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.
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 consult on Part G of the building regulations to improve water efficiency standards.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to enabling homes to be water efficient as part of the statutory Water Demand Target under the Environment Act 2021, to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. The target is underpinned by a commitment to lower water usage in homes, to achieve a usage of at least 122 litres per person per day by 2038, on a trajectory to 110 litres per person per day by 2050.
Defra is working closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to explore whether the Building Regulations 2010 could be amended to tighten water efficiency standards, enable consumers to use less water and save on their water and energy bills. Policy options on amendments to the Building Regulations have been collated into a draft consultation, and we are now working through steps to proceed to consultation.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will include section 17(5) of the Environment Act 2021 in the Green Book.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Ministers of the Crown have a legal duty to have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement when making policy, in line with section 19 of the Environment Act 2021.
This is made clear on the Green Book webpage and will be reflected in the Green Book when the document is next updated.
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 legal costs associated with the case between the General Medical Council (GMC) and Anaesthetists United, regarding regulation of Physician and Anaesthesia Associates will be paid for by the Department of Health and Social Care or any other public body.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is funding the General Medical Council (GMC) to undertake the work required to introduce regulations for Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) and Physician Associates (PAs), to avoid doctors paying for this through their registrant fees.
A longstanding principle underpinning the introduction of statutory regulation for new professions is that all related-costs, including legal challenges to that work, should be funded by the Government, to avoid other professions cross-subsidising the work involved.
Once regulation of AAs and PAs becomes self-funding, the Government will cease funding the GMC.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 901299 on Long Covid: Health Services, what strategies he recently discussed with stakeholders to stimulate further research into treatments for long covid.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 17 October 2024, I co-chaired a roundtable of researchers and people with lived experience to discuss long COVID research. I highlighted the importance of research in supporting this community, as well as recognising the significant burden of disease. We also discussed next steps for long COVID research, including supporting implementation science and knowledge mobilisation to ensure results translate into policy and practice, supporting researchers and industry partners to deliver intervention studies for new and repurposed treatments, capitalising on synergies with research on other post-viral syndromes, and ensuring long COVID researchers are supported to apply for further funding.
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 has had discussions with public health stakeholders on ventilation in publicly provided spaces to assess (a) transmission of airborne diseases and (b) air quality; and if he will take steps to provide (i) funding and (ii) logistical support to ensure the safe ventilation of publicly provided spaces.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 annual report on air pollution highlighted indoor air quality as a significant issue for public health. The Department engages both across Government and externally on air quality and health. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published guidance on the ventilation of indoor spaces to reduce the spread of respiratory infections, which is available at the following link:
The UKHSA also has a Cleaner Air Programme, which includes efforts to increase the evidence base and raise awareness of indoor air quality and its health impacts, especially in settings like homes, schools, and public places. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on indoor air quality in residential buildings which outlines steps that can be taken to mitigate health risks. These guidelines are available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng149
The funding of logistical support for public spaces is generally the responsibility of the authority that owns and operates those spaces.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on average waiting times for decisions on (a) offline and (b) digital Pension Credit applications.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are unable to provide Pension Credit average waiting times for decisions separately for offline and digital claims. Average Actual Clearance Times are measured weekly. The table below shows Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) from the end of week commencing 2nd September to the end of week commencing 21st October, in working days.
DWP currently works to a planned timescale of 50 working days to clear Pension Credit claims.
Source | 02/09/24 | 09/09/24 | 16/09/24 | 23/09/24 | 30/09/24 | 07/10/24 | 14/10/24 | 21/10/24 | |
Winter Fuel Payment Dashboard | Pension Credit Claims AACT | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 33 | 37 | 44 | 52 |
Please note.