Tag: Lisa Cameron

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of women with perinatal mental health problems had access to specialist counselling in the last year for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt

The information requested is not currently collected.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is working on the implementation of a new Mental Health Services Dataset which will seek to increase the amount of data available about mental health. The exact reporting which will result from this is still being determined, but perinatal mental health has been identified as a key policy area where more data is required in order to understand the current issues with the services being provided to women in the perinatal period.

In terms of reporting that will come out of the dataset, this is likely to include reports on:

– how many referrals to mental health services identify perinatal mental health issues as the primary reason for referral;

– how many women are identified as being on a perinatal pathway when they come into contact with mental health services;

– whether women who are admitted with mental health problems are admitted to an appropriate unit; and

– the kind of care which is provided to women in the perinatal period by community mental health services.

We expect that some initial data on perinatal mental health will be available between June and September next year. This will be basic information, such as the number of referrals to mental health services that identify perinatal mental health issues as the primary reason for referral, and we expect data volumes to be low in the first instance. We will use this initial information to refine how data on perinatal mental health is collected going forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that football supporters from all nations of the UK have equal free access to their national team games aired on television.

Tracey Crouch

I share the enthusiasm of all supporters to be able to watch their home nation on TV. Where home nations compete in the European Championship and World Cup final tournaments, fans can watch them on free to air television as they are Listed Events. Beyond that it is a matter for the Scottish FA to negotiate with UEFA, under a central sales strategy, who broadcasts Scotland qualifying or friendly matches.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) female and (b) other students are encouraged to take modules in entrepreneurship and business mentoring.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The government is committed to improving the extent and quality of the careers guidance and inspiration that all young people receive. This should begin with activities to enable children in primary school to explore the world of work. Primary Futures is an example of an initiative that helps primary age children to see a clear link and purpose between their learning and their futures.

The Department for Education has funded The Careers & Enterprise Company to take a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people aged 12 to 18 in England. This work includes ensuring that all students have access to high quality careers and enterprise provision, including interactions with employers. The Company helps employers, schools and colleges and other organisations to navigate their way through the existing landscape and find appropriate careers and enterprise organisations to partner with. An example of a successful initiative is the three-year industry-led Your Life campaign, which was launched by the Government in 2014. This aims to inspire young people, particularly girls, to study A level maths and physics as a gateway to an exciting and wide-ranging career.

Entrepreneurship education is an important component of high quality careers provision. The careers statutory guidance requires schools in England to offer pupils the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and have access to advice on options available post-16 including entrepreneurship.

We are giving more young people access to a mentor to help raise aspirations, improve focus and attainment and help prepare them for the next stage in their lives. The Prime Minister announced on 14 March 2016 that the government will commit £12 million over this parliament for an investment fund to build capacity in the system to recruit and train a new generation of high-quality mentors, focussing on teenagers most at risk of under-achieving or dropping out of education. This will be supported by a national advertising campaign.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it compulsory for people working in residential care homes to be trained in (a) mental health screening and (b) bereavement counselling.

Alistair Burt

All providers of health or adult social care activities that fall under the supervision of the Care Quality Commission already have a legal duty to ensure that all staff working to provide those activities have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience necessary for the work to be performed.

The Department of Health in England is not planning to bring forward further legislative proposals to make it compulsory for people working in residential care homes to be trained in mental health screening and bereavement counselling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that regular health monitoring is in place to address the health care needs of people diagnosed with autism.

David Mowat

NHS England has been working with NHS Digital to develop reporting from the new Mental Health Services Data Set. This mandatory data set includes provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded, and reporting on these data has been prioritised. Experimental data reports on the number of people diagnosed with autism are expected to be published by the end of 2016.

The National Health Service is taking action to increase the health checks and cancer screening programmes for people with learning disabilities, including those who also have autism. In 2015, NHS England commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision so that physical and mental health problems can be identified and addressed. Information from the programme will help with what more can be done to support regular health monitoring to address the health care needs of people diagnosed with autism.

