Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the level of funding for mental health services (a) reflects changes in service demand and (b) reduces the imbalance of resource allocation between mental and physical health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has committed to protecting funding on mental health. We know 2025/26 will be a challenging year, and the National Health Service must live within its means. This will require a relentless focus on operational performance, recovering productivity, tackling unwarranted variation, and reducing delays and waste to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely.
Our focus on mental health will continue to be backed by the Mental Health Investment Standard in 2025/26 to ensure mental health funding is ring-fenced to support delivery of our commitments, including those outlined in the NHS Planning Guidance.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to (a) increase the (i) frequency of trains and (ii) number of carriages per train on all South Western Railway services operating between Winchester and London, (b) reduce the high cost of fares on this route, (c) tackle (A) delays and (B) cancellations affecting these services, (d) improve the compensation scheme for passengers experiencing journey disruptions and (e) ensure that ensure that concerns of South Western Railway passengers are (1) listened to and (2) acted upon.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department officials are in regular conversation with South Western Railway regarding their service provision in response to demand. When reviewing train services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations.
The Department’s aim is to keep the price of rail travel at a point that works for both passengers and taxpayers, where possible. We are also committed to simplifying the fares and ticketing system and driving innovation across the network.
The Rail Minister recently met with South Western Railway regarding their operational performance, as he has done and continues to do with all Operators, as this is a key priority of the Department.
On 25th May 2025, SWR will be the first operator to be nationalised following the introduction of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024. This will lead to the introduction of Great British Railways which will bring track and train together under one directing mind, with a relentless focus on improving services for passengers and customers.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has appointed consultants to assess locations across the country as potential new town sites; whether Lichfields has been appointed to assess the M3/A303 corridor; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in the appointment of consultants particularly in cases where a consultant has a vested interest in the development of a new town site.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.
The Taskforce will not be sharing information about its locations evidence base prior to publication of the final report.
Any use of external expertise will be carried out in line with established procurement rules in place for using external consultants. This includes ensuring that any conflicts are declared before any work begins and that appointed bodies are recused from decisions in which they have a conflict of interest.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether prevention and public health will feature in the 10 year health plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Yes. The Government’s Health Mission sets out our ambition to build a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, which will be published later this year, will set out broader actions for how we shift health and care systems in England towards preventing ill-health rather than treating sickness.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the prevention stream of the health mission; and when he plans to publish an update from the mission board.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the United Kingdom’s biggest killers and building a fairer UK, where everyone lives longer, healthier lives. This is why our Health Mission sets out to shift away from a model geared towards late diagnosis and treatment, to one where there is focus on prevention and more services are delivered in local communities.
We have already acted with the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill passing committee stage on 30 January 2025. We are committed to banning junk food advertising to children. A 9pm TV watershed and 24-hour online ban on paid-for advertising of less healthy food and drink products targeting children are on track to come into force across the UK on 1 October 2025. We have also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to young people aged under 16 years old.
Alongside this, we are exploring all interventions that will improve public health across a range of the UK’s biggest killers and help deliver the shift from treatment to prevention. Further details on our approach will be shared as we move forward.
Mission Boards are Cabinet Committees. It is a long-established precedent that information about the proceedings of the Cabinet or of any committee of the Cabinet is not normally shared publicly; this includes mission boards.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on providing smoking cessation support to patients who are in hospital receiving care for cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England has prioritised, and given new funding to integrated care boards (ICBs) for, the rollout of tobacco dependence services in hospital settings. Decisions on the scale and makeup of the services are agreed locally between ICBs and providers, based on local priorities. Where services are available, they will be accessible to people with the greatest need, including those with cardiovascular disease.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason designated sixth form colleges are not receiving the same funding for staff pay awards as sixth form college academies.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring there is a thriving post-16 sector, which is vital to our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and boost economic growth.
Sixth form colleges (SFCs), rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating the pay of their staff. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for schoolteachers. Along with further education (FE) colleges, SFCs were incorporated under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff.
Maintained schools and academies are funded on an equivalent basis, meaning 16 to 19 academies received this funding, whilst SFCs that remain in the FE sector did not. All SFCs have been free to apply to convert to academy status since 2022.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are gaining the education and skills this country needs. The department has recently announced that it is making approximately £50 million of this funding available to statutory FE providers, including SFCs, for April to July 2025. This one-off grant will enable colleges and SFCs to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention.
The remaining funding will be made available in 16 to 19 funding rates for the 2025/26 academic year, with the aim of ensuring that all 16 to 19 providers are funded on an equitable basis from 2025 to 2026.
This builds on the department’s investment to extend targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers, including SFC teachers, in key subject areas. The department is also delivering funding to support those young people who do not pass mathematics and English GCSE at 16, who are predominantly studying in FE.
The department will continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. We confirmed that FE teacher training bursaries will be offered for a further year, worth up to £31,000 each, tax free in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the two-child benefit cap.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We cannot currently commit to ending the two-child limit. However, tackling child poverty, as the last Labour Government did, is at the heart of this Government’s missions. The Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring all available levers, including social security reform.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a new plan to help reduce childhood obesity.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government, and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we have announced changes to the planning framework for fast food near schools, and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessments his Department has made of the (a) functionality and (b) operational effectiveness of the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the Border Target Operating Model. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity.
The effectiveness of the import controls was demonstrated throughout September and October 2024 by the interception at Sevington of consignments of plants infested with Pochazia Shantungensis, a fruit tree pest native to China but now present in mainland Europe. The consignments were destroyed, preventing the potential for a damaging outbreak for UK fruit growers.
In January 2025, following a confirmed case of Foort and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Germany, Defra has issued instructions to officials at Border Control Posts, ensuring all impacted commodities are selected for checks at the border. Such measures prevent significant economic losses due to production losses in the affected animals such as reduced milk yields as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.