Tag: Alison Thewliss

  • Alison Thewliss – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Impact on NHS Recruitment from Brexit

    Alison Thewliss – 2023 Parliamentary Question on the Impact on NHS Recruitment from Brexit

    The parliamentary question asked by Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central, in the House of Commons on 24 January 2023.

    Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)

    What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on recruitment in the health and social care sector.

    David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)

    What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on recruitment in the health and social care sector.

    The Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Helen Whately)

    We have record numbers of staff in the NHS in England. We are on track to hit our target of 50,000 more nurses since 2019. Speaking of 50,000, there are more than 50,000 more people working in social care since 2016. We are boosting the home-grown workforce, recruiting from the EU and welcoming health and social care workers from all around the world.

    Alison Thewliss

    It is undeniable that EU-trained medics and social care staff face extra bureaucracy and higher costs as a direct result of Brexit, making working and staying in the UK a much less attractive option. Given the pressures on all four NHSs and the social care sector, we cannot afford to turn anybody away right now, so what discussions has the Minister had with the Scottish Government about removing the barriers that the hostile environment places on people who want to come here, work and contribute to our NHS and social care sector in Scotland?

    Helen Whately

    Of course the hon. Lady would like to make everything about either Brexit or the Union—or, most often, both—but the fact is that a doctor, nurse or care worker from the EU who wants to work here can do so. We are also welcoming people from the rest of the world, and there are 12,000 more staff in the NHS in England from EU and European economic area countries since the referendum.

    David Linden

    In the Baillieston area of my constituency, one of the biggest issues people raise with me is the difficulty in accessing GPs. Part of the problem is that we do not have enough GPs. The Royal College of General Practitioners shows that 49% of EU-trained medics experienced issues with their visas, which led 17% of them to think of leaving the UK altogether. When will the Minister grasp this issue, speak to the Home Office and get rid of the hostile environment that means many of my constituents do not get access to the GPs they need?

    Helen Whately

    If the hon. Gentleman had been listening to earlier questions, he would have heard about the increased number of GPs in England, with more than 2,000 more GPs now working in England. Coming to the question of the NHS in Scotland, which is of course run by the SNP-led Scottish Government, I have heard that NHS Scotland is “haemorrhaging” staff, in the words of the chair of the British Medical Association in Scotland.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the SNP spokesperson.

    Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)

    With more than 4,000 fewer specialist doctors from the EU or the European Free Trade Association in the UK than in pre-EU referendum trends, there is clear evidence that shutting off free movement is a totally unnecessary barrier to recruitment for our care and health services. Have the Minister and Secretary of State made representations to the Cabinet to discuss the disastrous effects of Brexit on the UK?

    Helen Whately

    Yet again, an hon. Member from the SNP thinks it is all to do with Brexit, when the facts show that that is simply not the case. As I said a moment ago, 12,000 more staff from EU and EEA countries are working in the NHS in England since the referendum. However, I point the hon. Gentleman yet again towards his own party’s record in government in Scotland and the problem of the NHS in Scotland haemorrhaging staff.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2023 Speech on Windrush Lessons Learned Review

    Alison Thewliss – 2023 Speech on Windrush Lessons Learned Review

    The speech made by Alison Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

    Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)

    Whitehall sources have been quoted in The Guardian as saying:

    “The Williams review is not set in stone”.

    It would be a betrayal of that review and of those affected if there is to be no migrants commissioner, no reconciliation events and no extra powers for the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration. The Windrush compensation scheme has been painfully slow, with at least 23 people known to have died while their claims were being processed. So will the Minister confirm that none of the planned changes will affect the already ineffective compensation scheme and that the claims still outstanding will be concluded at the earliest opportunity? What confidence can those who do us the honour of coming to these islands for sanctuary, for work, for study and for love have in this Government when the UK Tory Government ignore the terrible injustices of Windrush, fail to learn the lessons and double down on attacking their fellow human beings?

    Miss Dines

    The hon. Lady should not believe everything she reads in the paper because there is no end date to Wendy Williams’ appointment, she continues to review and the Government take her views very seriously. I do not accept the premise of the “delay”. These issues are dealt with sensitively. It is important not to have a knee-jerk reaction and rush. Detailed, fundamental work needs to be done and Members must judge the “delay”—or the progress, as I would rather say—by the fact that there is a 59% success rate and so much money paid out. What is important is that the engagement, which has improved over the past three to six months, has meant a dramatic increase in the number of those taking up the scheme. There is always more to do and the Government will not say that they are doing everything right, but they are 100% committed and I do not accept that there is delay or a willingness to ditch, as is implied, the independent reviewer, whose work is so important.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he had with foodbank providers on the planned introduction of Jobcentre staff in foodbanks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Work Coaches undertake outreach work every day in local communities, and have recently been helping people with back-to-work support and advice in Manchester, where a food bank sits alongside other support services.

    The Department is in the early stages of testing the outreach activity, and will reflect on the findings.

    Where Jobcentre Plus is invited to work in partnership with a food bank provider, and where there is a local need, Jobcentre Plus District Managers will be able to apply the best practices identified.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment support allowance claimants in (a) Scotland (b) Glasgow and (c) Glasgow Central constituency stopped claiming that allowance after participation in the Work Programme.

    Priti Patel

    The available information on the number of people who have completed the Work Programme is published and can be found at:

    http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/WorkProg/tabtool.html

    The information requested for those who stopped claiming Employment and Support Allowance after participation in the Work Programme is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    “

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which companies were contracted to facilitate enforced returns to Yemen for failed asylum seekers from that country in 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    All escorting services to facilitate enforced returns are provided by the Home Office’s main contractor, Tascor. In 2014, detainee custody officers from the Pilgrims Group, who are sub-contracted by Tascor were used on one occasion on 23rd July to facilitate the enforced return of an individual to Yemen.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual cost to NHS services is of purchasing products used in the management of continence care.

    George Freeman

    National Health Service trusts are responsible for managing procurement of goods or products on an individual basis. Records associated with spend collectively across the NHS are not held centrally by the Department.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop milk banks.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The United Kingdom Association for Milk Banking promote and support the accountable provision of safe, rigorously screened donor breastmilk for sick and premature babies. However they do not routinely supply milk for mother who through illness cannot breastfeed their babies even though they would consider providing the supply of breastmilk on a case by case basis.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that all donor milk administered in the National Health Service should be from milk banks that can demonstrate adherence to the NICE guidelines on the operation of donor milk bank services.

    It is up to the local NHS in each area to consider whether to introduce a milk bank for mothers attending maternity units. There are at present 14 milk banks in NHS trusts in England.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will issue a response to the report Scientific and factual? A review of breastmilk substitute advertising to healthcare professionals, published by the First Steps Nutrition Trust.

    Matt Hancock

    I refer my honourable friend to the answer to PQ 47854.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the government of Bulgaria the issue of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community being denied the right to register as a religious organisation in Bulgaria.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are aware of the concerns of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Bulgaria. The UK supports the right to freedom of religion or belief for every individual. We would expect the Bulgarian Government to meet its international obligations to ensure freedom of religion or belief for all its citizens.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on European Social Fund allocations for the Work programme.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.