Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage, through organised career structures, more people to enter roles in the care sector.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are developing a Care Workforce Pathway, which will set out the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to work in adult social care, as well as a clear career structure for the workforce. We intend to publish the first part of the pathway, focused on staff in direct care roles, in autumn 2023.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are working in social care roles in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to Skills for Care, there were 1.5 million people working in adult social care roles in England in 2021/22.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - 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 people residing in care homes.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department collects data on the number of people residing in care homes on a monthly basis.
The Data reported in Capacity Tracker (CT) shows that in the week ending 14/05/2023 the number of people in younger and older adult care homes was 363,972. This figure is made up of both private and local authority funded clients. Data is from adult social care in England, monthly statistics, COVID-19 Vaccination statistics June 2023, Table 10.
The Short- and Long-Term collection (SALT) shows that at year end 2021/22 the number of people in care homes (residential and nursing) accessing long term support was 175,680. This figure only includes clients whose care is commissioned or funded by local authorities. Those who privately finance and organise their care are not included. Data is found in SALT Table 38.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many registered care homes there are in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are 14,858 registered care homes in England.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, if any, to increase funding for social care.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has already provided a historic increase in funding for social care. The Government announced at the Autumn Statement that up to £7.5 billion of additional funding would be available for Adult Social Care and discharge over the next two years. This historic funding boost should put the adult social care system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the sector. We will keep working closely with local authorities and the adult social care sector to understand current pressures on service delivery and budgets.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how much they have spent to date, and (2) how much they plan to spend, on the improvements to the Crewe–Holyhead rail line.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The North Wales Mainline has benefitted from investment as part of recent record funding settlements for Network Rail’s Wales Route. £50m has been spent on improving the signalling system and track layout, together with improvements to Abergele and Pensarn station. The cases for further improvements to journey times on the line, and for improvements at Chester and Shotton stations are currently being developed and will be considered for funding based on their merits.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Atlas C.1 (A400M) aircraft are operational in the UK; and whether they have ordered more to be built.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The RAF has a fleet of 21 Atlas C.1 (A400M) aircraft with another due for delivery in the summer of 2023. Currently, no additional aircraft have been ordered.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the development of the Wylfa (Ynys Môn) and Trawsfynydd (Gwynedd) nuclear power stations.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government intends to make an announcement on the launch of Great British Nuclear (GBN) soon. GBN will be tasked with helping projects through every stage of the development process and developing a resilient pipeline of new build projects.
The Government will also develop a new nuclear National Policy Statement, which will cover the siting and policy framework for nuclear electricity generating infrastructure beyond 2025, and will consult on this new NPS in due course.
In the meantime, the Government continues to discuss new projects with viable companies and investors wishing to develop sites, including in North Wales.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to build miniature nuclear power generators in Wales.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government set out its ambitious civil nuclear programme and the Government is committed to ensuring that the UK is one of the best places in the world to invest in new nuclear.
No decisions have yet been taken over the siting of future nuclear projects. However, the Government engages with a range of Welsh stakeholders, including the Welsh Government and Welsh Government-funded bodies, on nuclear issues including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The Government will continue to engage on nuclear-related issues.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for establishing of Free Ports in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The UK and Welsh Governments are committed to delivering the benefits of Freeports in Wales, supporting the regeneration of communities in Wales by attracting new businesses, jobs, and investment, as well as growing the Welsh economy.
An announcement on the outcome of the Welsh Freeports competition will be made in Spring 2023.