theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jon Trickett:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 32929 on Cabinet Office: Palantir, whether his Department has seconded staff from Palantir between 4 July 2024 and 11 March 2025. \p Georgia Gould: Secondments are part of a range of ways of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and have been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and must follow the processes as set out in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, however based on the information held centrally, there is no record of any secondees from Palantir.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) individuals and (b) organisations were invited to the Downing Street preview of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 11 March 2025. \p Georgia Gould: Ministerial meetings with external organisations will be published in the usual way on gov.uk
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33485 on Public Appointments: Political Activities, through what process a declaration of previous political activity within the last five years is made public. \p Georgia Gould: Declarations of previous political activity within the last five years made by successful candidates in the Public Appointments process are published on the announcements page of the Public Appointments website. This can be found using the following link: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/announcements
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to review the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 in relation to hon. Members serving custodial sentences. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Government has no plans to review, and is not currently planning to legislate to extend the disqualification criteria for standing as a candidate in UK general elections or membership of the House of Commons beyond the criteria currently set out in the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and the Representation of the People Act 1981. We remain committed to ensuring that our electoral arrangements are fit for purpose.

In addition, there are already mechanisms in place to potentially remove MPs who receive custodial sentences. The Recall of MPs Act 2015 makes provision for a recall petition to be held in the constituency of any MP who is convicted of a crime and sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained for up to twelve months. Should a sufficient number of eligible constituents sign the recall petition, that MP’s seat would be automatically vacated and a by-election held.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting protected geographical status for Lincolnshire sausages. \p Daniel Zeichner: This would require an application and would be subject to the normal process.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jon Trickett:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 36586 on Water Companies: Infrastructure, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of each Direct Procurement for Customers scheme on the annual cost of water bills for households in Yorkshire. \p Emma Hardy: Prior to entering into a DPC arrangement, Ofwat considers the value for money of delivering the project as a DPC and also the impact on customer bills. The impacts on customer bills are unlikely to be known until a procurement for a scheme has been run, when the capital and operational costs of the project will be better understood. Currently the estimates provided through the price review are not mature estimates and are likely to change as the projects develop.

Our initial indication based on pathfinder projects is that there could be savings for customers of between 6% and 40% by delivering a scheme through DPC.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to provide additional financial support to local authorities to meet the cost of disposing of fly-tipped waste. \p Mary Creagh: Defra has no current plans to provide additional financial support to local authorities to meet the cost of disposing of fly-tipped waste. We are considering how we can support local authorities to tackle fly-tipping in other ways. Indeed, we are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help local authorities run an effective enforcement service which deters people from dumping waste in our communities. Revenue from fixed penalty notices must also be spent on enforcement or cleaning up fly-tipping.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, such as fly-tipping. Funding announced by the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget and through the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement will provide over £5 billion of new funding for local services over and above local council tax.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help farmers that aren't receiving financial support from Government environmental schemes. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government’s commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. It’s why we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years – more money than ever for sustainable food production.

We have allocated £60 million to the Farming Recovery Fund for farmers affected by extreme weather, and £208 million to protect against disease threats.

We have also recently announced further policies including extending the Seasonal Worker visa route for five more years, backing British produce in government catering contracts, and investing £110 million in agri-technology. A new commissioner for the tenant farming sector will be appointed, and a veterinary agreement with the EU will be sought to ease export red tape. The government will also protect farmers from low welfare trade deals and lower energy bills by connecting renewable energy to the National Grid.

Other measures include a land-use framework for food security and nature recovery, a Cross-Government Rural Crime Strategy, and a British Infrastructure Council to drive private investment in rural areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 32543 on Sewers, whether the implementation of SuDS will be (a) subject to the 10 unit threshold previously proposed and (b) not apply to permitted development, including change of use. \p Emma Hardy: The Government published a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on 12 December 2024.

