Tag: Liam Byrne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total spending on alcohol treatment services was in England in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Jane Ellison

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol treatment and commissioning services and interventions to meet that need, using the public health grant.

The Department of Communities and Local Government publishes statistics on local authority expenditure. The most recent year for which final data is available is 2013-14, and the statistics show that local authorities in England spent £190.4 million on alcohol misuse for adults. This figure includes spending on both alcohol harm prevention and treatment, and is not broken down between the two. Similarly, local authorities spent £70.8 million on substance misuse youth services (for under-18s), but it is not possible to break down how much of this spending went on alcohol or drugs prevention or treatment.

Figures on spending on alcohol treatment before the public health grant came into effect in 2013 are not available centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 10693, what the rate of hospital admissions where the main reason for admission was alcohol-related was in each local authority area in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12.

Jane Ellison

Alcohol-related hospital admissions for all local authorities are available via the Local Alcohol Profile for England (LAPE) tool at:

http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles

The tool holds annual data from 2008/09 to 2013/14.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the framework is for assessing quality of education and inspecting standards and safety in settings where children are instructed in madrassas.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding children in their areas, regardless of where they are educated. The statutory guidance on the Prevent Duty[1] makes it clear that local authorities should take steps to understand the range of out of school settings, such as supplementary schools and tuition centres, in their area and take appropriate steps to ensure that children attending such settings are properly safeguarded.

The Prime Minister has recently announced that supplementary schools which provide intensive education will need to register themselves for inspection. The government’s counter-extremism strategy[2] sets out our intentions to introduce this system. We will be consulting on this regulatory framework.

Intervention will apply if there are concerns about the safety or welfare of the children attending these supplementary schools. Where institutions are teaching intolerance we will not hesitate to take action. We are consulting on the coverage of this proposed scheme, which is likely to include some madrasa schools.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-extremism-strategy

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Israeli and Palestinian authorities on measures to reduce hostilities.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are deeply concerned by the recent violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. We have had a number of discussions with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority over recent weeks. We have urged both sides to de-escalate the tensions. Most recently, on 15 October, the Charge d’Affaires at our Embassy in Israel raised our concerns with Israel’s Deputy National Security Adviser. He did likewise on 12 October, with Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister. On 9 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to President Abbas about the violence, urging him to do everything in his power to reduce tensions and restore calm.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of the recommendations of the report on children in military custody published by his Department in June 2012 have been implemented.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Since the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded independent report on Children in Military Custody in June 2012, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention.

Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv held roundtable meetings with Israeli officials, most recently on 19 May. These meetings confirmed that progress is being made including a pilot to use summons instead of night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to push for further progress with Israeli officials.

On 2 June, the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns met the Israeli Military Advocate General and the Israeli Ambassador to London where the issue of child detention was discussed. She made clear that while we welcome improvements, we continue to push for the full implementation of changes and to encourage further changes in practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the consultation on the Public Health Outcomes Framework 2016-17 will begin.

Jane Ellison

The consultation on updating the Public Health Outcomes Framework was published on 3 September and closed on 2 October. We are considering the responses and intend to publish our proposals in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of children who are the children of alcoholics.

Jane Ellison

The main source for estimates of children of alcohol-misusing parents comes from a 2009 research paper which provided new estimates of the number of children (under 16 years) of substance misusing parents. The report found:

– 6% living with a dependent drinker (over 700,000 children);

– Around 26,000 babies under the age of one in England living with a parent who would be classified as a ‘dependent’ drinker.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK of alcoholism.

Jane Ellison

We do not have reliable estimates of the specific cost of alcoholism but the estimated cost of broader alcohol-related harms to society is £21 billion.

The £21 billion figure is from a 2012 estimate, which formed part of the Department’s written evidence to the Health Select Committee on 19 July 2012.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s strategy is for supporting children who are the children of alcoholics; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Parents play a crucial role in how their children develop and behave and act as role models for them and we recognise that parental alcohol dependency can limit parenting capacity and this can have serious consequences for children.

A number of initiatives to ensure that children have the best possible start in life have been introduced:

– the national Healthy Child Programme supports children’s health and development, by providing parenting support and health promotion guidance; and

– the expanded Troubled Families programme launched in April 2015 offers support on health issues to up to 400,000 families, including for alcohol and drug misuse.

We have given local authorities more than £8 billion in funding over three years so they can put the right services in place to help their communities.

Public Health England’s role in supporting local authorities undertake their public health functions is vital in reducing the levels of alcohol harm and supporting young people with parents who are alcohol dependent.

As part of this Public Health England funded the “Alcohol and other Drug use: The Roles and Capabilities of Social Workers”. This guidance sets out the key roles for social workers in relation to substance misuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of children who are the children of alcoholics who go on to misuse alcohol.

Jane Ellison

This data is not available centrally.