable to have the vaccine for medical reasons, are not required to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case. Such individuals will instead be advised to take a PCR test or given age-related public health advice (in the case of young children). However, should an individual wish to self-isolate, they can do so.

Face-to-face appointments have been available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and approximately half of all appointments during the pandemic have been delivered in person. NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to general practitioner (GP) practices on 19 July, setting out the expectation that practices should offer a blend of face to face and remote appointments, with remote triage where possible.

Practice receptions should be open, so patients without access to phones or online services are not disadvantaged. Practices are expected to review their communications to ensure patients know how to access GP services.

The Government is working with clinical research sites to add participant information of COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials into the National Immunisation Management Service (NIMS), in order to allow participants to access their COVID Pass for events and travel purposes.

Participants of trials which have been unblinded, including those who received unlicensed vaccines, will be able to obtain a COVID Pass for international travel based on their vaccination status, with details of their vaccine records accessible within their COVID Pass, once these are available on NIMS.

Children’s accident and emergency (A&E) services are provided at Ormskirk District General Hospital. The six-week average performance at Ormskirk A&E is 97% with the majority of children treated, admitted or discharged within the four hour standard. The Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is currently undertaking a strategic service review to deliver sustainable health and care services which includes care for children.

Emergency medicine technician training is undertaken as a Level 4 Apprenticeship through individual ambulance trusts. The training standards are set by the Health and Care Professionals Council. Employers, working with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, should ensure that standards meet the requirements of the ambulance service and the level of training required.

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan we are investing £2.5 million to test and implement the most effective ways to reduce autism diagnosis waiting times for children and young people in England. In addition, in 2021-22 we are investing an extra £10.5 million to address waiting times for a diagnosis for children, young people and adults and proactively identify those at risk of crisis. We will be publishing shortly our refreshed national autism strategy, which will set out actions to improve the diagnosis of autism for both adults and children.

In Southport and Sefton, children’s and young people’s mental health services will receive additional investment from 2021/22 to support COVID-19 recovery, reduce waiting times and improve access. A local 24 hours, seven days a week mental health crisis helpline was developed and implemented at the start of the pandemic. There are two mental health support teams in the Southport area, based in schools, to provide mental health interventions and advice to pupils/teachers in schools and colleges for low to moderate level mental health conditions. A further team will be implemented in 2022/23, supporting a further 20 schools.

An online resource ‘Kooth’ has been recommissioned with Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council to provide digital support to young people in the Southport and Sefton areas. A ‘one stop shop’ online mental health referral and information platform was launched in May 2021 to enable children, young people, parents and professionals to make direct referrals to mental health services and to access information and self-help materials. A comprehensive mental health training and support programme was delivered locally to bolster the skills and knowledge of school and college staff in supporting children’s and young people’s mental health.

No such assessment has been made.

We continue to strengthen our partnership between local and national public health experts, local government and the National Health Service and employers to coordinate our response to the virus and share resources and intelligence to increase our impact. NHS Test and Trace initiated a programme to pilot additional interventions to improve compliance with self-isolation and encourage people to come forward for testing, particularly in areas of enduring transmission and variant of concern outbreaks.

No estimate has been made. Continuous registration with dental practices is no longer required for a patient to access NHS services. Patients are only registered with a dental practice during the course of their treatment.

General practice appointment levels are now close to pre-pandemic numbers. In March 2021, an estimated 28.6 million appointments were booked in general practice in England or an average of 1.24 million per working weekday, compared to 1.25 million appointments per working weekday in March 2019. In March 2021, 15.8 million appointments were face to face, or 55.7% of all appointments. NHS England and NHS Improvement and local commissioners monitor monthly appointment data published by NHS Digital, providing support where appropriate.

The Government confirmed an additional £3 billion for the National Health Service in the Spending Review 2020, on top of the long-term settlement, to support the recovery from the impact of COVID-19. Cancer patients will continue to be prioritised and will benefit from approximately £1 billion to begin tackling the elective backlog.

The NHS is moving rapidly to increase diagnostic capacity, with a particular focus on immediate action plans to increase endoscopy and computerised tomography capacity, and focusing on reducing the number of those waiting more than 62 days on cancer pathways, particularly for those who have had their care delayed by the pandemic. In October, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England launched the latest ‘Help us help you’ campaign to urge people with potential symptoms of cancer to see their general practitioner.

