Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reinstate Covid-safe measures in healthcare settings, including FFP3 masks, improved ventilation and HEPA filtration.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 requires all health and social care facilities to have systems in place to prevent and control infection by undertaking risk assessments, and by implementing infection prevention and control (IPC) policies appropriate to the risks in their services. The National Infection Prevention and Control Manual for England provides guidance for National Health Service settings. The manual is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/national-infection-prevention-and-control-manual-nipcm-for-england/
Existing guidance on the use of respiratory protective equipment, including FFP3, ventilation assessments, air-cleaning technologies, including HEPA filtration, fit testing, and other engineering or administrative controls allows decisions on their use to be made through local risk assessment rather than through blanket national requirements.
Rather than reinstating specific COVID-19 measures, NHS England maintains a comprehensive, evidence-based IPC framework. This enables providers to assess risks and implement proportionate controls to protect patients, staff, and visitors from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases while supporting the continued delivery of safe and effective care across the healthcare system.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to conduct reviews of ventilation in public buildings, prioritising healthcare settings and schools.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
The Government recognises the importance of good ventilation and air quality in supporting healthy indoor environments.
The Building Regulations are kept under review. Approved Document F (Ventilation) was updated in December 2021 to improve ventilation standards and simplify guidance for new and existing buildings. These changes included guidance to help mitigate the risk of airborne infection, and recommendations on indoor air quality monitoring in certain new buildings. These standards came into force in June 2022.
In healthcare settings, ventilation standards are primarily set through the NHS Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs), which provide guidance on the design, installation, operation, testing and maintenance of ventilation systems in healthcare settings.
Good ventilation and air quality are also important within education settings. The Department for Education (DfE) publishes guidance on ventilation and indoor air quality in education and childcare settings and has updated design standards, for new and refurbished school buildings delivered by the department in England, including standards related to air quality and ventilation.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if there will be a resumption of Covid surveillance by UKHSA and devolved health authorities as a result of the Covid enquiry.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Since 2023, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) COVID‑19 surveillance has shifted from intensive, pandemic‑specific systems to a more streamlined and routine model.
Surveillance is now integrated into UKHSA’s broader respiratory monitoring. COVID‑19 is tracked alongside influenza and other viruses through weekly national surveillance reports that draw on laboratory data, general practice consultations, and hospital activity.
The UKHSA publishes the National influenza (flu) and COVID-19 report, monitoring COVID-19 activity, seasonal flu, and other seasonal respiratory illnesses, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) promptly resolves complaints regarding the reimbursement of overpaid maintenance under Section 41B of the Child Support Act 1991; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact on families of delayed responses by the CMS to inquiries from hon. Members while internal financial processes remain outstanding.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates in line with the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) complaints service standard, which aims to respond to complaints within 15 working days or, where a case will take longer than 15 days to respond to, set a resolution plan with the customer where cases are complex and may take longer. A resolution plan is a clear outline of how we will address and resolve a complaint. It sets out what actions will be taken, who is responsible, and the expected timescales for completing these actions.
The Department recognises that complaint response times have not consistently met expected standards in recent months due to increased volumes and a rise in complex cases. Improving timeliness of responses remains a key operational priority.
To address this, the Department has taken urgent action to deploy additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring and senior oversight, and improved case management processes to support faster and more consistent responses.
In circumstances where a customer has overpaid child maintenance, Section 41B of the Child Support Act 1991 provides the Secretary of State with discretion to repay all or part of the overpaid amount. This is a discretionary power rather than an entitlement, and its use is considered carefully in light of the individual circumstances of each case. As a general principle, overpayments are addressed, where possible and appropriate, by offsetting them against future child maintenance liabilities. Repayment under Section 41B would therefore generally be considered only in exceptional circumstances where adjustment against future liability is not possible or would not provide an appropriate means of resolving the overpayment.
The Department recognises on-going financial matters can cause uncertainty and potential financial pressure for families. The CMS therefore treats financial hardship seriously and has support mechanisms in place to assist vulnerable customers where urgent help is required.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if there is ring-fenced dedicated funding for Long Covid services and renewed, adequately funded research in to Long Covid.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, the commissioning of services to support patients with Long Covid has been the responsibility of integrated care boards. Where local Long Covid services are not available, people with Long Covid symptoms should see their general practitioner, who will be able to refer them to alternative existing services depending on their clinical needs and symptoms.
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is committed to funding high-quality research into the causes and treatments of Long Covid, and research funding is available. For example, two projects have recently received funding to investigate the feasibility of a new clinical trial that tests multiple interventions for the treatment of post-acute infection syndromes, including Long Covid.
The Department’s approach is to ensure research funding is allocated based on scientific excellence and competitive peer review rather than pre-determined allocations. This ensures that resources are directed to the most promising proposals across all health conditions, including Long Covid, and maintains fairness and transparency in the system. Ring-fencing could inadvertently limit innovation by excluding high-quality research that falls outside a fixed remit.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if there are any plans for a public health messaging campaign to publicise the fact that Long Covid exists and, at the last count, 1.9 million people in the UK are still suffering.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government recognises that Long Covid is a complex multi-system disease which can have a debilitating impact on people’s physical and mental health. We understand the scale of the issue at hand and the Government is committed to improving the lives of people living with the condition.
Information on Long Covid is widely available from the National Health Service and the Government in a variety of formats. Detailed information for all age groups on symptoms and the healthcare support that is available for long Covid remains available on NHS England’s website.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the value for money provided by the Contracts for Difference scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Contracts for Difference scheme delivers value for money through competitive auctions that drive down costs and protect consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices. AR7 secured renewable capacity at strike prices 40% below the cost of building and operating new gas generation.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in cash terms was originally forecast to be paid to Equitable Life With-Profits Annuitants up to and including 2050 under the Equitable Life Payments Scheme.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
Information on how the Scheme was designed and funded can be found in that report, and in the Scheme Design document at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discount rate was applied to the sum allocated for compensation payments to Equitable Life With-Profits Annuitants in 2010.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
Information on how the Scheme was designed and funded can be found in that report, and in the Scheme Design document at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, why the current level of funding for research into kidney disease is so low, particularly in comparison with that available for cancer research.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department funds research primarily through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR does not generally allocate funding to specific conditions and funds research through open and fair competition and peer review, to ensure that the highest-quality proposals most likely to deliver real impact for patients are funded, without imposing financial targets or limits. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome high-quality research proposals across all areas, including kidney disease, so that patients can benefit from advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic