Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
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 with the voluntary sector to introduce new ways of treating mental ill health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers and Departmental officials meet regularly with voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) stakeholders in the mental health sector to discuss a range of mental health issues and current challenges.
In October 2024 we launched the 10-Year Health Plan for the National Health Service to gather views from members of the public, NHS staff, VCSEs, and other organisations on their experiences and ideas to reform the NHS and make it fit for the future. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from the hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We are working closely with VCSEs and other mental health stakeholders to ensure the unique challenges for mental health services across England are reflected in 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
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) help prevent and (b) increase early intervention for mental ill health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Shared Outcomes Fund Early Support Hubs project aims to increase the Government's understanding of the effectiveness of early intervention and prevention support for children and young people's mental health delivered in a community setting and strengthen the evidence base for early intervention. By evaluating the Early Support Hubs as a delivery model for early intervention, the project aims to build a strong evidence base, assess the impact of these services, and inform potential future expansion of the model. The evaluation of the project aims to report its findings by Summer 2025.
There are currently approximately 65 locally funded early support hubs in England offering early easy access mental health interventions to thousands of children and young people aged 11 to 25 years old, including those from low-income families.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.
Additionally, Every Mind Matters is a campaign run by NHS England, which features the mental health tool My Mind Plan at the heart of their resources and advice for those facing mental health problems.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
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 with the (a) NHS and (b) voluntary sector to introduce (i) clinical and (ii) non-clinical responses for young people with mental health needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to delivering a range of support, both clinical and non-clinical, to improve children and young people’s mental health. This includes recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult National Health Service mental health services, to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, helping to ease pressure on busy mental health services.
Nearly 500 NHS-funded mental health support teams were operational in approximately 8,500, or 34%, of schools and colleges across England as of the end of March 2024, covering 4.2 million, or 44%, of pupils or learners. These teams work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.
We will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community. The national network of Young Futures hubs is expected to bring local services together, and deliver support for teenagers at risk of being drawn into crime or facing mental health challenges. They will provide open access mental health support for children and young people in every community.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the consultation document entitled Online Safety - fees and penalties: Consultation on implementing fees and penalties under the Online Safety Act 2023, published on 23 October 2024, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the proposed fee regime for companies that (a) within scope of the Online Safety Act but are not categorised and (b) do not monetise their user-generated content.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Companies raising revenue from online services should cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Online Safety Act allows Ofcom to charge providers above a revenue threshold a justifiable and proportionate fee.
The Secretary of State is considering the contents of Ofcom’s ‘Online Safety – fees and penalties’ consultation, which closes on 9 January 2025. Departmental officials have regular contact with Ofcom regarding respective responsibilities in implementing the fee regime.
Parliament will be responsible for approving key aspects of the fee regime including regulations defining Qualifying Worldwide Revenue and the revenue threshold.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the consultation document entitled Online Safety - fees and penalties: Consultation on implementing fees and penalties under the Online Safety Act 2023, published on 23 October 2024, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the proposed fee regime for companies that do not have a close supervisory relationship with Ofcom.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Companies raising revenue from online services should cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Online Safety Act allows Ofcom to charge providers above a revenue threshold a justifiable and proportionate fee.
The Secretary of State is considering the contents of Ofcom’s ‘Online Safety – fees and penalties’ consultation, which closes on 9 January 2025. Departmental officials have regular contact with Ofcom regarding respective responsibilities in implementing the fee regime.
Parliament will be responsible for approving key aspects of the fee regime including regulations defining Qualifying Worldwide Revenue and the revenue threshold.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an Online Safety Act fee regime through which the fees charged to individual platforms is equal to the costs to Ofcom for regulating those services.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Companies raising revenue from online services should cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Online Safety Act allows Ofcom to charge providers above a revenue threshold a justifiable and proportionate fee.
The Secretary of State is considering the contents of Ofcom’s ‘Online Safety – fees and penalties’ consultation, which closes on 9 January 2025. Departmental officials have regular contact with Ofcom regarding respective responsibilities in implementing the fee regime.
Parliament will be responsible for approving key aspects of the fee regime including regulations defining Qualifying Worldwide Revenue and the revenue threshold.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of (a) maternal mental health services launched in 2019 and (b) maternal mental health services pregnancy and baby loss pathways in supporting bereaved mothers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded study has been commissioned to examine the effectiveness and the implementation of maternal mental health services, including the services’ provision of support for perinatal loss. The study will help identify the optimal service delivery models and context-specific barriers to implementation.
The research aims to understand how effective maternal mental health services are in improving mental health for women who have experienced trauma or loss related to childbirth, and the feasibility and effectiveness of maternal mental health services in providing trauma informed training across the maternity workforce.
To date, maternal mental health services have been implemented in 40 of the 42 integrated care system areas in England, and the last two are being supported by NHS England to ensure they are up and running as soon as possible.
We are committed to improving the mental health support available to those in the perinatal period. We know that the National Health Service has struggled to keep up with people’s greater awareness of the challenges of poor mental health, and that waiting lists for those referred for support are too high. We will reduce waiting times, intervene earlier, and increase the workforce as quickly as possible to meet the required needs.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the UK Atomic Energy Authority on ensuring that expertise gained through the Joint European Torus (JET) experiment is (a) retained and (b) used by the UK STEP project; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing the JET site.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UKAEA has developed world-leading fusion expertise having hosted JET for 40 years. A decision was made to cease operations at the end of 2023 as major upgrades to JET’s ageing infrastructure would offer only limited scientific value.
Most of the staff linked to JET are now a part of JET decommissioning or other UKAEA programmes. JET decommissioning will provide a unique opportunity to develop knowledge in the decommissioning of a fusion device and will inform the design of STEP. Furthermore, the repurposing of the estate will support ongoing growth of the cluster of fusion organisations based at the Culham campus.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question
What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support victims of the Windrush scandal.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Justice and change that victims of the Windrush Scandal deserve has not been delivered.
Recently, I met with the WNO and Windrush Cymru Elders as part of this Government’s fundamental reset, and am proud that since taking office, we have re-established the Windrush unit in the Home Office; improved our caseworking with the introduction of a single named caseworker; committed to appointing a Windrush Commissioner; and are bringing in £1.5mil in grants to fund additional advocacy and support for claimants.
I am also pleased to hear about the excellent work of the Long Eaton Settlers Legacy Association in your constituency. Campaign groups like them do very important work in the local community, supporting victims of the Windrush Scandal to access the compensation they deserve. I will ensure that the Windrush Engagement Team is aware of their work as they continue reaching out to organisations and communities across the country.
This Government is determined to right the wrongs of the Windrush Scandal.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the total cost to the public purse of work on (a) the Queen's Medical Centre and (b) Nottingham City Hospital via the New Hospital programme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard process for confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, however these are commercially sensitive. The scheme is currently at the Pre-Consultation Business Case stage, and is at Royal Institute of British Architects Stage 0.