Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 support patients with motor neurone disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with motor neurone disease (MND), including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time, for all neurology patients, including those with MND.
We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, biannual meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations and health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together, to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including MND.
NHS England commissions the specialised elements of MND care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. Within specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals and specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.
Government responsibility for delivering MND research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation. Government funders are continuing to invest into MND research. For example, investing £12.5 million to support the best discovery science in MND at the UK Dementia Research Institute, £6 million of Government funding for the MND Translational Accelerator, which is seeking to speed up the development of treatments for MND, and an £8 million investment into EXPERTS-ALS, which screens for drugs that have the potential to be successful in clinical trials for people with MND.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure consistency across local authorities over motorcycles using bus lanes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the consultation response published on 21 November 2024, the Department for Transport will update TAL 1/24 to include advice that local authorities should work with neighbouring authorities to achieve consistency of provision across boundaries, particularly in urban areas but no publication date has been set.
The Department is also considering how best to work with combined authorities and Transport for London, to encourage a more joined up approach to motorcycle access in these areas.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to meet the demand for specialist SEND school places.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the vital role that special schools play in catering to children and young people with the most complex needs. We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units.
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). If a local authority identifies a shortage of places, which would result in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they should consider creating or expanding provision to meet that need.
The government has now published local authority allocations for £740 million in high needs capital in the 2025/26 financial year to support local authorities to provide school places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs. Hampshire has been allocated just under £22.9 million for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 improve (a) diagnoses, (b) treatment options and (c) support for people living with chronic urinary tract infections; and whether he plans to increase levels of funding for research into (i) alternative therapies, (ii) phage therapy and (iii) advanced drug delivery methods to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Support for those affected by chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) is locally led and commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs) to meet the needs of their local populations. NHS England is supporting research and working with industry to horizon scan for new innovations in point-of-care tests for diagnosing UTIs, to better guide treatment options. The importance of ensuring rapid, accurate diagnostic testing is available to guide effective antibiotic use is highlighted in the policy paper, Confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029, which is available at the following link:
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past five years, the NIHR has allocated a total of over £20 million to the development of new antibiotics and alternative therapies. The Department has a large anti-microbial resistance (AMR) research portfolio, with over £88 million invested over the last five years in NIHR research programme funding for AMR. Building on previous NIHR funding, a dedicated NIHR Health Protection Research Unit on healthcare associated infections and antimicrobial resistance recently launched with funding increased to £11 million over the next five years.
The policy paper also acknowledges the potential of alternative therapies, including bacteriophage (phage) therapy, in combating AMR. The Government continues to engage with phage researchers and industry stakeholders, including the Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network Phage Innovation Network, chaired by the UK Health Security Agency. By fostering research, adapting regulations, and engaging key stakeholders, the United Kingdom is working to unlock the potential of phage therapy in the fight against AMR.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with banks on the time taken to pay full refunds to people who have been subject to phishing scams.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations, details of which can be found at the following link:
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is the independent regulator with responsibility for the Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam reimbursement regime. The PSR’s rules require in scope Payment Service Providers (PSP’s) to reimburse victims of APP scams which take place over the Faster Payments System within five business days of making a claim. However, PSPs may take longer in specific circumstances, including where it may need more time to gather sufficient information from the victim or third parties to help assess the claim.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for the provision of SEND services by Hampshire Council.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The Hampshire local area partnership was last inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the previous SEND inspection framework in March 2020. The inspection found that leaders in Hampshire were highly ambitious for children and young people with SEND, and while the inspection did identify areas for improvement, it did not identify any areas of significant weakness. As with all local areas, the department has continued to work with Hampshire since its last inspection through a regional case lead, who seeks regular assurances on the adequacy of SEND provision and provides support and challenge. All local authorities will be assessed under the new CQC Area SEND Inspection Framework by the end of 2027. Following their inspection, the department will work closely with Hampshire as they respond to the findings.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND is over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year. Of that total, Hampshire County Council is being allocated over £224 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £17.7 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.5% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support Hampshire County Council in its provision of SEND support.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The Hampshire local area partnership was last inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the previous SEND inspection framework in March 2020. The inspection found that leaders in Hampshire were highly ambitious for children and young people with SEND, and while the inspection did identify areas for improvement, it did not identify any areas of significant weakness. As with all local areas, the department has continued to work with Hampshire since its last inspection through a regional case lead, who seeks regular assurances on the adequacy of SEND provision and provides support and challenge. All local authorities will be assessed under the new CQC Area SEND Inspection Framework by the end of 2027. Following their inspection, the department will work closely with Hampshire as they respond to the findings.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND is over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year. Of that total, Hampshire County Council is being allocated over £224 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £17.7 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.5% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Payment Systems Regulator on the enforcement of the Authorised Push Payment fraud reimbursement rules introduced on 7 October 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations, details of which can be found at the following link:
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this appalling crime. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has introduced a mandatory reimbursement cap for APP scams taking place over the Faster Payment system. This came into force on 7 October 2024.
Enforcement of the APP scam reimbursement regime is a matter for the PSR, but to monitor the success and impact of this, the PSR has committed to commission an independent post implementation review of its policy after 12 months of the policy being in force.
On 11 March, the Government announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the FCA. The PSR continues to be an independent economic regulator with full access to its statutory powers until legislation is passed to change this and APP scam victims will continue to benefit from the same levels of protection.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 help improve the effectiveness of the internal NHS complaints system.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients have the right to complain about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment, or service. The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 set out the minimum standards NHS organisations must adhere to in respect of their complaint handling arrangements.
The Department has worked closely with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on their work to develop the NHS Complaint Standards, which set out how organisations providing services in the NHS should approach complaint handling. The standards place a strong focus on several key aspects of complaint handling and set out practical advice and good practice to help NHS organisations improve.
In addition to these arrangements, the Care Quality Commission has an important role in ensuring NHS providers have an effective and accessible system for handling complaints from service users.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for ministerial visits to hospitals in Hampshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.