This update expanded the requirement for applicants to take a more holistic approach so that it is clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where they could have drainage impacts and take the opportunities which this offers to provide a range of benefits, but in a way which is proportionate to the nature and scale of the scheme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to review the (a) amount of funding and (b) current measures being used by the Border Force to seize illegal meat. \p Daniel Zeichner: Successful Border Force-led operations resulted in the interception, seizure and safe disposal of some 114 tonnes of meat illegally imported into the United Kingdom in 2024.

We are not complacent about illegal meat smuggling, which may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities.

Border Force is funded by the Home Office.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people in Newbury constituency with the cost of their water bills. \p Emma Hardy: As the independent economic regulator, Ofwat independently scrutinises water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December 2024, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030.

The Government is committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers with their water bills. All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.

Furthermore, we expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to this end.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 14 February 2025 to Question (a) 29078 and (b) 29080 on Property Development: Air Pollution, whether air quality assessments for developments subject to an Environment Impact Assessment are a statutory requirement. \p Emma Hardy: The degree to which air quality is assessed depends on the likely significant effects of the development on the environment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help improve the (a) coordination and (b) efficiency between (i) Government and (ii) local authority agencies in responding to flash flooding and storms in Somerset. \p Emma Hardy: As discussed when we met earlier this year, protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. We recognise the devastation the storms this winter have caused to those affected.

The Avon and Somerset Local Resilience Forum brings together organisations involved in preparing, responding and recovering from civil contingency risks, including flooding and storms. This includes the Local Authorities and the Environment Agency. After major events, Local Resilience Forums typically conduct a review to consider if there are changes required.

Somerset residents also benefit from the Somerset Rivers Authority. This brings together all the flood risk management authorities regularly so that the complex nature of flooding can be managed effectively and efficiently. The Regional Flood and Coastal Committee chair attends these meetings ensuring fully integrated public investment in flood risk management.

After any significant flood event in Somerset, flood risk management authorities work together to deliver flood drop-in engagement events for impacted communities and businesses. These events are an opportunity to better understand what happened, what can be done, and to provide support and advice for affected residents.

If there are nationally significant lessons identified from these discussions, they can be submitted to Defra for consideration, including by the Floods Resilience Taskforce.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that households on private water networks have access to the same (a) provision for leak allowances and (b) other protections as households supplied directly by water companies. \p Emma Hardy: Local authorities are the regulators for private water supplies. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has information about private water supplies on their website, some of which covers private supply networks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Tim Farron:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken between capital grants and investment on the cash flow of farmers. \p Daniel Zeichner: The rules applied to capital grant schemes by Defra means that payments made on capital works are made only when the works are complete and paid for by the farmer. Farmers can make multiple claims for items of a high value over a period, so farmers do not have to find the money for all of the works at the same time. The Rural Payments Agency endeavour to pay all claims within 30 working days of receipt. Any pause in funding investment by the department does not affect the cash flow of the farmer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the number of farmers who will be affected by changes to (a) agricultural property relief and (b) business property relief in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire. \p Daniel Zeichner: Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. Without such information, which the Government does not hold at that level, area level assessments cannot be made.

This Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future.

As an outcome of the October 2024 Spending Review, we have committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on farmers’ mental health in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Daniel Zeichner: This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.

The Government continue to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds four charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by the Farmer Network, operates in Lancashire. Their ‘Keep Farming Stronger for Longer’ campaign is delivering workshops, training, events, networking, 1:1 advice and the provision of additional Field Nurse services in the region. Furthermore, the Government is paying out £60m through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by this unprecedented extreme wet weather.

Finally, the Government announced in their 2024 manifesto 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce fly-tipping in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Mary Creagh: Local authorities are often best placed to respond to incidences of fly-tipping. They have a range of enforcement powers which we encourage them to make good use of. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide enforcement guidance, which councils would legally need to have regard to.

In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

In the meantime, Defra will continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, to promote good practice on tackling fly-tipping.  Various practical tools, including ‘how to’ guides covering key issues, are also available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to encourage people to buy Lancashire produce. \p Daniel Zeichner: As we set out in our Plan for Change, we are focused on supporting our farmers, supporting rural economic growth and boosting Britain’s food security.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed, has confirmed to businesses and industry groups from across the food sector that work is underway to develop an ambitious new food strategy.

The strategy will set the food system up for long-term success and will deliver wide ranging improvements. This will set it up for success in ensuring it is able to feed the nation, can realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals.

Defra officials regularly engage with stakeholders across the food supply chain to understand their work to promote British produce in-store and online. We strongly support efforts to promote British food and back our farmers, who produce some of the best food in the world. This is why the food strategy will set the food system up for long-term success and ensure that our food system can feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals, now and in the future.

The UK has a wide range of incredible regional food and drink products, including from Lancashire, like Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese which is a protected designation of origin. I strongly encourage anyone to seek out and enjoy their own local produce and the great things that other regions have to offer, too.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Charlie Maynard:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of (a) the inequality of access to nature in England and (b) that a fifth of English constituencies have no Right to Roam at all. \p Mary Creagh: The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and are working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We also recognise that access to nature is currently inequitable across England, with some groups such as those from lower socio-economic backgrounds particularly disadvantaged. This is why we committed in our Environmental Improvement Plan to work across government to help ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space, and to reduce barriers to access. We are already taking forward initiatives to help us deliver this, including new initiatives such as the river walks and national forests manifesto commitments and existing initiatives such as completing the King Charles III England Coast Path and upgrading the Coast to Coast trail across the north of England.

The last Labour Government introduced the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provides the public a right of access to large parts of the English countryside. The 8% figure of publicly accessible land does not include the thousands of green spaces (e.g. parks) that are available to the public. Most of the nation's forests managed by Forestry England  (more than 253,000 hectares)  have been dedicated as open access land.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last 12 months. \p Ashley Dalton: The latest available data show that prostate cancer was the most diagnosed cancer in England in 2022, with 54,732 new diagnoses. This is an increase of 11,354 more registrations than in 2021.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Melanie Onn:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the medical examiner process on (a) bereaved relatives and (b) the time it takes for families to arrange funerals. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data since the introduction of the reforms indicates the median time taken to register a death appeared to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days prior to Christmas. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year; the average has subsequently decreased.

The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.

The introduction of medical examiners is in part about making sure deaths are properly described and improving practice, but the impact on the bereaved is also central. The reforms aim to put the bereaved at centre of the process and the medical examiner office must offer a conversation with representatives of the deceased, so they can ask any questions they have about the death or to raise concerns. Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something we will continue to monitor with NHS England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department hold son the number of people who have been diagnosed with long covid in the last 12 months. \p Ashley Dalton: Whilst the requested data is not available in the format requested, the most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period between 6 February 2024 and 7 March 2024, an estimated two million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England and Scotland, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support local initiatives in (a) Cheshire and (b) Merseyside to improve early cancer diagnosis rates in (a) deprived communities and (b) general. \p Ashley Dalton: We recognise that there are challenges for several different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts early diagnosis rates.

Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types. To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. In addition, we have delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, during our first year in Government as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

The latest rapid registration data shows the 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 58.7% as of October 2024; this is 2.8% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This means approximately 7,500 more people are being diagnosed at stage 1 and 2. For Cheshire and Merseyside ICB the latest rapid registration data shows the 12-month early diagnosis rate reached 59.2% as of October 2024; this is 4.6% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The roll out of the lung cancer screening programme has driven two thirds of the national improvement and when fully rolled out the programme is expected to detect around 9,000 cancers earlier each year.

People living in deprived areas are four times more likely to smoke, and smoking causes 72% of lung cancers. Through the programme early diagnosis rates have increased for all deprivation quintiles, with biggest gains among those living in most deprived areas. We will build on recent successes, including further roll out of the lung cancer screening programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates.

