7 APPG memberships (as of 4 May 2022)
Adult Social Care, Bangladesh, Extreme Poverty, Hajj and Umrah, Immigration Detention, Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness, Maldives9 Former APPG memberships
Belt and Road Initiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Britain-Pakistan Trade and Tourism, Business Improvement Districts, Health, International Relations, One Belt One Road and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Taxis, Terrorism, Third World Solidarity14:30
What steps he is taking to reform early years services and childcare provision.
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15:30
Subject: Long-term funding of adult social care
23 May 2022, 3:30 p.m.
At 4.00pm: Oral evidence
Kemi Badenoch MP - Minister for Levelling Up Communities at Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Alex Skinner - Director of Local Government Finance at Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Gillian Keegan MP - Minister for Care and Mental Health at Department of Health and Social Care
Michelle Dyson - Director General for Adult Social Care at Department of Health and Social Care
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14:30
Oral questions - Main Chamber
27 Jun 2022, 2:30 p.m.
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (including Topical Questions)
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Note: This event involves a Department with which this person is linked, and does not guarantee their actual attendance.
voted Aye - in line with the party majority
One of 176 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 229 Noes - 312
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will include glass in the deposit …
That this House is concerned with the current prosthetic service, especially for upper limb amputees; notes the incredible skills and …
Name of donor: (1) The Great Britain China Centre with sponsorship from Prudential Plc and China International Capital Corporation; (2) …
That this House recognises the importance of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 for its importance as a turning point …
Division Voting information
Mohammad Yasin voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 22 Labour No votes vs 124 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 385 Noes - 100
Debates during the 2019 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
(20 debate interactions)
(14 debate interactions)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(6 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(19 debate contributions)
(16 debate contributions)
(16 debate contributions)
(12 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(522 words contributed)
(397 words contributed)
Bedford Petitions
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
of 32,792 signatures (0.40%)
of 327,034 signatures (0.27%)
of 188,029 signatures (0.23%)
of 61,291 signatures (0.22%)
of 143,802 signatures (0.15%)
of 327,034 signatures (0.27%)
of 188,029 signatures (0.23%)
of 143,802 signatures (0.15%)
of 144,980 signatures (0.13%)
of 113,048 signatures (0.13%)
Latest EDMs signed by Mohammad Yasin
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Tabled by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)That this House recognises the importance of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 for its importance as a turning point in the history of the Raj and British Empire in India; notes that the centenary of this event passed without a commitment to a public apology; further recognises that former …
(Most recent: 19 May 2022)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 2
Independent: 1
Specialist Huntington’s Disease Services
Tabled by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)That this House notes that Huntington’s Disease is a rare, hereditary and incurable neurological condition that slowly robs patients of their ability to walk, talk, eat, drink, make decisions and care for themselves; notes that a University of Aberdeen study, published in the Journal of Neurology, highlights that the number …
(Most recent: 20 May 2022)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 5
Plaid Cymru: 3
Independent: 2
Scottish National Party: 2
Liberal Democrat: 1
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Mohammad Yasin, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Mohammad Yasin has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Mohammad Yasin has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Mohammad Yasin has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Mohammad Yasin has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
68 Written Questions in the current parliament
(View all written questions)2 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Mohammad Yasin's BEIS questions)In order to meet our net zero commitment, we must transition away from fossil fuel heating systems. We are developing policies to support the deployment of low carbon heating supporting consumers financially to help them transition away from fossil fuel heating through initiatives such as the Renewable Heat Incentive. We are spending £2.8bn between 2018 and 2021 through the Renewable Heat Incentive, to support the deployment of low carbon technologies such as heat pumps.
We also recently launched the Green Homes Grant vouchers scheme meaning homeowners and residential landlords can receive up to £5000 towards the installation of an approved low carbon heating measure. In due course we shall be setting out our proposals for the decarbonisation of heat in the Heat and Building Strategy.
In addition, in the Future Homes Standards consultation, which closed 7 February, we proposed that new homes should have 75-80% fewer CO2?emissions than ones built to current building regulation standards.?This will not be achievable using conventional gas boilers in new build properties. We will respond to this consultation in due course.
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Technology and innovation are important for growing the UK’s aerospace sector. Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, the Government and industry are investing a total of £3.9 billion from 2013 to 2026 in aerospace research and development. Funding is directed by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Strategy, which focuses on developing future aircraft while reducing the environmental impacts of aviation and raising the competitiveness of the UK sector.