National Health Service dentists have been asked to maximise safe throughput, focusing first on those in greatest clinical need, then care for vulnerable groups, followed by overdue appointments. Where carers meet these criteria they will be prioritised for NHS dental care.

The information is not held in the format requested.

We would encourage all National Health Service staff to take up the offer of the vaccine, to help protect themselves and others they come into contact with. We are working to maximise uptake of the vaccine and to protect vulnerable patients.

In the West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, which includes Southport constituency, children and parents can now self-refer into local child and adolescent mental health services and these services cover 0 to 19 year olds. The CCG has developed the local Healthy Young Minds website and a 24 hours a day, seven days a week helpline to provide information on access, urgent help and links to self help and support for family members and carers. Kooth have been commissioned to provide online live digital support and access to materials to support a young person with their mental health. Children and young people’s mental health services in the area will receive additional investment in 2021 and beyond to improve access and crisis support. This includes the establishment of a school-based mental health support team from January 2022.

Nationally, the NHS Long Term Plan invests a further £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24, which will see an additional 345,000 children and young people a year able to access support through National Health Service-funded services including school and college-based mental health support teams by 2023/24. We have also announced an additional £79 million in this financial year to significantly accelerate this planned expansion of children and young people’s mental health services.

There are currently no plans to introduce smear tests on demand. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme offers regular, routine tests for the human papillomavirus which can cause cervical cancer, to all women between the ages of 25 and 64 years old. This programme is intended for women without any symptoms to help detect cervical abnormalities at an early stage.

No data is available on the effectiveness of a single dose or two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines in people taking immunosuppressant medications, therefore no assessment has been made.

We want routine NHS services to return for patients as quickly as possible, but this must be done in a safe and managed way, ensuring that we maintain the capacity for any further surge in COVID-19 activity. The resumption of non-urgent operations will be prioritised at local level based on local demands, ensuring that the most urgent cases are seen first, whilst ensuring surge capacity can be stood up again should it be needed.

Dental practices have been able to open for face to face National Health Service care, including routine care, from 8 June. Decisions on when to reopen for private care are a matter for the practice concerned. The guidance from NHS England and NHS Improvement to NHS contract holders was clear that the pace of the restart should be only as fast as possible compatible with maximizing safety for patients and dental staff. A copy of the letter that was published can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-ontent/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/Urgent-dental-care-letter-28-May.pdf

There are also currently over 600 urgent dental centres which remain open across England to ensure patients can continue to have access to urgent treatment while practices gradually restart a full range of care.

Dentists are using clinical priority to decide which patients to see first and, where they have capacity, they are free to also restart routine non-urgent appointments.

We continue to work closely with the National Health Service and partners and guidance has already been issued to the NHS on the process of starting to restore urgent non-COVID-19 services in a safe way. The approach will be flexed at local level according to capacity and demand in different parts of the country and will be gradual.

Approaches to management of B12 injections during the pandemic are a local matter.

The British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH), which operates independently of Department and NHS England and produces evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of haematological disease, has published a range of general and specific haematology guidance for clinicians in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes new guidance on the management of both dietary and non-dietary B12 deficiency. On B12 injections the BCSH guidance recommends that screening questions for COVID-19 infection are asked before patients attend their general practitioner (GP) surgeries. Alternatives to attending the GP surgery such as local pharmacies or home administration by district nurses should be explored. The guidance can be found at the following link:

b-s-h.org.uk/media/18259/bsh-guidance-b12-replacement-covid-1924042020finalversion2020-4-3.pdf

We have already introduced the first ever access and waiting time standards for mental health services, including for children and young people’s eating disorder services, for early intervention for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis and for accessing psychological and talking therapies. These are being met or are on track for delivery by the end of 2020/21.

The National Health Service has also committed to testing and rolling out comprehensive waiting time standards for adults and children as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

The Department is aware that there has been a temporary disruption in the supply of Freestyle Libre glucose monitoring sensors, caused by an increase in demand. The supplier, Abbott, has however recently informed us that the delay issues have now been fully resolved and that this news has been communicated to existing users and health care professionals.

