Written Statements

Monday 23rd October 2023 Written Statements

Monday 23 October 2023

Infected Blood Inquiry

Monday 23rd October 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

The Infected Blood Inquiry Chair has announced that the inquiry’s final report has been delayed from autumn 2023 and will now be published in March 2024. I recognise the calls for urgency from those who have suffered and continue to suffer, and I remain committed to responding to the inquiry as quickly as the Government are able to do so. However, it is only reasonable that the Government’s response is fully informed by Sir Brian’s final report.

I am aware that for some the inquiry, as well as the ongoing parliamentary and public interest in this important issue, has meant reliving painful memories and feelings of loss and grief. I have been deeply moved to hear of the suffering and trauma that each individual has encountered as a result of this tragedy.

The timetable of the inquiry is a matter for the independent Chair and the Government support his desire to complete the inquiry’s vital work quickly but with the necessary thoroughness. The Government continue to fully support the inquiry in its important work and are working hard to be ready to respond.

I will update Parliament as soon as it is appropriate.

[HCWS1082]

Simpler Recycling and Wider Waste Reforms

Monday 23rd October 2023 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

Simpler recycling will help us all recycle more easily, doing our bit to help save the planet and make the best use of precious resources that we use every day.

On Saturday 21 October, we published the Government response to the “Simpler Recycling” consultation—formerly known as “Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England”.

These new waste reforms make it easier for households and businesses to recycle by introducing a simpler approach to waste collections. This common-sense approach means an end to the postcode lottery so, for the first time, people across England will be able to recycle the same materials, as well as get weekly food waste collections. Whatever product you buy with the recycling logo, and all your food you do not use, you will be able to recycle it at home—wherever you live.

In line with the Environment Act 2021, we are requiring all councils to collect seven different types of waste from your doorstep to be recycled—glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, garden and food waste. We will also require councils to collect other residual waste at least fortnightly.

That does not mean households need seven bins though. The areas with the highest recycling rates use just three bins or boxes for every home to collect this already. If it works for those parts of the country, the Government think that this approach can be undertaken by all councils. To that end, we will be legislating in early 2024 to enable that. It will still be for councils to decide how many bins or boxes they offer households. We have listened to councils and households and as part of the simpler recycling policy, local authorities will have the flexibility to design and implement the reforms that works for their geographical areas and citizens.

We will also bring in stricter laws for those who manage and transport waste in England, and introduce mandatory digital waste tracking across the UK—taking on the dodgy dealers, rogue operators and fly-tipping cowboy criminals who blight our countryside and cost our economy £1 billion every year.

Alongside “Simpler Recycling”, we are also cracking down on waste crime to prevent illegal waste from blighting our communities and damaging the environment. Across England, we will be bringing in stricter regulations for those who manage and transport waste—carriers, brokers and dealers—as well as introducing mandatory digital waste tracking across the UK, using powers in the Environment Act to overhaul existing waste record keeping.

As set out in our landmark resources and waste strategy, we will go further and faster to reduce, reuse, and recycle more of our waste and resources, helping to leave the environment in a better state than we found it for future generations.

Together these measures will help us to achieve our 25-year environment plan commitment to eliminate avoidable waste by 2050, our Environment Act target to halve the amount of residual waste we produce per person by 2042, and our recycling ambition of recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035.

“Simpler Recycling” will significantly contribute to the net zero strategy commitment to

“explore options for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill from 2028.”

This policy will be the main contributor to reducing residual municipal food waste per capita by the equivalent of 50% from 2019 levels, set out in the environmental improvement plan (EIP).

The Government remain committed to delivering the environmental benefits of their resources and waste package of reforms.

[HCWS1085]

Shared Outcomes Toolkit for Integrated Care Systems

Monday 23rd October 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Social Care (Helen Whately)]

Shared outcomes in health and care are a powerful tool for driving integration in integrated care systems. As shared priorities, they bring organisations together to deliver on a common purpose for the people they serve. This is why shared outcomes were an important part of our integration White Paper (IWP), “Joining up care for people, places and populations”, which outlined opportunities to progress further on the integration of health and social care.

Since the IWP was published, we have seen good progress in places developing local shared outcomes focused on addressing the needs of their populations and with a focus on health improvement. We have heard a consistent message from stakeholders that place leaders should have autonomy to select local outcomes that are appropriate to the needs of their populations, while also complementing national priorities. Our approach to supporting the development of shared outcomes reflects this feedback.

I am therefore pleased to update the House that we have published the shared outcomes toolkit.