We are also investing a further £300 million in the Future Flight Challenge, which provides funding to develop future air transport systems that will include electric and autonomous flight.
Secretary of State for Education
5 Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Questions
(View all Mohammad Yasin's DCMS questions)Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. Having access to high quality facilities is central to this.
Through the pandemic, Sport England has provided £220million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres, via a range of funds including their £35million Community Emergency Fund. This includes 164 awards to tennis totalling £787,879 through Covid funding since March 2020. Sport England also invested £2,084,948 in the Lawn Tennis Association as part of the rollover of NGB national funding in 2021/22.
In January 2021, Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond Covid, Sport England has awarded £14,807,641 to tennis projects since 2017, 101 of which had elements of capital investment (totalling £2,474,618). Sport England also made 578 awards to multi-sport projects (totalling £38,199,899) where tennis is expected to benefit in the same period.
The Government continues to work closely with the Lawn Tennis Association and local partners to support the maintenance and development of these facilities.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. Having access to high quality facilities is central to this.
Through the pandemic, Sport England has provided £220million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres, via a range of funds including their £35million Community Emergency Fund. This includes 164 awards to tennis totalling £787,879 through Covid funding since March 2020. Sport England also invested £2,084,948 in the Lawn Tennis Association as part of the rollover of NGB national funding in 2021/22.
In January 2021, Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond Covid, Sport England has awarded £14,807,641 to tennis projects since 2017, 101 of which had elements of capital investment (totalling £2,474,618). Sport England also made 578 awards to multi-sport projects (totalling £38,199,899) where tennis is expected to benefit in the same period.
The Government continues to work closely with the Lawn Tennis Association and local partners to support the maintenance and development of these facilities.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) is a £200million grant scheme which helped organisations to meet service costs where they were experiencing increased demand and/or short-term income disruption. Funding is distributed and administered by The National Lottery Community Support Fund (TNLCF).
Under the terms of the scheme, all funding had to be distributed and spent by recipients in the 2020/21 financial year. TNLCF began awarding grants in early July 2020 and, as of 15 March 2021, 99.9% of the funding had been disbursed to over 8,000 organisations.
Grant agreements are between TNLCF and grantees, and grants were initially intended to cover a six month period. However, successive lockdowns put additional pressure on charities to deliver, and not all projects were able to go ahead as envisaged. Where this was the case, TNLCF encouraged flexibility within terms of the grant agreement to help grantees adapt and continue to deliver their ambitions. This included some extensions to grants where appropriate.
The Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) is a £200million grant scheme which helped organisations to meet service costs where they were experiencing increased demand and/or short-term income disruption. Funding is distributed and administered by The National Lottery Community Support Fund (TNLCF).
Under the terms of the scheme, all funding had to be distributed and spent by recipients in the 2020/21 financial year. TNLCF began awarding grants in early July 2020 and, as of 15 March 2021, 99.9% of the funding had been disbursed to over 8,000 organisations.
Grant agreements are between TNLCF and grantees, and grants were initially intended to cover a six month period. However, successive lockdowns put additional pressure on charities to deliver, and not all projects were able to go ahead as envisaged. Where this was the case, TNLCF encouraged flexibility within terms of the grant agreement to help grantees adapt and continue to deliver their ambitions. This included some extensions to grants where appropriate.
The Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during Covid-19 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-searching-for-archaeological-finds-in-england-during-covid-19) on the gov.uk website explains how the legal restrictions in force in England from 5 November under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)(England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 impact the activity of metal detecting. In particular, the guidance outlines the effect of the restriction on leaving home without reasonable excuse (under regulation 5), and the exception to that restriction (in regulation 6(2)(d)) which permits a person to visit a "public outdoor place" for the purposes of open air recreation." The definition of a “public outdoor place” for this purpose does not include privately owned land to which the general public does not have access.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Education and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have issued joint guidance to local authorities which makes clear that children’s services have responsibility for assessing the needs of 16 and 17 year olds who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness and that, if they need to be accommodated, they should normally become a looked after child. A copy of this guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/provision-of-accommodation-for-16-and-17-year-olds-who-may-be-homeless-and-or-require-accommodation.
There are only two circumstances in which a local authority might find that a homeless young person should be accommodated by homelessness services under the Housing Act 1996, rather than by children’s services under section 20 of the Children’s Act 1989 – becoming looked after. These are where the young person is either:
- not a child in need, or
- a 16 or 17 year old child in need who, having been properly and fully advised of the implications and having the capacity to reach a decision, has decided that they do not want to be accommodated under section 20.
