Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Ofsted inspectors are given access to the record of complaints held on the Joint Personnel Administration system relating to violent behaviour by staff at the Army Foundation College.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Ofsted were given access to all disciplinary complaints against Permanent Staff at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate).
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Army Foundation College is required to inform its independent advisory panel in the event of an allegation of staff misconduct concerning recruits.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Army Foundation College (Harrogate) regularly brief the Independent Advisory Panel on any allegations of permanent staff misconduct towards Junior Soldiers.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the two-child limit in Universal Credit applies to households caring for an additional child under a special guardianship order.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Since 6 April 2017, families can claim support for up to two children, and there may be further entitlement for other children if they were born before April 2017 or if an exception applies. One of these exceptions is any child in a household who is living long-term with friends or family who would otherwise be at risk of entering the care system, which includes a child being cared for under a Special Guardianship Order.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many never events occurred within NHS England in each year since 2019; and how many and what proportion of these incidents involved Physician Associates in each year.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Information on Never Events is published by NHS England, and all available data on Never Events is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/never-events-data/
NHS England does not collect specific data relating to Physician Associate involvement in Never Events, and as such the information is not held.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to recruit Covert Surveillance Officers to gather evidence to prove or disprove offences relating to benefits claims.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP is recruiting Covert Surveillance Officers.
The Department’s Counter Fraud, Compliance & Debt directorate (CFCD) undertakes directed surveillance as part of the criminal investigation process.
All surveillance activity is applied for under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 and is conducted in line with the surveillance Code of Practice. It is undertaken only where necessary and proportionate to the alleged offence.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Defence AI Skills Framework.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The development of a Defence AI Skills Framework is underway, and we expect work to accelerate following the recruitment of our Capability Lead for AI Talent and Skills. We are working closely with Digital Skills for Defence (DS4D) and other key stakeholders to ensure coherence with other complimentary skills frameworks within the department, but also across government and with allies.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published on 15 June 2022, whether his Department has appointed a Head of AI Profession.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Defence AI Centre (DAIC) is currently onboarding a Capability Lead, AI Talent and Skills. They are expected to be in post in quarter 2 of this financial year.
This individual will work with colleagues across Government to advance the AI skills agenda while also exploring novel ways to attract talent into the department.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of November 2023 to the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health from public healthcare professionals on the Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Department has received the correspondence and will respond in due course. The Healthy Start scheme is an important nutritional safety net for families who need support and the interest from public healthcare professionals is welcomed.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were eligible for Healthy Start vouchers in January (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The number of those eligible for Healthy Start in January 2022 was 553,601, and the number of those eligible in January 2023 was 578,067.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on the Healthy Start Scheme in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The cost of operating the Healthy Start scheme was £78,148,555 in 2021/22 and £78,761,339 in 2022/23.