Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the progress on procurement for the Project Gigabit contract for Cheshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez
As part of Project Gigabit, in July 2023 we launched a procurement to invite suppliers to bid for a contract to bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises in Cheshire that are unlikely to be reached by broadband suppliers' commercial rollout plans. We aim to award a contract to the successful supplier by the end of March 2024.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report from Coram entitled, Charter for Children: A Call for Change for the next generation, published December 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department welcomes Coram’s ‘Charter for Children’, and is grateful for Coram’s work supporting children, young people and families. The government is committed to prioritising the needs of children, ensuring that their best interests are at the centre of policy and decision making. Responsibility for the recommendations covers several government departments. The department will consider the Charter’s recommendations as part of the up-coming Spending Review.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the CMA's report entitled Children’s social care market study final report, published on 10 March 2022, whether the children’s social care dashboard will identify (a) placement capacity constraints in specific geographical areas and (b) the frequency with which placements do not meet children's needs due to such constraints.
Answered by David Johnston
The department is continuing to develop the indicators chosen to measure the outcomes and enablers identified in the National Framework.
The Children’s Social Care National Framework and Dashboard consultation response included a long list of indicators that are continuing to be tested, to measure feasibility and reliability for use, including placement measures.
The response is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1185764/Children_s_social_care_national_framework_and_dashboard_consultation_response.pdf.
The department anticipates publishing an update on the target scope for the first version of the dashboard in the near future.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on implementing the children's social care national framework and dashboard.
Answered by David Johnston
The Children’s Social Care National Framework (National Framework), along with proposed Children’s Social Care Dashboard (Dashboard) indicators, were published for consultation at the same time as the government’s strategy for children’s social care, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, in February 2023. The National Framework describes the outcomes that children’s social care should achieve when supporting children, young people and families. The Dashboard will serve as a learning tool for local and central government. It will have a national set of indicators, to help understand progress towards the children’s social care outcomes, and to support learning and improvement at a local, regional, and national level.
The consultation took place over 14 weeks and gathered a range of views from the online consultation and over 30 engagement events that involved around 500 people from local authorities, education, health, and police, as well as members of the public. The government response to the consultation was published in September 2023 and committed to iterating the National Framework, giving more prominence to the important role of practice supervisors, as well as adding a new chapter on how multi-agency working enables good outcomes.
The National Framework will be issued as statutory guidance by the end of the year. Local authorities will have a one-year implementation period, and government has committed to provide advice to local authorities on embedding the National Framework. A phased roll-out of the Dashboard will begin in 2024 so that the department can test, evaluate and iterate the Dashboard.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much (a) Cheshire East and (b) Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority received in funding from his Department through the (i) Bus Service Operator Grant and (ii) Bus Recovery Grant in each of the last five years.
Answered by Richard Holden
Since 2013, Cheshire East and Cheshire West & Chester have received an annual payment of £347,865 and £314,318 respectively through the Bus Service Operators Grant.
Cheshire East have been paid £2.2 million since March 2020 to support services through the pandemic, of which they were paid £1,284,863 via Covid-19 Bus Service Support Grant, £534,874 via Bus Recovery Grant and £382,682 from the Local Transport Fund.
Cheshire West and Chester have been paid almost £1.5 million since March 2020 to support services through the pandemic, of which they were paid £721,690 via Covid-19 Bus Service Support Grant, £433,300 via Bus Recovery Grant and £339,672 from the Local Transport Fund.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What recent steps her Department has taken to support British farmers and food producers to increase their global sales.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK’s farming, food and drink products are a source of pride, whether it be Scotch whisky, Welsh lamb, or other iconic products from across the country. Our new trade deals are unlocking new markets and opportunities for this important industry. Our ‘Open Doors’ campaign offers a wide range of support such as exporting masterclasses, a flagship mentoring programme and matching buyers with sellers to ensure more British produce is sold overseas.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What steps his Department is taking to introduce problem-solving courts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Problem-solving courts, which strengthen the judicial involvement in the oversight of sentences being served in the community, will provide a way to closely manage and rehabilitate those offenders who are frequently both prolific and vulnerable. The MoJ are committed to piloting Problem Solving Courts in up to five locations in the Sentencing White Paper, published 16 September. We will be taking forward the necessary legislative provisions to enable these pilots when Parliamentary time allows.
