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Tag: 2021

  • Peter Aldous – 2021 Speech on NHS Dentistry

    Peter Aldous – 2021 Speech on NHS Dentistry

    The speech made by Peter Aldous, the Conservative MP for Waveney, on 25 May 2021.

    Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

    There has been an underlying problem with NHS dentistry in the Lowestoft and Waveney area for a long time, with dentists retiring, leading to resources and dental capacity being taken away from the area, notwithstanding the need and demand for NHS dentistry. Many, but not all, of the remaining practices have difficulties in recruiting and retaining dentists. The situation has been exacerbated by a lack of funding, with net Government spending on general dental practice reduced by a third over the past decade. In recent months the situation has reached crisis point, due partly to covid but primarily to the closure due to retirement of two NHS dentist practices in Lowestoft and the closure of the mydentist practice at Leiston in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey). The latter was due to the difficulty of recruiting dentists to work in the area.

    This is a national crisis. Official figures in March 2020 showed that 26% of new patients could not get access to an NHS dentist. The situation has worsened during covid, with more than 20 million NHS dental appointments lost nationally since the start of the pandemic. As has been reported today, the British Dental Association’s members survey reveals that almost half the respondents intend to stop working in NHS dentistry in the next 12 months, and two thirds estimate that they will not meet the new 60% activity targets they have been set. This is the worst survey that the BDA has ever carried out, and urgent action is required to stop dentists leaving the NHS in their droves.

    The situation is worse in Waveney. Community Dental Services, an employee-led social enterprise, has recently opened a new dental clinic in the old magistrates court in Lowestoft. That investment is greatly welcomed, although CDS highlights the challenges that it is facing in the area. It is concerned about the lack of access to NHS dental services. Lowestoft and Waveney is an area of high need for dental services, yet there is a serious lack of provision, which has been exacerbated by the backlog caused by covid and, as I have mentioned, by the retirement of well-established local general practitioners. The perceived remote location of the Waveney area and the distance from all the existing centres of dental training make recruitment difficult.

    CDS emphasises the need for a focus on prevention, particularly among children. The treatment of children under general anaesthetic for the removal of teeth that cannot be saved is the highest cause of admittance to hospital for general anaesthetic treatment in England and Wales. CDS advises that the reduction in local authority funding to support targeted or universal prevention—I am not attacking local authorities for this—has had a significant impact on the Waveney population due to reduced oral health improvement services. This limits CDS’s ability to reach out to all the people who need its services.

    The impact on young people needs particular focus. In Suffolk, the proportion of children who saw an NHS dentist fell by half due to the pandemic: 60% in 2019 compared with just 31% in 2020. This translates to 43,000 local children missing out on their dental appointments compared with the year before. CDS, which is a paediatric dental specialist, has a high number of referrals from other practices of children with multiple decayed teeth that require complex treatment, quite often under general anaesthetic. The lack of general dental services locally makes safe discharge difficult, if not impossible, thereby creating further pressure on services. This has a devastating impact on children’s life chances, and could well prevent them from achieving the best start in life.

    Covid has made the situation worse. The interruption of routine dental care and the subsequent reduction in patient appointments has created a backlog of patients. The pandemic has also meant the cancellation of and significant interruption to the dental general anaesthetic list at the James Paget Hospital at Gorleston in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), which causes greater problems. The list will recommence on 1 June, and the backlog of patients needing urgent care is substantial, but this increases the pressure on dental practices, which have responsibilities for their patients’ dental care. It should also be pointed out that there has been no consultant orthodontist at the James Paget since mid-2020, resulting in patients having to travel further for care, and for children this disrupts their education.

    I am receiving approximately 10 emails a week from constituents, many of whom are in agony, looking for an NHS dentist. Some will go private, but for many who are on relatively low wages this option is not open to them and is one they cannot afford. One constituent has been quoted £2,400 for a new front tooth and £2,000 for a bridge repair. Others who are in need of urgent attention, as I have mentioned, go to A&E at the James Paget in Gorleston. There, all that the exasperated consultants can do is to prescribe them antibiotics and painkillers. This is completely unacceptable. Another constituent, who had a new denture fitted in 2019, needed it to be adjusted as it made his mouth sore and had a poor bite. He had no option but to use his old dentures, which were worn down and had a tooth missing. He has only just seen a dentist and is now awaiting the new dentures. These are just a few cases that highlight the agonies that many people are going through.

