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 plans to retain the 66.7% national dementia diagnosis rate target for the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and NHS England remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%
The new approach to planning guidance will improve the operating model, giving local leaders the freedom and autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. Planning guidance is not a catalogue of everything the National Health Service does, and the absence of a target does not mean it has been deprioritised.
Lord Darzi’s independent review showed that a timely diagnosis is vital to ensure that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. The review also highlighted that there were too many targets set for the NHS which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or be held properly accountable.
We are therefore reducing the number of national priorities from 32 last year to 18 this year. This will allow local NHS leaders to make the best choices to meet the needs of their local population.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24061 on Rolling Stock, whether the Rolling Stock Strategy will include branch lines.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ending years of poor service and fragmentation on the railways, by creating a unified and simplified system through public ownership of train operations and by establishing Great British Railways (GBR).
The forthcoming Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. It will create stronger leadership by establishing GBR as a new ‘directing mind’ for the industry, bringing together the management of the rail network and the delivery of passenger services into a single public body.
GBR will have the tools and operational independence it needs to plan and run the rail system effectively on a long-term basis, driving up performance and reliability.
The Government is working at pace to develop the framework for a rolling stock strategy which will include considerations around the timelines for new build, refurbishments, and potential cascades. Once established, GBR will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs across the entire network including branch lines.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24061 on Rolling Stock, whether new builds will ensure sufficient capacity is procured in the future for the Henley Branch Line to cover moments of peak demand.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ending years of poor service and fragmentation on the railways, by creating a unified and simplified system through public ownership of train operations and by establishing Great British Railways (GBR).
The forthcoming Railways Bill will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. It will create stronger leadership by establishing GBR as a new ‘directing mind’ for the industry, bringing together the management of the rail network and the delivery of passenger services into a single public body.
GBR will have the tools and operational independence it needs to plan and run the rail system effectively on a long-term basis, driving up performance and reliability.
The Government is working at pace to develop the framework for a rolling stock strategy which will include considerations around the timelines for new build, refurbishments, and potential cascades. Once established, GBR will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs across the entire network including branch lines.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 7243 on Driving Tests: Oxfordshire, what further steps she has taken since 11 October 2024 to (a) stop the bulk buying of driving tests by bots and (b) improve the recruitment of driving instructors; and if she will publish a timeline for the implementation of further steps to increase the number of available driving tests.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority continues to be upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system.
A call for evidence was launched on 18 December 2024, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, with potential future legislative changes.
On 6 January 2025, DVSA also introduced tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils.
These steps are part of wider measures announced on the 18 December, which sets out DVSA's plan to reduce driving test waiting times. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners.
DVSA’s examiner recruitment campaigns continue to be successful but, like many employers, DVSA is finding the job market extremely competitive. As it moves through each recruitment campaign, DVSA will continually review and make changes and improvements to its recruitment and selection process, and training courses.
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of making insurance cover of properties at risk of flooding mandatory for insurers participating in the Flood Re scheme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 February 2025, UIN 27724.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of uptake of Shared Parental Leave and (b) how this will inform future policies to support fathers in taking early parental leave.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information provided by employers to HMRC shows that in 2023/24 (the latest year for which full year data is available), 17,200 individuals were in receipt of Statutory Shared Parental Pay.
The government is committed to supporting working families. The Employment Rights Bill will make Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave ‘day one’ rights. We have committed to review the parental leave system, ensuring it offers the best possible support to working families. Planning work is already underway.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24061 on Rolling Stock, if she will (a) provide a timeline for the (i) development and (ii) publication of the Rolling Stock Strategy and (b) make available opportunities for stakeholders to contribute their input.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is working at pace to develop the framework for a rolling stock strategy which will include considerations around the timelines for new build, refurbishments, and potential cascades.
Once Great British Railways is established it will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24061 on Rolling Stock, if she will ensure that the Rolling Stock Strategy procures adequate capacity on the Chiltern Rail route between Haddenham and Thame Parkway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I and my officials continue work with Chiltern Railways to improve passenger experience. Chiltern periodically adjust its timetable in response to passenger demand.
We are closely engaged with Chiltern’s fleet renewal programme. The option to procure additional trains to increase capacity is being investigated, while considering the value for money for taxpayers.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) merits of increasing funding for National Trails above 2012 levels and (b) impact of not increasing funding for National Trails on those trails.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Defra business planning process, we assess the requirements, opportunities and impacts of all projects that we fund. These are carefully considered within the wider context of spending review before final decisions are made. Further details will be provided in due course.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it mandatory for insurers participating in the Flood Re scheme to provide insurance to properties at risk of flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re is a joint government and industry flood reinsurance scheme established specifically to help UK households at high risk of flooding to access affordable insurance through their insurance provider. In 2023/24, Flood Re provided cover for over 280,000 household policies, and report that 99% of householders at high risk of flooding can now obtain quotes from 15 or more insurers.
All insurance companies providing home insurance policies in the UK are required to pay the Flood Re Levy irrelevant of whether they cede policies to Flood Re or not. It is for individual companies to decide the policies they offer, and when to cede a policy to Flood Re.
Householders are encouraged to always shop around for the most suitable policy for their needs, including flood cover. For anyone struggling to find appropriate insurance we advise them to look at BIBA’s Flood Insurance Directory, which can be accessed online via www.biba.org.uk/find-insurance. Alternatively, BIBA’s Find an insurance service can be contacted on 0370 950 1790, Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 5:30pm. Consumers must ensure the cover they choose provides appropriate cover for their circumstances.