Pilots, based on international best-practice, will focus on offenders with substance misuse issues, domestic violence offences and female offenders.
The Court Service and Probation Service are closely involved in the design of the pilots, taking into consideration operational resources and the location of the necessary treatment services.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
What steps he is taking to reduce bureaucracy within the adoption system.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ensuring the adoption system is effective is a top priority for this government, and I am determined to tackle the bureaucracy and inefficiencies that can prevent children who need a stable, loving forever home from finding one quickly.
I want to make sure that enough adopters are recruited for the children who need them, that they are matched swiftly to children and that they are properly supported as they form their new family.
In 2015, we had 180 different adoption agencies, a system which resulted in inefficiencies and delays for children. Our programme to introduce fewer, more efficient regional adoption agencies (RAAs) has now created 28 RAAs and they are starting to drive change.
For example, the first annual RAA evaluation report identified improvements in recruitment, matching and support. The latest evaluation of the RAA programme shows a 14-day reduction time for children waiting for placement. We have also seen a 35-day reduction for placement for our ‘harder to place’ children.
This year we have invested £1 million into adopter recruitment. RAA leaders, working with voluntary adoption agencies and others in the adoption sector, launched the #YouCanAdopt Campaign in September. The campaign aims to dispel myths and encourage more people from all walks of life to come forward to adopt. You do not need to be married or own your home to be a loving, adoptive parent. Agencies are reporting a large increase in enquiries, including from people from black, asian and minority ethnic communities. I would encourage anyone to look into the YouCanAdopt campaign.
The government has invested significantly in the Adoption Support Fund (ASF), which has provided more than £177 million for therapeutic support to over 62,000 families since it launched in 2015. The support provided to families through the ASF means that families have managed to access more timely therapeutic support for their children/family. Through our ASF COVID-19 scheme, launched in April, we provided £6.5 million to support up to 61,000 adoptive and special guardianship families struggling to cope with the challenges arising from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the School Sport and Activity Action Plan published in 2019.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The School Sport and Activity Action Plan set out a range of measures to ensure that all children have access to high quality PE and sport sessions during the school week and opportunities to be physically active throughout the school day, to help them do the 60 minutes a day of physical exercise recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.
The Government remains committed to supporting schools to make good use of their sports facilities and to promote physical literacy and competitive sport. We plan to update the School Sport Activity Action Plan with longer-term proposals to support schools to work with sports clubs, coaches and others to ensure children’s activity levels continue to rise when they return to school.
The Government has already provided £2.4 million in funding to support this activity and has worked with Active Partnerships, helping schools, clubs and others to adapt plans to provide activity while schools have been closed.
Active Partnerships have been working with national and local partners to identify how best to support the sport and physical activity sector during the coronavirus outbreak. The Department has also published online educational resources approved by subject experts for schools and parents to help children to learn at home, including resources for PE.
As schools open more widely, we recognise the importance of children returning to taking part in physical activity and PE as part of the curriculum, with well-established links between physical activity, improved mental wellbeing and educational attainment. The Department’s guidance includes details on the teaching of subject areas including PE and ensuring children have opportunities to increase their physical activity throughout the school day.
Asked by: Edward Timpson (Conservative - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the range of skills in the cancer workforce (a) by supporting the expansion of the responsibilities of advanced clinical practitioner roles and (b) through other steps.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Health Education England published its first ever Cancer Workforce Plan in December 2017, which commits to the expansion of capacity and skills. The upcoming NHS People Plan will set out further actions to secure the National Health Service staff and cancer workforce we need for the future.