    Andy Yacoub, the chief executive of Healthwatch Suffolk, summarised the situation well. He said:

    “We are living through a dental disaster, with little to no clear sign of when these problems will ease.”

    He also said:

    “This latest review by Healthwatch England strongly supports our own local view that there is huge inequality in the availability of NHS dental care amongst our population…This includes that some people have waited unreasonable lengths of time to get an NHS dentist appointment, while being told private appointments were available within a week.”

    In Suffolk, he said that we are being

    “inundated by feedback on a daily basis from those struggling to access these services. One individual revealed to us”—

    Healthwatch Suffolk—

    “that they required urgent hospital treatment after overdosing on painkillers to combat their symptoms,”

    while another

    “told us they couldn’t find a dentist to treat a tooth which had reached a point where it was decaying.”

    Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)

    I confess I have a slight self-interest in this, because my father was the NHS dentist in Fakenham for 34 years. The problems in North Norfolk with dentistry are terrible, with long waiting lists and people not being able to be seen. The Healthwatch report from the past day or so corroborates that. It strikes me that the contracts are some of the root causes of that, as is the disparity between the private and public sectors. What can we do to try to get more people to join this profession? I have one example in North Norfolk where, for more than 10 years, no newly recruited dentist has wanted to come and work at the surgery.

    Peter Aldous

    I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. The situation is very bad in Waveney. It is also bad in other parts of East Anglia, not least in North Norfolk and in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Paul Bristow). It is particularly bad in East Anglia, and one reason for that is that we are perhaps a little away from the centre of things, and it can be difficult to recruit people to work in the area. My hon. Friend is right that one solution is to reform the existing contract, which dates from 2006, and I will come on to that as I look at some short and long-term solutions that need to be instigated immediately.

    In the short term, I urge my hon. Friend and Suffolk colleague the Minister to take the following actions. First, we must reduce units of dental activity targets. The previous target of 20% was appropriate, but the new 45% target is wholly unrealistic. Many practices will be forced substantially to reduce the number of emergency cases that they provide and to replace them with routine check-ups that are less time-consuming, resulting in an even longer backlog of outstanding emergency and urgent care cases.

    Money that is currently clawed back by the NHS if dentists do not deliver UDAs must be reinvested in the Waveney area. Dentists under-delivering does not indicate low local demand, and any clawback should be reinvested into local dental services, not transferred to other areas. That situation is particularly prevalent in East Anglia. In 2019-20, 9.1% of total contract value was clawed back in the region, compared with 4.8% nationally across England.

    I confess that I do not completely understand the opaque world of UDAs, but I know that the system is short-changing my constituents, many of whom are in agony. For children, there could well be lifelong consequences. Some NHS dentistry practices in the Waveney and Norfolk area want to take on more patients, but they are not able to do so as the UDAs are not available. John Plummer & Associates is a privately owned family dental practice with 10 NHS practices in Norfolk and Waveney. As NHS dental practices in the Lowestoft area have closed in recent years, dentists from those practices have joined John Plummer. Naturally, their patients would like to follow them, but because no more UDAs are now available, the dentists have been unable to treat them, as they will not be able to provide adequate treatment for their regular patients. Those UDAs are then lost to the Waveney area forever. So much more NHS dentistry could be provided in the Waveney area if more NHS dentistry was allowed. John Plummer & Associates would open a walk-in emergency NHS dental service, but it is not able to do so as it is not allowed to do any more NHS work.

    The continuing problem with covid is limiting the number of people that dentists can see each day. That can be eased by installing high-capacity ventilators in dental surgeries. That will reduce the period between appointments, during which the rooms are cleaned, but most practices cannot afford that. I recognise that there is quite a bit of devil in the detail, but the Government can directly increase access to NHS dentistry by providing capital funding for this equipment, as the devolved Administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland plan to do.

