Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work assessments have been outstanding for more than two months; what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for such applications; and if she will make it her policy to prioritise applications from people who are about to start a job.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to provide information with regards to the number of applications for Access to Work which have been outstanding for more than two months because this information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
With regards to what steps we have taken to reduce waiting times, we have streamlined delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. We also prioritise customers starting a job within four weeks. We have taken steps to modernise Access to Work to improve the customer experience. From April 2024, all core parts of the Scheme have been fully digital, with customers able to apply and make payment requests online.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available from the NHS for people requiring neurological rehabilitation following a covid-19 vaccination.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care and support will be best met and managed by local National Health Service specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice. Individuals would be treated and managed through existing healthcare services, for example by seeing their general practitioner, who may refer them to a relevant specialist if necessary.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason there are different rules for exemptions from NHS prescription charges for people with (a) hypothyroidism and (b) hyperthyroidism.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Records are not available to enable us to explain why only hypothyroidism is listed.
The list of specified medical conditions that provide exemption from prescription charges was agreed in discussion with the British Medical Association in 1968. Decisions on which conditions to include were reflective of medical knowledge and practice at the time. The only addition to the list since then has been the treatment of cancer in 2009.
However, whilst it is the case that most patients with hypothyroidism, also known as an underactive thyroid, will require life-long synthetic hormone replacement with a medication called levothyroxine, patients with hyperthyroidism, also known as an overactive thyroid, do not necessarily require medication, as this condition can sometimes be managed surgically, or with radioactive iodine therapy.
While the Government’s policy remains that there are no current plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate, there are extensive arrangements currently in place in England to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech at COP29 in Baku on 12 November 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the revised emissions targets.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At COP29, the Prime Minister announced the UK’s ambitious and credible NDC target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels, excluding international aviation and shipping emissions.
This is an ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction target, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories and aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, as set out in the Global Stocktake, agreed at COP28. It aligns with the recommendation of the independent Climate Change Committee published on 26 October and is consistent with the effort required to deliver our ambitious Carbon Budget 6 (2033-2037). More details on delivery will follow in our cross-economy plan to meet carbon budgets, to be published in due course.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of reductions in carbon emissions since 1990 on climate change in the UK.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK was the first country to set legally binding carbon budgets and the first major economy to establish a net zero target in law. The Impact Assessment of the Sixth Carbon Budget included a cost-benefit analysis which showed the economic costs and benefits of net zero. Without the shift to renewable energy, we will continue to be exposed to volatile fossil fuel markets and the cost of living crises households had to live through in the last Parliament. The UK has a vital role to play - nearly half of annual global emissions come from countries producing 3% or less of the global total, and our domestic leadership is essential to persuade others to act and protect future generations from climate breakdown.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, on the ability of school meals providers to provide those meals within the existing fixed price cost of £2.53.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government will provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional costs associated with changes to Employers National Insurance Contributions policy.
This funding will be additional to the £2.3 billion increase to core school budgets announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. Due to timing constraints, this compensation will need to be provided as a separate grant, alongside the national funding formula (NFF), in 2025/26. Schools will continue to have autonomy over their spending and will be able to use any future grant funding to cover all cost increases, including food costs.
The department currently allocates a meal rate of £2.53 per child per meal for the 2024/2025 academic year to support the delivery of universal infant free school meals and further education free meals. Final funding rates for the 2024/2025 academic year will be confirmed in due course. Further to this, we fund benefits-related free school meals (FSM) at £490 per eligible pupil annually through the FSM factor of the NFF for schools. In total, we spend £1.5 billion across these programmes.
This funding is intended to cover the broad costs of meal provision. However, schools have considerable autonomy over delivery of FSM, including entering into contracts with suppliers and allocation of funding within their budgets.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine Vaxrevia ended in the UK; and for what reason that vaccine is no longer available.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was first deployed in England in January 2021. Having reached the end of the supply agreement with the Government, the vaccine has not been used in the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 vaccination programme since 2022. Since September 2021, in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the vaccines deployed in the national programme have primarily been mRNA vaccines that were considered to provide a strong booster response.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date he met representatives of those (a) injured and (b) bereaved as a result of Covid-19 vaccine damage; and what steps he has taken as a result of that meeting.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with the families of those who have suffered serious side effects from the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine on 11 September 2024. The families raised the need for the reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, and they requested a compensation scheme for those affected. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care listened to their concerns and agreed that the Government will look closely at this, as it continues to learn and apply the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 21 October 2024 to Question 9409 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, if he will launch a consultation with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to increase the limitation period for court claims relating to Covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on individual claims or cases whilst there is ongoing litigation. It is right that such matters follow the appropriate legal process, which can take time. There are, however, currently no plans to launch a consultation on increasing the limitation period for court claims relating to COVID-19 vaccines.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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 21 October 2024 to Question 9410 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, whether any line extensions to covid-19 vaccinations have been authorised to tackle reported adverse side effects, other than for the side effects listed in that Answer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No modifications or line extensions to the original vaccines have been introduced to reduce side effects.