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Tag: Cat Smith

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender prisoners received into prison in the last 12 months have been held in the segregation unit.

    Caroline Dinenage

    This information is not held centrally. As my Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, committed to the House on 20 November, my Department will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will conduct an assessment of the extent to which Atos and Capita use supporting letters when conducting personal independence payment assessments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Healthcare Professionals and DWP Decision Makers give full consideration to all information provided when assessing Personal Independence Payment claimants.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the role of personal independence payment assessment providers in the increase in processing time between the case referral to assessment provider to return from the assessment provider to the government office since July 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following a controlled start from July 2015, full Personal Independence Payment (PIP) roll-out commenced in October 2015, with an increase in the numbers of existing Disability Living Allowance claimants being asked to claim PIP.

    In addition and in order to improve the customer journey, the Department has made some changes to the way in which it monitors Assessment Provider performance. These changes mean that Providers now have more time in which to complete assessments and return reports to the Department and also gives them greater flexibility to obtain further evidence to support claims: this therefore allows more time for scheduling appointments that better suit claimants and Assessment Providers, increases accuracy in assessments and reports and ensures opportunities for paper based reviews are maximised thereby reducing the demand for face-to-face appointments. Although these changes may see slightly longer average clearance times, they remain within expected levels.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34792, when she expects the confidential advice line to become available.

    Mike Penning

    The Blue Light Infoline is available now and offers confidential, independent and practical support, advice and signposting around mental health and wellbeing. The Infoline is for emergency service staff, volunteers and their families and helps keep them or those they care about well for work. The infoline can be contacted on 0300 303 5999, or by email on bluelightinfo@mind.org.uk or by text on 84999

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will conduct an investigation into historical cases of birth defects caused by sodium valproate and the support now required by the families affected.

    George Freeman

    Valproate is an effective treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorder but should only be used in girls and women of childbearing potential if other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated. For some women there may be no other treatment option. Since it was authorised, valproate was known to have risks in pregnancy. Because of ongoing concerns about women’s awareness of the risks, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has worked with professional bodies, voluntary organisations and patient groups to develop a set of materials to aid communication between health professionals and women and girls.

    The valproate toolkit comprises booklets for healthcare professionals, a reminder card and a guide for women, a checklist for prescribers and clear package labelling carrying a prominent warning about use in pregnancy. It was widely disseminated on 8 February 2016 through a Central Alerting System (a web based cascade system for issuing alerts to the National Health Service) and the MHRA’s Drug Safety Update bulletin. Electronic copies of the toolkit are hosted on several websites including the Electronic Medicines Compendium. Letters and hard copies of the toolkit were sent by the marketing authorisation holder directly to general practitioners (GPs), pharmacists and relevant specialists. This included 400,000 patient cards, 81,000 patient guides and 22,000 healthcare professional booklets.

    In order to monitor the effectiveness of the valproate toolkit, the MHRA has sought feedback from all stakeholders and will continue to work with the Royal Colleges, professional bodies including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, patient groups and relevant charities to increase awareness of the toolkit among GPs, pharmacists and patients.This work will include exploring how clinical commissioning groups can help ensure the toolkit materials are being used.

    So far, the MHRA has worked with voluntary organisations and patient groups to produce online patient surveys to measure awareness of the risks among patients. Furthermore, MHRA is conducting a study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to track changes in prescribing of valproate to women and girls following the communications to healthcare professionals and patients on the risks of valproate in pregnancy. The marketing authorisation holder is conducting Europe-wide studies to measure the changes in patterns of prescribing and awareness of the healthcare professionals of the risks. The available data will be brought together in a regularly updated dashboard that will be used to track the impact of the communications on patient and professional awareness over time.

    The Government has great sympathy for those families who have been affected by the use of valproate in pregnancy. There is support available for families with children born with a disability. For many people this will involve an early intervention programme from health visitors and midwives, to help a child develop, as well as provide support to the family. This might include: speech and language therapy – to help with any problems communicating or feeding; physiotherapy – to help with any muscle weakness or movement difficulties, and individual home teaching programmes.

    Where a child has a special educational need the local authority must make support available to ensure the child had access to the same educational opportunities as a child without such a need. The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced a new statutory framework for local authorities and to work together to secure services for children and young people – up to the age of 25 – who have special educational needs or disability, across education, health and social care.

    The MHRA’s current priority is to work to ensure that women taking valproate are fully aware of the risks in pregnancy. Once this is achieved we will look into the history of the episode and see what lessons have been or could be usefully learnt by examining events.

