Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of Welsh patients required to travel to England for ophthalmology treatment in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with devolved administrations to reduce administrative barriers in cross-border healthcare arrangements.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government works closely with the devolved governments to support effective cross-border healthcare arrangements and ensure patients can access timely, high-quality care regardless of where they live.
We work jointly with partners to improve the practical operation of cross-border services. This includes efforts to strengthen data sharing and digital interoperability, support access to specialist services and unnecessary burdens on patients and providers.
There are established cross-border networks which bring together relevant organisations to address operational challenges and improve coordination of care.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of using longer-term commissioning arrangements with independent providers to reduce ophthalmology waiting lists.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Commissioning decisions are for integrated care boards (ICBs) to make, who have a duty to arrange health services for the patients they are responsible for while living within their annual financial allocations.
The Government will continue to cut waiting lists, deliver more appointments, and make care more convenient as we work to make the National Health Service fit for the future and return to the 18-week standard. Since the General Election in July 2024, the ophthalmology waiting list has fallen, average waiting times have reduced, and 18‑week performance has improved from 66.1% to 69.7%.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government regarding the operation of cross-border ophthalmology care between England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Katz - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Whilst Health is a devolved matter, the Secretary of State for Wales has regular engagement with colleagues from the Department of Health and Social Care and Welsh Government. Ministers and officials work closely with their counterparts through established intergovernmental structures, including the Interministerial Group for Health. NHS England and Wales jointly published a Statement of Values and Principles for cross-border healthcare which sets a clear expectation that patients living in defined border areas should receive care without delay or administrative burden, with the aim of delivering faster, improved and more equitable health outcomes for all patients.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the generic design assessment process for advanced nuclear technologies is (1) faster, or (2) slower, and (a) more, or (b) less, costly, than for gigawatt-scale reactors.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The scope and schedule of a Generic Design Assessment is set by the Requesting Party. By far the biggest influences on schedule, and hence cost, are the maturity and stability of the design, and the quality and timeliness of the Requesting Party’s submissions. Prior engagement with the UK regulators, and access to relevant information and judgements from overseas regulators are other notable factors in determining schedule and cost.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what generic design assessments the Office for Nuclear Regulation are currently undertaking; and when they expect each of those assessments to be completed.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The ONR are currently undertaking two GDAs, step three of the Rolls Royce SMR and step two of the Holtec SMR-300. Publication of the completion dates for those processes is a matter for the regulators, including the ONR, and the Requesting Parties. These may be subject to change as the processes continue.
Further details on the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) current and previous Generic Design Assessments (GDAs) can be found at https://www.onr.org.uk/generic-design-assessment/assessment-of-reactors.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government which generic design assessments Natural Resources Wales (1) has participated in, (2) is currently participating in, and (3) is expected to participate in.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has participated in several previous and current Generic Design Assessments (GDAs):
NRW participation in future GDA processes is a matter for discussion between Requesting Parties (RPs) and NRW.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have provided any funding to the Welsh Government to support the participation of Natural Resources Wales in the generic design assessment process.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HMG has not provided any direct funding to the Welsh Government to support the participation of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. Regulatory costs for GDAs are borne by the Requesting Party (RP) of the GDA.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what generic design assessments the Environment Agency are currently undertaking; and when they expect each of those assessments to be completed.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is currently carrying out two Generic Design Assessments (GDA). Holtec’s SMR 300 is currently undergoing a 2 step (Fundamental Assessment) GDA that is planned to be completed in March 2026. Rolls Royce SMR’s design is currently undergoing a full 3 step (Detailed Assessment) GDA. Rolls Royce SMR and the Environment Agency are targeting completing the GDA in 2027. We understand that Rolls-Royce SMR will provide further information to the public around the time of contract award by Great British Energy-Nuclear.
Asked by: Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of international regulatory harmonisation on the speed of delivery of civil nuclear projects in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
International cooperation and regulatory harmonisation have the potential to streamline deployment for nuclear energy deployment around the world and help achieve economies of scale.
The UK continues to explore opportunities for regulatory harmonisation in nuclear to speed up the deployment of new nuclear in the UK, demonstrated by the recent Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, which builds on existing UK-US collaboration.
ONR as the UK’s independent regulator will need to be satisfied that any design to be deployed in the UK meets UK safety standards and complies with UK law.