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1126817

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Religion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to improve his Department's ability to assess asylum applications made on the grounds of religious or belief-based persecution.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	254745
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office has been working closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Asylum Advocacy Group (AAG) for many years, to help improve their approach to religious based claims and have recently worked with them recently to develop and produce a specialist training package.</p><p>The Asylum Learning and Development Team started to deliver the specialist training package on religious claims on Monday 8 April 2019, which will be mandatory for all asylum decision-makers.</p><p>The aim of this course is to ensure that where religion or belief is raised in an asylum claim, decision makers appropriately consider all the available evidence in accordance International, European &amp; Domestic law and Home Office policy, when interviewing asylum seekers and making decisions on their claims.</p><p>In order to alleviate any concerns about the way in which vulnerable claims are dealt with, a review has been commissioned to investigate the way claims based on religious grounds and LGBT+ are assessed. The aim and approach of the Review will be to ensure that empathy and religious literacy is considered by Decision Makers when assessing these highly complex claims, acknowledging the impact of their decision whilst ensuring appropriate rigour is applied as these routes can be open to fraudulent claims.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 254746 254747 question first answered 22/05/2019 13:03:17 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1124692

registered interest
date	03/05/2019
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Employment: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help ensure that employers provide reasonable adjustments to the workplace so that people with hidden or invisible conditions are able to (a) access and (b) stay in employment.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	250748
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The law is very clear that employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees and job applicants who meet the Equality Act 2010’s definition of disability, namely having a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on the person’s ability to do normal daily activities. Where a disability is not obvious, it will be necessary for the employee or job applicant to declare their condition, but at that point the onus passes to the employer to meet its legal obligations.</p><p> </p><p>To help employers comply with the law, the Government has issued guidance on the duty to make reasonable adjustments, here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers</a></p><p> </p><p>In addition, guidance on this subject has been issued by Acas and by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has also published a statutory code of practice for employers. Where employers fall short on their obligations, legal remedies exist for employees and job applicants, together with Acas’s early conciliation service, which aims to settle disputes before they reach the employment tribunal.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 22/05/2019 15:13:27 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1124693

registered interest
date	03/05/2019
answering body	Women and Equalities
answering dept id	31
answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
hansard heading	Employment: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government has taken to help ensure that people with disabilities receive help and support to identify and challenge discriminatory workplace behaviours and practices.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	250749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Discriminatory behaviours and practices in the workplace, including those related to disabled employees and job applicants, are both unacceptable and unlawful. Protections for disabled employees and job applicants exist in the Equality Act 2010 and remedies are available where breaches occur. Acas and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, have published comprehensive guidance to assist employees identify discrimination and other unlawful conduct and then enforce their rights. This guidance can be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1859" target="_blank">http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1859</a>; and <a href="https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/disability-discrimination" target="_blank">https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/disability-discrimination</a></p><p> </p><p>The Equality and Human Rights Commission is responsible for ensuring that the Equality Act 2010 is enforced and has become involved in cases where a particular principle of law is concerned or where there is evidence of widespread or systematic discrimination.</p><p> </p><p>Acas provides free authoritative and impartial advice to employees, job applicants and employers on their website at <a href="http://www.acas.org.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.acas.org.uk</a>, and via their telephone helpline 08457 47 47 47.</p><p> </p><p>The Government-funded Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) also provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns and can be contacted via their website at www.equalityadvisoryservice.com, or by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS also supports individuals to resolve issues using alternative informal dispute resolution and can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 15/05/2019 16:16:11 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1108736

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
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	Epilepsy: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will confirm that Serious Medicines Shortage Protocols will not be appropriate for epilepsy treatments and that will be included in published guidance on Serious Medicines Protocols.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	239183
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>A Serious Shortage Protocol is an additional tool to manage and mitigate medication shortages and may be used in the exceptional and rare situation when other measures have been exhausted or are likely to be ineffective.</p><p> </p><p>As the explanatory memorandum of the amending Statutory Instrument acknowledges, Protocols for therapeutic or generic equivalents will not be suitable for all medicines and patients. For example, those types of protocols would not be suitable for treatments for epilepsy or treatments requiring biological products where the medicines that are prescribed need to be prescribed by brand for clinical reasons. In these cases, patients would always be referred back to the prescriber for any decision about their treatment before any therapeutic or generic alternative is supplied.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 04/04/2019 11:09:34 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1105572

