Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) its arms length bodies have made of the potential impact of the Water Industry National Environment Programme on carbon emissions.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 (PR24) on 19 December, which included a confirmed £104 billion of water company expenditure between 2025 and 2030. £24 billion will be invested to improve the environment and Ofwat have confirmed this will put the sector on track to meet net zero targets by 2050.
For the period between 2025-2030, Ofwat have provided percentage estimates of the emissions reductions water companies are expected to deliver. These can be found within Ofwat's publicly available PR24 company specific documents available on their website: Final determinations in the 2024 price review - Ofwat. Water companies will report on the emission reductions from schemes, using real time data to demonstrate the impact.
Ofwat have also introduced price control deliverables (PCDs) for PR24 – a financial incentive mechanism to incentivise companies to deliver projects on time, and if projects are not delivered, funding is returned to customers. This includes a PCD on climate change resilience to incentivise delivery by companies.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what notice general dental practice contract holders will receive on changes to the new patient premium; and what the Government's policy is on notifying contract holders of changes to their contractual arrangements.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any changes made to the New Patient Premium will require directions from my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. If any changes are agreed, contract holders will be notified by integrated care boards via NHS England.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the New Patient Premium scheme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no plans to extend the New Patient Premium scheme. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) hospitals and (b) other publicly owned healthcare settings are compliant with the UK Health Security Agency guidance entitled Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace, updated on 10 June 2022.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice on the Prevention and Control of Infections, NHS England health and social care providers are required to implement measures that protect patients, residents, and staff while providing assurance to trust boards regarding infection risks and outcomes. This obligation extends to the application of national pathogen-specific guidance, including the UK Health Security Agency’s Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace, which is available at the following link:
The Code of practice outlines 10 criteria used to assess how registered providers meet regulatory requirements for infection prevention and control, including cleanliness.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to roll out mandatory water efficiency labelling.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 5 September 2024, the Secretary of State reaffirmed the Government’s intention to rollout a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label (MWEL). We will introduce the MWEL in the UK via Secondary Legislation under Section 52 and Schedule 6 of the Environment Act 2021.
We are working with the Environment Agency to engage manufacturers and other stakeholders to keep them informed about the regulations as they develop. As this is a devolved matter, we are also working closely with colleagues in the devolved governments to deliver the legislation.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps under the National Planning Policy Framework to increase protections for (a) chalk streams and (b) ancient woodlands.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, which can include ancient woodland and chalk streams, should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will include in the National Planning Policy Framework requirements for local authorities to make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed housing developments on the sustainability of local (a) water services and (b) sewerage systems.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Water companies are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of Water Resource Management Plans and Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans.
The way that water resources are planned for is being considered as part of a commission reviewing the Water Sector Regulatory System, as recently announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on outlining the clinical scope of the (a) role and (b) duties undertaken by (i) physician and (ii) anaesthesia associates.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 20 November 2024, the Government announced that it had commissioned an independent review of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs), led by Professor Gillian Leng CBE. The review will consider the safety of the roles, and their contribution to multidisciplinary healthcare teams.
As set out in the published Terms of Reference, the review will be an end-to-end review of the PA and AA professions, covering selection and recruitment, training, day to day work, scope of practice, oversight, supervision, and professional regulation. The review will report in spring 2025.
NHS England has issued guidance on the deployment of PAs and AAs in the National Health Service, which describes the expectations of how organisations providing NHS care should deploy them, so that they can contribute to the delivery of safe and effective healthcare in a supportive environment. This guidance remains in place whilst the review is ongoing, and is available at the following link:
In the meantime, regulation with the General Medical Council has begun, and will help to ensure patient safety and professional accountability.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether, under amendments to the Government’s business models for the (a) Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT) and (b) Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) projects, money has been (i) ringfenced for and (ii) committed to compensation for losses that might be incurred by (A) the National Wealth Fund, (B) lending banks, (C) BP, (D) Equinor, (E) TotalEnergies and (F) other investors or equity holders arising from the Judicial Review challenging the lawfulness of the decision by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to grant approval for the joint Development Consent Order underpinning NZT and NEP.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has not ringfenced or committed any funds for compensation related to the entities or matters outlined in the question.
Net Zero Teesside’s Development Consent Order (DCO), determined in February 2024, remains in force. Considering the ongoing legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to update the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Work is underway across Defra and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to consider potential updates to the Schedules in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 to ensure drinking water quality in England continues to remain exceptionally high. This includes working with a range of external experts to inform and develop the Government’s thinking on these matters.