Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's plans for living with covid-19, what plans he has to reduce the mortality rate of those dying with covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The best defence against COVID-19 infection and the risk of mortality is vaccination. As of 10 April 2022, 85.5% of the population in England aged 12 years old and over had received two doses of vaccine and 72.3% of those aged over 18 years old had received a third primary dose or booster vaccination.
On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose to some individuals in a spring COVID-19 vaccination programme. The primary aim of the programme is to reduce the risk of severe disease and therefore mortality among those deemed most at-risk. A further dose is being offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed.
For those who are ineligible for the vaccine or who have been vaccinated but do not develop sufficient immunity, antiviral and other treatments are available. The Government has secured 4.98 million patient courses of oral antiviral treatments to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom. The most recent data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that mortality rates due to COVID-19 in England decreased to 55.3 deaths per 100,000 people in February 2022 from 79.3 in January 2022.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to roll out a covid-19 booster injection for elderly and clinically extremely vulnerable people.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government accepted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice to offer a further booster dose to those aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and the immunosuppressed. The UK Health Security Agency’s data shows that as of 10 April 2022, more than 1.3 million people aged 75 years old and over and more than 35,000 immunosuppressed people in England have received at least three doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccination appointments are available via NHS.UK or 119. Hundreds of walk-in centres are also available to those eligible without an appointment. In addition, local National Health Service teams are also offering vaccinations in care homes.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of extending the covid-19 booster vaccination programme in Spring 2022 to (a) NHS staff and (b) people over the age of 50.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We have regular discussions with stakeholders on a range of issues related to the COVID-19 vaccination programme. On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer a further dose to those aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and the immunosuppressed. The primary aim is to reduce the risk of severe disease in the population therefore the most vulnerable groups have been prioritised for vaccination in the spring programme. The JCVI continues to consider the latest available data on the timing and value of any further doses.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to (a) capture data on and (b) provide support for older victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Domestic abuse has no place in our society and this Government is committed to improving our support to those who suffer at the hands of abusers. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection of victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. The Government recognises that older people can also be victims of domestic abuse and the new statutory definition of domestic abuse encompasses such victims.
Data on domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police by age of victim can be found in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2021 in Tables 4 and 10 here: Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
The age range for respondents eligible for the domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking self-completion module of the Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW) was expanded in April 2017, changing from adults aged 16 to 59 years to adults aged 16 to 74 years. For future data collections as part of CSEW, the ONS will be removing the upper age limit when estimating the number of adults affected by domestic abuse. This will allow us to better monitor the prevalence of domestic abuse amongst older people and further integrate older people’s experiences into conversations and policy decisions around domestic abuse.
Last week, we published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems processes in place needed to deliver these goals. The Plan is informed by the unprecedented 180,000 responses we received to our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Call for Evidence, and relevant data,
literature, and input from experts.
The Plan, investing over £230 million into tackling these crimes, sets out a holistic package of support to ensure that every victim or survivor can get the support they need. We will also monitor their needs and reflect changes in our policy. This individualised approach will help to take the onus off victims and survivors by ensuring support is tailored to them, no matter how complex their needs.
The Plan sets out several key indicators we will use to determine its effectiveness, and we will monitor changes in the prevalence of domestic abuse through the Crime Survey for England and Wales. This year (2021-22) the Home Office is providing the organisation Hourglass with just over £200,000 to support elderly victims of domestic abuse. This funding will also provide casework support, train specialist independent domestic violence advocates and enhance their helpline. This means that Hourglass now operates the UK’s only 24/7 helpline to support older victims of domestic abuse.
The Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care are jointly leading the Safe Care at Home Review. The Terms of Reference for the review were published on 24th February 2022. The review is looking at the protections and the support available to adults at risk of or experiencing abuse in their own homes from people providing their care, including older victims who are more likely to have care and support needs. As part of the review, we are coordinating inputs from disabled people, carers organisation and other interested parties. The Review is expected to complete before the end of 2022.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans for NHS and social care staff to be vaccinated again after 10 weeks of receiving their booster vaccine to enable continued protection against covid-19.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 21 February 2022, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised offering second booster doses to some individuals as part of the spring COVID-19 vaccination programme. The primary aim of the programme is to reduce the risk of severe disease across the population. For this reason and because protection against severe COVID-19 appears to decline slowly, the most vulnerable groups have been prioritised for a further booster vaccination this spring.
COVID-19 is more serious in older people and those with a weakened immune system. Protection from the vaccine may be lower and may decline more quickly. For this reason, people aged 75 years old and over, those in care homes and those aged 12 years old and over with a weakened immune system are being offered this booster dose.
This dose is being offered as a precaution to those at extremely high risk, most of whom received their first booster approximately six months ago. If the number of infections increases over the summer, this will reduce the risk of vulnerable people being admitted to hospital with COVID-19.
There are no current plans to offer this booster to National Health Service and social care staff. The JCVI continues to consider the latest available data, particularly in relation to the timing and value of any further doses.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the spring booster vaccine is not being offered to people under the age of 75 with (a) motor neurone disease and (b) other underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk from covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose to individuals as part of the spring COVID-19 vaccination programme. The primary aim of the programme is to reduce the risk of severe disease. As protection against severe COVID-19 disease appears to decline slowly, the most vulnerable groups have been prioritised for vaccination.
The programme targets the oldest age groups and those who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19. A dose will be offered to those over the age of 75 years old, residents in care homes for older adults and the immunosuppressed. The JCVI continues to consider the latest available data in relation to the timing and value of further doses.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the next covid-19 booster jab is not being offered to people under the age of 75 with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose to some individuals. The primary aim is to reduce the risk of severe disease across the population. As protection against severe COVID-19 disease declines slowly, the most vulnerable groups have been prioritised for vaccination.
A dose will be offered to those over the age of 75 years old, residents in care homes for older adults and those aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed. The JCVI continues to consider the latest available data on the timing and value of further doses.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the quantity of homes available for elderly residents to support access to secure accommodation in later life.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Planning Policy Framework already sets out that local authorities should assess the types of specialist housing needed for older people, and this should be reflected in their local planning policies. We also continue to review the departmental programmes and engage with key stakeholders, ahead of setting out a proposed way forward for the planning reforms.
Furthermore, we have recently announced a new taskforce on the issue of older people's housing, which will look at ways we can provide greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people, and support the growth of the sector in this country. This work will be taken forwards in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to children who live in children's homes.
Answered by Will Quince
Children’s social care in Northern Ireland is a transferred power, making it a devolved matter. The answer reflects the position in England.
Children’s homes provide care for some of the most vulnerable young people unable to live with their families. This includes children who have suffered abuse or neglect, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, children on remand, and children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, disabilities, special educational needs, or mental illnesses.
Local authorities have primary responsibility for the children in their care. They have a formal role as ‘corporate parents’. Their responsibilities include identifying which children should come into the care system, ensuring there is sufficient accommodation locally to meet the range of needs of looked after children in their area, safeguarding and promoting their wellbeing, ensuring that children’s education and health needs are met, and supporting care leavers.
The government provides funding and support to local authorities to help them meet all their duties to looked after children, including those in children’s homes. As well as providing safe, excellent quality care, the government wants to ensure that all homes can meet each child's individual needs and enable them to achieve the best possible outcomes.
For example, it has ensured that all looked after children have top priority in school admissions, and all local authorities must appoint a virtual school head with a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care. The government has funded eight Staying Close pilots to test an enhanced offer for young people leaving residential care. Additionally, the government will invest £140 million to introduce new national standards for unregulated provisions for older children.
Although we are making progress, the sector still faces challenges. The independent review of children’s social care commenced in March 2021, with Josh MacAlister as Chair. It is looking at how the government can make the system work better.
The review is taking a fundamental look at the needs, experiences, and outcomes of the children supported by children’s social care. It is drawing on a broad range of expertise and prioritising hearing the voices of children, young people, and adults that have received the help or support of a social worker, or who have been looked after. The review is looking at the whole system of support, safeguarding, protection and care, and the child’s journey into and out of that system. We expect it to point to new directions in children’s social care and directly improve the lives of vulnerable children.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of children in local authority care; and if his Department will take steps to ensure the safety of children by ensuring that (a) all settings are regulated by Ofsted, (b) children are not placed in care outside their local authority area due to lack of appropriate placements and (c) children are cared for by more than two staff members at any one time.
Answered by Will Quince
Local authorities have statutory duties to meet the needs of children they look after, and to keep them safe. The government is committed to ensuring that all placements provide children and young people with the care and support they need.
The vast majority of looked after children live with foster carers or in a children’s homes. Foster carers and children’s’ homes are already subject to robust regulatory checks and balances by Ofsted, to ensure that they meet the needs of children they accommodate and keep them safe. A growing number of older children live in supported accommodation, often termed ‘unregulated provision’ because it is not currently registered and inspected by Ofsted.
The department will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards, Ofsted registration and inspection for these providers. This will mean that all placements that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 will now be regulated by Ofsted.
Where local authorities place a young person out of area, there are clear statutory requirements in place to safeguard young people. These require the placing authority to inform the host authority before confirming the placement and to check whether the host authority is aware of any concerns about the setting. The statutory responsibilities for looked after children remain with the placing local authority and Director of Children’s Services who must approve all distant placements, and Ofsted can challenge where they believe a poor decision has been made.
In October 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £259 million capital funding which will provide high quality homes for some of our most vulnerable young people, keeping them closer to families, schools, and health services.
When local authorities make a placement decision, they are responsible for ensuring the placement is suitable. This includes ensuring staff who will be looking after the child at the setting are appropriately trained and have the skills needed to meet the needs of the child and keep them safe. It is not in accordance with the law to place a looked after child in a setting that does not meet their needs and keep them safe, and it is unacceptable for any child or young person to be placed in such a setting.