Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to ICBs on making use of capital budgets allocated on the basis of hospital deprecation for primary care capital investment.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Department provides over £12 billion between 2022/23 and 2024/25 for National Health Service operational capital. This funding is managed by NHS England and it, rather than the Department, issues the capital planning guidance to the NHS and the integrated care boards (ICBs), which covers both primary and secondary care.
Most of the operational capital funding is allocated to the 42 ICBs and they prioritise and assign the funding across their partner organisations based on their local needs.
From 2022/23, annually, £100 million of this funding for capital investment in primary care estate and IT, which is the protected minimum for primary care investment, and ICBs are able to increase capital for primary care in their region as long as their plans, in aggregate, remain within their set budget.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to (a) publish its opinion on farmed fish welfare and (b) announce its decision on whether to adopt the recommendations on farmed fish welfare made by the Animal Welfare Committee.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the hon. Member to part a) of the reply given to the hon. Member for Putney, Fleur Anderson, on 23 January 2024, UIN 9673.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of levels of availability of Tegretol prolong release medication.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department was notified of supply issues with Tegretol 200 milligram and 400 milligram prolonged release tablets in December 2023. We took swift action, working with industry to help resolve them. As a result, supplies of both strengths are now available from the manufacturer and we are working with them to ensure these are distributed to wholesalers, as quickly as possible.
We issued communications to the National Health Service to provide guidance on the management plan and how to support patients affected by the supply issues. We have confirmed that supplies of alternative Tegretol tablets have remained available throughout.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arrested for terrorism-related activity have been released under investigation in each year since 2014.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Shadow Minister (Home Office) (Security)
| Year to Sept 2014 | Year to Sept 2015 | Year to Sept 2016 | Year to Sept 2017 | Year to Sept 2018 | Year to Sept 2019 | Year to Sept 2020 | Year to Sept 2021 | Year to Sept 2022 |
Charged | 119 | 171 | 182 | 171 | 154 | 114 | 87 | 90 | 76 |
Released without being charged | 140 | 175 | 141 | 273 | 145 | 128 | 104 | 83 | 85 |
Bailed to return & released under investigation | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
Prior to the June 2019 publication, those who were released under investigation were unable to be recorded separately and were recorded as 'released without charge'. From June 2019 the Home Office has published numbers on those bailed to return & released under investigation as one figure.
Data presented here are based on the latest position with each case as at the date of data provision from CTPHQ Coordination Centre (23 October 2023). Therefore individuals released under investigation may have their outcome updated over time, and the numbers change accordingly. More information regarding individuals arrested and charged for terrorist-related activity can be found in the Home Office’s Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 statistics release.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5th February 2024 to Question 12474 on MOD Chicksands: Housing, how many of the (a) grade 3 and (b) grade 4 bedspaces will be required in each of the years between 2024 and 2030.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The anticipated bedspace usage across the period 2024 – 2030 for grade 3 and 4 is:
Grade 3 SLA (total 489 beds) 88% - 429 beds
Grade 4 SLA (total 431 beds) 0%
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of shortages in supplies of (a) Elvanse 30mg and (b) other ADHD medication on the wellbeing of people with an ADHD diagnosis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites.
The Department has been working closely with the respective manufacturers and some issues have now been resolved. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, including Elvanse 30 milligram, which we have been informed should be largely resolved by April or May 2024.
We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be. While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and help mitigate risks to patients. We work with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when supply issues arise. If any patient is concerned about their treatment, they should discuss this with their clinician at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 12474 on RAF Chicksands: Housing, what plans his Department has to improve the (a) grade three (b) grade four accommodation over the next 12 months.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The programme of works commencing in April 2024 is being finalised, but currently includes the refurbishment of kitchen and ablution areas in three single living accommodation (SLA) blocks, which will improve the lived experience.
The works are unlikely to raise the blocks above grade three or four as this will require new-build blocks or a full refurbishment programme, which is unlikely to complete before the base is scheduled to close in 2030.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Secretary of State for Wales’s oral contribution of 23 January 2024 during the debate on Protecting Steel in the UK, Official Report, column 265, whether her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned an independent assessment of the potential merits of the multi-union plan for steel production at Port Talbot.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Tata Steel are now conducting a formal consultation period with staff regarding the company’s proposed £1.25 billion pound project to transition to greener steelmaking at Port Talbot.
Prior to this, Tata Steel have been discussing Union’s alternative proposals with them for several months. Ultimately, this is a commercial decision for Tata Steel and engagement with trade unions has always been a process that must be led by the employer.
We are working with Tata Steel to provide up to £100 million pounds funding for a dedicated Transition Board, which includes members from the Welsh Government, to support both affected employees and the local economy.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to complete its review of the police funding formula before the end of this Parliamentary session.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is clear on the need to review the distribution of funding across forces in England and Wales, which is why we are undertaking a review of the formula. We have engaged closely with the policing sector on an evidence-based assessment of policing demand and the relative impact of local factors on forces, and this work remains ongoing.
Our priority is to deliver a robust, future-proofed funding formula that allocates funding in a fair and transparent manner. Although we are working to introduce new funding arrangements as soon as feasible, their quality and longevity is our focus.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
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 9 January 2024 to Question 7731 on Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board: Dental Services, what the impact of IFRS16 was on the capital departmental expenditure limit (CDEL) for the NHS; and of that how much was (a) to compensate for impacts on primary care provision and (b) allocated to Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire Integrated Care Board.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The additional capital departmental expenditure limit (CDEL) allocation for IFRS 16 in the 2022/23 budget was £1.2 billion. Of that, £24 million was directly linked to NHS England’s budget line, which covers the elements of primary care estate leased by integrated care boards, a relatively small proportion of the overall primary care estate.
All National Health Service organisations provided IFRS 16 estimates to determine the amount of additional CDEL required for IFRS 16, thus ensuring a fair allocation in accordance with HM Treasury’s guidance during the implementation of the new accounting standard. NHS England then provided allocations to integrated care boards, enabling them to fund primary care leases and corporate buildings. For the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, the IFRS 16 CDEL allocation was £785,000 in 2022/23.