Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of levels of young people dying from sudden cardiac death in (a) England and (b) other European countries; and what steps he plans to take to reduce levels of sudden cardiac death in young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is a priority for the Government. We want people to have the best chance of survival from cardiac arrest, and rapid intervention is central to improving outcomes. NHS England has published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions that covers patients who often present as young adults with a previously undiagnosed cardiac disease or from families requiring a follow up due to a death from this cause. Further information on the national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
The service specification describes the service model and guidance that should be followed to support the diagnosis and treatment of patients or family members. It also includes the requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification in line with the national service specification methods review process. NHS England is working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of this review, including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation.
The consensus at present is to focus on the rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of sudden cardiac death and automated external defibrillator use for people who suffer a cardiac arrest.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of NHS trusts having electronic records.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment of these trends has been made. Currently, we have achieved a 91% rollout of Electronic Patient Records (EPR), with work underway to provide tailored support to the remaining 19 trusts that do not yet have an EPR.
The programme is forecasting to achieve 96% EPR coverage by the programme’s end in March 2026, with the remaining 4% of trusts having advanced in their plans for an EPR.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the NHS National Program for IT.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The final cost and benefits statement for the programmes delivered under the National Programme for Information Technology was published on 6 June 2013, and can be found online on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take through the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure the adequate provision of M4(2) and M4(3) compliant housing in Henley and Thame constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of older and disabled people, and to reflect this in planning policies.
Where an identified need exists, plans are expected to help bring forward an adequate supply of accessible housing, which can include setting out the proportion of new housing that will be delivered to M4(2) and M4(3) standards.
The government will shortly set out its policies on accessible new build housing, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring everyone has access to a safe, suitable home.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the efficacy of the dry weather flow data for determining impact on waste water treatment works of increased housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that strategic policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places and make sufficient provision for infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, security, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and coastal change management, and the provision of minerals and energy (including heat).
Dry weather flow (DWF) at wastewater treatment works is the amount of wastewater (sewage) entering the works without any contribution from rainfall or snowmelt.
It is used to calculate the polluting load entering the works and to set environmental permits to protect the environment. DWF is measured using calibrated and independently certified and inspected flow meters 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Water companies must track flows entering the works in line with permit requirements and use this information to plan for growth.
Water companies must prepare, publish and maintain a Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP, also called a Drainage and Sewerage Management Plan) setting out the actions they intend to take to secure wastewater service provision, now and into the future. These plans identify the current and future investment need to ensure sufficient capacity enables their assets continue to meet DWF permit compliance, and to address the pressures of growth and climate change. The next statutory DWMPs are expected to be published in 2027/8.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the letter of 17 February 2025 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame on the ongoing closure of the Thames Path National Trail at Marsh Lock near Henley on Thames.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This is not the responsibility of this Department and I gather the Member has already received a response from DEFRA.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 5 February 2025 from the Hon. Member for Henley and Thame on building a new Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 21 March 2025.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to make water companies statutory consultees in all planning applications.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to make a decision on the final business case submitted by Chiltern Railways.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department will continue to work closely with Chiltern Railways to support delivery of its train fleet renewal programme and to finalise the commercial arrangements attached to the rolling stock business case in order to deliver an improved experience for passengers from 2026.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to review the (a) amount of funding for and (b) effectiveness of the current measures used by the Border Force to seize illegal meat.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Successful Border Force-led operations resulted in the interception, seizure and safe disposal of some 114 tonnes of meat illegally imported into the United Kingdom in 2024.
We are not complacent about illegal meat smuggling, which may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities.
Border Force is funded by the Home Office.