Alongside this guidance, Coram Voice’s 'Always Heard' safety net service, funded by the Department for Education, has provided vital advocacy support for looked after children, care leavers and children on the edge of care since 2017. As a direct result of the work of the Always Heard service, children have been made safe, removed from homelessness, and poor or unlawful care planning decisions have been challenged. Coram Voice continued to provide vital advocacy support during the COVID-19 outbreak to young people at most risk – with over half of the children and young people using the safety net service in 2020-21 from harder to reach groups, including homeless children. The department will continue to work together with MHCLG, to ensure this group of young people receive support and accommodation which meets their needs and, most importantly, keeps them safe.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have consulted on a set of ambitious proposals to reform unregulated provision for children in care and care leavers, including how to enforce new national standards for providers to drive up quality, keeping young people safer and delivering better outcomes. We will be responding to this consultation and setting out our plans for ensuring the high-quality of unregulated semi-independent and independent accommodation in due course. Our proposals are available here:
https://consult.education.gov.uk/unregulated-provision/unregulated-provision-children-in-care/.
The government is clear that any 16- or 17-year-old who is homeless, or threatened with homelessness, must be assessed by children’s services, as set in the statutory guidance. This guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/provision-of-accommodation-for-16-and-17-year-olds-who-may-be-homeless-and-or-require-accommodation.
Every child, who children’s services have a duty to accommodate, will have to be placed in a setting that meets the new national standards. There are only 2 circumstances in which a local authority might find that a homeless young person should be accommodated by homelessness services under the Housing Act rather than by children’s services under section 20 of the Children’s Act. These are where the young person is either:
- Not a child in need.
- A 16- or 17-year-old child in need who, having been properly and fully advised of the implications and having the capacity to reach a decision, has decided that they do not want to be accommodated under section 20.
In those circumstances, where a young person is accommodated by homelessness services under the Housing Act rather than by children’s services, the department will continue to work together with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, local communities, the government and with sector experts, to ensure this group of young people get the right support and accommodation they need.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The summer period is a time of increased risk and vulnerability for many children and young people, which is why across government we have looked to strengthen our existing provisions to meet vulnerable young people’s needs over the summer period.
The Holiday Activities and Food programme, backed by £9 million of investment, will provide free healthy meals and enriching activities to thousands of disadvantaged children throughout the summer of 2020, building on the success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes.
As well as the Holiday Activities and Food programme, we are providing food vouchers for disadvantaged children through the COVID Summer Food Fund. Due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, we recognise families will face increased pressure on household budgets over the coming months. This fund will enable children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals to be supported over the summer holiday period. During the COVID-19 outbreak, we have also temporarily extended the free school meals eligibility to include some groups who have no recourse to public funds.
Alongside this support, we also have a comprehensive set of services that will continue to support young people over the summer months. The National Citizen Service (NCS) will provide a new support offer for 16 to 17 year olds. Further education colleges and schools will be offered a menu of NCS activities over 2-10 days, which can be tailored to support any summer or autumn activities that the college or other provider are running as part of their post COVID-19 re-engagement or induction phases with students. This support will be free to further education colleges and schools and delivered in late summer and throughout autumn.
We have also distributed funding to strengthen key frontline services, including £34.15 million to support vulnerable children’s charities. This funding has been used to provide online counselling, therapy and face to face support for vulnerable children through a coalition of charities led by Barnardo’s, as well as funding to expand helplines and provide ongoing support to particularly vulnerable groups.
A range of other support for vulnerable children will continue over the summer holidays including maintaining contact with families through the Ministry of Communities, Housing and Local Government’s Troubled Families programme, as well as the Home Office’s Violence Reduction Units that will continue to bring together multi-agency partners to tackle violent crime and provide summer provision.
The government is also providing £1 billion of catch-up funding to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time over the 2020-21 academic year. This includes £650 million to be shared across state primary and secondary schools, which can be used to support pupils through summer school provision.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting education settings to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 is the department’s highest priority.
We are working closely with colleagues across the government to ensure that all appropriate arrangements and support are in place for all of the department’s sectors, from early years and childcare to schools and children’s social care and also for vulnerable groups including children with long-term medical conditions.
Schools should continue to support their pupils’ health needs as normal and should follow Public Health England advice at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are over 453,000 teachers in our schools – 12,000 more than in 2010 – and postgraduate recruitment to teacher training is at its highest level since 2010-11. The Government recognises that we need to do more to attract and retain teachers, particularly as the economy improves, pupil numbers grow and the demand for talented graduates increases.
