outstanding rating for St Helens and Knowsley hospitals
The trust has continued to build upon excellence that it has been consistently identified as achieving. It was classified as ‘outstanding’ in the 2015 CQC report, ranked as the ‘best acute trust in the NHS’ for three consecutive years and ranked as ‘the number one place to work and receive treatment in the country’ in the National NHS Staff Survey.
This success is particularly impressive as they achieved these fantastic results despite the harsh financial environment imposed by this Tory government. As the Tories continue to pressure our NHS, we must recognise and build upon the leadership and high standards at St Helens and Whiston hospitals.
I want to thank all those working in the trust – the nurses, doctors, medical, ancillary and all staff as well as chief executive Ann Marr and chairman Richard Fraser whose dedication and hard work have led to these outstanding achievements.
visiting Queens Park Primary School
I was hugely impressed with their engagement and concern for the future of our community as well as their enthusiasm for playing their part in creating positive change.
This action under the excellent guidance of Ms Kellet and Ms Taylor contributes to the school holding the British Council’s International School Award, an initiative to encourage pupils to debate and discuss a wide range of relevant issues. I am delighted to see such action to help our young people to become effective change-makers
specialist support for unaccompanied and trafficked children in the UK
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the framework for identifying victims of human trafficking or modern slavery and ensuring they receive the right support, had 2,121 child referrals in 2017. Exploitation on any level is completely unjustifiable, but when it involves a child it is chillingly deplorable.
I am aware of the recent concerning report from ECPAT UK and Missing People that 24% of all identified or suspected child victims of trafficking went missing from care in 2017. In the same year, 15% of all unaccompanied children went missing from care.
I agree that unaccompanied refugee children are highly vulnerable to trafficking and that it is simply unacceptable that trafficked children may be unable to access the support needed to recover from their traumatic experiences.
An independent review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is currently underway, set to report back to the Home Secretary by the end of March 2019. This review will consider section 48 of the Act which provided for independent child trafficking advocates.
Independent child trafficking advocates are being introduced to represent and support children where there are reasonable grounds to believe they are victims of human trafficking. However, this service is only due to be available in one third of local authorities across England and Wales by April 2019. I will follow developments in relation to this closely, as well as in relation to the outcome of the review.
I would like to see the UK Government commit to urgently providing additional resources to local authorities in order to enable them to provide guaranteed specialist support for child victims of trafficking. I pay tribute to the work of ECPAT UK for its campaigning on this matter.
the draft Non-Contentious Probate (Fees) Order 2018
As you are aware, the draft Order would introduce a sliding range of probate fees for estates where a grant of probate is necessary, between £250 and £6,000, depending on the value of the estate.
There has been strong opposition to the Government’s proposed changes, from legal experts, charities and legislative bodies. The changes encompass fee increases to a level that is nearly 28 times what some people currently pay. Even apart from this staggering increase, the proposed fees have no bearing on the actual cost of providing the services involved in a grant of probate – which are fundamentally the same regardless of the value of the estate.
I believe these proposals are disproportionate, excessive and not consistent with the long-standing principle that fees for a public service should recover the cost of providing it and no more.
I am calling for this draft Order to be pushed to a vote of all MPs in the House of Commons. While I wholly support our justice system being given the investment and resources it needs to operate properly, I will oppose this draft Order as I think it is unfair to place the burden of these costs on vulnerable, grieving people.
age verification filters to protect children under 18
Parents worry greatly about their children accessing inappropriate images and I support the concept of age verification filters to protect children under 18 from online pornography and I am in favour of blocking powers for commercial pornography providers that flout the law.
In order to be effective, I believe the measures to stop children from accessing pornographic sites must be accompanied by comprehensive education to help children navigate the online world in a safe way.
It is also essential to protect the anonymity and privacy of those who are over 18 and want to access legal pornographic sites without having their personal details compromised. The draft guidance is clear that age verification should be concerned only with the need to establish the user is aged 18 or above, rather than seeking to identify the user.
I am aware concerns have also been raised that the Digital Economy Bill could extend internet censorship for adults to certain content. The Government has insisted that this is not the intention and has amended the Bill so that it takes an approach based on the definition of an “extreme pornographic image” as defined in other legislation.
I believe there should be much wider public engagement around these issues and I would like to see the Government consult further. I also believe there should be wider consultation on the functions of the regulator and that the new powers must be carried out proportionately, with a proper appeals process.