Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled End-of-life care: improving 'do not attempt CPR' conversations for everyone, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendation that accessible communication materials should be accessible in health settings to support staff and patients with end-of-life conversations.
Answered by Helen Whately
The Department will respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled End-of-life care: improving 'do not attempt CPR' conversations for everyone, in due course.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled End-of-life care: improving 'do not attempt CPR' conversations for everyone, published on 14 March 2024, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendation that CPR training for all doctors and nurses should include scenario-based training on Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation conversations.
Answered by Helen Whately
The Department will respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled End-of-life care: improving 'do not attempt CPR' conversations for everyone, in due course.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimates his Department has made of the number of claimants who are receiving tax credits with savings above £16,000 that will no longer be entitled to Universal Credit.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
No estimate has been made of the number of those receiving tax credits with savings above £16,000 that will no longer be entitled to Universal Credit.
Tax credits recipients are not required to report savings in order to claim tax credits.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of pharmacies have closed in St Albans constituency since 2019.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
There were 16 pharmacies on 31 December 2023 in St Albans constituency. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed in St Albans and no new pharmacies opened. However, access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 89 percent of the population in St Albans living within a 20 minutes’ walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. Residents of St Albans can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. ICBs have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of pharmacy closures on the quality of primary care in St Albans constituency since 2019.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
There were 16 pharmacies on 31 December 2023 in St Albans constituency. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed in St Albans and no new pharmacies opened. However, access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 89 percent of the population in St Albans living within a 20 minutes’ walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. Residents of St Albans can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. ICBs have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 help prevent community pharmacy closures.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
There were 16 pharmacies on 31 December 2023 in St Albans constituency. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed in St Albans and no new pharmacies opened. However, access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 89 percent of the population in St Albans living within a 20 minutes’ walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. Residents of St Albans can also access services from distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.
It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. ICBs have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with car manufacturers on levels of disruption to supply chains for (a) temperature sensors and (b) other spare parts for electric vehicles since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Alan Mak
HMG understands the concerns of the Automotive industry regarding the potential impact of the invasion on its business operations and supply chains worldwide. The Department for Business and Trade ministers regularly meet with sector bodies and auto manufacturers to discuss a variety of automotive related trade issues, including an understanding of any direct and indirect impacts on UK operations.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's web page entitled Diabetes treatment and care programme, whether all eight Type 1 diabetes and disordered eating pilots have been commissioned by their Integrated Care Systems to secure services independently of NHS England pilot scheme funding.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national approach to funding the establishment of Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating services was delivered in two phases. Initial sites in London, Hampshire, and Dorset received national funding between 2018/19 and 2021/22, before the transition of commissioning responsibility to local systems commenced from April 2023. All three of these services did initially secure local funding, independent of the national pilot scheme. More recently, we understand that the status of these sites to be as follows: London services are partially active across London, with local consideration of ongoing funding and delivery arrangements underway; Hampshire services are active and embedded in wider eating disorder specialist services; and Dorset services have been discontinued. The remaining five newer services have been funded from September 2022, and are nationally funded up to March 2025.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 15 July 2022 to Question 33838 on Digital Technology and Internet: Disadvantaged, what steps she is taking to help tackle digital exclusion; and whether her Department plans to take steps to help individuals with the cost of personal internet.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti
The Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority and continues to take steps to offer the support needed.
Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life. Responsibility for relevant policies and activities, including monitoring and evaluation, sit across government.
The Government has worked closely with the telecoms industry to ensure households across the country can access fast, reliable digital infrastructure. Superfast broadband is now available in over 97% of the UK, over 80% of households can access gigabit broadband, and 4G mobile is available to 99% of the population from at least one network provider. The Government is also investing £5 billion through our flagship Project Gigabit programme to bring gigabit broadband to reach hard-to-reach communities.
The Government established a cross-Whitehall ministerial group in response to a recommendation from the House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee’s report on ‘Digital Exclusion’, published in June 2023. The ministerial group aims to drive progress and accountability on digital inclusion priorities across Government.
The group has met twice, in September 2023 and March 2024, with attendance from the Cabinet Office, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education, and His Majesty's Treasury.
To support those for whom cost may be a barrier, the Government has worked closely with the telecoms industry to ensure market provision of broadband and mobile social tariffs. These low-cost, commercial products are available from 28 different providers, across 99% of the UK and start at just £10 per month.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received a Universal Credit migration notice in St Albans district; and how many and what proportion of these people submitted a new claim.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The first migration notices for St Albans were issued from 1 Feb 2024.
The number of individuals in St Alban’s that had received a migration notice by Dec-23 was nil/negligible. We are therefore unable to provide the requested data to prevent releasing potentially disclosive information about individuals.