Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) childminders, (b) after-school clubs, (c) holiday clubs and schemes and (d) other childcare services are accessible to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities and early years providers, including early years childminders, have duties via the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, the Equality Act 2010, and the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework to promote equality and inclusion for children with SEND, removing the barriers that prevent children from accessing early education.
In addition, local authorities are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their area for children aged 0 to 14 or up to 18 for children with SEND. The local authority statutory guidance on early education and childcare sets out a clear requirement that local authorities must report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND, and make this report available and accessible to parents.
The National Wraparound Childcare Programme is helping local authorities discharge this duty with regard to after school clubs, by distributing funding on the basis of anticipated need. Local authorities across England can decide how best to use the funding to set up or expand wraparound childcare in their area to meet the needs of their local community, including children with SEND. Local authorities have been working in partnership with primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers, including childminders. Since the programme began, the government has set clear expectations that all wraparound childcare delivered through the programme should be inclusive and accessible.
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme funding is primarily for school aged children from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children, who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. The department encourages local authorities to engage with local and national organisations, including special schools with expertise in working with children with SEND or additional needs. Local authorities are obligated to include the numbers of children with SEND or additional needs who have participated in their programme in their post provision reporting to us.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Chief Land Registrar on ensuring that adverse possession claims are not granted for land designated as public open space or held for flood management purposes; and whether her Department plans to issue guidance to local councils on this matter.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HM Land Registry has operational responsibility for considering land registration applications based on adverse possession. It publishes guidance about this matter at gov.uk here and here.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the process of issuing death certificates following the change to the responsibilities of medical examiners on 9 September 2024 does not lead to undue delays in families being able to arrange funerals.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, including the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data indicates the median time taken to register a death appears to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register has increased further over the recent Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year; the average is expected to decrease again as more data becomes available for January and February 2025. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days. We note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.
The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Government is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has specific time targets for processing Carer’s Allowance claims for individuals with an underlying entitlement.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not have any processing targets for Carer’s Allowance claims when there is an underlying entitlement element.
The current average clearance time for all Carer’s Allowance claims is 16.5 working days. This includes claims when there is underlying entitlement.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps with police forces to review the (a) effectiveness of policies to place police officers potentially experiencing mental ill-health on restricted duties and (b) adequacy of (i) the provision of psychological support and (ii) recovery time for those officers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is the responsibility of Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, including ensuring appropriate health and wellbeing support is in place for all officers and staff. The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority, and we continue to work with police partners to ensure that consistent standards apply across all forces.
Police Regulations require forces to follow standard procedures in the management of officers placed on limited duties following a period of ill health and this includes for periods of recuperation. The College of Policing has also provided specific guidance for line managers on the use of reasonable adjustments, including a toolkit for forces, a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit and a disability passport.
The Government continues to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service which provides evidence-based mental health guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to introduce mandatory mental health support for police officers who have been exposed to distressing or traumatic incidents.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Chief Officers have a duty of care to manage their workforce effectively, including ensuring the wellbeing of all their officers and staff. This Government has been clear that the wellbeing of our police is a priority. We will continue to work with police partners to ensure that all police officers and staff have the appropriate support in place to thrive in their careers and deliver the best service to the public.
We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers, including guidance on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Policing. All officers receive pre-deployment mental health training and through the Police Covenant, and all forces now meet the new Occupational Health (OH) foundation level standards. Measures are also in place to ensure forces continually develop and improve their OH standards.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, what steps she is taking to ensure the definition in UK law of "grave risk of harm" includes domestic violence.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There is no legal definition of “grave risk of harm” in England and Wales. In the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention court cases about the return of a child where one of the parties seeks to demonstrate there is a grave risk of harm under Article 13(b) in the specific case, evidence of domestic abuse can be put before the court. It is a matter for the independent court hearing a case under the 1980 Hague Convention to assess the evidence put before the court and to decide if a grave risk of harm is established.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to advocate reform of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction to better protect victims of domestic violence.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The UK supports the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law on their multilateral Conventions, including the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, and works with other States Party to that Convention to improve its operation. The UK is taking a leading role in working with the Hague Conference to consider the impact of allegations and evidence of domestic abuse in judicial decision-making under the 1980 Hague Convention.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Minister for Health and Secondary Care plans to respond to the correspondence of 6 November 2024 from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove on funding for Stepping Hill Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the hon. Member on 29 January 2025.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support and (b) encourage Integrated Care Boards to prescribe semaglutide for weight management.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Obesity medicines can be effective for some patients living with obesity when prescribed alongside diet, physical activity, and behavioural support. Exactly what is most appropriate for an individual is down to health care professionals to advise, in discussion with patients, and considering relevant clinical guidance.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended semaglutide as an option for weight management, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, for adults that meet the eligibility criteria, and only if it is used within a specialist weight management service providing multidisciplinary management of overweight or obesity.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging the provision of health services within their area in line with local priorities, considering population need and relevant guidance. This includes the commissioning of NHS specialist weight management services.
National Health Service organisations, including ICBs, are continuing to look at the best way to manage access to treatments for obesity.