  • Cat Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Cost of Living for Pensioners

    Cat Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Cost of Living for Pensioners

    The parliamentary question asked by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.

    Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)

    What steps his Department is taking to support pensioners with increases in the cost of living.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Laura Trott)

    All pensioner households are in the process of receiving an extra £300 to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter. For those in receipt of pension credit, the second cost of living payment of £324 was issued in November.

    Cat Smith

    Rural pensioners face additional challenges to the cost of living crisis, and I have recently heard from constituents in the villages of Forton and Winmarleigh who are still waiting for information from the Government on the payment of the alternative fuel payment scheme, as they are off grid. Additionally, the removal of the Bay Plus Megarider bus ticket has increased the price of bus tickets, which may not directly affect those pensioners, but where they are supporting adult children and school-age children in their households, it is impacting on their family budgets. What steps are the Government taking to support pensioners who live in rural parts?

    Laura Trott

    I recognise a lot of the challenges that the hon. Lady mentions, and this is why we are giving pensioners £850, and people on pension credit £1,500, to get through this winter.

    Sir David Evennett

    I welcome my hon. Friend to her position and I would like to thank her for the answer she has just given us. I wish her well in her job. The Government’s £300 boost to the winter fuel payment will give pensioners vital support this winter, and I know it is much appreciated by my constituents. However, will she join me in encouraging pensioners on low incomes to look into whether they are eligible for pension credit and to submit an application for this additional support as soon as possible?

    Laura Trott

    I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He is, as always, absolutely right. I know that he visited Age UK recently and raised these issues. It is vital that any pensioners receiving less than £182.60 a week look into whether they are eligible for pension credit, and if they are, they should try to claim it before 18 December, because the cost of living payment of £324 can be backdated.

  • Cat Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Supporting Youth Services in the Voluntary Sector

    Cat Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Supporting Youth Services in the Voluntary Sector

    The parliamentary question asked by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in the House of Commons on 1 December 2022.

    Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)

    What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the voluntary sector in delivering youth services.

    Mr Speaker

    Welcome back, Minister.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)

    Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

    This Government know the importance of local youth services, and we have guaranteed that by 2025 every young person in England will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities. That is a clear commitment based on feedback from 6,000 young people, supported by £560 million of funding.

    Cat Smith

    Last week I had the pleasure of spending my Wednesday evening with a group called the Squirrels, which is the new expanded offer from the Scouts, offering four and five-year-olds the opportunity to engage in new services. It was perhaps a refreshing change from this Chamber to spend time with 20 or so four and five-year-olds. More seriously, research by the Scouts has raised concerns about the rising cost of living, with parents unable to afford some of the fees for those services. In addition, the cost of delivering those services with rising rents and energy bills is putting pressure on organisations such as the Scouts. What support can the Government give to organisations such as the Scouts, which offer so many opportunities for young people, to help them meet that need?

    Stuart Andrew

    The hon. Lady is right to praise the work of many of our non-military uniformed youth groups. I am pleased to say that, in trying to tackle many of the waiting lists across England, we will be investing about £15 million in the area. I also recognise the additional cost of living pressure and am working with the sector to ensure that we feed in all the issues that it faces to the Departments that are looking at them for the long term.

  • Cat Smith – 2022 Speech on the Avian Influenza Outbreak

    Cat Smith – 2022 Speech on the Avian Influenza Outbreak

    The speech made by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons on 30 November 2022.

    I pay tribute to the poultry farmers of Lancaster and Fleetwood, many of whom I have had some very challenging and emotional conversations with in recent months. Clearly, the poultry industry is facing huge challenges from labour shortages, and the avian influenza outbreak is further compounding those challenges. Colleagues have articulated well the challenges posed by the compensation scheme not meeting the needs of those businesses. The scheme clearly does not work. I am sure the Minister will have heard that loud and clear from colleagues, so I will not dwell on it.

    On the issue of biosecurity, which will not stop this pandemic but is a very important part of controlling the speed of transmission, I tabled a written question about what conversations the UK Government are having with devolved nations regarding the housing of birds. I gently ask the Minister to look again at his response, which was basically to explain devolution. I am well versed in how devolution works; what I would like to know is what the Government are doing to come up with a UK-wide response that controls the speed of transmission of the disease.

