Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance entitled NHS Financial Support for Health Students (Fourth Edition): NHS Learning Support Fund, published on 29 June 2020, how many regional incentive payments were made to eligible students in areas where there is a workforce shortage in each of the last four years; and whether these payments are still available.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to bring forward the Draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Shadow Minister (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is committed to introducing this important piece of legislation to Parliament, as announced in the King’s Speech on 7 November.
The Government launched a public consultation on the requirements within the Standard Tier, which closed on 18 March. We are currently reviewing the consultation findings to ensure that all feedback is fully considered and that the measures included in Martyn’s Law are proportionate, and that they do not place an undue burden on premises within scope.
We will introduce the Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows, and I am happy to write to the Honourable Member and Parliament once the Bill is introduced.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to publicise the online system for (a) checking the completeness of National Insurance records and (b) paying voluntary National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
HMRC has been actively promoting the enhanced Check your State Pension forecast service on GOV.UK for customers since it launched on 29 April 2024. This included:
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that plans for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome in the Major Conditions Strategy include (a) musculoskeletal and (b) all other symptoms.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
In the development of the Major Conditions Strategy, we are considering how we improve outcomes for people living with multiple conditions, which is increasingly common in this country. Aligning work across several groups of conditions, including musculoskeletal conditions, for this strategy will allow us to focus on where there are similarities in approach, and ensure care is better centred around the patient, maximising existing resources both within patient pathways and in integrating between pathways.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending water undertakers' licences under the Environment Act 2021 to require those undertakers to accept septic tank waste (a) where there is market failure in the processing of that waste and (b) in other circumstances.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not have the power to amend water company licence conditions; Ofwat has this power under the Water Industry Act 1991.
In the Plan for Water, the Government has committed to review existing regulatory arrangements and explore funding and other support options for improving septic tank activities. We continue to consider options that mitigate the risks arising from private sewage discharges.
In January 2023, to ease the pressures on the septic tank waste disposal market in Cornwall, the Environment Agency issued a regulatory position statement to increase waste storage capacity. This means that tanks can temporarily store more sewage (up to 60 cubic metres) until South West Water has capacity to take it.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will (a) respond to the letter of 21 February 2024 from Parliamentarians on Excess Deaths and (b) direct the other recipients to respond.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Department has received the correspondence from the hon. Member and has provided a response in PO-1497930.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to help prevent people (a) promoting, (b) encouraging and (c) glorifying terrorism at universities.
Answered by Luke Hall
Higher education (HE) providers must comply with the statutory Prevent duty to have 'due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism'. The statutory Prevent duty can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance/prevent-duty-guidance-for-england-and-wales-accessible.
HE providers should have effective policies and procedures in place to safeguard individuals susceptible to radicalisation. This includes assessing the risk of learners becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Office for Students has delegated responsibility from the Secretary of State for Education for monitoring compliance of the Prevent duty in Registered HE Bodies.
The department has a team of Prevent Regional Education Co-ordinators who work directly with HE institutions in England to provide advice, support and training to ensure providers are well equipped to prevent people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. Further guidance, including bespoke training material for HE providers, can be found on GOV.UK.
In the 'Independent Review of Prevent: One year on' progress report, the department announced that it is committed to publishing research on the implementation of the Prevent duty in HE, and guidance for universities on managing external speakers on campus. The Independent Review of Prevent can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-prevents-report-and-government-response/independent-review-of-prevent-one-year-on-progress-report-accessible.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting the practice of intentionally rendering commercial videogames inoperable when support ends.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government recognises recent concerns raised by video games users regarding the long-term operability of purchased products. Video games publishers must comply with existing consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).
The CPRs protect consumers from being given false or misleading information by businesses. If consumers purchased a game on the understanding that it would continue to be playable, even when support ends, then the CPRs may provide recourse.
Under the CRA, consumers have clear rights when buying digital content, such as video games, supplied in digital form. Any digital content the consumer has paid for must be as described and of a satisfactory quality. If digital content does not meet these requirements, the consumer is entitled to a repair or replacement, or a price reduction or refund if the fault cannot be fixed. The CRA has a time limit of up to six years after a breach of contract during which a consumer can take legal action.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the General Ophthalmic Services sight test fee for opticians; and how many opticians stopped providing NHS services in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The level of the National Health Service sight test fee is considered annually, taking into account evidence provided by the optical fee negotiating committee, affordability for the NHS, alongside information regarding patient access to sight testing services, which continue to be widely available.
Although 254 contracts for providing NHS sight testing services were terminated between February 2023 and January 2024, 179 new contracts were awarded. There are various reasons why contractors choose to stop providing NHS sight testing services, including retirement, selling the practice to a new owner, and ceasing trading as a business.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to address the loyalty penalty paid by households reliant on (a) heating oil and (b) LPG; and whether she has asked the Competition and Markets Authority to make an assessment of the adequacy of competition in markets for these products.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
We believe consumer choice provides the best long-term guarantee of competitive prices.
The structure of the heating oil market allows for switching of suppliers on a delivery-by-delivery basis. There are commercial price comparison sites and the trade association UKIFDA provides a ‘Find a distributor’ facility at https://ukifda.org/find-a-distributor/.
There is similar consumer choice for bottled LPG users, supported by the trade association LGUK ‘Supplier search’ facility (https://www.liquidgasuk.org/domestic/supplier-search). The bulk domestic LPG market is subject to regulation under the Competition and Markets Authority’s LPG Orders (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/liquefied-petroleum-gas-lpg-market-orders-and-calculator) to enable easier switching of domestic bulk LPG supplier by domestic customers and the CMA continues to monitor that market.