Last year, the Department launched the first ever integrated strategy to recruit and retain more teachers. This included the biggest teaching reform in a generation: the Early Career Framework (ECF). The ECF will provide new teachers with the solid foundations for a successful career in teaching, backed by £130 million a year in funding when fully rolled out in 2021.
The strategy also set out priorities to make it easier for great people to join the profession, develop clearer career pathways for classroom teachers, and help school leaders establish more supportive school cultures to reduce teacher workload.
The Department has committed to raising starting salaries for new teachers to £30,000 by 2022-23, putting teaching on a par with other top graduate professions. We are also offering generous bursaries of up to £26,000 during training in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics and modern foreign languages. Additionally, physics, mathematics, languages and chemistry trainees starting initial teacher training in 2020-21 will receive three early-career payments totalling £6,000 spread across years two, three and four of teaching. This total may increase to £9,000 if the trainees are teaching in local authority areas the Department has identified as having high need for teachers, as determined by our published data.
1 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions
(View all Mohammad Yasin's Defra questions)The full response to our consultation on a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will be published in due course.
However, as part of our response to the consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility, we announced any DRS in England and Northern Ireland would not include glass.
Concerns were raised that including glass in a DRS risked reducing the amount of glass available to remelt, whilst making reverse vending machines larger and more complicated, as well as causing extra risk to both shop staff and consumers.
Glass will be subject to regulation via Extended Producer Responsibility and continue to be recycled at the kerbside.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In common with other train operators, the Omicron COVID-19 variant has significantly affected staff availability on London Northwestern Railway (LNR). As a result, LNR has temporarily focused its reduced resources on providing a resilient train service on those routes with the most passengers and where bus replacement would be impractical.
The inconvenience to passengers on the Marston Vale line is regrettable, and we will be working with LNR to ensure that the train service is restored as soon as it can be reliably provided.
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The report from the Planning Inspectorate on the Network Rail (London to Corby) (Land Acquisition, Level Crossings and Bridge Works) Transport and Works Act Order application, will be published alongside the decision letter from the Secretary of State when this is made. The Secretary of State will aim to issue his decision as soon as he can.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip
Applications for provisional driving licences can be made online at https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence
Customers can also make postal applications for a provisional driving licence. However, paper applications are likely to take significantly longer to process in the current circumstances.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The decision by the Secretary of State on the Transport and Works Act Order application by Network Rail for the London To Corby (land acquisition and bridge works) Order will be made in the near future.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip
‘Long Covid’ is not classed as a disability. COVID is still a relatively new condition and work is ongoing to understand its long-term effects. Making such a determination would therefore be premature.
As research into the long-term health symptoms and impacts of COVID-19 is ongoing, we will continue to monitor and consider the Government’s support provisions and approach in line with the emerging evidence.
As part of the Government's response to the pandemic, individuals may be eligible for SSP where they are sick or self-isolating due to coronavirus, including where they have tested positive for coronavirus but otherwise feel well. Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first day of sickness absence from work, rather than the fourth, where an individual is self-isolating due to coronavirus. The usual eligibility criteria continue to apply.
If an individual requires further financial support while off work sick, for example where their income is reduced while on Statutory Sick Pay, they may be able to claim Universal Credit depending on their personal circumstances. Where they are not eligible, for example because they earn below the Lower Earnings Limit, they may also be able to claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have interpreted your question to mean what reason claimants are advised by assessment providers (Capita and Independent Assessment Services), contracted by her department, that timescales are not currently in place due to COVID-19.
The department maintains the same targets for claims clearance as pre-COVID, but recognises the current delivery challenges faced by its providers due to COVID-19. We are working with our providers to provide continued support to claimants in need of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). We remain committed to delivering quality functional assessments and ensuring claimants are assessed as quickly as possible.
So we do not place people at unnecessary risk, we have temporarily suspended face to face PIP assessments. All assessments are currently being progressed on the basis of paper based evidence alone, or that evidence together with a telephone assessment to ensure decisions on PIP can be made without delay.
The Department has three Personal Independence Payment (PIP) contracts for Assessment Provider Services.
Atos IT Services UK Ltd (T/A Independent Assessment Services) are contracted to deliver PIP assessments in Lot 1 (North West England / North East England / Scotland / Isle of Man) and Lot 3 (London / Southern England.)
Capita Business Services Ltd are contracted to deliver PIP assessments in Lot 2 (Central England / Wales).