    In the long term, root-and-branch reforms need to be instigated immediately. There is a need to get more NHS dentists practising in this area, and the Association of Dental Groups has put forward a six-point plan to achieve this. First, the number of training places should be increased. Earlier this month, Healthwatch Norfolk called for a dental school to be set up: based in Norwich, it would be able to serve the Waveney area and, indeed, the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker). As quickly as possible, the Government must instigate a recruitment drive, increasing the number of UK dentistry training places and introducing incentives for dentists to relocate to areas such as Suffolk and Norfolk.

    Secondly, EU-trained dentists should be recognised. Their role is vital, and there must be continued access to NHS dentistry for EU-trained professionals, thereby preventing further shortfalls from arising. Thirdly, overseas qualifications should be recognised. The General Dental Council’s recognition of dental qualifications should be automatically extended to approved dental schools outside the European economic area, ensuring a smooth process for suitably qualified dentists to work in the UK—notably those from countries such as India. That should also include the doubling of places available under the overseas registration examinations.

    Fourthly, the complex and lengthy process of completing the performers list validation by experience examinations—known as the PLVE—for overseas dentists should be speeded up, simplified and harmonised right across the country, with additional measures introduced to ensure that the process takes no longer than eight weeks.

    Fifthly, whole dentistry teams should be allowed to initiate treatments. Allied dental professionals are, at present, not able to open a course of treatment. This means that they cannot raise a claim for payment of work delivered, with many practices unable to fully utilise therapists as a result; allowing whole dentistry teams to initiate treatments would address this problem.

    The Association of Dental Groups’ sixth and final point is that the Government should create a new strategy to promote NHS workforce retention. They must reform the NHS contract, which is the major driver of dentists leaving NHS dentistry. A new contract, focused on the oral health needs of patients and targeting improved access and preventive care, should replace it.

    With regard to the forthcoming health and social care Bill, with the commissioning of dentists set to move to integrated care systems, it is vital that dentists have a voice and are properly represented on ICSs. There is a worry that the possible pooling of budgets across primary care could lead to further cuts to NHS dentistry, and everything must be done to ensure that this does not happen.

    Fluoridation of water can play a key preventive role in oral health, and it is very important that changes to the framework under which fluoridation schemes are carried out are accompanied by the capital funding that is necessary for those schemes to actually be put in place. I anticipate that we will consider this matter in more detail over the next few weeks when we debate the Bill.

    I now come to the topic of new dental contract arrangements. As mentioned, underlying most of the problems of NHS dentistry is the fact that the current contract, which dates from 2006, is inadequate and now completely unfit for purpose. It must be replaced as quickly as possible. The BDA is looking for this to happen by April 2022 at the latest, and the new contract must break with the units of dental activity, ensure that NHS dentistry is available to all those who need it and prioritise preventive care.

    My hon. Friend and Suffolk colleague the Minister is faced with a major task. From her perspective, it is unfortunate that the music has stopped on her watch. In summary, there are three things we need to be doing. I urge her, in the very near future, to provide practices, such as John Plummer & Associates, that will tackle the enormous the backlog of work with the resources to do so. We must end the cycle of retirements leading to funds being removed from the Waveney area, never to return. Secondly, we must tackle the growing scandal of children having to undergo major dental surgery. That requires much work in the short term in hospitals such as James Paget University Hospital, but in the longer term the introduction of major public awareness preventive initiatives is vital. Thirdly, the dysfunctional 2006 contract should be replaced as soon as possible.

  • Catherine West – 2021 Speech on Global Corruption

    Catherine West – 2021 Speech on Global Corruption

    The speech made by Catherine West, the Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2021.

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue.

    On behalf of the Labour Benches, I strongly welcome the new sanctions regime. It has been clear for many years that corruption needs to be relentlessly tackled as part of our wider foreign policy armoury. In fact, we have had a number of questions for the Foreign Secretary about when anti-corruption would be introduced as a heading in the sanctions regulations, so it is very pleasing that it is now there. I appreciate all the hard work that officers in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have done to focus on the fraudulent activity of global operators. It is really good to see that we are tackling this.

    Obviously when the Minister wrote his speech he probably did not realise that there would be an example of air piracy over the weekend, but I thought I would reflect on the terrible situation in Belarus, because it behoves us to respond in a way that reflects our concerns about a corrupt, Kremlin-backed financial system based mainly around energy. We know, for example, that Belarusian companies such as a subsidiary of the state oil company are active in the UK. Indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) wrote to the Foreign Secretary overnight about the subsidiary BNK UK, which is the UK arm of the Belarusian state oil company. We would like to know how the UK Government will stop the Belarusian Government using the London stock exchange to raise finance and sustain Lukashenko’s grip on power.

