Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) home birth services and (b) midwifery units temporarily closed after 1 March 2020; and on what date each of those units reopened.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
This information is not currently held in the format requested.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Trusts have provided standard-of-care access to all four birthing options during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
This information is not currently held in the format requested.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) including limited company directors in the Self Employed Income Support Scheme and (b) including dividends as income in relation to covid-19 support schemes.
Answered by Jesse Norman
I refer the Honourable Member to the written answer to Parliamentary Question 54215 given on 9 June 2020: www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-03/54215/.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he plans to offer new starters who cannot claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and have (a) been denied furlough pay by their previous employer and (b) are not eligible for universal credit.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It has not been possible to include in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme individuals for whom HMRC had not received a Real Time Information submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March, as this would have significantly increased the risk of fraud.
Individuals with sufficient National Insurance contributions who have lost their job may be entitled to support from the welfare system, notably new style Jobseeker’s Allowance, which does not assess capital or partner income.
The Government has introduced wider measures to support those who may be in difficulty during the Covid-19 crisis, including mortgage holidays, a pause on evictions, hardship funds from local authorities, and help with utility bills.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with learning disabilities living (a) independently, (b) with family and (c) in care homes receive equal access to testing and treatment for covid-19; and whether he plans to allocate resources to enable the safe return to community (i) activities and (ii) services to support the (A) physical and (B) mental well-being of those people.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 7 June 2020 all remaining adult care homes will be able to access whole care home testing for all residents and asymptomatic staff through the digital portal at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-care-home
We expect that access to services that support people with learning disabilities should be restored as soon as is appropriate, in line with social distancing guidelines, and as regulations and guidance permit. Work is underway to plan for an expected increase in demand for patients needing mental health support due to COVID-19. Existing mental health services are open and available for any person requiring support.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his Department’s policy to respond to all correspondence from Members of Parliament with (a) a generic Dear Colleague letter months after the initial query or (b) a detailed and prompt answer addressing the points that have been raised by that Member.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
It is the Treasury’s policy to respond to correspondence from Members with an individual reply that addresses the points the member has raised, within 15 working days. However, the unprecedented volumes of correspondence received since the outbreak of COVID-19 has caused delays in responding.
Detailed Dear Colleague letters have occasionally been issued to Members to update them on changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and to help them reply to their constituents as quickly as possible. The Treasury is working with any Members who have highlighted they cannot use the Dear Colleague letter to reply to their constituents and will provide a further reply to those Members as soon as possible.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to self-employed people who are ineligible for the (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and (b) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and who cannot access (i) universal credit and (ii) self-employment income support.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Self-employed individuals who are ineligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), may be able to benefit from the other elements of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support,?mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on the reopening of West Ham Cemetery to the general public.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Secretary of State has not received any representations on this matter.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who have died from covid-19 to date had underlying health problems.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collates official statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. An ONS report published on 16 April analysed deaths involving COVID-19 that occurred in the month of March and found that 91% of deaths involved some form of pre-existing condition. The most frequent pre-existing condition was ischaemic heart disease, involved in 14% of cases. Information can be found on their website at the following link:
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2020 to Question No 28671 on Housing: Energy, if he will publish those impact assessments in which the benefits to householders’ health from improving their homes thermal performance have been included.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does include the health benefits of energy improvements to the householders’ health in published Impact Assessments, although the methodology has not yet been incorporated into the net present value calculation. Two of the latest are the most recent impact assessments for ECO and Private Sector Regulations (see below):