Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to update the NHS website with information about Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood; and if he will make this updating a priority.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England are in the process of reviewing content drafted by patient groups and confirming processes for updating the NHS.UK website to include relevant information on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC), with a view to have updates published in the coming months. This includes exploring the most helpful options for updating information relating to febrile seizures.
NHS England intend to update the ‘When A Child Dies’ leaflet over the next year in collaboration with affected families, parents and carers, as well as National Child Mortality Database colleagues and SUDC charities, including SUDC UK and relevant professional groups.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to include training on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood in medical professional training at all levels.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The standard of training for doctors is set by the General Medical Council (GMC) and training programmes must meet these standards. The GMC also approve higher education institutions to develop and teach the curricula content which is designed to enable students to meet the desired standards. The curricula for postgraduate specialty training are set by individual royal colleges and faculties, and the GMC approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasise the skills and approaches a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
The Government has no plans to provide additional funding for this specific purpose, funding for medical education and training is included within NHS England’s budget and it will be a decision for them on how they prioritise their resources.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide funding to help (a) develop and (b) run national medical education on sudden unexpected death in childhood.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The standard of training for doctors is set by the General Medical Council (GMC) and training programmes must meet these standards. The GMC also approve higher education institutions to develop and teach the curricula content which is designed to enable students to meet the desired standards. The curricula for postgraduate specialty training are set by individual royal colleges and faculties, and the GMC approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme. Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all emphasise the skills and approaches a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
The Government has no plans to provide additional funding for this specific purpose, funding for medical education and training is included within NHS England’s budget and it will be a decision for them on how they prioritise their resources.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ordering an Independent Panel Inquiry into the death of Zane Gbangbola during the floods in February 2014.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Surrey Senior Coroner has carried out a full investigation into the sad circumstances surrounding Zane Gbangbola's death, taking into account a considerable amount of evidence. The Coroner, as an independent judicial office holder, drew his own conclusions based on this evidence.
If there is a belief that the evidence was not considered properly during the original inquest, or that there is new evidence available, an application can be made to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh investigation. The High Court would take this course of action if it believed that it would be in the interests of justice. We are not aware that any such application has been made.
I believe that this remains the proper process to follow. An assessment of the merits of an inquiry should be made at the appropriate time if, and when, the legal processes have been exhausted.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of making childcare costs tax deductible.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government already offers a range of support for parents to help with childcare costs. Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides financial support for working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11 and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they are 17. All three-and-four-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week, and working parents of three-and four-year-olds can access an additional 15 hours of free childcare per week. .Some parents can also access the disadvantaged two-year-old offer, which provides 15 hours of free childcare per week to two-year-olds who meet certain social and economic criteria. Universal Credit claimants can claim up to 85% of their childcare costs.
The Government keeps childcare policy under regular review.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce a scheme that provides bank loans to pay for work-related courses and training to replace the Professional and Career Development Loan scheme after that scheme closes in January 2019.
Answered by Anne Milton
The majority of prospective Professional and Career Development Loan (PCDL) borrowers in England now have access to statutory loans such as Advanced Learner Loans, postgraduate master’s loans and doctoral loans. Demand for PCDLs has fallen significantly as a result.
Statutory loans offer better repayment terms and greater protections than PCDLs and access to those is not dependent on an assessment of the applicant’s credit history.
There are therefore no plans to replace PCDLs.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent assessment he has made of the UK’s diplomatic relations with the US.
Answered by Boris Johnson
The UK has a special and enduring relationship with the United States based on our long history and commitment to shared values. Last week I saw the Vice President, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State to further strengthen those ties. No two countries will agree on every issue, but the US remains our No. 1 friend, ally and partner.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available to social care providers to implement the change in guidance on the national minimum wage and national living wage for sleep-in shifts for care workers.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Through the National Living Wage, the Government is making sure that pay is fair in all sectors, including social care.
The Government has already invested an additional £2 billion to put social care on a more stable footing and alleviate short-term pressures across the health and care system.
The Government is committed to working with local government and the provider sector to ensure that local authorities understand the costs associated with the National Living Wage when negotiating fee rates.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Iran on ensuring that visa applications from Iranian nationals to visit the UK are processed as quickly and fairly as possible.
Answered by Alistair Burt
In 2016 UK Visas & Immigration launched a full UK visa service at their Visa Application Centre in Tehran. We continue to work with the Government of Iran on all migration issues and the Foreign Secretary discussed these issues during his visit to Iran in December 2017.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps her Department is taking to support the removal of land mines in developing countries.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Landmines are indiscriminate weapons of war that maim and kill innocent children every day. UK support announced in April last year will make safe land equivalent to the size of over 20,000 football pitches and help 800,000 people live their lives free from the threat of mines.