Service Level requirements for the delivery of assessments are consistent across all PIP contracts. These are detailed below.
Service Level Requirement | Service Level |
PIP Assessment end to end assessment process (excluding Terminally Ill cases). | All cleared within an Average Actual Clearance Time of 35 Working Days |
Terminally Ill (TI) cases end to end assessment process. | All TI cases cleared within an average period of two (2) Working Days |
Terminally Ill (TI) cases end to end assessment process. | 100% to be cleared within five (5) Working Days. |
Ministers and officials of both Departments hold regular discussions relating to the ongoing covid-19 outbreak including its impact on people with health conditions.
My Department has provided mental health training for staff who have direct contact with claimants, including all Work Coaches, to equip them to identify mental wellbeing issues or vulnerabilities, and to take appropriate action to support individuals. Work Coaches will tailor support to the needs of the individual and work closely with local organisations that provide additional specialist support.
Background
Mental wellbeing training has been provided for all staff (around 30,000 colleagues trained to date) who have direct contact with customers (including via telephone).
Staff have also had specific training to help them to identify vulnerable people, and signpost or refer them to further support provided by local partners. Every jobcentre has a complex needs toolkit containing links to local organisations to facilitate this.
Since the start of the pandemic we’ve introduced online claim application processes for ESA and Pension Credit claimants (telephony options still exist). And we’ve also introduced new services for deaf claimants.
The Government is committed to helping parents into work and childcare costs should not be a barrier to this.
Universal Credit pays up to 85% of childcare costs, compared to up to 70% in legacy benefits and can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund to meet these costs until their first wage is received.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We welcome the Committee’s report. In our response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report, we set out where we agreed with its recommendations or where we are taking forward the recommendations in part or in full. We will be considering the recommendations in full during the development of a new long term cross-Government plan for mental health. We are launching a wide-ranging discussion paper and call for evidence to support development of the plan. The Committee’s inquiry and evidence from witnesses will be considered during this process.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is investigating alternative testing options for people who cannot take a nasal COVID-19 test and awaiting the results from a number of LAMP or saliva-based testing pilots that are underway. The UKHSA will continue to review and evaluate the usability of emerging technologies.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The publication of the National Health Service elective recovery delivery plan has been delayed as a result of the emergence of the Omicron variant. The Department continues to ensure the NHS is in the strongest position to recover elective services and tackle the backlog. The delivery plan will be published in due course.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are on track to surpass the 2020 ambition for a 20% reduction in the stillbirth rate and the neonatal mortality rate for babies born after 24 weeks gestation.
Through the Maternity Safety Strategy, we are working to understand the causes of stillbirths and neonatal deaths to prevent avoidable deaths.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
On 23 November 2020, we published our Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, which set out the support available for individuals, including children and young people. The Government will publish an action plan setting out further measures to respond to and mitigate the impacts on mental health of COVID-19 across the population, including children and young people, in due course.
We have announced that in 2021/22 the National Health Service will receive around an additional £500 million, to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support they need and invest in the NHS workforce.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The information is not collected in the format requested. A national access and waiting times standard for child and adolescent mental health services has not yet been defined.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The phased vaccination programme commenced on 8 December 2020. The NHS has now offered the COVID-19 vaccine to everyone in the top four priority cohorts which includes people aged 70 years old and over, care home residents and staff, health and care staff and clinically extremely vulnerable patients.
From 15 February 2021, we have been inviting people aged 65 to 69 years old and those who are defined as clinically vulnerable and are therefore thought to be at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 to book their vaccination. The target to reach all those in priority cohorts five to nine is 15 April 2021.
Secretary of State for Education
To ensure equitable and transparent distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, the National Health Service have an allocations committee that reviews and monitors distribution. Allocations to all regions in England, including the East of England, are made on a population proportionate basis factoring in the priority cohorts identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Each Primary Care Network site, including those in the East of England, receives their own supply and work has been carried out with local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that vaccine supply aligns with the number of registered patients in the priority cohort groups.
Secretary of State for Education
The National Health Service is working to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine is available to clinically prioritised groups as soon as possible. Over 200 Primary Care Network-led sites started vaccinating patients this week in England. Over the coming weeks and months, the rate of vaccinations will increase as more doses become available and the programme continues to expand.
For the first phase, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors. Included in this are those with underlying health conditions, which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality. It will likely take until at least spring until all high-risk groups, estimated at over 25 million people in England, have been offered a COVID-19 vaccine.
Secretary of State for Education
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the vaccine should be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 years old and health and social care workers.
