Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to introduce drug consumption rooms.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of police stop and search powers in reducing knife crime.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Stop and search helps to seize deadly weapons from our streets and is a vital tool in the fight against violent crime. We fully support the police in their use of this power to tackle serious violence and protect our communities from harm. There were over 9,300 offensive weapons arrests in 2018-19, a 20% increase on the previous year, and the Metropolitan Police Service believe that the increased use of stop and search is helping cut serious injuries among under 25s.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the training provided to senior leadership teams in schools on how to support students after a terrorist attack close to their school or home is (a) appropriate to the (i) age and (ii) development and social understanding and (b) sensitive to the religious needs of those students.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
High-quality professional development is important for teachers and leaders at all stages of their careers to ensure they receive appropriate support and to enable them to constantly improve their practice. Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rest with schools, headteachers and teachers themselves as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements. We recommend that all Continuous Professional Development is underpinned by the 'Standard for teachers' professional development'.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for School Standards, gave on 4 November to questions 7039, 7040, 7041, 7042 and 7632. These answers emphasised the department’s commitment to supporting schools and colleges in promoting good mental wellbeing, providing a supportive environment for pupils experiencing problems and secure access to more specialist help for those who need it, which can be especially important for children who have experienced trauma.
These answers given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for School Standards, referred to the fact that, in November 2018, the department updated its advice on mental health and behaviour in schools. This advice directs schools towards information on how trauma and adverse childhood experiences, such as bereavement, can affect individual children. The advice also explains how schools can adapt their approach to support these pupils within the context of a school environment that sets clear expectations of behaviour and clear routines.
Schools also need to be able to have access to specialist mental health support where pupils need it. We are taking forward the proposals set out in our Green Paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’. There are 3 core commitments that are intended to support local areas to support children and young people’s mental health as quickly as possible.
The commitments will incentivise all schools and colleges to identify and train a Senior Mental Health Lead; to fund new Mental Health Support Teams (which will be supervised by NHS Children and Young People’s Mental Health staff) and the piloting of a 4-week waiting time for access to specialist NHS children and young people’s mental health services.
As part of the Green Paper proposals, the government also committed to provide mental health awareness training for a member of staff from all state-funded secondary schools in England by March 2020. This programme is funded and managed by the Department of Health and Social Care. The Green Paper can be accessed via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper.
The department works closely with the cross-government Victims of Terrorism Unit to ensure the guidance they provide is accurate and includes the most relevant, up to date material, including material from the Department for Health in relation to mental health support. The Victims of Terrorism guidance also includes resources for teachers to use in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist incident.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to adopt rescue dogs rather than buy from breeders.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Rescue and rehoming centres carry out important work to ensure that unwanted and abandoned animals in the UK are offered the opportunity of a forever home. We advise those seeking to acquire a new dog to first consider adopting from a reputable dog rescue and rehoming centre. However, we appreciate that a number of prospective owners would like a puppy and may have a specific breed in mind. That is why in 2018 the Government updated and improved the regulations on dog breeding in England. This included introducing strict statutory welfare standards that all licensed dog breeders must meet. In addition, from 6 April 2020 it will be an offence for commercial third party sellers to sell puppies or kittens, which are defined as under the age of 6 months. These steps aim to improve the welfare of dogs.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect wildlife from public and private firework displays.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government takes the matter of fireworks seriously. We understand the concerns that many people have about the potential for distress to be caused by fireworks to animals, including pets, livestock and wildlife. This is one of the reasons why there are existing laws in place to control firework availability and use by both the general public and professional display operators. Measures including age related restrictions, a curfew and a noise limit help to reduce disturbance to animals.
It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal that is under a person’s control. The maximum penalty for such an offence is 6 months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.