Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce to report.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce will be engaging with experts from across the sector, from clinicians, researchers, advocates, and those with lived experience, and its membership will also be reflective of diverse patient needs. The taskforce is committed to considering patient experience alongside clinical care to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with cancer and their families.
Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March 2025. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
We expect the taskforce to run for six months with the possibility of extension. The taskforce will feed into, and report in line with the publication of the National Cancer Plan.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 26821 on Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, whether the taskforce plans to engage with (a) families with lived experience of childhood cancer, (b) children’s cancer charities and (c) other representative groups.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce will be engaging with experts from across the sector, from clinicians, researchers, advocates, and those with lived experience, and its membership will also be reflective of diverse patient needs. The taskforce is committed to considering patient experience alongside clinical care to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with cancer and their families.
Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March 2025. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
We expect the taskforce to run for six months with the possibility of extension. The taskforce will feed into, and report in line with the publication of the National Cancer Plan.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the terms of reference will be for the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce will be engaging with experts from across the sector, from clinicians, researchers, advocates, and those with lived experience, and its membership will also be reflective of diverse patient needs. The taskforce is committed to considering patient experience alongside clinical care to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with cancer and their families.
Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March 2025. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
We expect the taskforce to run for six months with the possibility of extension. The taskforce will feed into, and report in line with the publication of the National Cancer Plan.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Children and Young People's Cancer Taskforce has made.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Department will be relaunching the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce in the coming weeks. Dame Caroline Dinenage and Professor Darren Hargrave have been appointed as its co-chairs, alongside Dr Sharna Shanmugavadivel as vice-chair.
The taskforce will examine clinical and non-clinical ways to improve outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. This will feed into the Department’s wider work on the national cancer plan.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time period is for issuing payments via the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Between November 2021 and January 2025, the average time period for issuing payments following confirmation of a successful claim was 46 calendar days.
A payment can only be made once bank details and identification verification has been received from the claimant. Once received, the NHS Business Services Authority operates a 10-working day service level agreement for the payment to be processed.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (a) are pending, (b) have been paid and (c) have been refused.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Between 1 November 2021 and 17 January 2025, the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme has received 19,115 claims. Of these, 7,159, or 37% of claims, are awaiting resolution, 208, or 1% of claims, have been awarded, and 11,748, or 61% of claims, have not been awarded a payment.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department spent on Budgeting Loans (a) overall and (b) in each category in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The total spent on Budgeting Loan awards in the 2023/24 financial year was £260.6 million.
A category breakdown for budgeting loans will be published in due course in the 2023/24 Social Fund annual report. This will include the breakdowns by regions, claimant group, family composition and reason for refusal by application group.
Please see for more information the 2023/24 Social Fund Annual Accounts- Social Fund Account 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
And previous Social Fund Annual reports- Social Fund accounts and reports - GOV.UK
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many pensioners are eligible for the Warm Homes Discount in each region.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Home Discount statistics (published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/warm-home-discount-statistics-2023-to-2024) provide data on the number of rebates received by region (table 2), by the benefits claimed which make recipients eligible (including pension credit, table 12) and by the age of the lead beneficiary (table 14). These statistics reflect rebates paid rather than eligibility.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear veterans have (a) applied for and (b) been refused compensation under the War Pension Scheme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 13419 on 19 November 2024 to the hon.Member for the Wrekin (Mark Pritchard).
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's timetable is for its review of the medical records of nuclear veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 17507 on 12 December 2024 to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes).