Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
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) reduce the backlog of ADHD assessments for children and (b) ensure continuity of care for people affected by service pauses in (i) NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and (ii) other places.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June, with the final report expected later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for clean energy projects in Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
This government is supporting clean energy projects right across Wales – from tidal stream on Anglesey to floating wind in the Celtic Sea - which will create jobs, deliver regional growth and accelerate our drive towards lower bills for households and businesses.
Our new Clean Energy Jobs Plan sets out how we will at least double the number of jobs supported by clean energy industries in Wales by the end of the decade.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the availability of funding for a fixed-link viability study to the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of the availability of funding for a fixed-link viability study to the Isle of Wight. We believe that decisions on transport interventions for a local community are best made at local level and it would be for the Local Authority to lead any feasibility study work.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children died while receiving inpatient mental health care in each year since 2010; and what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) these deaths are properly (i) recorded and (ii) investigated and (b) future deaths are prevented.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2013, there has been a total of 40 deaths of young people aged under 18 years old in contact with Tier 4 inpatient children and young people’s mental health services, including those on home leave, or who had absconded. We are unable to provide the information broken down by year as requested, as the annual data held by NHS England includes a small patient count of fewer than five cases which could lead to the identification of individuals. Data is not available prior to 2013.
All deaths of children and young people under the care of Tier 4 services are routinely reported to the Department via NHS England. Such deaths are also notified to the Care Quality Commission and the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health.
With regards to investigating inpatient deaths, the NHS Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), introduced in August 2022, promotes four core principles to inform learning from safety events: compassionate engagement; systems-based learning; proportionate responses; and supportive oversight. While PSIRF represents a significant improvement to the way that the National Health Service responds to patient safety incidents, it does not alter the requirements set out in the National Learning from Deaths policy framework. These require a patient safety incident investigation to be undertaken into any event where problems in care are thought more likely than not to have led to the death of a patient.
To help ensure that future deaths are prevented, NHS England has radically redesigned the children and young people’s inpatient model of care, working in partnership with hundreds of children, young people, and their families. One of the key recommendations from working with families through the Quality Transformation Programme was to change the service model to enable families to stay overnight at inpatient services to maintain the connection with their loved one and, critically, to ensure that the delivery of care at a point during a crisis is seen as being delivered to the young person, as well as their family and support network. These recommendations have been built into the new service model. NHS England is in the process of testing the new service model through the use of a development service specification.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using a UK-based manufacturer to build the Border Force’s replacement cutters and coastal patrol vessels.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force Maritime Command is the UK’s national sea-going law enforcement body. Its Cutter and CPV fleet tackles the whole range of law enforcement duties, including preventing and deterring importation of illegal drugs, organised people crime and other threats.
Renewal of the Border Force fleet remains a key Departmental priority.
A dynamic UK shipbuilding sector has potential to play a key role in creating and sustaining jobs and in ensuring shared prosperity around the country.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people fleeing domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Our ambitious, cross-government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls will seek to drastically improve the system for all victims. This year the Home Office has invested £19.9 million to support victims and prevent violence against women and girls. This includes £6 million for helplines and £1.96 million into the flexible fund to support victims to flee abuse.Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take legislative steps to allow people over 18 to be formally adopted by their families.
Answered by Janet Daby
The adoption of a child is about ensuring that a child has a permanent family, with the adopter taking legal and parental responsibility for them. At the age of 18, parental responsibility is no longer relevant, as an adult assumes responsibility for themselves. Introducing adoption for over 18s is not a priority as there is no legal imperative to introduce adult adoption. Legal processes, such as the making of a will, already enable individuals to pass on inheritance or financial rights without adoption being necessary. Similarly, the ability to legally change names through deed poll means that adoption is not the only way to share a family name.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help prevent international dentists entering the UK on NHS-sponsored Health and Care Visas leaving the NHS for private practice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The immigration system will allow those who meet the visa requirements, such as having a job offer from an approved sponsor and being paid the appropriate salary, to come to the United Kingdom to be dentists. It does not differentiate between those who wish to provide National Health Service dentistry from those who may wish to work in private practice.
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to enable registered providers to bid for section 106 housing on the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the ongoing challenge posed by the reduced appetite of Registered Providers of social housing to buy affordable homes delivered under Section 106 agreements. We will continue to work with housebuilders, local authorities, and Registered Providers to tackle this problem.
One of the causes of this ongoing challenge is a reduction in Registered Providers’ financial capacity over recent years. The government recognises that Registered Providers need support to build their capacity and increase their contribution to affordable housing supply. We have consulted on a 5-year social housing rent settlement, to give Registered Providers the certainty they need to invest in new housing. The consultation closed on 23 December; we are carefully considering the feedback we received and will respond in due course.
We have also announced that councils will be allowed to keep 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales, so that they are better able to build and buy new homes. We have provided flexibility for councils to combine Right to Buy receipts with Section 106 contributions (this flexibility will be in place until the end of 2025-26 and then subject to review).
Asked by: Richard Quigley (Labour - Isle of Wight West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) routes to naturalisation, (b) fee exemptions and (c) special considerations are available to foreign nationals who have completed a period of Crown Service as a civilian working overseas for British Military; and if her Department will make an assessment of whether B1 English tests are necessary for each of visa renewal where the applicant holds existing Ofsted accreditation as an English Teacher.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign nationals who have completed a period of Crown service overseas are able to apply for naturalisation. British nationality law allows for discretion to be exercised over some of the residence requirements for naturalisation applications, if the customer can demonstrate they were in Crown service.
In most cases, people seeking to settle or naturalise in the UK will need to prove they have the required level of English depending on the route they are applying under. The English language requirement for each visa route is set out within the Immigration Rules for each individual route.
Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules sets out how an applicant can meet this requirement. The English language requirements for naturalisation applications are set out in The British Nationality (General) Regulations 2003. This includes information about the options available to demonstrate the required level of English.