Abbott have emphasised that the supply disruption was not caused by the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. The UK has now left the EU and entered a transition period, which will run until 31 December 2020. EU regulations on medicines, vaccines and medical devices will continue to apply to the UK throughout the transition period, during which we will negotiate a new trade agreement with the EU.

We believe that the solution to Tunisia's challenges can only be achieved through the principles of democracy, transparency, human rights, and free speech. We call on all parties to uphold Tunisia's reputation as a tolerant and open society and to protect the democratic gains of the 2011 revolution.

I spoke with Tunisian Foreign Minister Jerandi about the situation in Tunisia on 11 August.

I also co-chaired the inaugural UK-Tunisia Association Council in Tunisia on 7-9 June with the Tunisian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Ali Nafti. Bolstering trade, furthering good governance, and supporting Tunisia to develop its economy are all key aspects of our engagement that will enhance Tunisia's resilience and stability.

All FCDO travel advice pages remain under constant review to ensure they reflect the latest threat assessment to British nationals and include up-to-date information and advice.

All FCDO travel advice pages remain under constant review to ensure they reflect the latest threat assessment to British nationals and include up-to-date information and advice.

The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. We are among the largest donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, committing £548 million. The UK is also donating 80% of its surplus vaccines to COVAX. This support to COVAX has been critical to it supplying COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and economies, including Tunisia. By the end of June, Tunisia received over 760,000 doses from COVAX and will eventually receive 20% of their entire national requirement from COVAX absolutely free.

The UK Government is committed to returning to spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on official development assistance when the fiscal situation allows, and has provided a clear measure for this. The two key tests are (1) When we are not borrowing to support day-to-day spending. That means when the current budget is in surplus. (2) When underlying debt is falling. This is measured by Public Sector Net Debt (excluding the Bank of England) as a percentage of GDP. When these tests are met then the UK Government will increase ODA spending above 0.5 per cent of GNI to 0.7 per cent of GNI. On 13 July, the UK Government provided Members of Parliament the opportunity to debate its proposed course of action and pathway back to 0.7 per cent. The House voted clearly with a majority of 35 votes to approve the approach set out in the Treasury's 12 July Written Ministerial Statement.

All FCDO travel advice pages remain under constant review to ensure they reflect the latest threat assessment to British nationals and include up-to-date information and advice.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is responsible for issuing Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) to British people overseas who do not have their full passport available and who need to travel urgently. The published target is that, in straightforward cases, ETDs will normally be ready in two working days once a full and complete application is received.

In a normal year the FCDO issues over 30,000 ETDs. To ensure we can provide a more consistent service, in line with the published target, the FCDO has recently completed a global programme to centralise ETD processing into a specialised global ETD service centre in three locations. From May 2021 all British people have been able to apply online 24/7, and have their application processed by dedicated ETD staff, with the option to collect their ETD in person from a British Embassy or Consulate or, for those eligible, have it couriered to them. The ETD service centre frees up other consular staff at posts overseas to focus on delivering high quality, professional consular assistance to those who most need our help.

The FCDO is continuously improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the service it offers to British people requiring an ETD. It uses customer satisfaction surveys and feedback to develop the application process as well as collection and courier options. The latest satisfaction survey (Q3/Q4 2020-21) records that 89% of applicants are satisfied with the ETD service they receive.

The UK is committed to rapid equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. We are among the largest donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), committing £548 million which leveraged through match funding $1 billion from other donors in 2020. This support to COVAX has been critical to it supplying COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and economies.

Tunisia is supported by the COVAX AMC, which has so far delivered over 350,000 vaccines to Tunisia.

On 17 May the Government lifted the legal restrictions on international travel, but strict rules on testing and quarantine will remain in place to protect public health and our vaccination programme. The British Embassy in Tunis is in regular contact with the Tunisian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health and Tourism on the issue of Covid-19 restrictions and travel between the two countries.

The United Kingdom is committed to combatting all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, both at home and abroad. We believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate respect among different religious and racial groups is to encourage all states to uphold their human rights obligations. Some of the anti-Semitic actions and speeches in and around the Durban conference and its various follow-up events gave rise to serious concerns. We will consider UK attendance in the light of developments between now and the commemoration event, including the likelihood of any recurrence.