    David Duguid (Banff and Buchan) (Con)

    I appreciate the point the hon. Member is making about the need for a UK-wide approach. She and the Minister may be aware that there have been five outbreaks in Scotland in as many weeks, all of which have been in my constituency. My constituency happens to be in the north-east, but as I think the hon. Member mentioned earlier, if it was closer to the border, that would be more of a concern in Cumbria and other places in north England. Will she join me in asking the Scottish Government—or the SNP representative, the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Steven Bonnar)—to comment on that?

    Cat Smith

    I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. Indeed, the fact that the outbreaks in Scotland have been so far from the border highlights the speed with which this disease is spreading and the requirement for us to act in a co-ordinated way, not just with different Governments in the UK but with our European neighbours. The whole nature of the disease is that birds move around, and wild birds are obviously spreading it. Many of my constituents have raised with me the difficulties they now face in getting insurance for their farms, so will the Minister touch on any support that the Government might be able to give farmers with that particular issue in the years ahead?

    One issue that has not yet come up is that of free range. I have a lot of free-range egg producers in my constituency. Currently, of course, there is a 16-week grace period during which a farm can maintain its free-range status. It is likely that a lot of those producers are going to breach that 16-week grace period because of the status of the avian influenza outbreak, and they will face additional costs from rebranding their products, which will no longer be free range, at the end of that period. What specific support will be provided to those free-range egg producers, who are going to face particular challenges?

    Vaccines are probably the only way out of this situation, and that is going to involve huge Government support. Colleagues have already touched quite a lot on this issue, but it is going to involve an international effort, so I would like to hear from the Minister what steps the Government are taking internationally on vaccines. Given that 50% of the UK’s protein comes from consuming poultry products, this is actually a food security issue. Indeed, the speed of the response is so critical because farmers will be making decisions in February about whether they go ahead with producing turkeys and geese for Christmas 2023. February is not that far away, and farmers will be making those decisions in the coming weeks. This could have long-term effects. Even if a vaccine were discovered tomorrow and rolled out, the reality is that if we have not taken control of this avian flu outbreak by February, then we will be looking at the consequences into the coming years.

    Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)

    I am grateful to the hon. Lady, a fellow Lancashire MP, for giving way. Many of the farmers in her constituency are associated with the farmers in South Ribble. I want to emphasise her point about decisions and the future of the industry. Does she agree that it would be great if the Minister could provide some certainty, not only to clarify the rules on farm access, but to keep people in the industry, because they are seriously considering their future?

    Cat Smith

    I thank my Lancashire neighbour for making that point; she is absolutely right. Farming is a difficult industry. It is not an easy way to make a living. When I speak to farming constituents, many of them tell me that they are concerned about whether their children will go into the industry. In fact, many want their children to have more secure work and an easier way to make a living. That concerns me, because this is an issue of food security. I completely agree with the hon. Lady. To echo her point, I urge the Government to take prompt action and to communicate it clearly with the farming community.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in Lancaster and Fleetwood comply with NICE guidance.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect clinical commissioning group (CCG) data for routine accountability purposes as it is for NHS England to assess the performance of each CCG to ensure that they are commissioning safe, high quality and cost effective services, to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Public Health England is however commissioned by the Department to collect self-assessment data from local authorities and their partners on how the Autism Strategy is being implemented locally. The next exercise will commence in the spring of 2016 and this will include consideration of waiting times in local authority areas.

    NHS England has been working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to develop the Mental Health Services Data Set. This will include provision for the diagnosis of autism in children to be recorded. This mandatory data set will, for the first time, provide ‘real time’ data about diagnosis rates. The data will be published and available to support and develop services. NHS England has a commitment, over the next five years, to improve waiting times and this data will be invaluable for this.

    For details of the position in Fleetwood and Lancaster in relation to autism diagnostic waiting times I refer to the answer given on 28 October 2015 to Question 12595.

    “

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to disabled refugees from Syria who are currently in Europe.

    Richard Harrington

    The UK is prioritising its support and aid efforts where the need is greatest. Only a small percentage of Syrians displaced from Syria are seeking asylum in Europe; the vast majority remain in Syria and neighbouring countries. Those that remain in the immediate region around Syria are more likely to be particularly vulnerable and this is rightly where our focus remains. We are the second largest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid to the Syrian crisis with £1.12 billion already pledged.

    With assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees we will identify the most vulnerable Syrian refugees who cannot be effectively supported in the region for resettlement through our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme with the aim of resettling 20,000 refugees during this Parliament.

    The UK is not providing direct resettlement or other support to asylum seekers in other Member States. The UK is already providing practical support to those Member States who are experiencing particularly serious pressures and will provide a further ten personnel to the European Asylum Support Office.