Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how NHS Cheshire and Merseyside will ensure that patients whose needs cannot safely be managed at home, and who require more than short term stabilisation, can access appropriate specialist palliative care following the loss of any permanent hospice inpatient capacity in Liverpool.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.
More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a national standard requiring every integrated care system to demonstrate that people receiving palliative and end-of life care can obtain timely clinical assessment, appropriate medication and specialist intervention 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.
More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is meeting its statutory duty to commission palliative and end-of-life care according to population need; and what action they will take if evidence shows that Liverpool’s current capacity is insufficient.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.
More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman regarding delays in accessing out-of-hours clinical assessment, symptom control and end-of-life medicines.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.
More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of changes in emergency ambulance use and hospital admissions among Liverpool residents in their last 90 days of life; and whether inadequate specialist palliative care capacity is contributing to avoidable emergency activity.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.
More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what discussions have been had with Churchill Cleaning regarding its proposals to (1) reduce the amount of time spent cleaning in Parliament by over 1000 hours a week, and (2) make 40 cleaners redundant.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Employment decisions are the responsibility of our contractor. However, the House Administrations have made clear their concerns to Churchill Cleaning about the pace and scale of the proposed changes and have received assurances regarding continued delivery to contractual standards. Our cleaners are highly valued members of our community and we are emphasising this to Churchill Cleaning in our discussions with them.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Defence and Security Media Advisory Notices were issued in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold this information, as the Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee is an independent, non-statutory body with no governmental affiliation beyond administrative support. Therefore, any queries concerning the Committee’s work should be directed to the DSMA Secretary at [email protected].
The requested information is publicly accessible on the DSMA website. The news section provides summaries of meetings and Secretary reports, including records of supplementary notices issued. This material is available at the DSMA news page: https://www.dsma.uk/news/.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria will be used to determine which social media platforms are subject to the proposed restrictions on children's access.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. That is why the Secretary of State announced a ban on social media platforms offering their services to under-16s.
We aim to use the same model as Australia. This means capturing user to user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction, which allow users to post material alongside algorithms. A narrowly defined list of exemptions, including messaging and educational services, will also be set out and kept under review.
The Secretary of State will set out the final criteria in regulations that she brings forward before the end of 2026.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to enforce restrictions on high-risk online activities, including (1) live-streaming, and (2) contact with strangers.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has announced its intention that live streaming and stranger communication, including in gaming, will be switched off by default for 16- and 17-year-olds and banned completely for under-16s. Services will need to enforce these restrictions through robust age checks, with requirements set out in regulations later this year.
The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s leadership, making clear that enforcing the Online Safety Act, and these new protections, must be a top priority.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) age-assurance technologies, and (2) any improvements in such technologies required to implement their proposed social media restrictions.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Age assurance technologies play an important role in ensuring that platforms are providing an age-appropriate experience for children on their services.
Ofcom has agreed to launch a rapid assessment of what constitutes highly effective age assurance for establishing whether someone is over 16. Ahead of this, Ofcom are set to publish a report on the effectiveness of age assurance by July 2026, which will help broaden our evidence base and inform future policy options.