Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with the Internet Watch Foundation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Protecting children online is a priority for this department. The Internet Watch Foundation does vital work to tackle child sexual abuse and DSIT and other departments engage closely with them on their critical work.
I regularly meet with online safety stakeholders and remain committed to continuing this incredibly important relationship. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to improve standards in local politics.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We published the government’s response to the Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for Local Authorities in England consultation on 11 November. The response, informed by the consultation and wider sector engagement, sets out our ambition to introduce a clearer and consistently applied conduct system that will help local elected members to hold themselves and their colleagues to account in meeting the high standards and conduct their roles demand and the public have a right to expect.
We intend to legislate on local government standards reforms when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the resilience of the food system.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. The United Kingdom Food Security Report (UKFSR) sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security in the UK, fulfilling the duty in the Agriculture Act 2020 to present a report on food security to Parliament at least once every three years. The first UKFSR was produced in 2021. The most recent UKFSR was published on 11th December 2024. The UKFSR examines past, current, and future trends relevant to food security to present the best available understanding of food security at the time of publication.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to replace the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce.
In 2024, the value of UK-grown fruit and vegetables was over £3 billion increasing by 4.5% and 2.1% respectively with the overall fresh fruit and vegetable market valued at approximately £11 billion including exports worth around £170 million contributing significantly to the UK economy.
With the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
Wider Government support for the sector includes a five-year extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing greater stability for businesses, and a continued easement on import checks for medium-risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the strength of the horticulture sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce.
In 2024, the value of UK-grown fruit and vegetables was over £3 billion increasing by 4.5% and 2.1% respectively with the overall fresh fruit and vegetable market valued at approximately £11 billion including exports worth around £170 million contributing significantly to the UK economy.
With the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
Wider Government support for the sector includes a five-year extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing greater stability for businesses, and a continued easement on import checks for medium-risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain and is equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Defra regularly meets with Cabinet Office, other Government Departments, Devolved Governments on resilience planning, including food security.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to protect food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are joint Lead Government Departments (LGDs), with Defra leading on supply and the FSA on food safety. We work closely with the Cabinet Office and other LGDs ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors. Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people with Parkinson's disease who have access to a Parkinson’s nurse in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the number of people with Parkinson's disease who have access to a Parkinson’s nurse in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. The Department does not hold data on how many hospitals have staff who are members of the Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to meet the care and support needs of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Patients living in the Surrey Heath constituency would be covered by either the NHS Frimley ICB or the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB. ICBs are responsible for commissioning services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations and, in doing so, we expect them to have regard to best practice guidance, such as that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
The new NHS App will end the 8am rush by providing more flexibility in the way that people contact their general practitioner (GP), enabling better GP appointment booking as long as GPs make appointments available in the App. It will also help people to get care quicker without seeing their GP, for example improved self-care by going to a pharmacy or by self-referring into a specialist pathway or by providing remote consultations with specialists.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals have staff who are members of the Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate has been made of the number of people with Parkinson's disease who have access to a Parkinson’s nurse in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. The Department does not hold data on how many hospitals have staff who are members of the Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to meet the care and support needs of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Patients living in the Surrey Heath constituency would be covered by either the NHS Frimley ICB or the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB. ICBs are responsible for commissioning services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations and, in doing so, we expect them to have regard to best practice guidance, such as that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
This Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
The new NHS App will end the 8am rush by providing more flexibility in the way that people contact their general practitioner (GP), enabling better GP appointment booking as long as GPs make appointments available in the App. It will also help people to get care quicker without seeing their GP, for example improved self-care by going to a pharmacy or by self-referring into a specialist pathway or by providing remote consultations with specialists.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote earlier detection of mouth cancer, (b) ensure (i) dentists, (ii) GPs and (iii) other frontline health professionals are trained to identify early warning signs and (c) reduce the time taken to (A) diagnose and (B) refer patients for treatment for mouth cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that cancer incidence, including mouth cancer incidence, is increasing. We know that more needs to be done to improve outcomes for patients with mouth cancer, including raising awareness of signs and symptoms and focusing on prevention, such as the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart, and it will include further details on how we will speed up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.
To support earlier and faster cancer diagnosis, we are now delivering additional checks, tests and scans at 170 community diagnostic centres.
Additionally, to help increase early detection of cancer, the Government has recently launched Jess’s Rule, an initiative that asks general practitioners (GPs) to think again if, after three appointments, they have been unable to diagnose a patient, or their symptoms have escalated.
We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practice, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This will help to ensure we have a well-trained and well-equipped primary care service that can take the time to provide quality care to patients around the country.
Dentists and other dental professionals, including hygienists, routinely check the soft tissues of a patient’s mouth for signs of cancer during dental visits and as part of the check-up will make an assessment and record an individual’s oral cancer risk. Dentists will prioritise patients at a higher risk of oral cancer for more frequent recall and review in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.