Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take through the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan to reduce vacancy rates for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the vacancy rate for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon training posts or consultant positions.
We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need, when they need it.
NHS England publishes quarterly NHS hospital trust vacancy and job advert data. The publication sets out vacancy rates for total NHS staff and, separately, for registered nurses and doctors at a national and regional level. The latest data for December 2024 shows the vacancy rate for doctors was 5.2%. The data is not detailed enough to identify vacancy rates for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon consultants. Further information is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the vacancy rate of (a) Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon training posts and (b) Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon consultants.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on the vacancy rate for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon training posts or consultant positions.
We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need, when they need it.
NHS England publishes quarterly NHS hospital trust vacancy and job advert data. The publication sets out vacancy rates for total NHS staff and, separately, for registered nurses and doctors at a national and regional level. The latest data for December 2024 shows the vacancy rate for doctors was 5.2%. The data is not detailed enough to identify vacancy rates for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon consultants. Further information is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the existing Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon training pathway.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. To become an oral maxillofacial surgeon, surgeons will need to meet the requirements of both the General Medical Council and General Dental Council, who are responsible for the standard of training for doctors and dentists respectively.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support prospective students training to become Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons with the costs of dual degree qualifications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A qualification in both medicine and dentistry is required to become an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.
If studying medicine or dentistry as a first degree, domestic students can access student loans from Student Finance England (SFE) from years one to four. From year five of an undergraduate course, and from year two of a graduate-entry course, medical and dental students can access the NHS Bursary. The NHS Bursary is non-repayable, and comprises of payments towards tuition fees and, where eligible, further grants and allowances.
Students undertaking an undergraduate medical or dental course as a second degree are expected to self-fund their tuition fees for the first four years, but can apply to SFE for a means-tested maintenance loan. From their fifth year, eligible students can apply for the NHS Bursary.
Medical and dental students who study the second degree via an accelerated graduate-entry course can apply to SFE for a partial tuition fee loan, and a partially means-tested maintenance loan in year one. They can then apply for an NHS Bursary from the second year of study.
For the 2025 to 2026 academic year, the Government has announced that maximum loans and grants for living and other costs from SFE will increase by the forecast inflation of 3.1%. The Government will also increase the NHS Bursary tuition fee contributions, maintenance grants, and all allowances by 3.1% for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent a breakdown of the peace agreement in Tigray.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict in the region by supporting implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On 13 March, the UK issued a joint statement with the European Union and 23 other countries emphasising our support for the agreement and urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue.
We regularly engage all parties and the African Union guarantors of the agreement, to encourage implementation on the return of internally displaced persons and other outstanding issues. The UK also provides support for the demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process and funds the African Union's monitoring of the agreement as well as international and Ethiopian human rights monitoring. We also support investigatory capacity building across the country.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed funding reductions to (a) Overseas Development Assistance and (b) USAID on the rebuilding of Tigray following the cessation of the civil war in Ethiopia.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Women and girls are a priority focus of UK aid across Ethiopia. UK aid is providing safe spaces for women and girls as well as support across health, social and legal services.
Detailed decisions on how the future Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are assessing implications of the US funding pause across development sectors and geographic regions including Ethiopia. We are gathering information and working with donor partners to share analysis of the pause and understand its impact.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what development aid his Department is providing to Tigray in Ethiopia to help (a) support the victims of sexual violence and (b) tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Women and girls are a priority focus of UK aid across Ethiopia. UK aid is providing safe spaces for women and girls as well as support across health, social and legal services.
Detailed decisions on how the future Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are assessing implications of the US funding pause across development sectors and geographic regions including Ethiopia. We are gathering information and working with donor partners to share analysis of the pause and understand its impact.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase capacity building within the African Union to tackle human rights violations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting the African Union's capacity to tackle human rights violations across Africa. This includes support to African Union-led efforts on conflict resolution, governance and security, which help to reduce the factors that often underpin human rights abuses. The UK is a leading supporter of the African Union's peacekeeping mission in Somalia, their continued mediation efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan and their efforts to call for a return to democracy in countries such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to confirm the future of the Support for Families with Disabilities grant scheme for future financial years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is currently running a business planning exercise which will conclude with funding for programmes announced shortly.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for launching the kinship allowance trial scheme; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.
In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.
The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.