Additionally, the recently announced National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Melanie Onn:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of assessments undertaken by medical examiners to establish causes of death. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Medical examiner offices are staffed at a trust level with oversight and guidance from the National Medical Examiner based in NHS England. The National Medical Examiner publishes standards of performance that medical examiners are expected to meet in exercising their functions. To become a medical examiner, a qualifying medical practitioner should undertake relevant training including e-learning and face to face training and continuing professional development. While the Government has not made its own assessment of the adequacy of assessments undertaken by medical examiners to establish causes of death, the National Medical Examiner must publish an annual report which would include the way in which medical examiners had exercised their functions, including in relation to standards of performance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) hospices and (b) charities on improving end of life care. \p Stephen Kinnock: In early February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, including Hospice UK, Marie Curie, Sue Ryder, Together for Short Lives, MacMillian, and the Association for Palliative Medicine, where we had a productive conversation about improving palliative and end of life care in England. Long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length at this meeting.

On visits to hospices, I have also heard from staff on their thoughts on how palliative and end of life care could be improved.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent childhood obesity. \p Ashley Dalton: The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we have announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose.  We are also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of (a) the proportion of babies and families who require specialist parent-infant relationship and infant mental health support and (b) the availability of services to meet that need. \p Ashley Dalton: The 1,001 days from conception to two years old is a time of rapid development in which babies are shaped by their experiences, particularly the relationships with their caregivers.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. Through the Plan for Change we have committed to ensuring every child is set up for the best start in life through delivering accessible, integrated maternity, baby and family support services through the 1,001 days from conception to two years old. As a first step, in January 2025, we announced £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support in 75 local authority areas with high levels of deprivation.

Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services are also available to all women throughout England with or at risk of mental health conditions, who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant or have a baby up to two years old. This care includes increased access to evidence-based psychological therapies that support parent-infant relationships.

We have not made an assessment on the proportion of babies and families who require specialist parent-infant relationship support. We will continue to evaluate the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme and assess evidence to support wider rollout, including bespoke parent-infant relationship support services, in future financial years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake of patient-initiated follow-up for people with long-term conditions. \p Ashley Dalton: Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) is one way in which the Government will reform follow up care to ensure more optimised and productive clinical pathways. Offering PIFU to patients gives them greater choice and control, where it is clinically recommended, so they can decide if/when they require follow up care. This in turn reduces low value follow up appointments, freeing up hospital capacity for patients who need it.

The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, commits to offering PIFU to patients with long-term conditions as standard in all appropriate pathways by March 2026, and to support the expansion of PIFU to at least 5% of all outpatient appointments by March 2029. The Government will implement digital and technology solutions to support this expansion, including piloting digital options for signing-up patients for PIFU via the NHS App and enhancing how patients suitable for PIFU are identified using artificial intelligence and automation.

In addition, remote monitoring of conditions at home or away from direct clinical settings can help support PIFU by helping inform patients and their healthcare teams about any changes in their condition, ensuring follow-up appointments only happen when clinically needed. We will expand remote monitoring by using Patient Engagement Portals and the NHS App to host digital questionnaires, integrating remote monitoring tools with hospital administration systems, and producing technical guides for remote monitoring to support the sharing of best practice across providers.
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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 7 May 2024 to 24262, whether the Innovative Devices Access Pathway pilot will conclude in March 2025; and what his planned timetable is for assessing the findings of the pilot. \p Ashley Dalton: The Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) pilot will conclude in March 2025. We are continuing to seek feedback from the pilot, which will capture key insights and learnings to help inform the feasibility and development of a future pathway. This will inform a wider evaluation of IDAP. We will complete this evaluation soon after the conclusion of the pilot and intend to publish a report in spring.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make clean air a public health priority. \p Ashley Dalton: Improving the environment where we live, work, and play is critical to support everyone to live longer healthier lives. We know that air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom and so tackling it plays a crucial role in the shift from treatment to prevention of ill health.

Leading our Health Mission, the Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government on ways to reduce the health harms of air pollution, including with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support their plans for cleaner air.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-21 conversation_38

Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to engage with (a) Kidney Care UK and (b) other patient representative organisations ahead of the World Health Assembly's debate on kidney health. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department has met with Kidney Care UK and will be arranging further meetings with civil society organisations on the full range of health topics to be discussed in advance of the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-21 conversation_39

Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the availability of Buvidal, broken down by region. \p Ashley Dalton: Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice have discussed the issue. The Department of Health and Social Care advises local areas that they can use the funding given to them to deliver drug and alcohol treatment to enable prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injection in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain and grow this provision and this includes for those who leave prison.