    We would also like the FCDO to examine the evidence for further sanctions against individuals. One whom we have named is Mikhail Gutseriev, who is known to have acted fraudulently and has stolen from his own people. We would like to see him specifically looked at. I know that the Minister will probably not be able to give an answer today, because that is not how developing sanctions works—there is an element of stealth and evidence gathering to it—but we must eliminate any possibility of those linked to the Lukashenko making money in the UK. We know that there are fewer Belarusian entities sanctioned now than in 2012. Only seven entities are currently designated, compared with 32 under EU sanctions in 2012. In the space of 12 months this dangerous regime has stolen an election, employed brutal repression against its own people and hijacked a civilian airliner, so I would very much welcome a response to that point from the Minister when he winds up.

    I also want to put on record my thanks to the late Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who questioned fraudulent activity in Russia and lost his life in prison due to violence, and to his friend Bill Browder for his ongoing work. He has worked across European nations, the USA and the UK, but is based here in the UK and is constantly putting forward suggestions for what the Government can do better—which is always a positive when it is in one’s policy area as an Opposition spokesperson.

    One of the things that Bill Browder has suggested needs to looked at is whether our crime fighting organisations are fully resourced. For example, I know from a Foreign Affairs Committee trip to Colombia—where we have concerns about corruption relating to the drug trade and about its impact here in the UK—that at that point the National Crime Agency was facing cuts to its service. I also know that the Serious Fraud Office needs more resource and more legal powers to bring more successful cases—it has not had a good record of late. All those bits of the puzzle need to be in place to bring these crooks to justice.

    Without the tireless work of people on the ground and our very effective non-governmental organisations—which understand corruption and the way it plagues rogue states such as Belarus, robbing people of opportunities and fuelling crime and illicit practices across the globe—the individuals maintaining those practices would remain in the dark, which we must not allow. The work of NGOs, like that of many whistleblowers, has uncovered appalling wrongdoing, so it is vital that their work is recognised.

    I am also pleased that the regulations contain provisions for the sharing of information and the creation of criminal offences. Corruption is undoubtedly a crime and should be treated as such, but the most effective way to tackle it is the free sharing of information where required. We cannot and should not treat this as a siloed issue. There should be a Government-wide commitment to tackling the corruption that washes up on our shores and pollutes our financial institutions.

    The Minister has been an MP for longer than me and will remember Mr Cameron’s commitment to tackling corruption over five years ago. What is his view of the status of the anti-corruption tsar in the Houses of Parliament? I remember that individual having much more of a profile, so perhaps the Minister could update me on who it is, the work he is carrying out, where he reports to, and so on, because it is important that we keep up this questioning and important that the individual tasked with looking at anti-corruption has a sightline into the work we are discussing today, so that it can be as joined-up as possible.

    When the Intelligence and Security Committee met last year, it described London’s economy and financial centres as the London laundromat. I hope that today, and through the work of the anti-corruption tsar, we can do away with that epithet, which as a London MP I object to. Sadly, however, because of the way that corruption presents itself in a place such as London, the people at the top seem to have all this money—and can even, I hear, purchase expensive properties with a suitcase full of cash. This kind of thing has to stop. We must seek greater equality; there is nothing worse than that feeling. The rich list that came out this week showed 23 new billionaires, yet we have 4.3 million children living in poverty in this country. We must do much more at the very top level to get rid of this problem.

    Before I wrap up, I want to press the Minister on a few questions for clarity and reassurance, starting first with a quick update on the work of the anti-corruption tsar in the Houses of Parliament and the transparency of the formation and operation of our sanctions regime. What does he envisage for the quarterly reporting, to ensure that MPs, civil society and the private sector can play a role in designating individuals? Do the Government intend to open a formal channel for Parliament or other NGO actors to put forward information, or will he commit to regularly reporting to Parliament? Or does he believe that that is a function of the anti-corruption lead, who is not a member of the Government? Or, does he believe there is a role for the Foreign Affairs Committee?

