Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to help prevent price differentials for different types of users of EV charging points.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle.
The Government are aware of the cost differential between those who can and cannot install a dedicated EV charger at home and continue to work with Ofgem and others on measures to keep the cost of EV charging affordable for consumers.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 implications for his policies of the Royal College of General Practitioners' report entitled Towards Greener Prescribing in General Practice, published in March 2025; and whether he plans to implement the recommendations of that report.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2020, the National Health Service published its Net Zero Strategy, in order to become the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero emissions, and NHS England is working collaboratively with a range of partners on implementation.
Recognising the importance of decarbonising general practices (GPs), NHS England collaborated with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the authors of the report Towards Greener Prescribing in General Practice, to develop a net zero hub, which includes three eLearning modules and a practice decarbonisation guide. These resources support and educate GPs in reducing carbon emissions from prescribing. The Department will work with NHS England to consider the recommendations and findings of the Royal College of General Practitioners' report.
Greener prescribing and recycling are key enablers to support the NHS’ transition towards a more sustainable healthcare system. One key aspect of this is tackling overprescribing, including through improving repeat prescribing processes and delivering Structured Medication Reviews. Further information can be found in the updated Green Plan Guidance at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/green-plan-guidance/
The NHS has already made progress in reducing medicine emissions. For example, optimising inhaler use by addressing Short Acting Beta Agonists overprescribing, improving inhaler technique, and working to ensure patients are on the appropriate treatment regimen and are using their inhaler at the right time. NHS England is also committed to exploring inhaler recycling and its potential benefits, and is currently supporting the implementation of an inhaler recycling pilot to assess a national scheme’s feasibility and potential benefits.
In 2021, NHS England set out its NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap. Alongside and since this announcement, many pharmaceutical companies have made commitments to decarbonise. The NHS and the Government continue to collaborate with industry across a range of actions, such as the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing programme, and the Voluntary Pricing, Access and Growth Investment Programme.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of General Practitioners' report entitled Towards Greener Prescribing in General Practice, published in March 2025, what plans his Department has to expand medicines recycling and re-use schemes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2020, the National Health Service published its Net Zero Strategy, in order to become the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero emissions, and NHS England is working collaboratively with a range of partners on implementation.
Recognising the importance of decarbonising general practices (GPs), NHS England collaborated with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the authors of the report Towards Greener Prescribing in General Practice, to develop a net zero hub, which includes three eLearning modules and a practice decarbonisation guide. These resources support and educate GPs in reducing carbon emissions from prescribing. The Department will work with NHS England to consider the recommendations and findings of the Royal College of General Practitioners' report.
Greener prescribing and recycling are key enablers to support the NHS’ transition towards a more sustainable healthcare system. One key aspect of this is tackling overprescribing, including through improving repeat prescribing processes and delivering Structured Medication Reviews. Further information can be found in the updated Green Plan Guidance at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/green-plan-guidance/
The NHS has already made progress in reducing medicine emissions. For example, optimising inhaler use by addressing Short Acting Beta Agonists overprescribing, improving inhaler technique, and working to ensure patients are on the appropriate treatment regimen and are using their inhaler at the right time. NHS England is also committed to exploring inhaler recycling and its potential benefits, and is currently supporting the implementation of an inhaler recycling pilot to assess a national scheme’s feasibility and potential benefits.
In 2021, NHS England set out its NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap. Alongside and since this announcement, many pharmaceutical companies have made commitments to decarbonise. The NHS and the Government continue to collaborate with industry across a range of actions, such as the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing programme, and the Voluntary Pricing, Access and Growth Investment Programme.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 reduce the environmental impact of prescribing (a) inhalers and (b) other medicines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2020, the National Health Service published its Net Zero Strategy, in order to become the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero emissions, and NHS England is working collaboratively with a range of partners on implementation.
Recognising the importance of decarbonising general practices (GPs), NHS England collaborated with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the authors of the report Towards Greener Prescribing in General Practice, to develop a net zero hub, which includes three eLearning modules and a practice decarbonisation guide. These resources support and educate GPs in reducing carbon emissions from prescribing. The Department will work with NHS England to consider the recommendations and findings of the Royal College of General Practitioners' report.
Greener prescribing and recycling are key enablers to support the NHS’ transition towards a more sustainable healthcare system. One key aspect of this is tackling overprescribing, including through improving repeat prescribing processes and delivering Structured Medication Reviews. Further information can be found in the updated Green Plan Guidance at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/green-plan-guidance/
The NHS has already made progress in reducing medicine emissions. For example, optimising inhaler use by addressing Short Acting Beta Agonists overprescribing, improving inhaler technique, and working to ensure patients are on the appropriate treatment regimen and are using their inhaler at the right time. NHS England is also committed to exploring inhaler recycling and its potential benefits, and is currently supporting the implementation of an inhaler recycling pilot to assess a national scheme’s feasibility and potential benefits.
In 2021, NHS England set out its NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap. Alongside and since this announcement, many pharmaceutical companies have made commitments to decarbonise. The NHS and the Government continue to collaborate with industry across a range of actions, such as the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing programme, and the Voluntary Pricing, Access and Growth Investment Programme.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 support primary care to reduce carbon emissions from prescribing.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In October 2020, the National Health Service published its Net Zero Strategy, in order to become the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero emissions, and NHS England is working collaboratively with a range of partners on implementation.
Recognising the importance of decarbonising general practices (GPs), NHS England collaborated with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the authors of the report Towards Greener Prescribing in General Practice, to develop a net zero hub, which includes three eLearning modules and a practice decarbonisation guide. These resources support and educate GPs in reducing carbon emissions from prescribing. The Department will work with NHS England to consider the recommendations and findings of the Royal College of General Practitioners' report.
Greener prescribing and recycling are key enablers to support the NHS’ transition towards a more sustainable healthcare system. One key aspect of this is tackling overprescribing, including through improving repeat prescribing processes and delivering Structured Medication Reviews. Further information can be found in the updated Green Plan Guidance at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/green-plan-guidance/
The NHS has already made progress in reducing medicine emissions. For example, optimising inhaler use by addressing Short Acting Beta Agonists overprescribing, improving inhaler technique, and working to ensure patients are on the appropriate treatment regimen and are using their inhaler at the right time. NHS England is also committed to exploring inhaler recycling and its potential benefits, and is currently supporting the implementation of an inhaler recycling pilot to assess a national scheme’s feasibility and potential benefits.
In 2021, NHS England set out its NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap. Alongside and since this announcement, many pharmaceutical companies have made commitments to decarbonise. The NHS and the Government continue to collaborate with industry across a range of actions, such as the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing programme, and the Voluntary Pricing, Access and Growth Investment Programme.