Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of references to Year 1 Foundation Doctors in the impact assessment of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, whether new graduates will be expected to be involved in the assisted dying process.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill continues to be a matter for Parliament. The Government is neutral on the substantive policy questions relevant to how the law in this area could change, and on the principle of assisted dying.
The impact assessment considered different scenarios for illustrative purposes only, and does not indicate a Government position. If the bill progresses, detailed work on a delivery model would need to be developed.
As part of this work, the Government would consult with relevant stakeholders before bringing forward affirmative regulations on the training requirements for assessing doctors.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to improve outcomes from screening and treatment for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) in newborns; and what plans, if any, they have to support comparative effectiveness research into the routine clinical pathways for DDH overseen by the UK National Screening Committee.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) welcomes proposals to improve the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) programme, which offers screening for the development dysplasia of the hip. Proposals to modify the programme can be submitted to the UK NSC via its annual call for topics. To date the UK NSC has not received a request to review the current programme. The UK NSC is also aware that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has funded a research fellowship to explore screening for hip dysplasia, and looks forward to reading its published report in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are (1) currently in place and (2) planned in future, to protect staff and patients in hospitals, care homes and hospices from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998 require hospitals, care homes, and hospice owners to ensure gas appliances are installed and maintained properly by a competent gas safe registered engineer. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises that this is the most effective way to reduce the risk from carbon monoxide. We have no current plans to change the regulations in place for hospitals, care homes, and hospices, unless experts at HSE revise their advice.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claimants applied to migrate from other benefits to Universal Credit in (1) January, and (2) February; and how many of these claimants disclosed that they have a life prognosis of 12 months given to them by a medical professional.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of people, by legacy benefit, sent a Migration Notice and of those that made a claim to Universal Credit is only available to December 2024.
These statistics are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore, with the last update on 18 February. The next official statistics update is due on 13 May, which will have data to end of March 2025. There will also be people who claim Universal Credit (natural migration) without being asked, which will have been counted in the overall published People on UC statistics.
The latest available statistics are provided in the separate spreadsheet and available at Stat-Xplore - Table View.
Our Move to UC official statistics analytical datasets do not contain terminal illness information and work to identify, understand, link data and quality assure would only be available at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to require all funeral directors and crematoria to publish their schedule of planned direct cremations to ensure that the service that has been commissioned has been carried out.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Law Commission is currently undertaking its “Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods” project which seeks to create a future-proof legal framework to address what happens to our bodies after we die and to make recommendations that will provide modern, certain and consistent regulation across different funerary methods. As part of this project, the Law Commission has considered issues surrounding direct cremation. Its recent “Burial and Cremation” consultation document invited evidence from consultees as to whether, in relation to direct cremations, there are cases where an applicant for the cremation will not know which crematorium will be used at the time of application.
The Government does not currently have plans to require all funeral directors and crematoria to publish their schedule of planned direct cremations. Direct cremations are subject to the same legislation as any other cremation. The Government will consider any changes to the legal framework governing direct cremations as part of any wider recommendations made by the Law Commission in due course. As the Law Commission project is still ongoing, we do not want to pre-empt its recommendations. We look forward to carefully considering these once published, which we expect to be towards the end of 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funeral directors providing a direct cremation service are required to collect the body of a deceased person from a hospital mortuary within a specified time frame after the medical examiner has issued the medical certificate of cause of death.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
At present there is no mandatory time period within which all funeral directors across England and Wales should collect the body of a person who has died and take them into their care.
The introduction of regulation into the funeral director sector requires thorough consideration due to the complexity and sensitive nature of the area. It is essential to ensure that the rights and dignity of deceased individuals and their bereaved family members are protected, while implementing measures that are proportionate.
For that reason, the Government is considering the full range of possible next steps to ensure appropriate standards are in place, including the potential for introducing some form of appropriate, proportionate regulation of funeral directors. An update on next steps will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the cross-government delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome will ensure collaborative work with patient advocates, philanthropy and industry partners to leverage additional funding for biomedical research.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to better care and support for people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists and researchers, representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the devolved administrations, ME/CFS charities, and organisations and patients with lived experience of ME/CFS.
We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, with three broad themes of boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of those living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish the final delivery plan by the end of March 2025.
Research is an important pillar of the delivery plan for ME/CFS. Future planned action to support research in this area will take a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, recognising the value of patient and public representatives in particular.
The Department funds research on ME/CFS through the NIHR and the MRC. The NIHR and the MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring the next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, through for example research fellowships, and, in the case of the NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. The NIHR welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners, including patient representative groups and industry, to stimulate further research in this area.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the cross-government delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome will reflect their commitment to embracing the opportunities of digitalisation for NHS services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to better care and support for people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists and researchers, representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the devolved administrations, ME/CFS charities, and organisations and patients with lived experience of ME/CFS.
We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, with three broad themes of boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of those living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish the final delivery plan by the end of March 2025.
Research is an important pillar of the delivery plan for ME/CFS. Future planned action to support research in this area will take a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, recognising the value of patient and public representatives in particular.
The Department funds research on ME/CFS through the NIHR and the MRC. The NIHR and the MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring the next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, through for example research fellowships, and, in the case of the NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. The NIHR welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners, including patient representative groups and industry, to stimulate further research in this area.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to data released by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities on 3 December showing that alcohol-specific deaths in England in 2023 rose to their highest level for the fourth year in a row, what plans they have to produce a new national alcohol strategy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that alcohol deaths are now at record high levels. Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to launch their new Road Investment Strategy; and whether lowering the drink-drive limit will be included as part of the strategy.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
DfT is committed to long term strategies for road investment. As announced in the October Budget, a decision was taken to postpone the start of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), to allow Ministers time to make an assessment of priorities for roads. DfT will provide funding through an Interim Settlement to National Highways covering 2025-26, to allow for important maintenance and enhancement activities to continue. The planned start of RIS3 is April 2026 and the drink-drive limit will not form part of the RIS.
This Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Since the general election, the Department has begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. The Department will share more details in due course.