Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists specialising in paediatric pathology (a) in total and (b) in the Scarborough Hull York Pathology Service.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists or paediatric pathologists either across England or at the Scarborough, Hull, and York Pathology Service.

The Department is aware that workforce shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathology have led to longer turnaround times for hospital post-mortem reports in some areas of England. NHS England has therefore established a national work programme to address shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathologists. A £20,000 recruitment incentive for new trainees has been introduced, with further initiatives underway to review the training pathway, develop advanced practitioner roles, and implement a retention strategy for existing staff.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists working (a) in total and (b) in the Scarborough Hull York Pathology Service.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of qualified pathologists or paediatric pathologists either across England or at the Scarborough, Hull, and York Pathology Service.

The Department is aware that workforce shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathology have led to longer turnaround times for hospital post-mortem reports in some areas of England. NHS England has therefore established a national work programme to address shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathologists. A £20,000 recruitment incentive for new trainees has been introduced, with further initiatives underway to review the training pathway, develop advanced practitioner roles, and implement a retention strategy for existing staff.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the time taken to carry out coronial investigations in (a) the UK and (b) North Yorkshire.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Coroner services are locally funded and administered across 77 coroner areas in England and Wales. Statutory responsibility for coroner appointments lies with the funding local authority in each area, and the assessment of resource is based on local caseload and other relevant factors. The Chief Coroner has published guidance and advice to support local authorities in this context.

In 2023, the average time taken to complete the inquest process across England and Wales was 31.5 weeks; and 33 weeks in the North Yorkshire and York coroner area. The average for individual coroner areas is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coroners-statistics-2023.

The Government is committed to supporting an inquest process which is as swift as possible and which puts bereaved families at the heart of the process. We recognise the impact of delays on bereaved families and wider systems and we will continue to work closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners to reform and deliver a framework for the future development of coroner services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of coroners working in (a) the UK and (b) North Yorkshire.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Coroner services are locally funded and administered across 77 coroner areas in England and Wales. Statutory responsibility for coroner appointments lies with the funding local authority in each area, and the assessment of resource is based on local caseload and other relevant factors. The Chief Coroner has published guidance and advice to support local authorities in this context.

In 2023, the average time taken to complete the inquest process across England and Wales was 31.5 weeks; and 33 weeks in the North Yorkshire and York coroner area. The average for individual coroner areas is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coroners-statistics-2023.

The Government is committed to supporting an inquest process which is as swift as possible and which puts bereaved families at the heart of the process. We recognise the impact of delays on bereaved families and wider systems and we will continue to work closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners to reform and deliver a framework for the future development of coroner services.

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 average time taken to carry out postmortems by pathologists ordered by a coroner in (a) the UK and (b) North Yorkshire.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has not made an estimate of the average time taken to carry out postmortems ordered by a coroner.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost of providing free on-site parking to all NHS staff.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No estimate has been made of the potential parking costs on National Health Service staff. All NHS trusts that charge for hospital car parking provide free parking for those in-most need. This includes frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight, blue badge holders, and NHS staff working overnight.

Data on the income from car parking charges is published annually through the NHS Estates Return Information Collection. The latest figures, from 2023/24, show that income received from patients, visitors, and staff for parking on NHS hospital sites in 2023/24 was £242,832,309. Data for the income from NHS trusts for carparking is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24

UN Special Rapporteur's report on atrocity crimes in Iran

Found: meeting Members present: Bob Blackman (Chair); Jess Brown-Fuller; Jonathan Davies; Mary Glindon; Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Asato Ellie Chowns Rachael Maskell Neil Duncan-Jordan Caroline Voaden Manuela Perteghella Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Asato Ellie Chowns Rachael Maskell Neil Duncan-Jordan Caroline Voaden Manuela Perteghella Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Birmingham Edgbaston) (Lab/Coop) • Dame Nia Griffith (Minister for Equalities) (Llanelli) (Lab) • Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume

Found: Chowns Mrs Elsie Blundell Fabian Hamilton Paula Barker Siân Berry Natalie Fleet Chris Webb Alison Hume