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1240345

registered interest
date	05/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve student wellbeing during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98983
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>Protecting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people continues to be a priority for this government. Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. This government is working to promote good mental health in schools and further and higher education settings.</p><p>In July, the government announced a £1 billion COVID catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020/21 academic year, to support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place.</p><p>In addition, £8 million has been invested in the ‘Wellbeing for Education Return’ project, providing schools and colleges with the knowledge and practical skills to help improve how to respond to the emotional impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. A link to this programme can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-for-education-return-grant-s31-grant-determination-letter</a>.</p><p>I have asked providers to boost their existing welfare and counselling services to ensure support services can be accessed. This is particularly important for those students having to self-isolate or who are affected by local restrictions.</p><p>Student Space, funded with £3 million from the Office for Students, provides dedicated support services through a collaborative online platform to help students access vital mental health and wellbeing resources. The platform bridges gaps in support arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and is designed to work alongside existing services. A link to Student Space’s website can be found here: <a href="https://studentspace.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://studentspace.org.uk/</a>.</p><p>We have also asked higher education providers to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of students, enabling them to use funding, worth up to £23 million per month from April to July this year and £256 million for the academic year 2020/21 starting from August, to go towards student hardship funds and mental health support.</p><p>In August, we established a cross-sector COVID Higher Education Taskforce. On 5 October, we agreed to convene a new working group, as a sub-group of the taskforce, with a specific focus on student mental health issues. The group will seek to gather direct feedback from the sector to better understand and address any systemic barriers getting in the way of good support.</p><p>The government has provided over £9 million to leading mental health charities to help them expand and reach those most in need and NHS mental health trusts are ensuring 24/7 access to crisis telephone lines to support people of all ages. Public Health England and Health Education England have also developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 08/10/2020 16:15:55 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1240346

registered interest
date	05/10/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Cycling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of cycling on (a) physical health, (b) mental health and (c) the environment.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98984
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>Cycling and walking deliver a range of health, economic and environmental benefits. These are detailed in the Prime Minister’s Plan for cycling and walking (<a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england</a>) published on 28 July which sets an ambition for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030. The plan includes a £2 billion package of funding for active travel over the next 5 years, which is the largest ever boost for cycling and walking, and which will deliver transformational change.</p><p> </p><p>A more detailed consideration of the effects of cycling and walking informed the development of the Department’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Model, the technical reports and annexes of which were published on gov.uk on 7 February (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-active-travel-investment-models" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-active-travel-investment-models</a>)</p> answering member constituency Daventry answering member printed Chris Heaton-Harris question first answered 08/10/2020 11:47:34 answering member 3977 label Biography information for Chris Heaton-Harris
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1240350

registered interest
date	05/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Counselling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the counsellor to student ratio in (a) secondary and (b) primary schools in each local authority area in England.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98985
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>Schools and colleges have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs, drawing on evidence available on effective practice. This support can come from a number of sources, including counselling. The department has published guidance on how to put in place effective school-based counselling, which schools can use to identify where further counselling support is appropriate for their pupils. The guidance is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools</a>.</p><p>The department does not ask schools to provide details of support and we do not make estimates of the level of support. Our survey of mental health provision in schools and colleges in 2016 and 2017 found that 61% of schools and colleges (56% of primary schools, 84% of secondary schools and 93% of colleges) reported offering access to a counselling service for their pupils.</p><p>The government is investing £8 million in the new Wellbeing for Education Return Programme which is funding expert advisers, who will be able to train and support schools and colleges in every area of England, and can make links to available local authority provision, including counselling.</p><p>To increase support in the long-term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. This includes introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 08/10/2020 16:03:55 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1240351

registered interest
date	05/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to assess the longer-term effect of the covid-19 lockdown on the mental health and wellbeing of (a) school and (b) university students.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98986
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>We know that across society, the COVID-19 outbreak has had an impact on wellbeing and mental health, but it has had a particular impact on children and young people. In September, Public Health England, who is closely monitoring the situation, published a report on the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and wellbeing. This report is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing-surveillance-report" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing-surveillance-report</a>.</p><p>The department is continuing to work with other government bodies, academics, the voluntary sector and private organisations to understand how children and young people’s wellbeing develops as they return to schools, colleges, universities, apprenticeships or to jobs with training. This will inform the department’s focus in providing further support. In particular, we will continue to publish our annual ‘State of the Nation’ report, summarising the evidence on children and young people’s wellbeing. The next report will include a consideration of the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak. Last year’s report is available here:<br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2019-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2019-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing</a>.</p><p>The evidence emerging over the spring and summer pointed to the importance of getting young people back into education for their longer-term mental health and wellbeing. To support the return to a full high-quality education programme we have put in place a range of measures, including our new £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return Programme. This will train local experts to provide additional advice and resources for schools and colleges to help support pupil and student wellbeing, resilience and recovery in light of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. It will give staff the confidence to support pupils and students, parents, carers and colleagues, and the knowledge of how and where to access appropriate specialist support where needed.</p><p>In higher education, the Office for Students has funded the Student Space platform which provides a range of dedicated resources to support students’ mental health. We have asked higher education providers to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of students during this period and have enabled them to use funding, worth up to £23 million per month from April to July this year and £256 million for 2020-21 academic year starting from August, to go towards student hardship funds and mental health support.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 08/10/2020 16:02:26 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1240352

