Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when hybrid closed loop systems to treat children with Type 1 diabetes will be available on NHS prescription in Somerset.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type one diabetes, which considers their clinical and cost effectiveness.
Should NICE recommend Hybrid Closed Loop and issue eligibility criteria, NHS England will then work with integrated care boards to support meeting their commitments. Guidance indicates that the National Health Service must make sure it is available within the stated period, usually three months.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support mental health services for children and young people living in rural areas.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local populations. There are a range of adjustments made in the core ICB allocations formula to account for the fact that the costs of providing health care may vary between rural and urban areas.
We are supporting ICBs to expand mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to investing an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by March 2024. This increased investment will improve access to mental health services, including for people in rural areas. Through the Long Term Plan, by March 2024, 345,000 more children and young people will be able to access National Health Service funded mental health support.
We are continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams to schools and colleges in England. There are 3.4 million pupils/learners who were covered by a Mental Health Support Team in 2022/23, which equates to 35% coverage of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. We expect there to be approximately 500 Mental Health Support Teams up and running by 2024, covering around 44% of pupils.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking through the national curriculum to help primary school children engage with nature.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The National Curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what schools are expected to cover in each curriculum subject. Teachers use their own knowledge and expertise to determine how they teach their pupils the content of the curriculum, tailoring their lessons to the individual needs of the pupils.
The geography and science curricula offer opportunities to teach about nature and related topics. In science at Key Stages 1 and 2, under the topics of ‘Plants’ and ‘Living things and their habitats’, the National Curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to engage with nature and explore the local environment to answer questions on plants and animals in their habitat. In the Key Stage 2 geography curriculum pupils use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies.
In April 2022, the Department released its Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy which will increase opportunities for pupils to spend time in nature. Key initiatives of this strategy include the National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Award. These programmes will not only engage pupils with the natural world, but will directly involve them in measuring and improving biodiversity in their nursery, school, college or university.
On 18 May, the Department announced £15 million in funding will be provided to nurseries, schools and colleges to create opportunities for outdoor education in natural settings. The funding boost will help them to develop the biodiversity of their site.
The Department will continue to work across Government to identify opportunities for children and young people to access education in natural settings.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23rd May 2023 to Question 185044 on Flood Control: Somerset, what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency about introducing further measures to protect (a) houses and (b) the road network in East Somerset from future flash flooding caused by high rainfall.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The significant rainfall event that occurred on 9 May in Somerset resulted in ‘flash flooding’ due to the intensity of rainfall that occurred in a very localised area, causing fluvial and surface water flooding.
In England the Environment Agency (EA) has the strategic overview for flood risk and managing the risk from main rivers, reservoirs and the sea, and lead local flood authorities are responsible for local flood risk management, covering the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses.
The Government is acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. In March 2020 we announced a record £5.2 billion investment over six years in flood and coastal erosion schemes to better protect communities across England. Around half of the schemes funded by the programme will be delivered by the EA and half by other risk management authorities, such as lead local flood authorities. Schemes within this investment programme in the local area include: property flood resilience measures to be installed at residential properties in Isle Brewers, Nunney and Frome; pump replacements at the Huish, Long Load, Midleney & Westover, pumping stations; and safety repairs at West Moor Reservoir.
Following the 2021 flooding in Chard and Ilminster, the EA in collaboration with Somerset lead local flood authority has secured funding to undertake a number of strategic flood risk studies to identify longer term steps to better manage flood risk in these areas. This work is due to start this financial year.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with wildlife trusts to help support engaging with nature through volunteering.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our aim is for more people, from all backgrounds, to engage with and spend time in green and blue spaces in their everyday lives. We recognise the important role that volunteers play in protecting and enhancing the natural environment. The Landscapes Review has proposed expanding volunteering in our protected landscapes, and we fully support this initiative.
We are actively exploring various avenues to support and promote volunteer engagement in nature conservation. For example, through our Access For All programme, we are facilitating the purchase of specialist equipment that enables volunteers of all abilities to take part in conservation activities. This not only helps protect and enhance the natural environment but also contributes to the volunteers' mental and physical well-being. The Wildlife Trusts are a key member of our Access and Engagement Forum, where we discuss the progress and development of this programme amongst others.
We remain committed to collaborating with a wide range of organisations, including wildlife trusts, to encourage and facilitate volunteering opportunities in the natural world.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) homes and (b) businesses in Somerset were affected by flooding in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Property Flooding Overview | |
Year | Number of Properties Flooded |
2011 | 15 |
2012 | 11 |
2013 | 2 |
2014 | 173 |
2015 | 0 |
2016 | 22 |
2017 | 10 |
2018 | 0 |
2019 | 0 |
2020 | 26 |
2021 | 45 |
Total | 304 |
The above table shows the number of properties flooded during the last 10 years across both business and homes, and includes all sources of flooding – surface water, fluvial and coastal. The source of most of the data comes from Somerset Council report produced post flooding which is why the information is not split between homes and businesses. These reports are produced as part of the Flood & Water Management Act 2010. The reports from 2022 have not yet been published, although the Environment Agency are not aware of any properties flooding in Somerset during 2022.
For 2023 the Environment Agency estimated that 5 properties flooded in January and around 120 properties flooded in May, however they are working with Somerset Council to confirm exact numbers.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the resilience of flood protection measures in (a) Somerset, (b) East Somerset and (c) the River Cam catchment area during the winter of 2022–23.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Much of Somerset is below sea level and many of its rivers are raised above the ground, so it will always be at risk of coastal and fluvial flooding. In January 2023, the Environment Agency put in place the largest temporary pumping operation in its history on the Somerset Levels and Moors. In combination with the innovative way water was managed through the system, this meant that on this occasion, widespread flooding of property was avoided.
During the Spring, East Somerset has experienced some of the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the area. This has led to roads becoming unpassable, and in the case of the River Cam, around 100 houses flooding. In all cases, the flood protection measures performed as designed, but were overwhelmed by the volume and intensity of rainfall.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to local NHS dental services for children in (a) England and (b) Somerton and Frome constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Education)
From 1 April 2023 responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population, including for children, has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. NHS England has published an accompanying Assurance Framework which sets out its approach to providing assurance that commissioning functions are carried out safely and effectively by ICBs.
In September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’ which sets out how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to NHS dental for patients of all ages, whilst making the National Health Service dental contract more attractive to dental practices. These changes have been implemented, including through regulations that came into effect on 25 November 2022. NHS England is holding further discussions with the British Dental Association and other stakeholders for plans for additional reforms of the NHS Dental System coming shortly.
In circumstances where a guardian or parents are unable to access an urgent dental appointment for their child directly through a NHS dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps his Department has taken to facilitate access to the Alternative Fuel Payment for people without a permanent address.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government has been engaging with key stakeholder groups who represent those households without a permanent address. The Government is keen to support these households to ensure they can receive energy bills support. Officials are working to establish whether there is a robust method for these households to provide proof of eligibility, whilst protecting public funds, so they can claim the AFP support.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Somerset is more resilient to future flood risk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Somerset has seen significant investment in recent years and has benefitted from the formation of the Somerset Rivers Authority partnership. Over £80 million of investment since 2014 in flood risk interventions helps the Environment Agency better manage flooding. It allows the Environment Agency to take pre-emptive action to delay the onset of flooding, to evacuate the waters more effectively. Together this enables communities to be more resilient and to recover more rapidly from flooding. The below investment was delivered in 2014/15:
The Environment Agency are continuing to invest in Somerset, this includes maintaining existing defences and also helping communities to adapt and become more resilient in the face of a changing climate. Ongoing investment includes:
1. River Tone left bank defence improvements, Frieze Hill to Town Bridge
2. Raising of Firepool lockgate and defences between the River Tone and the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal (TTC10)
3. Longrun Meadows - optimising flood water storage.
Communities in Ilminster, Chard and Minehead are also benefitting from recently approved investment to help reduce flood risk. The Environment Agency and Somerset Council have secured funding from the Frequently Flooded Allowance fund to carry out investigative studies on what future flood risk interventions are required.