Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Domestic Abuse Commissioner is able to identify and support the speech, language and communication needs of (a) adults and (b) children who have experienced domestic abuse.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on children and young people. Growing up in a household of fear and intimidation can impact their health, wellbeing and development, with lasting effects into adulthood.
The Home Office liaises regularly with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education on safeguarding issues and the provision of appropriate support services to victims of domestic abuse. It is recognised that early speech and language is an important protective factor for child health and development.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner is responsible for assessing, monitoring and publishing information about the provision of services for victims and survivors. This will include speech, language and communication therapy, amongst other services.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that information on domestic abuse support is made available in a format accessible to people with speech, language and communication needs.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government has taken a number of steps to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse are aware and able to access the support services they need. We have published specific advice on gov.uk to guide victims to the most appropriate support for their individual needs. This includes links to disability specialist services and charities offering resources in different languages.
This advice and guidance has been extensively promoted through the Home Secretary’s awareness raising campaign #YouAreNotAlone. In order to ensure that the campaign’s information is readily accessible, those materials have been translated into 15 priority languages.
The Home Secretary also announced £2 million funding to assist domestic abuse organisations by bolstering helplines and ensuring they could continue to run as normal during COVID-19. £1.2 million has thus far been allocated, including in support of charities such as Sign Health which provides domestic abuse service support for deaf people in British Sign Language.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what services the Government has made available for vulnerable (a) children and (b) adults who are at risk of domestic abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Domestic abuse is unacceptable in any situation, no matter what the stresses.
The Government acknowledges that measures announced to tackle coronavirus (COVID-19) can cause additional anxiety for those who are at risk of domestic abuse. We are working closely with the sector and local safeguarding partners to understand how COVID-19 has impacted on their work to protect vulnerable children and adults. Safeguarding remains a priority during this extremely challenging period, and we continue to support local agencies to continue to work together and keep children safe.
Guidance on vulnerable children and young people has been updated and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.
The Government will make funding worth £1.6 million available immediately for the NSPCC to expand and promote its national helpline for adults. This will assist more adults to know how and where to raise concerns and seek advice or support about the safety and wellbeing of any children they are worried about.
Following increases in calls to domestic abuse helplines and online services, the Home Secretary announced an additional £2m to bolster organisations’ capacity on April 11. This is in addition to £28m of Government funding for domestic abuse charities to help survivors of domestic abuse and their children by providing more safe spaces, accommodation and access to support services during the coronavirus outbreak.
We have also launched a campaign to raise awareness of domestic abuse and signpost victims to the support services available. The campaign, under the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone, aims to reassure those affected by domestic abuse that support services remain available during this difficult time. Details of these services can be found at www.gov.uk/domestic-abuse
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a regional impact assessment on the potential effect of the proposed points-based immigration system on NHS trusts in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government published “The UK’s Points-Based System: Policy Statement” on 19 February.
To facilitate the migration of skilled workers to support our NHS, we will create a fast-track NHS visa for certain medical professionals with NHS job offers reducing their visa fees and providing support to come to the UK with their families.
In delivering on its manifesto commitments for a new points-based system, the Government has considered relevant views, evidence, and analysis. We will also keep labour market data under careful scrutiny.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to accept the recommendation made by the Migration Advisory Committee in its report entitled Full review of the Shortage Occupation List, published in May 2019, that the entire occupation of speech and language therapists be added to the Shortage Occupation List.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The previous Home Secretary announced in his Written Ministerial Statement of 23 July that the Government was accepting the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the composition of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).
Changes to the Immigration Rules implementing these recommendations, were laid on 9 September and will come into effect from 6 October. This includes adding speech and language therapists to the SOL.