We recognise the vital role unpaid carers play in caring for vulnerable individuals. JCVI recommends that carers who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, should also be offered vaccination alongside people with underlying health conditions.
Secretary of State for Education
Demand for testing is increasing and as such some test sites will have reductions of testing capacity, so we can keep maximum capacity in highest risk areas. Allocation decisions are frequently and systematically reviewed to ensure we are using our testing where it can be most effective. We are working to develop more sophisticated approaches, based on the latest evidence to manage the prioritisation process to ensure that we are able to provide appropriate testing for both outbreak management and surveillance purposes.
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Demand for testing is increasing and as such some test sites will have reductions of testing capacity, so we can keep maximum capacity in highest risk areas. Allocation decisions are frequently and systematically reviewed to ensure we are using our testing where it can be most effective. We are working to develop more sophisticated approaches, based on the latest evidence to manage the prioritisation process to ensure that we are able to provide appropriate testing for both outbreak management and surveillance purposes.
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Public Health England (PHE) guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) was amended to state that vinyl gloves should not be worn if it is anticipated that there will be contact with bodily fluids or blood. This was informed by Health Protection Scotland’s Standard Infection Control Precautions Literature Review on PPE. We recognise that as this review was undertaken in clinical settings, the findings are not wholly applicable to adult social care settings. We are working closely with PHE and adult social care providers to amend and clarify the guidance.
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We know that there is the potential for an increase in demand for mental health services. Ministers in the Department are engaging regularly with their counterparts across Whitehall on how best the Government can prevent and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health and wellbeing.
We are also working with the National Health Service, Public Health England and other key partners to gather evidence and assess the potential longer-term mental health impacts and plan for how to support mental health and wellbeing throughout the ‘recovery’ phase.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Government recognised at the start of the pandemic the need for enhanced wellbeing support for National Health Service and social care staff and commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for NHS staff. Wherever possible we have ensured the same offer is included in the support package that developed for the social care workforce.
NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with key stakeholders and people with lived experience to support information sharing to encourage timely access to NHS mental health services and improve people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds’ experiences of these services.
We are working to ensure that all children and young people who have or who develop mental ill health can access support if they need to and that schools and colleges, parents and carers can support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing over the coming weeks and months.
The Government has also provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities to support adults and children. This includes charities that offer support to BAME communities and charities like Young Minds.
The Government’s £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme will support school staff to respond to the emotional and mental health pressures some children and young people may be feeling.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Education has published detailed plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance highlights the particular need to focus on pastoral support and mental wellbeing as a central part of what schools provide, in order to re-engage them and rebuild social interaction with their friends and teachers. This will involve curriculum provision as well as extra-curricular and pastoral support, and that Department’s recently published relationships, sex and health education training module will support teachers with preparation to deliver content on mental health and wellbeing.
We are also implementing the core proposals in our response to the consultation ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’ Green Paper including, where possible, adapting the support made available during the COVID-19 outbreak to the circumstances that schools and colleges and children and young people will face once the new academic year starts.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
We do not publish data by region. All information surrounding turnaround times are released weekly on GOV.UK.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Department does not collect or hold data on the number of non-European Union nationals who cannot leave the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Department does not collect or hold data on the number of non-EU nationals who have been charged for National Health Service maternity care but are unable to pay.
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England issued guidance, on 20 March 2020, setting out expectations for primary care dentistry to minimise spread of disease and protect dentists and patients during the current pandemic. The advice includes radically reducing the number of routine check-ups and agreeing local arrangements to consolidate, where necessary, the provision of any essential, routine National Health Service work that cannot be delayed and urgent dental problems. The guidance is available at the following link:
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The local authority public health allocations for 2020/21 will be published shortly.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will bring forward a plan for social care this year.
Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.
There are complex questions to address, which is why we will seek to build cross-party consensus, but we have been clear: everybody will have safety and security, and nobody will be forced to sell their home to pay for care.
The National Health Service published the interim NHS People Plan on 3 June 2019. It sets out the long-term vision and immediate actions to meet the challenges of supply, reform, culture and leadership.
The final NHS People Plan will be informed by the Cancer Workforce Plan for England, published in December 2017 by Health Education England. This set out plans to expand capacity and skills in the cancer workforce, including targeting additional training support for seven priority professions such as clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. Since 2017 there has been a net increase of 833 full time equivalent staff across the seven priority professions.