The Foreign Secretary recently reaffirmed the UK's condemnation to anti-Semitism during a debate in the House of Commons on 20 April 2021, and I raised my opposition to anti-Semitism during a Westminster Hall Debate on 26 November 2020. We also delivered a statement at the United Nations General Assembly in November expressing concern about the rise of anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination in the wake of Covid-19.

The United Kingdom is committed to combatting all forms of racism, including anti-semitism, both at home and abroad. We believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate respect among different religious and racial groups is to encourage all states to uphold their human rights obligations. Some of the anti-Semitic actions and speeches in and around the Durban conference and its various follow-up events gave rise to serious concerns. We will consider UK attendance in the light of developments between now and the commemoration event, including the likelihood of any recurrence.

The Foreign Secretary recently reaffirmed the UK's condemnation to anti-semitism during a debate in the House of Commons on 20 April 2021, and I raised my opposition to anti-semitism during a Westminster Hall Debate on 26 November 2020. We also delivered a statement at the United Nations General Assembly in November expressing concern about the rise of anti-semitism and other forms of discrimination in the wake of Covid-19.

The UK works closely with Tunisia to support political and economic reform, bolster democratic institutions, and build the country's resilience as part of a broad and growing partnership. We have supported the democratic transition through helping to build the capacity of parliamentarians and officials. We are providing £4m over 3 years through the British Council to fund English language training and to help young Tunisians gain important job skills. We are also working with the World Bank to support macro-economic reforms.

The UK has a strong partnership with Tunisia on security issues, which has helped strengthen our response to the shared challenges of terrorism and extremism, and to work together to address the conflict in Libya.

The UK is supporting the Tunisian Government to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, including by helping it to secure vaccines through COVAX. Other initiatives include supporting the Tunisian Ministry of Health on their vaccine rollout as part of a World Bank-led initiative, providing support to small and medium businesses, and ensuring access to services and social security for the most vulnerable people.

The UK works closely with Tunisia to support political and economic reform, bolster democratic institutions, and build the country's resilience as part of a broad and growing partnership. We have supported the democratic transition through helping to build the capacity of parliamentarians and officials. We are providing £4m over 3 years through the British Council to fund English language training and to help young Tunisians gain important job skills. We are also working with the World Bank to support macro-economic reforms.

The UK has a strong partnership with Tunisia on security issues, which has helped strengthen our response to the shared challenges of terrorism and extremism, and to work together to address the conflict in Libya.

The UK is supporting the Tunisian Government to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, including by helping it to secure vaccines through COVAX. Other initiatives include supporting the Tunisian Ministry of Health on their vaccine rollout as part of a World Bank-led initiative, providing support to small and medium businesses, and ensuring access to services and social security for the most vulnerable people.

The UK works closely with Tunisia to support political and economic reform, bolster democratic institutions, and build the country's resilience as part of a broad and growing partnership. We have supported the democratic transition through helping to build the capacity of parliamentarians and officials. We are providing £4m over 3 years through the British Council to fund English language training and to help young Tunisians gain important job skills. We are also working with the World Bank to support macro-economic reforms.

The UK has a strong partnership with Tunisia on security issues, which has helped strengthen our response to the shared challenges of terrorism and extremism, and to work together to address the conflict in Libya.

The UK is supporting the Tunisian Government to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, including by helping it to secure vaccines through COVAX. Other initiatives include supporting the Tunisian Ministry of Health on their vaccine rollout as part of a World Bank-led initiative, providing support to small and medium businesses, and ensuring access to services and social security for the most vulnerable people.

The UK works closely with Tunisia to support political and economic reform, bolster democratic institutions, and build the country's resilience as part of a broad and growing partnership. We have supported the democratic transition through helping to build the capacity of parliamentarians and officials. We are providing £4m over 3 years through the British Council to fund English language training and to help young Tunisians gain important job skills. We are also working with the World Bank to support macro-economic reforms.

The UK has a strong partnership with Tunisia on security issues, which has helped strengthen our response to the shared challenges of terrorism and extremism, and to work together to address the conflict in Libya.

