Asked by: Jeremy Quin (Conservative - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of its policies on supporting prisoners with mental health issues; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Phillip Lee
We know that people with mental health problems are disproportionately represented in the Criminal Justice System, and these conditions require treatment. We are working with health partners, as part of prison reform, to improve the data and evidence we collect to assist with evaluating health interventions. We are committed to meeting the mental health needs of prisoners. All prisons have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people with mental health issues.
Asked by: Jeremy Quin (Conservative - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide parents of summer-born children with flexibility to decide in which year group their children start school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We are concerned that some parents of summer born children either feel forced to send their children to school before they are ready, and before compulsory school age, or risk missing the reception year at school where the essential teaching of early reading and arithmetic takes place.
Subject to parliamentary approval, we have therefore decided to amend the School Admissions Code to ensure that summer born children can be admitted to the reception class at the age of five, where this is what their parents want, and can remain with that cohort as they progress through school, including through to secondary school. We will conduct a full public consultation in due course.
I recently set out this policy intent in an open letter to parents, schools and local authorities. The letter is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-nick-gibbs-letter-about-school-admissions.