Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes which have notifiable status.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.
The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces. The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity.
The NWCU uses this information to produce strategic and tactical assessments of wildlife crime across the UK. These assessments also take into consideration the views of the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group, which highlight priorities based on the conservation status of specific species and review all other non-priority intelligence to identify any emerging threats. It is these assessments which ultimately drive the operational response to tackling wildlife crime in the UK.
We will keep under review any legislative proposals to increase the range of wildlife crimes that have notifiable status. If a non-notifiable wildlife crime is reported to police it can still be investigated. Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to announce whether he plans to extend the seasonal agricultural workers scheme beyond December 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker route under close review, and we will say more in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve research into acute myeloid leukaemia.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is proud to invest £1.3 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, and more is spent on cancer than any other disease group.
The Government, through the NIHR, is committed to improving research into the cancers with the poorest survival rates, such as acute myeloid leukaemia, by funding high quality, timely research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public, and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective, and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people, including those with pancreatic cancer, and other less survivable cancers. The following table shows NIHR research spend on diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers, which includes leukaemia, since 2018:
Number of projects | Total awards value | |
Blood cancer diagnosis | 11 | £11,900,000 |
Blood cancer treatment | 14 | £14,700,000 |
Blood cancer diagnosis and treatment | 4 | £7,700,000 |
In 2023, the Government awarded £2 million to new interdisciplinary research teams tackling hard to treat cancers, via the Medical Research Council’s two-day cancer sandpit strategic funding opportunity, focused on technological innovation for understanding cancers with the poorest survival rates.
The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including acute myeloid leukaemia. All applications are assessed for funding by peer review committees. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including the quality of the proposals, and their scientific potential. All applications for research into pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers, made through open competition, have been funded.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the GP to patient ratio in Wyre.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2024, the median general practice patient ratio in Wyre was 5.1 full time equivalent doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of support for children with SEND in Lancashire.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Lancashire were last inspected under the previous Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) framework and were issued with a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) with 12 areas of significant weakness. Following their revisit inspection, published in August 2020, Lancashire were moved onto an Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) for five areas of significant weakness which were deemed to have not made sufficient progress. A department Case Lead, alongside a NHS England and a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser, worked with the local authority and monitored their progress against the APP. After a series of reviews and data analysis, in 2021 the decision was taken that based on the evidence provided, that Lancashire had demonstrated clear and sustained progress against the areas highlighted in the accelerated progress plan.
As with all local areas, the department has continued to provide support and challenge to Lancashire through their regional case lead, who seeks regular assurance, through conversations with SEND leads, that they are sustaining the progress made. The department also analyses Lancashire’s position through the annual SEN2 data publication, assessing their data performance and using this information to shape discussions. This progress will be assessed in the next Ofsted and CQC inspection, with all local authorities due to be inspected by the end of 2027.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy for carers who work less than 16 hours a week to be eligible to access 30 hours of free childcare.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To be eligible for the working parent entitlement, which includes the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage, which is £183 per week or £9,518 per year in 2024/25, and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. A parent on carer’s leave, or in receipt of certain benefits, may be eligible provided their partner is working and meets the eligibility criteria. Currently, there are no plans to change the eligibility criteria.
All 3 and 4 year olds are eligible for the universal 15 hour free entitlement, regardless of their parents’ circumstances. This is available the term after a child turns three and is available for 38 weeks a year. Further information on the entitlement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure hospitals develop treatment pathways for Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome patients at risk of starvation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff in providing better care and improving patient outcomes. This has involved feedback and input from the ME Research Collaborative Patient Advisory Group. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME. The NICE’s guidance NG206 states that people with ME should undertake a dietetic assessment by a dietitian with a special interest in ME, if they are losing weight and at risk of malnutrition.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure hospitals follow the NICE guidelines on Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff in providing better care and improving patient outcomes. This has involved feedback and input from the ME Research Collaborative Patient Advisory Group. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME. The NICE’s guidance NG206 states that people with ME should undertake a dietetic assessment by a dietitian with a special interest in ME, if they are losing weight and at risk of malnutrition.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the potentially misleading marketing of homes on holiday parks as residential properties on consumers.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We expect that the marketing of all properties accords with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which prohibits misleading omissions of key information about the property.
Estate agents’ compliance with the law is overseen by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team, who can issue warning or banning orders to agents who fail to comply.
Consumers should make sure they are clear about any restrictions on the property before purchasing, informed by checks on the property title carried out by their conveyancing solicitor before contracts are exchanged.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living permanently in holiday park homes.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The data requested is not held centrally.