Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to release estimates of NHS expenditure on mental health services for financial year 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

NHS England has published clinical commissioning group (CCG) level expenditure on mental health for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £8.1 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for mental health services in 2014/15.

We continue to take mental health as seriously as physical health and to hold the National Health Service to account for achieving the objectives set out in the NHS Mandate. In the planning requirements for 2015/16, CCGs were required to invest additionally in mental health in line with their increase in allocation. The total planned additional spend is £376 million, an increase of 4.5%.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that guidance on changes to the disabled students’ allowance is easily accessible to (a) parents and (b) schools.

Edward Timpson

Reforms to the special educational needs and disability system mean local authorities must publish information in their Local Offers about support available to young people in Higher Education (HE), including Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) and the process and timescales for making an application for DSAs. We would expect this information to cover changes to DSAs.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is currently considering the responses made to the recent consultation on proposed changes to DSAs, and the government response to the consultation will be published in due course. The proposed changes aim to make HE as accessible as possible, to re-balance support between HE providers and DSAs, and to improve value for money.DSAs will remain available to complement the support provided by institutions, and students will continue to receive the support they need.

BIS has been clear that any changes implemented will take effect from August 2016 for the Academic year 2016/17. BIS will be working closely with the Student Loans Company and other stakeholders, to ensure that correct information is easily available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to widen access to the digital economy for young people.

Mr Edward Vaizey

This Government is ensuring that young people can participate in the digital economy. The new computing curriculum was launched in schools in September 2014, supporting young people to be digitally confident, and reformed digital apprenticeships are providing more opportunities for young people to gain the digital skills employers value. This Government has also launched a new digital degree apprenticeship, giving young people from all backgrounds high-level digital skills training alongside on-the-job experience.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent bleach and other ineffective treatments advertised as miracle cures being used to treat autism.

Alistair Burt

The Department is aware of the development of sodium chlorite being marketed as Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) as a cure for autism. MMS is not a cure for autism.

The Food Standards Agency has issued advice previously, first in 2010, that MMS is not safe and should not be sold as a supplement. Since then it has been working with local authorities across the country to share knowledge, and to investigate and prevent the sale of MMS and similar products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has conducted an analysis of the potential cost to the public purse of offering liposuction treatment for lipoedema through the NHS.

Jane Ellison

No such analysis has been made.

There are several different treatments available for the management of lipoedema such as compression therapy, exercise and massage. There is limited evidence on the efficacy of liposuction for the treatment of lipoedema, and it is not routinely available on the National Health Service.

In May 2014, the Royal College of General Practitioners, in partnership with the charity Lipoedema UK, developed and published an e-learning module for general practitioners on the diagnosis and management of lipoedema. The module was endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and can be found at the following link:

elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=146&popup=0

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has for the future level of beer duty.

Damian Hinds

The government continues to keep all taxes under review and decisions on tax policy are made as part of the Budget process.

The government is committed to supporting the beer industry. The tax on a typical pint of beer was cut by a penny at March Budget 2015, building on the duty cuts at Budget 2014 and Budget 2013.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the contribution of nurseries to improving literacy rates.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The early years are a critical stage for a child’s development. Nurseries have an important role in helping to ensure that all children start school with the knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

All three- and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours a week of quality early education, free of charge, to prepare them for school and improve their life chances. This is extremely successful with 94% of three-year-olds and 99% of four-year-olds taking up the current free entitlement. From September 2017, we are introducing 15 hours of free childcare a week for the working parents of three- and four-year olds, on top of the existing early education entitlement.

The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile data reveal that an increasing proportion of children are achieving a good level of development at age five: 66% in 2015, compared to 52% in 2013.

In the specific area of literacy, 76% of children achieved at least the expected level in reading and 71% did so in writing in the academic year 2014/15.

Parents also have an essential role to play in their child’s development. In September 2015, we re-launched our popular guide for parents ‘What to expect, when?’ to include a strengthened focus on language, communication and literacy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average class size is in existing free schools.

Edward Timpson

Data on the size of classes for free schools can be obtained from the underlying data of the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2015’ statistics available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015

Class sizes for free schools can be calculated using the spreadsheet.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to councils on the payment of homecare workers for their travel time.

Alistair Burt

It is for providers to ensure that they are complying with legislation and paying workers for the time they are legally entitled to be paid for.

The Care Act 2014 is clear that local authorities should ensure that care workers are paid at least minimum wage, and are paid for travel time between appointments.

We are working with local authorities and the care sector to improve social care commissioning, including supporting the sector to commission in a way that promotes quality, including meeting legal requirements on staff pay in relation to travel time.

There is clear Government Guidance on the issue of payment for work related travel time. It can be found in full on this website:

http://www.gov.uk/minimum-wage-different-types-work/overview

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on the number of people who use electronic cigarettes.

Jane Ellison

The Department does not collect any data on the number of people who use electronic cigarettes. The Department makes use of various data sources, including that published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre and the Office for National Statistics as an evidence base for policy making. This includes the Opinions and Lifestyles Survey for electronic cigarette use by adults and the Smoking, Drinking and Drugs survey for use by young people.