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Written Question
Dentistry: Migrant Workers
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her oral statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, Official Report column 251, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using her powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 to increase the number of foreign dentists qualified to practice in the UK.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has made an assessment of the merits of using powers under the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 (PQ Act) to increase the number of overseas-qualified dentists able to practice in the United Kingdom.

The PQ Act affirmed the Government’s commitment to protect the autonomy of regulators, including the General Dental Council, to assess overseas-gained professional qualifications and make decisions about whether individuals meet the requirements to work in a regulated profession in the UK.

The PQ Act contains a power for the Government to implement international agreements. This power was used to implement the UK’s free trade agreement with the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association member states in 2023, meaning that UK regulators are now required to recognise comparable qualifications obtained in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Work is currently underway to use the PQ Act power to implement the UK-Swiss Recognition of Professional Qualifications Agreement by 1 January 2025.


Written Question
Dental Services: Somerset
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Oral Statement of 7 February 2024 on NHS Dentistry: Recovery and Reform, how she defines Somerset in the context of the area across which dentistry vans will be deployed.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We will deploy dental vans offering appointments to patients in targeted rural and coastal communities who have the most limited access to dentistry, including Somerset, starting later this year.

We are currently working with NHS England and the integrated care boards (ICBs), including NHS Somerset ICB, to agree the exact number of vans, and where they will be deployed. I expect to be able to provide more details on this in due course.


Written Question
Department of Health and Social Care: Staff
Wednesday 26th July 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many officials were working in his Department on (a) the date of the appointment and (b) 18 July 2023.

Answered by Will Quince

On 31 October 2022, the total number of civil servants employed within the core Department (excluding Arm’s Length Bodies) was 3,978. As of 18 July 2023, the total number of civil servants employed by the Department was 3,316.

Please note that these figures do not show the full establishment workforce of the Department in line with published figures on GOV.UK. Contingent Labour, secondments in, Fast Streamers and vacancies are not included.


Written Question
Parking
Monday 17th July 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of regulations on parking restrictions in residential areas and (b) the impact of those regulations on residents in Bath and North East Somerset; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Local traffic authorities have the power to introduce parking restrictions by implementing Traffic Regulation Orders and around 98% of local authorities have the power to undertake civil parking enforcement, including Bath and North East Somerset Council. Responsibility for traffic management and parking enforcement on local roads rests with the relevant local authority, as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be effectively met. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide on the nature and scope of parking policies and to balance the needs of residents, emergency services, local businesses and those who work in and visit the areas.


Written Question
Coroners: Somerset
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the time taken to process cases by the Somerset Coroners Court; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Coroner Statistics 2022: England and Wales, published on 11 May 2023, indicate that, for the Somerset coroner area in 2022, the average time from the report of a death to the coroner and the completion of an inquest was 31 weeks. This was an increase from 23 weeks in 2021.

In 2022, the average time for completion of an inquest in England and Wales as a whole was 30 weeks – a decrease from 31 weeks in 2021.

The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for coroner services, which are administered and funded by individual local authorities. Consequently, this department does not hold information on remote working by staff in the Somerset coroner service.

The Chief Coroner continues to work with individual coroner areas and their funding authorities and the police to ensure that services are effectively delivered. He is engaged with the relevant authority for the Somerset coroner area on service improvements.


Written Question
Coroners: Somerset
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of staff in the Somerset Coroners' Service have been remote working in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Coroner Statistics 2022: England and Wales, published on 11 May 2023, indicate that, for the Somerset coroner area in 2022, the average time from the report of a death to the coroner and the completion of an inquest was 31 weeks. This was an increase from 23 weeks in 2021.

In 2022, the average time for completion of an inquest in England and Wales as a whole was 30 weeks – a decrease from 31 weeks in 2021.

The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for coroner services, which are administered and funded by individual local authorities. Consequently, this department does not hold information on remote working by staff in the Somerset coroner service.

The Chief Coroner continues to work with individual coroner areas and their funding authorities and the police to ensure that services are effectively delivered. He is engaged with the relevant authority for the Somerset coroner area on service improvements.


Written Question
Powers of Attorney: Applications
Monday 13th March 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2023 to Question 156952, how many administrative staff worked between midnight and 6am in each of the last six months.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

To process Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) applications, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has staff working day shifts and evening shifts, and both shifts then have further overtime hours. While staff do not routinely work between 12am and 6am, for evening shift staff who work from 4pm-10pm, overtime hours are available from 10pm-2am. The below data shows the number of staff who have taken that opportunity to work overtime at least once in each month, but not all of these staff will have worked beyond 12am while working overtime.

Staff do not work beyond 2am. The table below provides the total number of administrative evening shift staff who have worked overtime beyond 10pm. It does not include day shift staff who have worked overtime.

Month

Sept 2022

Oct
2022

Nov
2022

Dec
2022

Jan
2023

Feb
2023

Total number of staff who have worked overtime (i.e. past 10pm) each month.

32

25

24

25

36

27


Written Question
Powers of Attorney: Applications
Tuesday 7th March 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have applied for but not yet received a Lasting Power of Attorney..

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

At 3 March 2023, a total of 401,196 applications for a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) were being processed by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This included 163,279 applications that were in the statutory four-week waiting period for any objections to be lodged prior to registration. At 3 March 2023, the OPG had already registered 809,675 applications for an LPA in 2022/23. These figures exclude the registration of Enduring Powers of Attorney which, while valid, have been replaced by LPAs since the Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into effect.

Customers are currently advised to allow up to 20 weeks for an LPA application to be processed, including the four-week waiting period. The OPG target to register LPAs is within an average of eight weeks. OPG staff are working day and night to register LPAs and extra staff have been hired, which is increasing the number of LPAs being registered each month.

The government is also supporting the Powers of Attorney Bill which will enable a digitalised LPA application process, leading to a faster and simpler service for applicants in future.


Written Question
Office of the Public Guardian: Remote Working
Tuesday 7th March 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the staff of the Office of the Public Guardian are working in the office.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Hybrid working is available at OPG as a modern employer, subject to business area requirements and line manager’s discretion. A third of the roles in OPG (c. 600 out of 1,700) are not suitable for hybrid working. These roles are required to be undertaken full-time in the office. For example, in the operational unit responsible for the processing of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA), there is a requirement for many of the core manual processes to be conducted from an office and space is prioritised in the office for these roles to be undertaken.

Where OPG business areas are not directly involved in LPA processing activities, staff are required to attend an office for a minimum of two days each per week and have an obligation to attend the office when requested to do so by their line management unless a formal exemption is in place. At 7 February 2023, 1.4% of OPG staff had a formal exemption and the remaining 98.6% were required to work from the office at least two days a week.


Written Question
Office of the Public Guardian: Remote Working
Tuesday 7th March 2023

Asked by: Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative - North East Somerset)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the working from home guidelines are for staff of the Office of the Public Guardian.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Hybrid working is available at OPG as a modern employer, subject to business area requirements and line manager’s discretion. A third of the roles in OPG (c. 600 out of 1,700) are not suitable for hybrid working. These roles are required to be undertaken full-time in the office. For example, in the operational unit responsible for the processing of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA), there is a requirement for many of the core manual processes to be conducted from an office and space is prioritised in the office for these roles to be undertaken.

Where OPG business areas are not directly involved in LPA processing activities, staff are required to attend an office for a minimum of two days each per week and have an obligation to attend the office when requested to do so by their line management unless a formal exemption is in place. At 7 February 2023, 1.4% of OPG staff had a formal exemption and the remaining 98.6% were required to work from the office at least two days a week.