Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the British Society of Plant Breeders correctly applies the small producer exemption from royalty fees applied to grain crops with diverse genetic makeup.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) is the representative body for the UK plant breeding industry. In the collection of royalty fees and farm saved seed payments, the BSPB are acting as independent agents of various breeders and are not contracted by Government to undertake this work. Therefore, any queries on the payment of royalty fees should be made to the BSPB.
The Plant Varieties Act 1997 provides an exemption from making farm saved seed payments if the farmer meets the definition of a small farmer as defined in the Act.
Regulation 3(2)(a) of The Plant Breeders’ Rights (Farm Saved Seed) (Specified Information) Regulations 1998 provides an obligation on a small farmer to inform the rights holder that they are exempt from farm saved seed payments. Therefore, a small farmer must inform the BSPB that they meet the exemption for it to be applied. The arrangements for small farmers are publicised through various sources including gov.uk and via the BSPB.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) any Ministers from his Department held meetings with Representative Vincent Yao from the Taipei Representative Office in the UK in (i) September and (ii) October.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and other FCDO ministers did not hold any meetings with Representative Vincent Yao in September or October.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 care for people with migraines.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline, Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults, updated in December 2021, sets out best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people who suffer from headaches, including migraines. It aims to improve the recognition and management of headaches and migraines.
At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with migraines, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit. The GIRFT Programme published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to improving the recognition and diagnosis of migraines by general practitioners. Additionally, the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraines, which includes correct identification and diagnosis of headache disorders.
The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed two e-learning modules about migraines and cluster headaches, which aim to raise awareness amongst primary care clinicians about the different types of migraines and their associated symptoms, and how to differentiate.
Over the last four years, a new class of drugs, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors, has been made available on the National Health Service for the prevention and treatment of episodic and chronic migraines. On 15 May 2024, Atogepant became the latest CGRP inhibitor for which the NICE has published guidance. The NICE recommended Atogepant for use as a preventive medication for the treatment of migraines on the NHS in England.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has demarched the North Korean chargee over North Korean troops in Russia and Ukraine.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The DPRK Charge d'Affairs was called in on 29 October to express our concern about DPRK's support for Russia. We condemn the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia in the strongest possible terms. We are gravely concerned about the deployment of DPRK troops to Russia, and the reports of DPRK and Ukraine engaged in combat. This demonstrates Russia's growing reliance upon third country support at a time when their casualties are at their highest level. We are working with our partners on a coordinated response, and have made clear to the DPRK that this action is dangerous and has serious consequences for peace and security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 12092 on Spain: Floods, how many British citizens have been affected by floods in Spain.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has provided consular assistance in 31 cases to British nationals and/or their families, who have been affected by the floods. We encourage anyone seeking assistance to contact the FCDO on 020 7008 5000 from the UK or +34 917 146 300 from Spain.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Solar Taskforce plans to take steps to (a) assess the prevalence of and (b) tackle the use of Uyghur forced labour in solar supply chains.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No company operating in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. We are working with colleagues across Government to tackle the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains.
The Solar Taskforce is focussed on identifying and taking forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour. This will support the significant increases in deployment of solar panels needed to meet our ambition of radically increasing solar deployment by 2030. Recommendations from the Solar Taskforce will be contained in the Solar Roadmap, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 increase uptake of early screening interventions for chronic kidney disease.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is working to detect people at risk of kidney disease through the NHS Health Check Programme. The programme, which is available for everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 years old who are not already on a chronic disease register, assesses people’s health and risk of developing certain health problems. Using this information, patients are supported to make behavioural changes and access treatment which helps to prevent and detect kidney disease earlier.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) reviewed chronic kidney disease (CKD) and glomerulonephritis in 2011, concluding that a population-wide screening programme would not be recommended. The UK NSC has not looked at the evidence for a targeted programme. The UK NSC can be alerted to any new published peer-reviewed evidence which may suggest the case for a new screening programme. Further information is available at the following link:
The National Health Service provides access to tests and therapies to diagnose, code, and treat patients with early-stage CKD. NHS England, through the Renal Services Transformation Programme and regional renal networks, is implementing initiatives to provide better integrated care, reduce health inequalities, and focus on prevention and timely intervention for kidney disease. Regional renal clinical networks prioritise CKD diagnosis and prevention within their transformation ambitions, facilitating earlier treatment. This includes considerations to develop a unified approach to testing populations at risk of developing CKD, and includes raising awareness of diagnostic tools like urine albumin creatinine tests, enabling CKD diagnosis at stages 1 and 2. NHS England aims to improve awareness and access to these important urine and blood tests across primary and secondary care. In addition, the transformation programme launched a renal toolkit earlier last year, for use by systems, that outlines the principles to support better management of patients identified with CKD throughout their patient journey.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance, Chronic kidney disease: Assessment and management [NG203], updated in November 2021, sets out best practice for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of CKD. The guidance covers the care and treatment of patients at risk of CKD. It includes recommendations on the monitoring of patients at risk of CKD and aims to prevent or delay the progression of the disease. The guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng203
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
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 patient (a) experience and (b) voice is reflected in the NHS 10-year plan.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the Government works to fix the National Health Service, the public must begin to feel the difference in their daily lives. That is why, as part of the engagement exercise to support the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, there will be lots of easy ways for the public to express their views, with face-to-face events in every region, local conversations, and an online portal.
Working with Thinks Insight, integrated care systems, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector, we will seek to reach demographics and communities who may experience barriers to being involved.
This will be the biggest conversation in the NHS’s history. We want to hear from a wide range of individuals, including the experiences of patients, carers, and health and care workers. We have ambitious plans to engage across the country, and want as many people as possible to share their views.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the United Nations on the attendance of the UN Secretary General at the BRICS summit in Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary spoke to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres prior to the BRICS Summit in Kazan, where the UNSG reiterated his position that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had violated the United Nations Charter and international law. The meetings that the Secretary-General chooses are a matter for him, not the UK Government. The UK Government continues to bring economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on Russia, including through sanctions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will place sanctions on the (a) Montenegro based company International Business Corporation Bar and (b) Serbia based company Ventrade DOO for supplying Russia with advanced technology and equipment for its invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains steadfast in our support to Ukraine. Together with our international partners, we have implemented the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy. The UK alone has sanctioned more than 2,000 individuals and entities under the Russia sanctions regime. Whilst we do not comment on future or individual designations, the Foreign Secretary underlined the importance of tackling third-country support to Russia's military-industrial complex at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 22 October. I [Minister Doughty] regularly raise third-country circumvention and the Common High Priority Items list with counterparts. We have sanctioned several entities in third countries involved in supporting Russia's war machine.