Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Accident & Emergency admissions were made for cosmetic and aesthetic treatments requiring urgent medical attention in 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on hospital admissions is not available in the format requested. However, an analysis of hospital episodes by diagnoses for 2023/24 is available at the following link:
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the health visitor to resident ratio in Worcestershire; and what steps his Department is taking to increase this provision.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities have responsibility for commissioning public health services for children and young people aged zero to 19 years old. This includes the commissioning of health visiting services.
We recognise the role health visitors play in our commitment to create the healthiest generation of children ever, as families must have the support they need to give their babies and children the best start and the building blocks for a healthy life.
We have therefore committed to strengthen health visiting services nationally. We will ensure we have the staff we need, so that children and their families are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. This will take time, but we are committed to building a health service fit for the future, with the workforce it needs.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 February to Question 29154 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, what index the annual payments will be linked to.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Once an agreement is signed further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way. This will include costs.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason his Department resumed negotiations with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Negotiations were started by the previous Conservative Government. This Government inherited a situation where the effective operation of the military base remained under threat and that is why negotiations resumed. The deal is rooted in a rational and hard-headed determination to protect UK national security. This deal will protect the base on Diego Garcia and cement UK and US presence in the Indo Pacific for generations to come.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reform mental health services so that social support is integrated into treatment plans.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The statutory guidance on discharge from mental health inpatient settings makes clear that National Health Service mental health trusts should have a clear plan in place for the ongoing care and support that a patient requires after discharge from a mental health inpatient setting. This should cover their pharmacological, physical health, psychological, social, cultural, education, housing and finances, and any other individual needs or wishes.
As part of our mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future and shift care from hospitals into the community by improving community and crisis services, NHS England is piloting new models of care in the community for those with the most serious mental illnesses. New mental health centres open in six neighbourhood areas from this spring and will provide people and their families with support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, if they are in crisis without needing to book an appointment, as well as provide housing, social support or employment advice to support them to stay well. A key feature of the model is continuity of care whereby the same team will support people with serious mental illnesses throughout all stages of their interaction with services, including transitions between hospital and the community.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 29762 on Cross sector partnerships, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of cooperation between state and private schools on state schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Around 70% of private schools affiliated with the Independent Schools Council hold charitable status. As charities, they are required to demonstrate public benefit and one way in which they do that is through partnerships with state schools. This activity should continue.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 February 2025 to Question 29154 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether any conditions will be placed on how the package of financial support can be spent.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Once an agreement is signed further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29763 on Discussions with Members from Worcestershire on local government reform, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials have had with hon. Members from Worcestershire on local government reform.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Neither ministers nor senior officials have had discussions with hon members from Worcestershire on local government reform. The Minister wrote to Worcestershire council leaders on 5th February 2025 to formally invite proposals for local government reorganisation. The invitation is clear that councils should engage locally and that we also expect and encourage local leaders to engage their Members of Parliament on any proposals being developed, before these are submitted to Government.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 29155 on Energy Resilience, when the robust plans to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption were last updated.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity sets out the arrangements for the safe and effective management of downstream gas or electricity disruption. The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity was last updated in July 2023 and is expected to be updated again this year.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February to Question 29770 on Chinese manufacturing, whether major energy infrastructure including wind turbines are categorised as critical national infrastructure when they are procured from foreign countries.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The designation of sites, systems and assets that make up the UK energy sector as Critical National Infrastructure is based on the extent that the loss, damage or disruption of that infrastructure has a major detrimental impact on the availability, integrity or delivery of the essential services of the UK energy system. This approach to identifying Critical National Infrastructure means that we assess all infrastructure, regardless of its ownership.