    As I have indicated, these sanctions are welcome and have our support, but they are still not as expansive as those of some of our closest allies. I personally appreciate the fact that the US regime is very linked with the work of both the Department of the Treasury and parliamentarians there. In any given year, Congressmen and women can bring cases against specific individuals and the US Government have to respond, which is quite a good, grassroots-up way of doing these sorts of things.

    Will the Minister confirm that the sanctions will be reviewed to bring us in line with the US? Will he also say what work has been done on the ground? This money is like a stream of water—when we close one door, it will just go somewhere else—so obviously we want to work closely with the US, which has a large economy where money could also be laundered. What diplomatic efforts will be brought to bear across the European economies? We need a solid commitment to ensure that law enforcement agencies and those tasked with investigating corruption and human rights have the resources and backing to do so.

    As a champion of the overseas territories, the Minister will be aware that the open register process will finally complete in, I believe, 2023. However, I hope he can give me his assurance of that now. This has been a very long process—Mr Cameron announced it at least six years ago—so will the Minister update me on that?

    Finally, as my Labour colleagues and I have said repeatedly, if the Government are really serious about confronting corruption, their tough words must be backed up with actions. We know that the bulk of the money coming out of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and those parts of the world is still laundered through the UK. These sanctions are welcome and should mark the start of cleaning up this mess, but we must ask again: will the Government look again at the recommendations of the Russia report, a number of which remain outstanding?

    The Russia report was delivered on the last sitting day of Parliament at the end of July last year and covered things such as golden visas, an arrangement whereby wealthy individuals can apply for a specific visa to give them entry and UK citizenship, which then allows them to donate to political parties. For example, Mr Temerko, who has donated £1 million to the Conservative party over the years, is a UK citizen but still has his business interests over there. We need an assurance that there is not still some kind of remote control arrangement between that part of the world and our economy. The Russia report recommended that golden visas be brought to an end or reviewed, so I hope the Minister can update me on that.

    Ms Fovargue, I have gone rather around the globe in this debate, but we do not get many chances to ask such questions in a free-ranging way, and I am sure that the Minister will write back to me and the Committee about whatever he cannot answer today. I thank the Committee for its patience and look forward very much to monitoring the progress of these sanctions.

  • James Duddridge – 2021 Statement on Global Corruption

    James Duddridge – 2021 Statement on Global Corruption

    The statement made by James Duddridge, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2021.

    I beg to move,

    That the Committee has considered the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021, No. 488).

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Fovargue. On 26 April, the Government laid the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021, under the powers in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. Corruption is one of the key drivers in undermining human rights, democracy, development and the rule of law around the world. It also undermines global prosperity, which reduces taxation that could have gone to fund public services. Corruption also undermines our national security and fuels conflict, and serious and organised crime.

    The new sanctions regime is a significant step forward in the UK’s leadership in combatting corruption. It will enable us to impose asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and organisations involved in corruption around the world, and will help to prevent people from using the United Kingdom as a haven for dirty money. It covers all forms of corruption, bribery and misappropriation across the globe. The regulations also enable us to target those who facilitate, profit from, conceal, transfer or launder the proceeds of serious corruption. These sanctions will not only affect those named but should send a clear message to those around the world that corruption is unacceptable. The UK will not tolerate it and we will not receive the proceeds of corruption coming into our country.

    As with all UK sanctions, we adhere to rigorous due process to ensure that the rights of individuals are respected. This means that those designated under the sanctions regime will be able to request that a Minister review the decision, and if they are still in disagreement, they will also be able to apply to challenge the decision in a court of law here in the United Kingdom.

    The Government have made immediate use of this tool, and on 26 April we sanctioned 22 individuals from six countries for their involvement in serious corruption. All the names are published online in the UK’s sanction list for these regulations, and each designation is underpinned by evidence, as required by the 2018 Act. They include 14 individuals who were involved in the diversion of $230 million of Russian state property through a fraudulent tax refund scheme uncovered by the auditor Sergei Magnitsky, which was one of the largest frauds in Russian history. We will also impose sanctions on Ajay Gupta, Atul Gupta and Rajesh Gupta, along with Salim Essa, who were involved in long-standing corruption cases in the South African economy. We have also designated a Sudanese businessman and individuals across Latin America, in particular those involved in misappropriation of funds and soliciting bribes to fund major trafficking organisations.

