Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that the transition to the midwifery-led Continuity of Carer model is adequately resourced and supported; and whether woman who are pregnant following the death of a baby are given priority access to that service.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to midwifery-led continuity of carer, so that it becomes the default model of care for women using maternity services across England by March 2023. NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided local maternity systems with £90.05 million between 2018 to 2021 to fulfil transformational objectives, including implementing continuity of carer models. An additional £96 million was announced earlier this year, the majority of which will be invested in additional midwives and obstetric capacity.
Upcoming guidance on midwifery-led continuity of carer will include advice on the implementation of maternal medicine-focused continuity of carer teams, which could be used to accommodate women deemed higher risk due to previous loss, whilst still offering continuity of the midwife caring for them.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether covid-19 vaccines that are (a) recognised by the WHO and (b) not available in the UK will be recognised as part of a proposed vaccine passport scheme to aid working British citizens who have been vaccinated overseas.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Work is ongoing to determine which non-United Kingdom vaccines, including but not limited to those recognised by the World Health Organization, could be recognised in this country.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to extend the PE and sport premium for the 2021-22 academic year; what his timeframe is for extending the School Games Organisers contracts; and if his Department will work with (a) Go Well and (b) other organisations to ensure the long-term future of PE and sport for young people in school and outside formal education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is aware of the importance of giving schools as much notice as possible of future funding and has confirmed that the Primary physical education (PE) and sport premium will continue at £320 million for the 2021/22 academic year. Schools will also be permitted to carry forward any unspent PE and sport premium funding from the current academic year to ensure that this is spent to benefit primary pupils’ physical education, school sport, and physical activity recovery.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that School Games Organisers are now fully funded for the 2021/22 financial year. Funding beyond that point will be subject to future Government Spending Review decisions.
The Government has committed to provide an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan this year. It is working closely with sport organisations through the school sport and activity sector forum which represents over 50 organisations. The Department for Education and DCMS ministers recently hosted a roundtable with representatives of the forum to discuss the Government’s long-term approach to PE and school sport and the role they can play in supporting education recovery.
Schools have flexibility to work with organisations to support the delivery of high-quality PE and sport to their pupils. It is up to schools to decide whether to use their Primary PE and sport premium to pay for the sort of support offered by Go Well.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What support he is providing to help local authorities experiencing a reduction in income during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
We have announced a sales, fees and charges co-payment scheme to compensate for irrecoverable losses in 2020/21 where those are above the level they could have been expected to plan for. We will also extend the period over which councils must manage shortfalls in local tax income relating to 2020-21. Further details of how we will support councils to manage tax losses will be announced at the spending review.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What steps his Department is taking to expand the availability of gigabit-capable broadband throughout the UK.
Answered by Matt Warman
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit capable connectivity as soon as possible. Much progress has already been made, with full fibre coverage doubling in the past year to reach 10% of UK premises, according to the latest Ofcom figures.
This Government will continue to take action to remove barriers to network rollout and to ensure that those in the hardest to reach areas are not left behind. We have introduced legislation to make it easier for operators to deploy broadband in blocks of flats, will be legislating to mandate gigabit connectivity in new builds and will invest £5 billion of funding to support gigabit rollout in hard to reach areas.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to support the 2025 celebration of the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington railway.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the birthplace of our modern railway system, the Stockton and Darlington Railway is an important part of our nation’s heritage and I fully support efforts aimed at celebrating its bicentenary in 2025.
Through their Heritage Action Zones, Historic England is funding a £700,000 programme aimed at rejuvenating and restoring the 26 mile stretch of historic railway.
This programme will help realise the railway’s potential to become a major heritage attraction and international visitor destination.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the national funding formula for schools on levels of socio-economic inequality (a) in Sedgefield constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The National Funding Formula commits extra funding to pupils with additional needs, including deprivation, low prior attainment, English as an additional language and mobility. This is because evidence shows that pupils with these characteristics are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. In 2020-21, £6.3 billion will be allocated to 5-16 year olds with additional needs in England. Areas with high levels of additional needs will attract more funding and as a result Sedgefield receives higher than average per pupil funding. Next year, primary schools and secondary schools in Sedgefield will, on average, attract £4,496 and £5,609 per pupil respectively. This is above the national average of £4,352 for primary schools and of £5,578 for secondary schools.
Asked by: Paul Howell (Conservative - Sedgefield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase the level of per pupil funding.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
At last year’s Spending Round, the Chancellor announced a £7.1 billion increase in schools funding by 2022-23 compared to this year.
This will level up funding across the country and ensure at least £5,000 a year for every secondary school pupil next year, and £4,000 a year for every primary school pupil by 2021-22.