Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines were issued to parents for taking children on holiday during term time at (a) independent and (b) maintained schools in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department collects information from local authorities on penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence. This is published in the statistical release on Parental Responsibility Measures, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.
Information is not collected on the type of school the penalty notice relates to. Independent schools set their own attendance policies and penalty notices are not issued for pupils in these schools.
In England, in the 2022/23 academic year, 356,181 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised family holiday absence in state funded schools, including academies.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to enable EU citizens with pre-settled status to claim universal credit.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
EEA and Swiss citizens with pre-settled status have the same access to benefits as they did prior to the UK leaving the EU. They will be able to access income-related public fund benefits, such as Universal Credit, if they are exercising a qualifying right to reside in the UK, for example by being a worker. This is similar to the rules for UK citizens residing in EU member states on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement. The eligibility of claimants with pre-settled status is verified through the Habitual Residence Test.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the pesticide Cruiser SB is properly assessed before being authorised for use.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pesticides are strictly regulated based on the risks and benefits of use. The Government will always take decisions according to these legal requirements and with full consideration of the evidence.
This government recognises that nature is at a crisis point across Britain. We will therefore change existing policies to prevent the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten our vital pollinators.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to bring forward legislative proposals to make permanent the temporary weigh limits for volumetric mobile concrete plants.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A temporary arrangement has been in place since 2018. The previous administration held a call for evidence last year and we will consider the evidence carefully before coming to a view.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what representations the Church has made to the Israeli government to secure the release of Layan Nasir from administrative detention.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
On 9th April the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, issued the following short statement in response to the news that Layan Nasir, a member of an Anglican congregation in the occupied West Bank, had been arrested by Israeli forces.
“I’m shocked and deeply concerned by this news. Together with our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters, I pray for Layan and her family - and for the congregation of St Peter’s Anglican Church in the Occupied West Bank. Please pray for Layan’s safety and swift release.” The Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun, joined the Archbishop’s call for prayers and her release.
On 28th April the Archbishop renewed his appeal for the release of Layan Nasir, who I understand is being held in Damon Prison, in Israel. A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace told Sky News:
“He is deeply concerned to learn that she is now facing administrative detention for four months, without charge and with no due process for her, her family, or lawyers to challenge this. Such processes against what is already a deeply threatened minority are contrary to commitments given over the years. This, along with daily harassment of Christian laity and clergy in East Jerusalem, indicates the predicament that many Christians now face in the West Bank and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. As the Occupying Power, the State of Israel is obliged by International Law to protect those at risk.”
The Bishop of Chelmsford, Guli Francis-Dehqani, met with members of the family of Layan Nasir last week during a visit to the Occupies Palestinian Territories. I understand from Church House officials that conversations are ongoing with both the Israeli and the British Government regarding Layan Nasir’s release from administrative detention.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report from the Patient Safety Commissioner entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, whether she is taking steps to implement the recommendation that women treated with mesh should be compensated.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations, and will respond substantively in due course.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Modern leasehold: restricting ground rent for existing leases, closed on 17 January 2024, whether he plans to reduce ground rents.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I would refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 23795 on 3 May 2024.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to end the funding of hospices through integrated care boards.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I commend my Rt Hon. Friend’s tireless advocacy for high-quality end-of-life care, through his work on the APPG for Dying Well.
I understand his concerns about potential variation in provision. However, the Health and Care Act 2022 included a legal duty for integrated care boards to commission palliative and end of life care, in line with wider NHS devolution.
Integrated care boards are best positioned to understand and meet the needs of their local population, and commission appropriate end-of-life services, including from the NHS and voluntary sector organisations, such as hospices.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the School Admissions Code.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The School Admissions Code (the Code) exists to ensure that places in all state-funded schools are allocated in a fair and transparent manner. Admission authorities for all state-funded schools are required to comply with the requirements of the Code and related admissions law.
The latest version of the Code came into force on 1 September 2021. The department keeps the provisions of the Code under review to ensure they continue to remain fit for purpose, however there are currently no plans to change the Code.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department made of the potential risks of discontinuing routine covid-19 testing of hospital patients prior to their discharge to care homes before.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The public health advice is that now is an appropriate point to end routine asymptomatic discharge testing for COVID-19, and move to a risk-based approach. A reduction in the severity of illness associated with the omicron variant, coupled with a high uptake of the vaccine among residents during the autumn COVID-19 vaccination booster, continued provision of infection prevention and control guidance, and the upcoming increased eligibility for COVID-19 treatments, demonstrates a reduced level of risk from COVID-19 in adult social care settings. In addition, epidemiological studies, and consensus reports from the early phases of the pandemic, suggest that hospital discharge was not dominant in the ingress of COVID-19 into care home settings.
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) guidance on safe discharge and management of individuals with symptoms of an acute respiratory infection remains in place, and this will be kept under regular review. National Health Service trusts will have local discretion to re-introduce discharge or other forms of testing where clinically appropriate, following a risk assessment involving local authority public health teams, UKHSA Health Protection Teams, and care providers, as necessary in the decision making.