Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help support leaseholders that have had EWS1 forms issued by Tri Fire.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As per the answer given to Question UIN 28103 on 11 February 2025, my officials continue to regularly engage with the mortgage lending and insurance industries.
Where a mortgage lender who is a signatory to the statement on cladding is not accepting an EWS1 for a building which requires work to remediate building safety defects, then leaseholders should provide alternative evidence that their building is in the Cladding Safety Scheme, Building Safety Fund or covered by a developer that has signed the Developer Remediation Contract. This evidence could be, for example, a letter from MHCLG or the developer. Leaseholders can also complete a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate to evidence they qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.
For buildings which do not need remedial works, then lenders or insurers may accept Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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:
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
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 endometriosis services in the North East.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. We have also taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. In gynaecology, the plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home as well as the piloting of gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding.
We encourage any woman or girl with symptoms of endometriosis to contact their general practice (GP). Within the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, a GP may then refer a patient to a secondary care service, and in the Scarborough and Whitby area this will likely be to one of two services. Firstly, there is an endometriosis centre based in York Hospital, with further information available at the following link:
This is accredited by the British Society of Gynaecology Endoscopy and includes a multi-disciplinary team of experts providing high-quality, evidence-based care and treatment for people with all grades of endometriosis. Secondly, there is a Gynaecology Service at South Tees Hospital, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/services/gynaecology/
This includes an endometriosis specialist, provided from James Cook University Hospital in Middlesborough, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/consultants/miss-pinky-khatri/
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued on the circumstances in which heather burning can be used to manage (a) moorland and (b) peatland.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and Natural England are currently consulting with stakeholders to develop a refreshed Heather and Grass Management Code to replace the Heather and Grass Burning Code, published in 2007. The code will detail good practice on planning where to burn and how to burn safely and responsibly. This is in addition to detailed guidance published to support The Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of young people on social media.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that users benefit from its wide-reaching protections.
The Act requires all services in scope to take steps to protect users, including children, from illegal content and criminal behaviour. In addition, those likely to be accessed by children will also need to provide additional safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content.
Ofcom also has duty to promote media literacy to help the public understand the nature and impact of harmful content and online behaviour.