    The steps that we have taken to expand our sanctions framework will cover corruption as well as human rights and will give the UK powers similar to those in the so-called Magnitsky framework in the US and Canada. They will enable us to work even more closely in a co-ordinated way with likeminded partners. I therefore commend the regulations to the Committee.

  • Robert Courts – 2021 Statement on Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme

    Robert Courts – 2021 Statement on Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme

    The statement made by Robert Courts, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, on 25 May 2021.

    I am tabling this statement for the benefit of hon. Members to bring to their attention spend under the Industrial Development Act 1982 (“the Act”).

    On 24 November the Government announced the introduction of the airport and ground operations support scheme (the scheme) with the intention of supporting airports and ground handlers who have experienced the impact of covid-19 on their business while maintaining high levels of fixed costs during the 2020-21 financial year. The aim was to open the scheme in January and ensure grant payments were made to eligible businesses by the end of the financial year. Grant payments would be made using powers in sections 7 and 8 of the Act.

    Section 8(8) of the Act states that financial assistance for any one project shall not exceed £30 million, except so far as such excess has been authorised by a resolution of the House of Commons. The need to act and ensure that support was provided promptly meant that the Government were previously unable to seek such authorisation from the House of Commons.

    Section 8(9) of the Act provides that the Secretary of State shall lay a statement concerning the financial assistance before each House of Parliament if they are satisfied that the payment or undertaking to pay financial assistance in excess of £30 million was urgently needed and it would have been impracticable to obtain the approval of the House of Commons by way of a resolution.

    The need to provide urgent support to airports and ground handlers who play a vital role in the infrastructure of the country made it impracticable to seek authorisation by way of a resolution, for payments under the scheme in excess of £30 million and I am therefore tabling this statement. The details of the spend on the scheme, which opened for applications at the end of January, are set out below:

    Total of Scheme Grants

    £ 86,925,171.00

    Commercial Airports

    £ 65,075,462.00

    Ground Handling Operators

    £ 21,849,709.00

    The Government remain committed to supporting the sector and has recently announced that the scheme will be renewed for the first six months of the financial year 2021-22. Consent for the use of powers in sections 7 and 8 of the Act for the renewed scheme will be sought separately.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2021 Statement on Force in Mental Health Units

    Nadine Dorries – 2021 Statement on Force in Mental Health Units

    The comments made by Nadine Dorries, the Minister for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2021.

    Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of the Government’s consultation on the statutory guidance for the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018.

    The Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018, also known as Seni’s Law, was introduced into the House of Commons by the hon. Member for Croydon North (Mr Reed) in July 2017 and received Royal Assent in November 2018. The Act is named after Mr Olaseni Lewis, who died as a result of being forcibly restrained while he was a voluntary patient in a mental health unit.

    The purpose of the Act is to clearly set out the measures which are needed to both prevent the use of force and then ensure accountability and transparency about the use of force in mental health units. By promoting good practice, identifying poor practice, and through a greater understanding of where there are problems or issues for specific groups, we can address this nationally as well as locally. The statutory guidance sets out how we expect mental health units to meet the requirements of the Act. This consultation will seek views on the clarity, content and approach of the proposed guidance.

    This is vitally important to minimise restrictive interventions in mental health units which affected 12,000 individuals in 2019-20, and disproportionately those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

    This is a landmark piece of legislation which enjoys the support of patients, people with lived experience, voluntary and charitable sector organisations and the NHS. Today’s launch represents a significant step forward in our efforts to prevent the use of force in mental health units which would not have been possible without the tireless campaigning of the hon. Member for Croydon North and the Lewis family.

    This consultation is part of the Government’s wider reform agenda to improve support for individuals with severe mental illnesses. The Government published their Mental Health Act White Paper on 13 January 2021, which sets out proposals for once in a generation reforms to the Mental Health Act, responding to and building on Sir Simon Wessely’s review of the Act. We are also working hard to achieve our NHS long-term plan commitment to give 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illnesses greater choice and control over their care and support them to live well in their communities by 2023-24.