The UK is supporting the Tunisian Government to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, including by helping it to secure vaccines through COVAX. Other initiatives include supporting the Tunisian Ministry of Health on their vaccine rollout as part of a World Bank-led initiative, providing support to small and medium businesses, and ensuring access to services and social security for the most vulnerable people.

I am grateful for the work of my Honourable Friend the Member for Southport, as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Libya and Tunisia.

The UK is supporting the UN-led political process in Libya. Peace and stability is the best way to create opportunities for investment and trade. The recent appointment of a new interim executive authority is positive and the Prime Minister has spoken to PM-designate Dabaiba.

The UK works with Tunisia to support political and economic reform. The Bilateral Association Agreement entered into force on 1 January and provides a platform to deepen trade and investment.

Any entity with a UK payroll can apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), including businesses, charities, recruitment agencies and public authorities, providing they have a UK bank account, have enrolled for PAYE online, and have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 19 March 2020.

As the guidance on the CJRS on GOV.UK sets out, the Government expects that the scheme will not be used by many public sector organisations, as the majority of public sector employees are continuing to provide essential public services or contribute to the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Where employers receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, the Government expects employers to use that money to pay staff in the usual fashion; and not to furlough them.

Furloughed employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll and HMRC must have received an RTI (Real Time Information) submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. The use of RTI allows HMRC to verify claims in the most efficient and timely way, ensuring payments can be made quickly while reducing the risk of fraud. Without the use of RTI returns it would be difficult to verify claims without significant additional checks, which would delay payment for genuine claims.

The Government is also supporting people on low incomes who need to rely on the welfare system through a significant package of temporary measures. This includes a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1bn increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants. These changes will benefit all new and existing claimants. Anyone can check their eligibility and apply for Universal Credit by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit.

The Government has announced an unprecedented package of support for businesses and individuals during the Covid-19 outbreak.

This includes the deferral of certain VAT and Self-Assessment payments in 2020-21, and the waiving of associated interest and penalties.

HMRC have also scaled up their Time to Pay (TTP) service, where individual and business taxpayers can agree tailored plans to defer certain tax payments due, and repay them over an agreed period of time. These arrangements can include any tax or duty administered by HMRC, including PAYE. Interest will continue to accrue on TTP arrangements, in the usual way, to cover the costs to Government of late payment.

Following discussions with Government, UK Finance announced on 26 March that mortgage lenders will give customers who have exchanged contracts the option to extend their mortgage offer for up to 3 months to enable them to move at a later date.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has also issued guidance for home moving during the COVID-19 outbreak which advises that all parties should work to delay the exchange of contracts until after the period where stay-at-home measures to fight COVID-19 are in place. The guidance can be viewed in full here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

In an exceptional response to Covid-19, from 1 April non-local authority providers of childcare will pay no business rates in 2020-21. This is alongside eligible businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality sectors who will benefit from a business rates holiday, irrespective of a property’s rateable value. MHCLG will publish guidance on the business rates holiday for nurseries shortly.

Home Office records indicate that a) 68% of Further Submissions lodged following refusal of an asylum application are decided within 6 months and b) 79% of Further Submissions lodged following refusal of an asylum application are decided within 12 months.

Where people who have previously been refused asylum in the UK wish to make representations in support of a fresh asylum application these are recorded as Further Submissions.

The automatic visa extension offer for key frontline health workers, applies to anyone subject to UK immigration control, who works in one of the defined eligible occupations, and whose visa expires between 31 March and 1 October. It also covers immediate family members of those who are eligible.

The UK has a strong reputation for tackling terrorist financing and we work very closely with international partners and financial institutions to exchange and analyse information. This ensures we are better able to detect, prevent and disrupt the movement of global terrorist funds. Our EU cooperation is part of a wider landscape of international counter terrorism work, which includes cooperation through relationships such as Interpol, the Five Eyes, and bilateral work with individual countries.

The entirety of Hizballah is proscribed and designated under the UK’s domestic counter terrorism sanctions regime (the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Act 2010 (TAFA)). Hizballah’s Military Wing is also designated along with two named individuals associated with the group under the EU CP931 regime. The investigation and prosecution of offences relating to proscribed organisations is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.