Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the provision of military support in the context of conflict in the Middle East.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We keep our military engagement in the Middle East under continuous review and any changes are discussed with relevant Departments as appropriate.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to continue funding for the opt-out blood-borne virus testing programme at (a) St George's, Epsom and (b) St Helier Hospitals and Health Group beyond March 2025.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 28 November 2024, the Prime Minister announced a further £27 million of funding for the continuation of the HIV Emergency Department opt-out testing programme for 2025/26. As part of the extension, more than 90 sites will be offered funding to continue or begin the roll out of HIV opt out testing until March 2026, including St George's, Epsom, and St Helier hospitals.
NHS England will evaluate the costs and feasibility of further extending this programme regarding hepatitis B and C opt-out testing, once budgets for 2025/26 are confirmed, and expects to provide an update on their decision in the early new year.
There are currently no plans to extend opt-out HIV testing beyond emergency departments. However, the Department, together with the UK Health and Security Agency, and NHS England are working together in the development of a new HIV Action Plan, which will include a focus on scaling up HIV testing, and which we aim to publish in summer 2025.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of facilities staff are on Agenda For Change contracts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Facilities staff in the National Health Service may be employed both directly by NHS bodies but also by separate companies who are contracted to deliver services. The Department does not hold information on the number of staff who are employed by companies contracted from outside the NHS to provide services.
Information is held on staff directly employed by NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. From this we can see that as of August 2024, there were 66,597 full time equivalent staff providing hotel, property, and estates functions in NHS trusts and other core organisations. Of these, 4,770, or 7.2%, where not on Agenda For Change pay bands. This staff group will include people employed in roles such as housekeepers, cleaners, porters, catering staff, maintenance roles, and other estates works.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 prior consultation on the Down Syndrome Act 2022; and when he plans to publish the statutory guidance.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Down Syndrome Act 2022 started as a Private Members Bill, introduced into the House of Commons in summer 2021. As such, this specific assessment has not been made.
A national call for evidence was launched on 19 July 2022 to inform the development of the statutory guidance required under the Down Syndrome Act. The call for evidence remained open for 16 weeks and received over 1,500 responses, including responses from people with Down syndrome, their families and carers, professionals, organisations, and stakeholder groups representing people with genetic conditions.
Officials are taking forward, as a priority, development of the Down Syndrome guidance. We expect to publish the draft guidance for public consultation as soon as possible in the new year.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 potential impact of shortages of building inspectors on (a) repairs and (b) maintenance projects across the NHS Estate.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Building inspectors working on National Health Service estate repairs or maintenance projects may be employed by NHS trusts, local councils, private companies, or contractors working on behalf of the NHS. Their work ensures that buildings are safe for use, accessible, and in good condition.
While the Department has not made any specific assessment of the potential impact of shortages of building inspectors, NHS England is taking forward implementation of the Estates and Facilities Workforce Action Plan, which aims to strengthen the NHS estates workforce and its governance.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Climate Change education in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) is currently reviewing the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose and that the curriculum is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative. The review group will publish an interim report early in 2025, setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final report, with recommendations, will be published in autumn 2025.
Topics relating to climate change and the environment are currently included within geography, science and citizenship in the current national curriculum, with an environmental science A level also available. At a primary level, pupils are given a foundation of climate science which can be built on in secondary school. Teachers also have the flexibility to plan their own lessons, which enables them to adapt and consider new developments, societal changes, or topical issues. As a result, the department is seeing excellent work in climate education at all levels in many schools and multi-academy trusts.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the potential for the Child Maintenance System to be used as a tool of economic abuse.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic and economic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need.
CMS Staff receive training to ensure they are able to respond appropriately to parents experiencing domestic abuse. The current Domestic Abuse training package was updated with input from external stakeholders. It includes an understanding of different types of abuse, including economic, and covers post separation abuse. It has been reviewed to ensure it reflects the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour, published in April 2023, to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately.
The recent consultation on proposed reforms to CMS included managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster and explore how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported. This proposal would also reduce the ability for perpetrators of domestic abuse to inflict economic control and coercion through withholding child maintenance payments. The consultation closed on 30 September 2024, and the Government will publish a response in due course.
Where a parent fails to pay on time or in full, the CMS will consider enforcement action as quickly as possible to get money flowing and collect any unpaid amounts that have accrued.
The CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers to ensure children get the financial support they deserve. These powers include the ability to deduct directly from the paying parent’s earnings or bank accounts and disqualifications from holding or obtaining driving licenses and passports.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 number of people with diagnosed HIV who are not currently in care; what research it has conducted into the reasons for disengagement from care; and what funding is available to support programmes aimed at re-engaging such people with HIV services.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has estimated that the number of people with diagnosed HIV who are not currently in care, which is defined as not attending care for at least 15 months, in 2023 was 4,960. This represents 5.3% of people diagnosed with HIV.
A retention and re-engagement in HIV care task and finish group was established in 2023, that considered the available research and evidence. This included the UKHSA Positive Voices survey, which presents key indicators for HIV stigma, which are closely linked to retention and disengagement from care. This work is being considered as part of the development of the new HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in summer 2025.
As part of the HIV Action Plan, NHS England invested £20 million for the roll out of the Blood Borne Viruses opt-out Emergency Department testing programme in extremely high HIV prevalence areas, which helped identify and re-engage more than 1,300 individuals with HIV services during its first 28 months. A further investment of £20 million was provided by the Department to evaluate the expansion of the programme to 46 high prevalence emergency departments in England.
On 28 November 2024 the Prime Minister announced further funding of £27 million for the extension of the HIV Opt-Out Testing Programme in 2025/26. 10% of this funding and of the second £20 million is assigned to peer support, delivered by the voluntary and community sector, and is aimed at linking and retaining people in care.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to tackle changes in rates of HIV diagnoses among heterosexual men and women.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
HIV is a priority for the Government, and we have commissioned a new HIV Action Plan for 2025 to 2030, to achieve no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030, which we aim to publish in summer 2025.
The new action plan will include a focus on ensuring equitable access to HIV prevention programmes, and scaling up HIV testing with a particular focus on heterosexual men and women.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend opt-out HIV testing beyond emergency departments.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 28 November 2024, the Prime Minister announced a further £27 million of funding for the continuation of the HIV Emergency Department opt-out testing programme for 2025/26. As part of the extension, more than 90 sites will be offered funding to continue or begin the roll out of HIV opt out testing until March 2026, including St George's, Epsom, and St Helier hospitals.
NHS England will evaluate the costs and feasibility of further extending this programme regarding hepatitis B and C opt-out testing, once budgets for 2025/26 are confirmed, and expects to provide an update on their decision in the early new year.
There are currently no plans to extend opt-out HIV testing beyond emergency departments. However, the Department, together with the UK Health and Security Agency, and NHS England are working together in the development of a new HIV Action Plan, which will include a focus on scaling up HIV testing, and which we aim to publish in summer 2025.