Tag: Cat Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs have notified cases of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison

This information is not collected in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidance, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, published in 2007, estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to make autism awareness a compulsory part of initial teacher training.

Nick Gibb

The Government does not prescribe a curriculum for initial teacher training (ITT). Providers of ITT must ensure that their courses allow trainees to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards in full; this includes ensuring that trainees are equipped to “adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils”. The standards require trainees to demonstrate that they “have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs”. It is for individual providers to decide how best to ensure that their programmes meet the requirements of the standards.

Following a review of ITT quality by Sir Andrew Carter, the Secretary of State appointed a leading head teacher, Stephen Munday CBE, to lead an independent expert group tasked with developing a framework of core initial teacher training content. This will provide further guidance for ITT providers and trainees on how the Teachers’ Standards should be applied to the initial training phase. We expect to receive the group’s report shortly and will consider their recommendations carefully and determine how they should be taken forward.

The Teachers’ Standards can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283566/Teachers_standard_information.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Post Office has spent on refurbishing the premises of (a) the 39 Crown post offices it is proposing to franchise and (b) the three Crown post offices the Post Office is proposing to close since January 2010.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of youth centres planned for closure in 2016-17.

Mr Rob Wilson

It is the responsibility of local authorities to decide how to allocate funding for youth services, according to local need. Individual local authorities would be best placed to advise on any youth centres that are planned for closure in their local area in 2016-17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2015 to Question 227804, if his Department plans to commission further research on (a) patterns of long-term prescription of dependency-forming medicines and (b) the scale of addiction to benzodiazepines, z drugs and other such medicines.

George Freeman

The Department has commissioned the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Public Health Research Consortium to conduct a study to explore patterns of prescribing for specific medicines that have a risk of dependence, using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. These include: benzodiazepines; z-drugs; opioid-containing prescription drugs for pain; and the GABA-ergic drugs, pregabalin and gabapentin.

This study will not assess dependence on such medicines, because being in receipt of a prescription is not indicative of dependence. However, it will seek to explore the circumstances in which prescriptions of medicines with a risk of dependence are issued. A better understanding of prescribing patterns is an important step in helping clinicians identify patients at risk of dependence on the medicines they prescribe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group spent on contracts with Same Day Walk-In Centres in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Jane Ellison

The data requested are not centrally available. This is a matter for Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has received on the incidence of refusals by taxi drivers to carry assistance dogs; and if he will introduce compulsory disability awareness training for drivers of taxis and private hire vehicles.

Andrew Jones

I am aware of the ongoing problems passengers accompanied by assistance dogs encounter when using taxis and private hire vehicles.

The Department has issued comprehensive guidance to both licensing authorities and the licensed industry in respect of the relevant duties in the Equality Act 2010. Any allegations of breaches of the Act must be reported to the local licensing authority to enable them to take appropriate action.

Although there is no legal requirement for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake disability awareness training, the Department’s Best Practice Guidance on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing recommends that local licensing authorities to work with the industry in their area to improve drivers’ awareness of the needs of disabled people. This includes encouraging their drivers to undertake disability awareness training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of mental health issues among firefighters; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning

The physical and mental well being of fire fighters is of utmost importance and we recognise that from time to time some fire fighters may experience challenging times because of the stressful and demanding functions of the role. The responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of fire fighters rests with individual fire and rescue authorities. The Chief Fire Officers’ Association supports them in this work through its lead on fire and rescue occupational health matters.

The Government announced in October last year the allocation of nearly £10 million to help support 200,000 emergency services personnel and volunteers, funded through the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) fines. Of this funding up to £4 million was allocated to mental health charity MIND to develop a programme of targeted mental health support and information for all emergency services personnel across England. The programme includes an anti-stigma campaign, a confidential advice line for emergency service staff, training, peer learning events and other resources to help promote better mental health in the work place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many franchise Post Office branches have (a) closed and (b) relocated since January 2010.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making the provision of youth services a statutory duty for councils.

Mr Rob Wilson

Government does place an existing statutory duty on local authorities through the Education Act 2006 (Section 507B) to secure, as far as is practicable, sufficient services and activities to improve the wellbeing of young people. However, in fulfilling this responsibility government believes that local authorities should be empowered to decide how best to secure services that meet the needs of young people within the budget that is available to them.

Government is committed to ensuring all young people can reach their full potential and has recently announced an £80 million investment in the youth sector that is being delivered through the Youth Investment Fund and the #iwill Fund.