Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 the abolition of NHS England on preparedness for a future pandemic.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Ensuring the United Kingdom is prepared for a future pandemic is a top priority for the Government, embedding lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and aiming to have flexible, adaptable and scalable capabilities that can respond to any infectious disease or threat.
The Government will continue to ensure pandemic preparedness throughout the transition and beyond, while also using the opportunities presented by the two organisations coming together.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 the abolition of NHS England on the level of risk in medical care.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Patient safety will remain paramount over this transformation period. We will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care and that there are no risks to patient safety.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the affordability of weekly care home fees.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fee rates are set by providers of adult social care, the majority of which are in the independent sector. The Department does not have powers to set or recommend the level of fees that care homes charge. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.
We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will deliver recommendations for the transformation of adult social care including how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 help reduce the cost of care home placements.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fee rates are set by providers of adult social care, the majority of which are in the independent sector. The Department does not have powers to set or recommend the level of fees that care homes charge. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.
We have launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will deliver recommendations for the transformation of adult social care including how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 monitor health outcomes linked to water pollution in West Dorset.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) South West Health Protection Regional team provides specialist advice and guidance on a range of public health threats to system partners across the South West region, which includes rivers and coastal waters of the West Dorset Constituency.
The UKHSA’s South West Health Protection Regional team monitors outbreaks, clusters, and statistical exceedances of gastro-intestinal illness. This includes risk and needs assessments and includes routine surveillance to detect and manage exceedances of gastro-intestinal and other illnesses across the South West.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) reduce the risk of violence to children in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Keeping children safe is a top priority for this government. Statutory guidance, 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2023), is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from outside their home should receive a multi-agency safeguarding response to keep them safe. It is important to recognise threats may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community.
From April 2025, £500 million is being made available to local authorities to roll out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection, including where harm is outside the home. Furthermore, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will strengthen multi-agency safeguarding arrangements so that opportunities to keep children safe are not missed.
The government’s Young Futures programme will establish prevention partnerships which will identify those most at risk of violence and enable access to support. In the community, a new network of Young Futures Hubs is aimed at increasing access to opportunities for children and young people, improving mental health, and reducing vulnerability to violence and crime. Cross-government work to develop the programme is taking place with a large variety of stakeholders, including those who understand best practice in rural and urban areas.
The department monitors a range of data related to children’s risk of violence, including education, social care and police national computer data. Our published dashboard allows local areas to understand factors in their area which result in vulnerability to crime and compare to their nearest statistical neighbours. This dashboard is available here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/childrens-social-care-and-offending/.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for Cabinet Office, whether he has held discussions with his EU counterparts on negotiating changes to the 90 in 180-day visa rule to allow British citizens to stay in the EU for longer for (a) leisure, (b) family visits and (c) seasonal work.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third country nationals travelling visa-free. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of risk of violence faced by children in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is determined to reduce violent crime in every area of the county including in West Dorset, and will continue to take action towards that goal through its Safer Streets Mission, and in particular its objective to halve crime over the coming decade.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to strengthen enforcement of border checks to prevent illegal imports of products of animal origin following recent foot and mouth disease outbreaks in (a) Hungary and (b) surrounding countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Port health authorities and local authorities are responsible for checks on products of animal origin (POAO) at Border Control Posts (BCPs). Border Force is responsible for conducting checks to detect illegal imports of POAO outside BCPs.
Following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Hungary, we advised BCP officials of the immediate suspension of imports from Hungary and Slovakia of untreated POAO from FMD susceptible animals. We also advised Border Force of the ban on personal imports of POAO from FMD susceptible species, from these two countries.
Following the subsequent outbreak of FMD in Slovakia, we advised BCP officials of the immediate extension of the above restrictions to Austria. We also advised Border Force of the extension of the personal imports ban to Austria and subsequently to the European Economic Area, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of existing border enforcement measures in preventing the illegal import of products of animal origin linked to foot and mouth disease risks.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our assessments of the risk of foot and mouth disease incursions, which take account of disease prevention measures including the effectiveness of border controls in preventing illegal imports of products of animal origin, are available here.