Tag: Ian Austin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of a vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum on (a) the process for child adoption and (b) the number of children adopted.

Edward Timpson

The EU referendum vote will have no bearing on the UK’s adoption process as there are no uniform rules applicable in all EU countries and every country applies its own rules. The adoption system in England is underpinned by the Children Act 1989 and Adoption and Children Act 2002 and associated statutory guidance. We do not collect centrally information on how many children from EU member states have been adopted in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a British field hospital for Kurdish Peshmerga; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK keeps its contribution to the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition in Iraq (including the Kurdish region) under review with wider Coalition partners, but has no plans to deploy a field hospital to the region. Any such deployment would need to be carefully balanced against medical commitments to current and future planned operations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her policy is on the future funding of BBC Gaelic language broadcasting.

Matt Hancock

During the BBC Charter Review public consultation we have listened to views across a range of issues in relation to the BBC, including Gaelic language broadcasting.

There is a successful partnership between the BBC and MG Alba for the delivery of Gaelic language broadcasting. The White Paper, published in May 2016, sets out the Government’s intention to require maintain a commitment to minority language broadcasting through the new Charter.

The level of funding dedicated to BBC ALBA and the number of hours of in-house Gaelic language programming broadcast are matters for the BBC Board to consider when fulfilling this requirement under the new Charter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published in March 2016, page 31, whether his Department has sought legal advice on its policies relating to heroin-assisted treatment; and what assessment he has made of the legal implications of those policies.

Nicola Blackwood

The prescribing of injectable opioids, such as methadone or diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) as substitutes for illicit heroin, as outlined in the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published in March by the then Home Secretary, has been an option for many years but since the late 1960s, prescribing of diamorphine for the management of addiction has been restricted to licensed addiction specialists.

The decision to prescribe injectable diamorphine for the treatment of dependence is a clinical matter, for a clinician to take in conjunction with the patient. Advice to guide these decisions is contained in Chapter 5 and Annex 8 of the 2007 UK Guidelines on the Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence. The guidelines advise that:

– “injectable opioid treatment may be suitable for a small minority of patients who have failed in optimised oral treatment.”;

– “clinicians providing injectable opioid treatment should encourage patients not to regard it as a lifelong treatment option and should regularly review their patients and the continuing necessity for this unusual and expensive treatment”; and

– The use of diamorphine “alone does not constitute drug treatment…it should be seen as on element or pathway within wider packages of planned and integrated drug treatment”.

The guidelines are currently being reviewed by an Expert Working Group, to take into account developments in the evidence base. In July 2016, the Expert Working Group published their draft update for consultation. The consultation has closed and the responses are being considered by the Expert Working Group.

Diamorphine is licensed as a medicine by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Clinicians wishing to legally prescribe it for the treatment of dependence need to obtain a licence for that purpose from the Home Office and to comply with all other legislation relevant to the safe management, use and supply of medicines which are controlled drugs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which Minister of her Department has responsibility for claims management company regulation.

Sir Oliver Heald

The Secretary of State is the minister responsible for claims management regulation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated cost to the public purse is of her Department’s comparative studies on reception baseline assessments.

Nick Gibb

Costs are not yet finalised and we cannot provide the information until the study is complete.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated cost to the public purse of developing the reception baseline assessment policy implemented in September 2015 (a) was in 2014-15 and (b) is expected to be in 2015-16.

Nick Gibb

The expenditure in 2014/15 was£82,507.81.

Costs for 2015/16 cannot be released until finalised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools which signed up to the reception baseline providers that were subsequently not approved by her Department will have their costs reimbursed by her Department.

Nick Gibb

On 3 July 2015, the Department for Education contacted schools which had selected suppliers that were not approved by the department. This communication confirmed that, should the school continue to use that supplier, no costs would be reimbursed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the costs to schools of administering the reception baseline assessment will be funded by her Department in each year of the current Parliament.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education is currently considering all spending, as part of the ongoing spending review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Ofsted in improving standards in schools; what data she uses to make that assessment; and if she will publish that data.

Nick Gibb

Responsibility for improving standards in schools lies with head teachers. Ofsted inspection is one of a range of measures which support accountability and school improvement.

Ofsted has recently introduced new school inspection arrangements and has increased the proportion of inspectors which are current school leaders. Ofsted will monitor the impact of these changes.