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1717864

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the salary threshold for visas for social workers on the recruitment of social workers from overseas.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	26146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>Social workers are recruited under the Health and Care Worker visa, and therefore are exempt from the salary threshold of £38,700 required by the Skilled Worker visa. Social workers recruited from overseas are subject to national pay scales, and therefore must be paid in line with the National Health Service agenda for change pay scales.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Helen Whately question first answered 17/05/2024 08:05:42 answering member 4527 label Biography information for Helen Whately
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1717487

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	School Meals: Processed Food
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the proportion of ultra-processed foods in school meals.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	25843
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>There is no universally agreed definition of ultra-processed foods. The term defines foods by how much processing they have been through rather than their nutritional composition.</p><p>The standards for school food are set out in The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.</p><p>The ‘School Food Standards’ define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted and those which must never be provided. The standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, including crisps, confectionery and high-sugar drinks, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They also ensure that the right foods are available for children every day. For example, one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits every week.</p><p>Compliance with the standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies and free schools. School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.</p><p>The department believes that the standards provide a robust yet flexible framework for school food provision. The government continues to keep the standards under review.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 16/05/2024 15:26:41 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1717484

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Safety of Women at Night Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new Safety of Women at Night Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	25840
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>The independent evaluation of the Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund, worth £5 million and delivered over the 2021/22 financial year, was published on 10 April.</p><p>Learnings from the SWaN Fund were incorporated into rounds Four and Five of the Safer Streets Fund, worth £50m and £35m respectively, which included a primary objective around combatting violence against women and girls in public spaces, and have funded a range of interventions including CCTV, streetlighting and educational initiatives with a focus on changing attitudes and behaviours. Round five is currently ongoing.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/05/2024 11:33:11 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1717485

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Railways: Passengers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any operators have lost their accreditation to the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	25841
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>Since the first Safeguarding on Rail Scheme accreditation for Great Western Railway (GWR) in 2021, no rail operator has lost their accreditation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 16/05/2024 12:51:04 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1717486

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Public Health
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the labelling of alcohol products with consumer health information.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	25842
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>Clear and accurate alcohol product labelling is crucial to ensuring consumers have access to essential information about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting transparency, responsible consumption, and safety.</p><p>Current alcohol labelling guidance recommends that health information, including pregnancy warnings, a drink driving warning, and the Chief Medical Officer’s weekly limit guidance, are included on the label for alcohol products. It is also a legal requirement to display alcohol by volume (ABV) labelling on drinks above the 1.2% ABV threshold.</p><p>The Department has recently consulted on updating labelling guidance for non-alcoholic and low alcohol products. This consultation closed on 23 November 2023, and the consultation response will be published shortly.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 16/05/2024 10:41:28 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1715998

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Bail: Remote Hearings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary on its decision to make second and subsequent bail applications remote by default.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	24910
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.</p><p>The Lord Chancellor is supportive of any efforts to help ensure sufficient capacity in the courts to hear bail applications and to remove principal structural barriers to applications being submitted, and he welcomes the revised guidance launched by Judicial Office which sets out that all second and subsequent bail applications to the Crown Court should be heard remotely unless ordered otherwise by a judge.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 13/05/2024 08:49:11 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1715803

	registered interest
	date	03/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Crown Court: ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the potential additional cost to the public purse for the continued use of the digital case management system as well as Common Platform by Crown Courts.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	24756
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Whilst the detailed allocation of funding to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for 2024/25 is still being finalised, the annual support cost for Digital Case Management system is expected to be £0.6 million for the foreseeable future, plus another £0.4 million to complete work on an interface between this and Common Platform in 2024/25.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 09/05/2024 14:23:05 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1714761

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2024
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing time limits on asylum cases for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	24035
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office takes our duty of care towards children and young people extremely seriously and we prioritise applications from children and young people.</p><p>The Home Office does not currently have a target time for processing applications for asylum, but is committed to ensuring claims are considered without unnecessary delay. We have already made progress in prioritising claims with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.</p><p>Introducing a service standard for asylum claims is a complex consideration which needs to be balanced between the requirements of operational efficiency, the needs of service users and the integrity of asylum control measures, including the implementation of the Illegal Migration Act. A project to review these considerations, along with scope and potential implementation timescales, will be undertaken. Once the project is completed, a final decision will be taken on any potential asylum claim service standards.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 08/05/2024 15:26:31 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1714769

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Social Services: Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of specialist (a) training and (b) accreditation on (i) alcohol and (ii) other drugs for social workers.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	24039
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>The regulator for the social work profession, Social Work England, sets professional standards. These are standards all social workers must meet. The professional standards include that social workers must be able to address social care needs arising from substance misuse. Social workers complete initial education and training and then they are supported by an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). For child and family social workers the ASYE is due to be replaced by an Early Career Framework. Post-qualification training of social workers is the responsibility of employers such as local authorities and the NHS.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 02/05/2024 16:56:02 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1714765

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2024
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Social Services: Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a social worker workforce strategy that prioritises (a) recruitment, (b) retention and (c) professional pathways.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	24038
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>In December 2021, the Government set out its strategy for the social care workforce in The People at the Heart of Care white paper. This set out our commitment to the continued success of the social work profession, and included plans to develop the domestic care workforce, including the launch of the care workforce pathway and an investment of over £20 million for adult social care nurse and social work apprenticeships.</p><p>On 10 January 2024, the Government announced a new fund to support the recruitment of social work apprentices into adult social care, over the next three years. Nearly £8 million from this fund has already been released to local authorities, and in the summer there will be another opportunity to apply to this fund.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Helen Whately question first answered 02/05/2024 09:59:44 answering member 4527 label Biography information for Helen Whately
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham