Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to support the Hidden Disabilities sunflower lanyard scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
People with non-visible disabilities can experience difficulties or be disadvantaged in their ability to access services. Their difficulty can be exacerbated because service provider personnel are unaware of their disability and any different or additional needs they may have.
During the pandemic, the green Sunflower Lanyard scheme gained popularity to indicate an individual's non-visible disability in relation to mask exemption. The Sunflower Lanyard scheme is recognised by some retailers and transport authorities as an indication that a customer or passenger may need additional help because of a non-visible disability. Some individuals prefer to make their non-visible disability known to others by wearing a visible indication of their disability - the Sunflower Lanyard scheme is one such option.
However, this is a personal choice. It is not the Government's intent to promote any one voluntary scheme, nor to suggest that disabled people should feel that they have to make their disability known to others.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to support people with (a) Huntington's Disease and (b) other complex neurological conditions.
Answered by Helen Whately
Specialised elements of neurological care are provided through the 25 specialised neurological treatment centres across England. NHS England’s neuroscience transformation programme (NSTP) is developing several optimal pathways for neurology services, which includes Huntington's disease. The NSTP is also developing a new definition for ‘specialised’ neurology. The NSTP will provide integrated care systems with the tools, information and resources they will need to drive the transformation in their neurology services.
In addition, the neuropsychiatry service specification is in development, which will outline the multi-disciplinary approach to caring for patients with complex neurological conditions.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress NHS England has made on developing a neuropsychiatry service specification.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Neuropsychiatry services fall within the remit of NHS England Specialised Services and are listed in the Prescribed Specialised Services Manual, Version 6 which was published on 22 March 2023.
The Neurology Clinical Reference Group (CRG) and its clinical members are currently scoping the breadth and nature of neuropsychiatry provision across England. It is expected that more detailed work will commence and be part of the Neurology CRG workplan in 2024/25.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on determining the successful bids for the government's New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Will Quince
We received 128 expressions of interest for new hospitals and the Government has now confirmed that five of these schemes will join the New Hospital Programme.
These hospitals all have significant amounts of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, and have been independently assessed as unsafe to operate beyond 2030. Government is therefore prioritising these major rebuilds. Considering this, the Government is not inviting further schemes to join the programme at this time. Going forward, new schemes will be considered through a rolling programme of capital investment in hospital infrastructure to secure the building of new hospitals beyond 2030.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on analysing responses to the acquired brain injury call for evidence.
Answered by Helen Whately
The Department continues to work on the development of the strategy, based on the feedback from the Call for Evidence, the Patient and Public Voice Reference Group, the Programme Board and the Steering Group.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of police participation in Domestic Abuse Matters training in (a) Watford and (b) England.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Domestic Abuse Matters training, developed by the College of Policing, in collaboration with SafeLives, with input from Women’s Aid and Welsh Women’s Aid, aims to improve the police response to domestic abuse and to achieve national consistency in the service police forces provide to people experiencing domestic abuse.
The majority of police forces in England and Wales have undertaken the Domestic Abuse Matters training in their force to date, including Hertfordshire Police who are the force for Watford.
We have also funded the development of a new module of the training that is targeted at officers investigating domestic abuse offences to enable further improvement in police responses to domestic abuse incidents.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) consumer rights and (b) support available to consumers who purchase goods and services from a company that becomes insolvent.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake
In 2014 the Government asked the Law Commission to examine the protections for consumers in insolvency situations who have prepaid for goods and services. Its report was published in 2016 and found that the combination of existing law and chargeback rules provided important protection, and that substantial amounts could be refunded in this way.
The Government’s response to the Commission’s recommendations was published in 2018 and has already led to new guidance to insolvency office-holders on chargeback provisions.
The UK regime sets some of the highest standards of consumer protection in the world. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill currently before Parliament establishes new tools to drive competition in digital markets, and boosts consumer rights and enforcement against unscrupulous businesses.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that prevention is central to NHS dental care.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Prevention is crucial to the work of the health and social care system, including in dentistry, and everyone has a role to play. The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (OHID) has published an evidence-based toolkit, ‘Delivering Better Oral Health - an evidence-based toolkit for prevention’, for dental practice teams to support preventive advice and treatment for their patients available at the following link:
Water fluoridation is a safe public health intervention to improve the oral health of both adults and children and helps to tackle inequalities. The Health and Care Act will make it simpler to expand water fluoridation schemes across England. We announced funding to begin expansion, subject to consultation, across the North-East of England.
We know that good oral health in the early stages of childhood is likely to lead to better long-term dental health. There is good evidence for the effectiveness of daily supervised toothbrushing programmes in schools and early year settings, particularly in deprived areas. Such schemes can be commissioned by local authorities or the National Health Service and exist across the country.
Following the implementation of ‘Our plan for patients’, we are planning to announce additional reforms of the NHS Dental System shortly.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to train teachers on (a) autism and (b) other neuro-diverse conditions.
Answered by Claire Coutinho
The department has transformed the support and training available to support teachers and leaders at every stage of their career to deliver improved outcomes for young people across the country.
The golden thread of professional development begins with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) followed by a new two-year induction programme based on the Early Career Framework (ECF), which are designed to support trainees and newly qualified teachers to meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils including, where appropriate, those identified as being neurodivergent or as having other special educational needs.
We have publicly committed to reviewing the ITT core content framework and ECF alongside each other into more closely combined frameworks. We will explore how to better support new teachers to meet the needs of pupils with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
For experienced teachers and leaders, a range of specialist and leadership National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are available. NPQs are designed to support professionals to hone and develop their existing skills, helping them to become more effective inside and outside the classroom, and ensure they support all pupils to succeed in both mainstream and specialist settings.
In March 2023, as part of the Improvement Plan for SEND and Alternative Provision, the department announced plans to introduce a new leadership NPQ for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs). This new NPQ will equip SENCOs with the knowledge, practical skills, and leadership expertise to shape their school’s approach to supporting children with SEND.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides for (a) people diagnosed with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva and (b) their families.
Answered by Helen Whately
There is no specific prescribed service for treatment of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). However, children with FOP are cared for by National Health Service paediatric rheumatologists and/or geneticists with input from other clinicians as required. For patients with rare diseases such as FOP, expert centres provide clinical guidance, support and advice to patients, their families and carers.