The final NHS People Plan will be published in early 2020 and will set out a clear framework for collective action on workforce priorities, with a focus on growing and sustaining a well-skilled workforce across the whole National Health Service.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently provided in England through the three-year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide the number of allocated places they can accept. The PrEP Impact Trial website includes a map showing the distribution of the 154 clinics level 3 Sexual Health Services participating in the trial at the following link:
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently provided in England through the three-year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide the number of allocated places they can accept. The PrEP Impact Trial website includes a map showing the distribution of the 154 clinics level 3 Sexual Health Services participating in the trial at the following link:
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK assessment is clear. All political detainees should be released. We publicly supported a statement at the September 2020 UN Human Rights Council, which reiterated this point and raised concerns about the use of arbitrary detention.
Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy is the deepest review of the UK's foreign, defence, security and development policy since the end of the Cold War. We will utilise expertise from both inside and outside Government for the review, ensuring the best minds are feeding into its conclusions and challenging traditional Whitehall assumptions and thinking as needed.
The Review will include external consultation with experts and international partners across relevant disciplines.
Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
All businesses and individuals are encouraged to follow the latest Government advice to help control the virus. In order to work safely, retailers have been recommended to minimise contact around transactions, for example, by considering offering contactless payments where possible. Ultimately, it remains the individual retailer’s choice whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card.
In recent years, the ongoing trend in UK payments has been away from cash and towards card payments and other digital payment methods. This transition brings opportunities, including the potential for faster and safer payments. Nonetheless, the Government recognises that access to cash remains important to millions of people across the UK, particularly some vulnerable groups. As such, the Government has committed to legislating to protect access to cash, and to ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable in the longer term.
Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
For those on their employer’s payroll on 19 March 2020, the usual salary under the CJRS will be calculated based on their earnings prior to that date. An alternative calculation is used for newer employees who were first reported by their employer after 19 March 2020.
Guidance on calculating how much can be claimed under the CJRS can be found on GOV.UK.
In my Written Ministerial Statement on 17 December 2020, I outlined the three main channels through which London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) bondholders can seek compensation. These are the administration process, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Complaints Scheme.
My statement also announced that, taking into consideration the specific and complex set of circumstances surrounding the collapse of LCF, the Treasury will set up a compensation scheme which will assess whether there is justification for further one-off compensation payments in certain circumstances for some LCF bondholders . The Government will announce further details in due course.
Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In my Written Ministerial Statement on 17 December 2020, I outlined the three main channels through which London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) bondholders can seek compensation. These are the administration process, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Complaints Scheme.
My statement also announced that, taking into consideration the specific and complex set of circumstances surrounding the collapse of LCF, the Treasury will set up a compensation scheme which will assess whether there is justification for further one-off compensation payments in certain circumstances for some LCF bondholders . The Government will announce further details in due course.
Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Recognising the need to invest sustainably, we will set out our long-term economic infrastructure ambitions, including on decarbonisation and levelling up the nation in our upcoming National Infrastructure strategy which we expect to publish in the Autumn.
Ensuring infrastructure helps drive progress on Net Zero will be a key objective of the National Infrastructure Strategy, alongside levelling up across the country and driving growth across all parts of the UK.
The Strategy will set out the government’s long-term ambitions for economic infrastructure. It will also be responding to the National Infrastructure Commission’s 2018 assessment of the UK’s infrastructure needs.
Minister for Equalities
In March 2018, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) established a steering group of financial institutions and consumer representatives to develop a voluntary code of good practice to help protect consumers against authorised push payment (APP) scams.
At the end of February 2019, the steering group published the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code for APP Scams (the Code), which sets out the agreed principles for greater protection of consumers and the circumstances in which they will be reimbursed, making a significant step in delivering improved protections for consumers. The Code became effective on 28 May 2019 and customers of those payment service providers that are signatories (which includes all of the 6 largest banks and building societies) are protected under the Code from this date.
The Lending Standards Board (LSB), which is responsible for the Code, has committed to a first annual review of its operation later this year. The Government looks forward to reviewing these findings when they become available.
Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Dentists holding a contract to provide NHS dental services are remunerated through an annual contract value dependent on delivery of an agreed amount of treatment (activity). There is no separate reimbursement of practice costs apart from rates reimbursement.
NHS England are in discussion with the British Dental Association about how the impact of coronavirus on service delivery will be managed.