It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England; the following table shows its availability in community structured treatment as a proportion of the overall population in treatment for opiate use, broken down by region, for the fourth quarter of 2023/24, the latest period for which data is available:

Region

Adults in treatment for opiates

Buprenorphine long lasting injection

Buprenorphine long lasting injection (%)

East Midlands

11619

184

1.58%

East of England

10886

226

2.08%

London

17630

686

3.89%

North East

10121

329

3.25%

North West

24116

939

3.89%

South East

14485

282

1.95%

South West

13371

288

2.15%

West Midlands

16666

342

2.05%

Yorkshire & the Humber

18355

529

2.88%

England

137249

3805

2.77%

Source: National Drug Treatment Monitoring System March 2024
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce accountability mechanisms through the national cancer plan. \p Ashley Dalton: Mechanisms for accountability will be considered as part of the development of the National Cancer Plan.
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Yuan Yang:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to continue the work of the Rare Disease Action Plan 2024. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. The 2025 England Rare Diseases Action Plan was published on 28 February 2025 and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/england-rare-diseases-action-plan-2025

This action plan includes details of how we have continued to progress actions introduced in the 2024 action plan.
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Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of clinical education programmes to support healthcare professionals to identify potential cases of mosquito-borne diseases in the UK. \p Ashley Dalton: Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver safe and effective treatment for patients. The UK Health Security Agency contributes to the education of healthcare professionals through the distribution of briefing notes on significant changes in the risks of mosquito-borne disease, publication of regularly updated disease epidemiology, and the regular publication of key reports such as emerging infection monthly summaries.
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Mohammad Yasin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) attend the World Health Assembly 2025 and (b) endorse the WHO resolution on Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is still considering Ministerial attendance at the World Health Assembly 2025. The Government continues to be a strong supporter of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UK actively engaged in negotiations on the WHO resolution on Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease in advance of the 156th WHO Executive Board in February 2025. The Executive Board recommended adoption of all resolutions considered to the World Health Assembly, including this one, subject to ongoing budget discussions. We remain committed to tackling NCDs, including kidney disease, domestically and internationally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on the 2025-26 NHS Payment Scheme consultation. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by James Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse is of the redundancy package for staff being made redundant from NHS England. \p Karin Smyth: We recognise there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre. By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.
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Clive Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the abolition of NHS England on the Federated Data Platform and Associated Services contract awarded to the consortium led by Palantir Technologies. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by James Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job, we will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up and getting waiting times down.
wrans/answers2025-03-21 conversation_47
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UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-21 conversation_47

Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the abolition of NHS England. \p Karin Smyth: We recognise there may be some short-term upfront costs as we undertake the integration of NHS England and the Department but these costs and more will be recouped in future years because of a smaller and leaner centre.

By the end of the process, we estimate that these changes will save hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which will be reinvested in frontline services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-21 conversation_48

Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that elective service changes to the NHS Payment Scheme comply with legislation on the NHS Right to Choose. \p Karin Smyth: Patients will continue to have the right to choose their provider as set out in legislation. The proposed NHS Payment Scheme does not and cannot change this.

The Government is committed to patients having the right to choose their provider when referred to consultant-led treatment, or to a mental health professional, for their first appointment as an outpatient. Further information on the choices available for patients can be found on the NHS Choice framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-choice-framework
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-21 conversation_49

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2025 to Question 24312 on Health Services: Pensioners, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding that data centrally. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not intend to collect this data. Annual budgets given to integrated care boards cover most National Health Service spending. The allocations process uses a statistical formula to make geographic distribution fair and objective, so that it reflects local healthcare need, including demand for services during the winter period. In addition, there are no plans to link NHS activity data to data on whether an individual is drawing a pension.