Tag: Nick Clegg

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary school budgets have been spent on tackling mental health problems in each of the last five years; and if the Government will take steps to protect such spending in future.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The most recent prevalence survey estimated that 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. This is why the Government has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. The Department of Health is commissioning a new prevalence survey to update this estimate for a wider range of ages, from 2-19. It is due to report in 2018. We do not routinely collect data that allows us to measure the amount schools spend specifically on addressing mental health issues.

We are committed to better understanding what schools are doing on this matter, which is why my department is commissioning an extensive survey. This survey will provide a robust national picture of mental health support provided by schools and colleges.

It is for head teachers to determine how they spend their individual school budgets to best meet the needs of all their pupils. In the Spending Review we announced that the core schools budget will be protected in real terms through this Parliament. We are also protecting the Pupil Premium, which many schools use to fund mental health provision, at current pupil rates. Within these protections, we announced in December 2015 that an additional £92.5 million will specifically be provided in the high needs element of the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) next year.

We have also made £1.4 billion available over the next five years to transform local children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services. Clinical Commissioning Groups have been required to work with others services locally, including schools, to produce plans that set out how they will transform children and young people’s mental health services locally to make them more accessible and increase the focus on prevention.

We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed. There are 22 pilot areas covering more than 200 schools across 27 CCGs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many pubs in England have asset of community value status.

Mr Marcus Jones

There are over 1,200 pubs that have been listed as assets of community value by communities all over England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent to date on legal advice from (a) the Government Legal Department and (b) external legal firms; and how much he plans to spend on such advice in the next 12 months.

Mr David Jones

The department is currently assessing the overall requirement for legal advice and the associated funding requirement over the next 12 months . To date the department has incurred an estimated total of £256,000 in fixed fee legal advice with the Government Legal Department and a further £12,711 in relation to additional billed fees and disbursements. No spend has been incurred in relation to external legal firms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has allocated funding for primary and secondary schools to employ a dedicated mental health practitioner to provide services to pupils on site.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The most recent prevalence survey estimated that 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. This is why the Government has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. The Department of Health is commissioning a new prevalence survey to update this estimate for a wider range of ages, from 2-19. It is due to report in 2018. We do not routinely collect data that allows us to measure the amount schools spend specifically on addressing mental health issues.

We are committed to better understanding what schools are doing on this matter, which is why my department is commissioning an extensive survey. This survey will provide a robust national picture of mental health support provided by schools and colleges.

It is for head teachers to determine how they spend their individual school budgets to best meet the needs of all their pupils. In the Spending Review we announced that the core schools budget will be protected in real terms through this Parliament. We are also protecting the Pupil Premium, which many schools use to fund mental health provision, at current pupil rates. Within these protections, we announced in December 2015 that an additional £92.5 million will specifically be provided in the high needs element of the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) next year.

We have also made £1.4 billion available over the next five years to transform local children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services. Clinical Commissioning Groups have been required to work with others services locally, including schools, to produce plans that set out how they will transform children and young people’s mental health services locally to make them more accessible and increase the focus on prevention.

We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed. There are 22 pilot areas covering more than 200 schools across 27 CCGs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the assets of community value scheme in protecting community pubs in (a) Sheffield and (b) England.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of the scheme in protecting community pubs in Sheffield or in England, although my officials are undertaking a review of the implementation of the policy in relation to all assets across the country. They are engaging a broad range of stakeholders – local authorities, community groups, property owners – to listen to their reflections and experiences concerning the policy and any evidence on how the Community Right to Bid is working in practice. The Community Right to Bid is seen by many stakeholders as a powerful way for local people to send a clear signal to their local authorities and to owners of assets that they are keen to have say on the future of buildings which are central to their lives.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many additional employees he plans to hire from outside the Civil Service; what roles such employees will perform; over what timescale such employees will be employed; and what the cost to the public purse will be of such employment.

Mr David Jones

The department has already started drawing together expertise from a wide range of civil service departments where there is specific relevant knowledge. Plans for recruiting from outside of the Civil Service are being considered and detailed work is underway to establish the Department’s future budget requirements, including for external recruitment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the rates of mental illness among school-age children.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The most recent prevalence survey estimated that 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. This is why the Government has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. The Department of Health is commissioning a new prevalence survey to update this estimate for a wider range of ages, from 2-19. It is due to report in 2018. We do not routinely collect data that allows us to measure the amount schools spend specifically on addressing mental health issues.

We are committed to better understanding what schools are doing on this matter, which is why my department is commissioning an extensive survey. This survey will provide a robust national picture of mental health support provided by schools and colleges.

It is for head teachers to determine how they spend their individual school budgets to best meet the needs of all their pupils. In the Spending Review we announced that the core schools budget will be protected in real terms through this Parliament. We are also protecting the Pupil Premium, which many schools use to fund mental health provision, at current pupil rates. Within these protections, we announced in December 2015 that an additional £92.5 million will specifically be provided in the high needs element of the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) next year.

We have also made £1.4 billion available over the next five years to transform local children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services. Clinical Commissioning Groups have been required to work with others services locally, including schools, to produce plans that set out how they will transform children and young people’s mental health services locally to make them more accessible and increase the focus on prevention.

We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed. There are 22 pilot areas covering more than 200 schools across 27 CCGs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information he holds on the number of community pubs with assets of community value status that have been closed or that no longer operate as a pub.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff are on secondment to his Department from the private sector; from which companies such staff have been seconded; what roles they perform; and what the cost to the public purse will be of such secondment.

Mr David Jones

The department has not incurred any spend in relation to consultants since it was created. Detailed work is underway to establish the budget required to fulfil the functions, set-up and responsibilities of the Department.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans are in place to alleviate the increased demands on neighbouring GP practices when a practice closes.

Alistair Burt

NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.

To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.

There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.