On 20 March 2020, the Chancellor announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment. The scheme will apply to dental practices.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office has acknowledged the Court of Appeal’s judgment and has committed to reviewing the child citizenship registration fee in line with its duties under Section 55. This review is on-going and the results will be published in due course
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government does not have an absolute exclusion from detention for any particular group. However, we fully accept that some groups of individuals can be at particular risk of harm in immigration detention. This is the basis of the Adults at Risk in immigration detention (AAR) policy, which strengthens the presumption against detention for vulnerable individuals.
The policy covers a wider range of vulnerabilities and its introduction has enabled Home Office staff to promptly identify whether a person is vulnerable and consequently whether they should be detained. This allows for a more rounded assessment of such vulnerabilities in a detention setting, along with a balanced assessment of any immigration compliance, criminality factors and expected date of removal. The greater the evidence of vulnerability, the less likely it is that the individual will be detained.
Additional safeguards are also in place which underpin detention decisions, including regular reviews to ensure detention remains lawful, appropriate and proportionate.
All Home Office staff working in the detention system are also given training and support to identify and act upon indicators of vulnerability, including recognising victims of trafficking and modern slavery, at the earliest opportunity. If an individual is suspected to be a victim of trafficking, they will be referred into the National Referral Mechanism.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
All service users that might be accommodated in initial accommodation at Yarl’s Wood will have already completed the required period of self-isolation at another location before being transferred there.
Therefore, asylum seekers will not transfer directly from Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre to the initial accommodation on the adjacent site.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
To ensure we have sufficient accommodation available to meet our statutory obligations we are planning to use a vacant site adjacent to the existing Immigration Removal Centre to accommodate single, adult male asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers on this adjacent site are separate from the Immigration Removal Centre and are free to come and go as they please.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Army is always ready to fulfil the task of protecting the nation and holds various people and units at different readiness, along with the equipment and stocks required to support them, to enable us to compete against our adversaries, tackle threats at source and reassure allies. The Integrated Review will ensure that we have the people and equipment to continue to do this.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Full Business Case for the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme is currently being considered through our internal approvals process, and is subject to commercial negotiations. It would not therefore be appropriate to comment further at this time. All decisions are subject to the ongoing Integrated Review.
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
2 Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Questions
(View all Mohammad Yasin's DLUHC questions)Most housing associations are Private Registered Providers of social housing. When providing access to their properties, Private Registered Providers must comply with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Tenancy Standard: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenancy-standard/tenancy-standard-2015 . This requires them to allocate their properties in a fair and transparent way, taking into account the housing needs and aspirations of tenants and potential tenants, with clear application, decision and appeals processes. They must also clearly set out, and be able to give reasons for, the criteria they use for excluding actual and potential tenants from consideration for allocations, mobility or mutual exchange schemes.
We have taken unprecedented steps to protect renters, whether they rent from a housing association, local council or private landlord.
We have introduced 6-month notice periods. From 29 August, anyone served a notice seeking possession will not have to leave their home over winter, except in the most serious cases such as anti-social behaviour, fraud and egregious rent arrears.
The Government has asked bailiffs not to carry out evictions in areas where gatherings are not allowed in homes and bailiffs should not carry out evictions in tier 2 (high) and tier 3 (very high) local COVID alert areas. There will also be a pause on the enforcement of evictions in the run up to and over Christmas except in the most serious circumstances, such as cases involving anti-social behaviour.
This will ensure vulnerable tenants are not forced from their homes at a time when public and local authorities may be dealing with the usual level of increased demand for services.
For those who require additional support with their rent, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. As announced at the spending round for 2020/21 there is already £180 million in Discretionary Housing Payments for local authorities to distribute for supporting renters with housing costs in the social and private rented sectors.
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
The Secretary of State meets regularly with all his ministerial colleagues.
We have taken steps to improve access to social housing for victims of domestic abuse.
Statutory guidance issued in 2012 encourages local authorities to give additional preference (high priority) to people who require urgent rehousing as a result of domestic abuse, while guidance issued in 2013 advises authorities to make appropriate exceptions to any local connection test for people moving into an area to escape violence.
In November 2018 the government issued new statutory guidance for local authorities to improve access to social housing by victims of domestic abuse who are in a refuge or other form of safe temporary accommodation: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/753667/Improving_access_to_social_housing_for_victims_of_domestic_abuse.pdf
The guidance makes clear that local authorities are expected not to apply residency tests for those victims who have fled to another district, sets out how they can give appropriate priority to victims, and encourages them to use their existing powers to support victims to remain safely in their homes if they choose to do so.
Through the Domestic Abuse Bill we are protecting the security of tenure of social tenants with a lifetime tenancy who have to flee their home to escape domestic abuse.