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
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	NHS: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on analyses of the causes of medicine shortages in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	237617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2019 answer text <p>Medicines supply problems can occur for a number of reasons due to manufacturing difficulties, regulatory problems and problems with the supply of raw materials, or from issues which are related to the distribution of the product. The manufacture of medicines is complex and highly regulated, and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards, so difficulties can arise for various reasons.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is responsible for the security of supply of medicines and ensuring continued access to medicines for all patients is a key priority. There is a team within the Department, which deals specifically with medicine supply issues arising both in the community and hospitals and receives regular information from the pharmaceutical industry about impending medicine supply issues. It works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 05/04/2019 11:02:57 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1105573

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
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	NHS: Brexit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance has been given to the NHS on responding to freedom of information requests on contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU; and whether that guidance is published.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	237618
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2019 answer text <p>The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides a right of access to a wide range of information held by public authorities, including the National Health Service.</p><p> </p><p>The Parliamentary and Public Accountability Agreements Protocols in place between the Department and its arm’s length bodies cover best practice for responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. This includes consulting with the Department where necessary and sets out that the Department’s FOI team will provide informal, impartial advice on relevant legislation and duties. However, the decision as to whether a request falls under a relevant exemption and whether or not the information should be released remains with NHS England and Improvement.</p><p> </p><p>The Department expects to publish the latest Protocol for Public and Parliamentary Accountability on GOV.UK in due course.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 05/04/2019 11:01:52 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1105203

registered interest
date	26/03/2019
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	Employment Schemes: Epilepsy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with epilepsy have been helped into employment through (a) the Work and Health Programme, (b) Personal Support Package and (c) Access to Work.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	237013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>a) The information on the Work and Health Programme is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We are considering whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested and, if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p><p> </p><p>b) The information on the Personal Support Programme is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>c) Access to Work support is available for disabled people who are in work or about to start work. Information on the number of people in receipt of a payment from Access to Work by primary medical condition is published and available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics</a></p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/04/2019 12:40:52 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1105204

registered interest
date	26/03/2019
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	Employment Schemes: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to encourage SMEs to sign up to the Disability Confident scheme.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	237014
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>There are now over 11,000 employers signed up to Disability Confident, of whom over 7,800 are SMEs.</p><p> </p><p>We are using a targeted business-to-business approach to encourage local employers, including SMEs, to sign up to the scheme. For example, we are supporting the development of regional networks, such as KPMG’s Midlands Ability Network and Manchester Ability Network. We are also working to ensure that Disability Confident reflects the diversity of the country’s population, by working with local groups like the Birmingham Asian Business Chamber of Commerce.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/04/2019 12:29:55 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1105205

registered interest
date	26/03/2019
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	Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure the effectiveness of the personal independence payment assessment process for individuals with (a) fluctuating conditions, and (b) neurological conditions that don’t consistently present with physical symptoms.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	237015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>We want to enable disabled people to have the same opportunities and choices as non-disabled people. We have, therefore, designed Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to reflect a modern understanding of disability, treating all conditions fairly.</p><p> </p><p>Key to the benefit is a more objective assessment, which allows us to accurately and consistently assess individuals’ needs.</p><p> </p><p>The PIP assessment is designed to accurately reflect the impact of variations in an individual's level of impairment. The criteria consider an individual’s ability over a 12-month period, ensuring that fluctuations are taken into account. It remains a fundamental principle that the assessment should not just consider whether an individual can complete an activity, but the manner in which they can do it. In March 2013, the Government made changes in the Regulations to make clear that consideration must be given to whether individuals can complete the assessment activities “safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period”.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/04/2019 12:17:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1105206

registered interest
date	26/03/2019
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	Epilepsy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to maintain levels of funding for epilepsy (a) research and (b) treatment after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
uin	237016
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and the healthcare system, including epilepsy. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics. After the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, the NIHR will continue to welcome applications for funding, which will be subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.</p><p> </p><p>There have been 10 studies directly funded by the NIHR relating to epilepsy in the last five financial years, from 2013/14 to 2017/18, with total spend of £9.4 million. Additionally, over the same period, there has been support through the NIHR Clinical Research Networks for 180 studies, with total expenditure of £16.7 million, as well as support for 95 studies through other NIHR infrastructure. There are a further four NIHR-funded studies starting in 2019 related to epilepsy.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 03/04/2019 16:07:16 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis