Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department collects data on patients occupying hospital beds while awaiting diagnostic tests or scans.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not collect data on patients that occupy hospital beds while waiting for diagnostic tests or scans.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of retired civil servants experiencing financial hardship due to them not receiving their Civil Service Pension payments on time; and what funding has been allocated for interim financial support and emergency payments to those civil servants.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.
Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Capita prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.
While hardship estimates are not held, Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.
To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time
Interest will be paid on delayed benefits to avoid financial loss by members. In addition, the existing statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial losses, as well as distress and inconvenience caused, on a case-by-case basis to determine whether compensation is due. This ensures that any retiree who provides evidence of extra costs, such as bank penalties or interest charges caused by the delay, is fairly assessed. This process is run in accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what regulatory steps her Department has taken to prevent technology companies from profiting from online scam advertisements.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Fraud and other financial crimes are ‘priority offences’ under the Online Safety Act, meaning regulated services must prevent users encountering user-generated fraudulent content, swiftly remove it if it appears, and mitigate and manage the risk of their services facilitating fraud.
Ofcom has robust powers to act if it finds services are failing in their regulatory duties, including issuing fines of £18 million or 10% global turnover, whichever is higher.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of NHS dental appointments that have been cancelled following their practice's transition to private provision on the long term dental health of affected patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he holds the data on the total number of GP referrals handed to consultants for review.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data in the format requested. It is standard practice for triage processes to operate through locally agreed referral pathways, developed by integrated care boards and providers to reflect local service configuration and patient need.
As set out in the Elective Reform Plan and the Medium Term Planning Framework, we are expanding the use of Advice and Guidance (A&G), a pre-referral service used by general practitioners (GPs) to request quick specialist advice, and Single Point of Access, which encourages consultant-led triage, to help GPs and hospital specialists, including consultants, work together and make the best treatment plans for patients, while reducing unnecessary referrals to waiting lists. A&G requests are distinct from hospital referrals, whereby a patient is added onto a waiting list. A&G does not take away a GP’s right to refer, which remains a matter of clinical judgement.
Between April 2025 and December 2025, there were 15,991,984 referrals for Referral to Treatment services. For the same period, there were 2,687,368 pre-referral advice and guidance requests, 2,485,559 of which were processed, and 1,234,527 have been directed to treatment that is not a secondary care referral at that time, which is 45.9% of total requests. These re-directed patients may otherwise have had to wait for an unnecessary appointment and instead are expected to receive more timely care with earlier specialist input.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds the data of the number of NHS dental appointments cancelled as a result of practices converting to private provision.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on the number of National Health Service dental appointments cancelled due to dental practices converting to private provision are not held.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
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 low digital literacy on patients ability to access GP services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering digital services that are accessible and inclusive throughout the National Health Service, including in primary care.
NHS England has published a framework for National Health Service action on digital inclusion to support practical action. The Digital Exclusion Risk Atlas (DERA) is an online location-based analytical tool designed to help health and care system teams understand and identify patterns of digital exclusion across England.
DERA provides a range of data indicators to highlight areas where people may face barriers to accessing and using digital health and care services. By improving visibility of these patterns, DERA aims to support more targeted interventions and contribute to efforts to reduce health inequalities.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of welding apprenticeship starts in England.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are a number of apprenticeship standards relevant to welding, including the Level 2 Welder standard and the Level 3 Plate Welder standard.
To support employers, including those in welding and associated occupations, to take on apprentices, the government provides a range of financial support. We are introducing a new hiring grant of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. It will apply to apprenticeship starts from October, as long as the apprentice has joined their employer within the past three months. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant from June 2026.
Additionally, from August 2026 we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers, including those in welding occupations, for eligible people aged 16-24. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
To give employers greater flexibility and help them respond quickly to emerging skills gaps, we have also launched the first apprenticeship units, funded from the Growth and Skills Levy, and one of these is on mechanised welding.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on aligning skills training provision for welding specialists with the workforce requirements set out in the industrial strategy.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is working with industry to develop sector Jobs Plans for all growth-driving sectors identified by the Industrial Strategy, and for construction. These plans will build on the Industrial Strategy Sector Plans and provide a clear direction of travel for government and industry to develop the domestic workforce together.
Jobs Plans set out ambitious action addressing the workforce needs in each sector over the next three years. We aim to publish jobs plans in the summer (clean energy have already published a jobs plan). Welding is likely to feature in several plans as it cuts across different industries including clean energy, construction and advanced manufacturing.
Skills England and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) work closely together to make sure the UK’s jobs, growth and industrial plans are matched by the right skills supply - nationally and locally.
DWP/Skills England is addressing anticipated shortages of welders by introducing a new mechanised welding apprenticeship unit. This will reskill the existing workforce and help re‑engage experienced workers who may have left the sector early.
In addition, DWP has fast‑tracked a new metal fabrication apprenticeship unit, due to begin delivery from May.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the level of industry demand for welding specialists.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is a strong and persistent demand for welding specialists, driven by major infrastructure programmes, advanced manufacturing, defence requirements and clean energy investment. This demand is compounded by a significant proportion of the current welding workforce approaching retirement, with a large proportion due to retire by 2027(RapidWelding).
This accelerates turnover in skilled roles and magnifies the urgency for faster training throughput and progression pathways.
DWP/Skills England has proactively responded to the anticipated shortage of welders by introducing a new apprenticeship unit in mechanised welding. This initiative is designed to reskill the existing workforce and re‑engage experienced individuals who may have previously been forced into early retirement.
Furthermore, DWP has fast‑tracked the introduction of a new apprenticeship unit in metal fabrication, with the intention that it will enter delivery from May.