    The consultation will conclude on 17 August 2021. The Government’s intention is to publish the final statutory guidance and begin commencement of the Act in November 2021.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2021 Statement on the Research Collaboration Advice Team

    Amanda Solloway – 2021 Statement on the Research Collaboration Advice Team

    The statement made by Amanda Solloway, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the House of Commons on 25 May 2021.

    The Integrated Review sets an ambition for the UK to be a science and technology superpower by 2030. International research collaboration will be central to achieving this objective, and our research sector needs to be both open and secure.

    The Government work with research institutions, funding bodies and industry to ensure national security risks are understood and responded to appropriately. I and the Secretary of State for BEIS (Kwasi Kwarteng), as well as our officials, have discussed these issues at all levels within the research community. We expect institutions and individuals to make sure international collaboration is safe, sustainable and secure.

    I am therefore pleased to announce that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will this year launch the Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT). The new unit will provide an efficient route by which researchers can access advice, as well as seek confidential consultation on sensitive and emerging issues. Its leadership will operate from Manchester and advisers will be distributed across the UK, available to researchers from across the country. Advisers’ responsibilities will be limited to guidance, and they will not have enforcement responsibilities.

    The RCAT will be a BEIS unit, but its advisers will work closely with officials in the Departments for Education, International Trade and Defence, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the National Technical Authorities.

    This initiative complements a number of measures already in place to manage risk within international collaboration, including:

    Guidelines published by Universities UK, on behalf of the sector and with Government support, to help universities to tackle security risks related to international collaboration;

    the Trusted Research campaign, run by National Cyber Security Centre and Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure in partnership with BEIS and the Cabinet Office;

    one of the toughest export controls regimes in the world, including guidance recently published by the Department for International Trade specifically for academics;

    the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Academic Technology Approvals Scheme, a pre-visa screening regime expanded to cover a wider set of technologies and all researchers in proliferation sensitive fields;

    guidance from the Intellectual Property Office on protecting intellectual property known as the Lambert Toolkit; and

    our work with partners and allies, including the G7, to create international frameworks that support open, secure science collaborations.

    My Department is working hard to promote research collaboration, putting science and technology at the heart of our international partnerships. As a package, these measures are enabling this effort by making sure collaboration is safe, sustainable and secure.

  • Luke Hall – 2021 Comments on Fairer Parking Charges

    Luke Hall – 2021 Comments on Fairer Parking Charges

    The comments made by Luke Hall, the Local Government Minister, on 26 May 2021.

    This government is making life easier for motorists as we get back to life as usual and build back better from the pandemic.

    I encourage motorists and parking operators to share their views on our proposed Parking Code of Practice.

    These changes will bring in a fairer system for drivers, creating a simplified appeals process and curbing excessive charges for millions of motorists.

  • Liz Truss – 2021 Comments on Modernising the G7

    Liz Truss – 2021 Comments on Modernising the G7

    The comments made by Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade, on 26 May 2021.

    It really is now or never for the World Trade Organization. International trade only works when it is fair and when countries submit themselves to a common set of rules, and for that to happen we need a more modern and dynamic WTO.

    We want to use our G7 Presidency to address the fundamental issues facing global trade, and support Dr Ngozi in her work to bring the WTO into the twenty-first century. Like-minded democracies need to lead the charge on trade reform, because if we don’t then there is a very real danger that global trade fragments and that fewer countries end up playing by the rules.

  • George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Eradicating Bovine TB

    George Eustice – 2021 Comments on Eradicating Bovine TB

    The comments made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 27 May 2021.

    Bovine TB is one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges that the UK faces today, causing considerable trauma for farmers and costing taxpayers over £100 million every year.

    The badger cull has led to a significant reduction in the disease but no one wants to continue the cull of a protected species indefinitely. That is why we are now building on this progress by accelerating other elements of our strategy, including cattle vaccination and improved testing so that we can eradicate this insidious disease and start to phase out badger culling as soon as possible.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Amanda Spielman’s Extended Time in Role

    Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Amanda Spielman’s Extended Time in Role

    The comments made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, on 27 May 2021.

    Amanda Spielman has a wealth of knowledge and experience from her five years leading Ofsted that will be invaluable as we work to support the education sector to make sure every child is able to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

    I am grateful she will remain in place as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for a further two years to oversee a smooth reintroduction of a full programme of inspections, providing vital constructive challenge and reassurance to parents and families.