In 2015, the Department reviewed and updated the autism statutory guidance for the NHS and local authorities in England. In line with this statutory guidance, local authorities and the NHS should be providing autism awareness training to all frontline staff in contact with adults with autism.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has assigned to providing mental health services for patients with stroke diagnoses for 2015-16.

Alistair Burt

We do not hold this information centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Bahraini government on the provision of medical treatment to Mr Hassam Mushiema.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of the case of Hassam Mushiema and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. In parallel, we encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to provide additional support for educational studies to young carers.

Edward Timpson

Schools play an important part in identifying pupils who are young carers and in offering them appropriate support. That is why my Department works with Carers Trust and The Children’s Society to share tools, good practice and increase awareness in schools of young carers’ issues. Ofsted inspectors will also pay particular attention to the outcomes achieved by young carers in schools.

We have changed the law so that, since April 2015, all young carers are entitled to an assessment of their needs for support, regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how much time they spend caring.

The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund enables students from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in further education by helping them to overcome any financial barriers they face. With the help of Carers Trust, we have recently improved our guidance to the schools, colleges and training providers that administer the bursary on how they can better identify and support eligible young carers. We also have strong links with the National Association of Managers of Student Services, a network of college staff who have direct responsibility for providing appropriate support for students. We have provided Carers Trust with access to this network so they can agree in partnership how they can better raise awareness of young carers’ circumstances and support requirements.

Around 60%, of young carers are thought to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years will be attracting pupil premium funding to the schools that they attend.

Additionally, all young people who have not achieved their full potential at age 16 in terms of achieving a grade C in English and maths GCSE at the age of 16 attract extra funding to provide the educational support they need to achieve and progress. Any young carer who finds themselves in this situation will be able to access additional educational support from their school or college.

We also funded Suffolk Family Carers over £111,000 in 2015-16 to run a local project to raise awareness of young carers amongst teachers, non-teaching staff and school nurses, including a focus on young carers’ mental health, supporting Suffolk County Council’s strategy on young carers. We are now evaluating that project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department took to raise public awareness of changes to national insurance contributions that will take effect from 2016-17.

Justin Tomlinson

The introduction of the new State Pension means that contracting-out of the additional State Pension ended on 5 April 2016. This changed National Insurance contributions for people in Defined Benefit pension schemes who were previously contracted-out, as these employees paid a lower rate of National Insurance in exchange for contributing towards a workplace pension. These changes have been a part of our significant communications effort around the new State Pension.

Proposals to end contracting-out were first published in a 2011 Green Paper “A State Pension for the 21^st century” and then in a January 2013 White Paper “The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving”. Proposals went through consultation with employers, pension schemes and their representatives before the Pensions Act was passed in 2014.

In November 2014, we launched a public information campaign “Know the Facts” which included specific contracting-out press advertorials, blogs, fact sheets and digital communications. Our new State Pension resource pack has been issued to over 350 organisations and many more employers, to help support them explain the changes to their members and staff, including the change in contracting-out status for their workplace pensions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will put in place standardised data collection and reporting measures on autism better to address the clinical needs of people diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder.

David Mowat

NHS England has been working with NHS Digital to develop reporting from the new Mental Health Services Data Set. This mandatory data set includes provision for the diagnosis of autism to be recorded, and reporting on these data has been prioritised. Experimental data reports on the number of people diagnosed with autism are expected to be published by the end of 2016.

The National Health Service is taking action to increase the health checks and cancer screening programmes for people with learning disabilities, including those who also have autism. In 2015, NHS England commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision so that physical and mental health problems can be identified and addressed. Information from the programme will help with what more can be done to support regular health monitoring to address the health care needs of people diagnosed with autism.

In 2015, the Department reviewed and updated the autism statutory guidance for the NHS and local authorities in England. In line with this statutory guidance, local authorities and the NHS should be providing autism awareness training to all frontline staff in contact with adults with autism.