registered interest
date	05/10/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of violent incidents against prison officers in each prison in England in each of last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98987
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government publishes data about violence in prisons every quarter. The latest figures for assaults on staff can be found in table 8e of the <em>Safety in custody summary tables to March 2020</em>, at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2020</a>. They are broken by year, month and prison.</p><p>We will never tolerate violence against our hard-working staff, which is why we are spending £100 million to bolster prison security and clamp down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence and crime behind bars. This money will fund tough airport-style security, body scanners and phone-blocking technology.</p><p>We are also giving officers tools like PAVA pepper spray and body-worn cameras to make their jobs safer.</p><p>Our Assaults on Emergency Workers Act increased the maximum penalty for those who attack prison officers to 12 months, and we recently announced we will double the penalty further to two years.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 08/10/2020 15:45:26 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1239749

registered interest
date	01/10/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Beer
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of breweries that have closed in England in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>The latest ONS data (as of 5th October 2020) shows the overall number beer manufacturing enterprises in England from 2011 to 2020. Business openings and closures (VAT registrations or de-registrations) are not published at this level of industry detail.</p><p> </p><p><em><strong>Number of Beer Manufacturing Enterprises in England</strong></em></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>England </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>490</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>555</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>645</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>765</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>855</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>965</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,060</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>1,125</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>1,150</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>1,135</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Source: ONS Business Counts</em></p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 06/10/2020 12:42:54 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1239750

registered interest
date	01/10/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Landfill
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the UK's waste that has gone to landfill in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>Statistics for the amount of UK waste sent to landfill are calculated by Defra at two-yearly intervals. The latest figures that are available are for 2018 and published by Eurostat – see below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><p><strong>UK Waste sent to Landfill - </strong>Thousand tonnes unless otherwise indicated</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Calendar Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Landfill </strong> (Waste deposited into or onto Land)</p></td><td><p><strong>Total waste sent to final treatment</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Landfill as a Percentage of Total waste treated</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p>48,178</p></td><td><p>205,436</p></td><td><p>23.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p>52,271</p></td><td><p>214,287</p></td><td><p>24.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td><p>50,789</p></td><td><p>214,653</p></td><td><p>23.7%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Source; Eurostat:</p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wastrt/default/table?lang=en" target="_blank">https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wastrt/default/table?lang=en</a></p><p> </p><p>By implementing measures in our Resources and Waste Strategy the Government will continue to reduce waste to landfill.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 06/10/2020 14:11:12 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1239751

registered interest
date	01/10/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Cycling: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve road safety for cyclists.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98234
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>On 28 July the Prime Minister launched ambitious plans to boost cycling and walking, with the aim that half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked by 2030. This includes a £2 billion package of funding for active travel over the next 5 years, which is the largest ever boost for cycling and walking, and will deliver transformational change. The plan includes a number of commitments which will deliver increased safety for cyclists, including the roll-out of segregated cycle lanes in towns and cities, a big increase in cycle training, higher safety standards for lorries and improved Cycle Infrastructure Design Guidance.</p><p> </p><p>The Department continues to deliver the commitments contained in the Government’s response to the 2018 Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review including a consultation on the review of the guidance in the Highway Code to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians which closes on the 27<sup>th</sup> October.</p> answering member constituency Daventry answering member printed Chris Heaton-Harris question first answered 06/10/2020 14:48:37 answering member 3977 label Biography information for Chris Heaton-Harris
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1239752

registered interest
date	01/10/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Overcrowding
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	98235
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>We are committed to reducing crowding across the prison estate which is why we are investing up to £2.5bn to provide 10,000 additional prison places to ensure we have the prison places we need to manage incoming demand.</p><p>In addition , we have already delivered 2,100 uncrowded prison places at HMP/YOI Berwyn, 206 uncrowded places in a house block at HMP Stocken and continue to work at pace to deliver modern, decent, uncrowded prisons at the former HMP Wellingborough and HMP Glen Parva sites, which are due to open in 2022 and 2023 respectively.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 06/10/2020 15:16:24 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1239246

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Maladministration
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 29 September to Questions 95101 and 95102 what estimate she has made of the number of people affected by administrative errors made by her Department which led to (a) the overpayment of benefits and (b) financial hardship for claimants in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	97592
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>DWP is focused on paying people their correct entitlement and a quality checking regime is in place. However, there are occasions where administrative or ‘official errors’ have arisen from processing or delays, which we look to correct as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>The latest National Statistics Fraud and Error statistics were published on 14<sup>th</sup> May 2020 and show that estimated losses from official error in 2019/20 accounted for 0.4% of total benefit expenditure.</p><p> </p><p>These statistics can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates</a></p><p> </p><p>Whilst the official error rate is the same as in the previous 4 years, changes to the way in which the statistics are calculated make it difficult to make exact comparisons beyond 2018/19.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is unable to provide data in response to the second question, as any request to reduce the rate of repayment due to financial hardship will have been the result of individual circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 06/10/2020 13:23:17 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 51972 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher