Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many students wishing to study (1) ancient history, and (2) classical history, at university were prevented from doing so as a result of a reduction in places in each of the past three years; and what assessment they have made of the future of these subjects as university courses.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student entrants across UK higher education (HE) providers. This includes data on students entering courses in different subject areas, categorised using the HE Classification of Subjects system. Counts of entrants across all subjects from 2019/20 to 2022/23 are published in Table 52 of HESA’s Student Data, which are detailed below and can also be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-52.

The department does not hold information on the number of university places available for each course. We are unable to assess the extent to which the decline in entrants was linked to the reduction of places.

English universities are independent, autonomous institutions and are therefore free to choose which courses they run. Quality is assessed by the Office for Students, the regulator of HE providers in England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the projected cost of clinical negligence claims over the course of the Parliament.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.

The causes of the overall cost rise are complex and there is no single fix, as costs are likely to be rising because of a range of factors, including higher compensation payments and legal costs, rather than more claims or a decline in patient safety.

We recognise that this is an important issue, and ministers intend to look at all the drivers of cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reform regulatory procedures for doctors and dentists by utilising or amending powers pursuant to section 60 of the Health Act 1999.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has been considering its priorities for professional regulation and will be setting these out shortly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of interim suspensions of doctors subject to fitness to practice investigations; and what plans they have to improve the interim suspension procedure for patients and doctors.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors, anaesthesia associates, and physician associates practising in the United Kingdom. It sets and enforces the standards all doctors, anaesthesia associates, and physician associates must adhere to. If an allegation is made about a professional on its registers, the GMC has a statutory duty to investigate and take action to safeguard the health and well-being of the public where necessary. In serious cases, an Interim Orders Tribunal can suspend, or impose conditions upon, a professional’s registration on an interim basis, pending completion of the GMC’s investigation and possible hearing of the case by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Services.

The GMC is independent of the Government, directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The Government has no current plans to discuss the interim suspension procedure with the GMC.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about the steps the CQC is taking to reduce the waiting time for (1) initial inspections, and (2) re-inspections, of healthcare providers.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has introduced additional oversight measures to ensure significant improvements are made to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) operational performance.

The CQC is aware of the issues health and social care providers have experienced and is progressing four immediate actions and five foundational improvements, which include clearing the backlog of registration applications and making improvements to its assessment approach to enable them to complete more, and publish higher quality, assessment reports.

Action carried out to address the registration backlog includes changing the way providers apply for registration, recruiting additional registration inspectors, and streamlining the internal registration processes. The CQC’s registration team has been clearing the backlog of registration applications that are over 10 weeks old, focusing on the oldest ones first.

Action carried out to make improvements to the CQC’s assessment approach include making some changes to the internal technology systems the CQC uses to carry out assessments.

These actions will ensure the CQC is more efficient, and will lead to a reduction in the time providers wait before they receive a first inspection and rating.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Care Quality Commission about the estimated timeframe for the elimination of the backlog for registering new healthcare providers.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has introduced additional oversight measures to ensure significant improvements are made to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) operational performance.

The CQC is aware of the issues health and social care providers have experienced and is progressing four immediate actions and five foundational improvements, which include clearing the backlog of registration applications and making improvements to its assessment approach to enable them to complete more, and publish higher quality, assessment reports.

Action carried out to address the registration backlog includes changing the way providers apply for registration, recruiting additional registration inspectors, and streamlining the internal registration processes. The CQC’s registration team has been clearing the backlog of registration applications that are over 10 weeks old, focusing on the oldest ones first.

Action carried out to make improvements to the CQC’s assessment approach include making some changes to the internal technology systems the CQC uses to carry out assessments.

These actions will ensure the CQC is more efficient, and will lead to a reduction in the time providers wait before they receive a first inspection and rating.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Care Quality Commission about improving the consistency of the quality of reports about healthcare providers.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has introduced additional oversight measures to ensure significant improvements are made to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) operational performance.

The CQC is aware of the issues health and social care providers have experienced and is progressing four immediate actions and five foundational improvements, which include clearing the backlog of registration applications and making improvements to its assessment approach to enable them to complete more, and publish higher quality, assessment reports.

Action carried out to address the registration backlog includes changing the way providers apply for registration, recruiting additional registration inspectors, and streamlining the internal registration processes. The CQC’s registration team has been clearing the backlog of registration applications that are over 10 weeks old, focusing on the oldest ones first.

Action carried out to make improvements to the CQC’s assessment approach include making some changes to the internal technology systems the CQC uses to carry out assessments.

These actions will ensure the CQC is more efficient, and will lead to a reduction in the time providers wait before they receive a first inspection and rating.

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Cabinet Office Minister re Veterinary

Found: Letter from Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Cabinet Office Minister to Lord Carlile of Berriew re: Veterinary

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Cabinet Office Minister re: Withdrawal

Found: Letter from Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP (Cabinet Office Minister) to Lord Ricketts and Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: inquiry into Strengthening Northern Irelands Voice in the Context of the Windsor Framework To: Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Lord Leong re: Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, 1 May 2025

Found: Letter from Lord Leong to Lord Carlile of Berriew re: Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, 2 April

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Cabinet Office Minister re: EU-related

Found: Letter from Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Cabinet Office Minister to Lord Ricketts and Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: the Windsor Framework Wednesday 30 April 2025 10:45 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Baroness Merron (Dept of Health and Social Care) re: Tobacco and

Found: Ricketts GCMG GCVO Chair European Affairs Committee House of Lords SW1A 0PW The Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: Letter from Lord Leong CBE (Department for Business & Trade) to Lord Carlile of Berriew re: Product Regulation

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Found: Letter from Lord Carlile of Berriew to Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Found: (Donnelly Group), Brian Robinson (Agnew Group) & Jeff McCartney (Charles Hurst Group) to Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: the Windsor Framework Wednesday 26 March 2025 11.25 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Carlile of Berriew

Found: After Clause 2 LORD CARLILE OF BERRIEW LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 2, insert the following new

Found: After Clause 2 LORD CARLILE OF BERRIEW LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 2, insert the following new

Found: After Clause 2 LORD CARLILE OF BERRIEW LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 2, insert the following new

Found: After Clause 2 LORD CARLILE OF BERRIEW LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 2, insert the following new

Found: After Clause 2 LORD CARLILE OF BERRIEW LORD BLENCATHRA _ After Clause 2, insert the following new

Found: including 8 April 2025 [Amendments marked ★ are new or have been altered] After Clause 2 LORD CARLILE OF BERRIEW

Found: for Early Education) • Dame Karen Bradley MP (as Home Affairs Select Committee Chair) • Lord Carlile of Berriew