Just as the Government have provided the NHS with a more focused set of priorities in the mandate published in 2023, we are supporting places through this toolkit to develop local outcomes and priorities that are as impactful as possible for local people. The publication of the shared outcomes toolkit also meets recommendations made in the Hewitt review and the Health and Social Care Select Committee hearing report into integrated care systems, both of which recommended that Government publish the shared outcomes framework as soon as possible.

This toolkit shares the learning from places that are further on in their development of shared outcomes, and includes case studies, examples of good practice, and suggestions for overcoming challenges. It is designed to be a resource to support places in developing shared outcomes, and recognising that places will be at different levels of maturity.

With the support this toolkit offers, we expect all places in each ICS will be able to evidence the work they are doing towards developing shared outcomes by March 2024. Going forward, shared outcomes are referenced as evidence in the Care Quality Commission (CQC) single assessment framework and this evidence may be considered as part of the CQC ICS reviews and assessments.

As places progress with their outcomes frameworks we will consider how the balance between nationally mandated and locally driven priorities is working in practice and review the commonalities that may inform the development of national shared outcomes.

The shared outcomes toolkit is available on the www.gov.uk website, and copies have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

[HCWS1083]

Bus Funding

Monday 23rd October 2023 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Mark Harper)]

Buses are the most popular form of public transport in our country. They are an essential part of our national transport system, in both urban and rural areas, playing a vital part in levelling up.

In his speech on 4 October the Prime Minister announced, from the savings made by cancelling HS2 phase 2, that we will channel additional funding into better buses across the north and the midlands.

Today I am pleased to announce £150 million of new funding for local transport authorities in the north and the midlands over the next financial year. This is the first tranche of £1 billion in new funding to improve bus services; £770 million for the North and nearly £230 million for the midlands. This funding is in addition to the £1.1 billion for BSIPs announced in 2022 and 2023, and the £300 million to protect and enhance bus services through bus service operators grant plus (BSOG+) and bus services improvement plan plus (BSIP+) announced in May.

The £150 million committed today is from redirected HS2 funding, part of our new £36 billion Network North plan which will improve the daily transport connections that matter most to people, benefitting more people, in more places, more quickly.

We are giving this funding directly to local authorities, so that they can work in partnership with bus operators to decide how best to use it to deliver better, services that meet the needs of each local area. This new funding can be used to reintroduce evening services to support the night-time economy, provide cheaper fares through ticket price caps, increase service frequency meaning less waiting time for passengers, or introduce new routes to connect previously unconnected areas. We estimate that the £150 million we are confirming today is enough to support up to 25 million miles of new bus services.

Further details and anticipated allocations for next year’s funds will be published today for individual local transport authorities, and details of the remainder of this £1 billion new investment will be announced in due course.

Our support for the bus sector and passengers alike does not end there. The £2 bus fare cap has already made a huge difference, holding down prices and helping protect the bus market as it recovers. First launched for three months, the scheme has proven hugely popular and was extended until 31 October, to be followed by a £2.50 cap until November 2024, with £335 million committed to deliver these caps, save passengers money, and grow the economy. In England, outside London, bus fares last year fell 7.4%, whereas in Scotland, Wales and London, where the buses are devolved, fares increased by 10.3%, 6.3% and 6.0%, respectively.

Again, using the savings from HS2, we will extend the £2 fare right across England until the end of December 2024. This means the Government have committed nearly £600 million to cap bus fares. With over 140 bus operators currently running more than 5,000 routes in the scheme, maintaining the cap at £2 will ensure passengers all over the country can continue to save significant sums of their regular travel costs until 2025 and help encourage more people to get on board buses.

Finally, our support for buses includes community transport too. Community transport offers transport for people who have difficulty using, or no access to, regular bus services or other public transport. Funding until June 2023 supported community transport operators during the covid-19 pandemic by paying operators the same level of the bus service operators grant (BSOG) as they received pre-covid, regardless of services run. This has allowed operators to run services that might otherwise have been cancelled.

I am also announcing today that the Government will continue to provide increased financial support to these community transport operators to help protect these key services by uplifting their bus service operator grant claims by 60%. This significant support will be available to operators for claims from 1 July 2023 to the end of March 2025, matching the duration of the BSOG+ support scheme. This enhanced funding comes as part of the Government’s nearly £260 million annual BSOG to support bus services in England outside of London. BSOG also includes up to £213 million for commercial bus operators and, for the tenth year, £42 million for local authorities.

Taken together, this is one of the biggest ever packages of support for buses and bus users we have ever put in place—vital support for our most used public transport.

[HCWS1084]