Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of hours pharmacies were open in (a) 2015 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold opening hours data for pharmacies in 2015. Data for opening hours from 2022 is available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/consolidated-pharmaceutical-list
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that elective service changes to the NHS Payment Scheme comply with legislation on the NHS Right to Choose.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the level of funding for the Rural England Prosperity Fund was decided for 2025-26.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the government spending review.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 proposed changes to (a) elective and (b) activity-based payments on (i) access to (A) (1) ADHD and (2) other medication and (B) other treatments and (ii) the timeframe in which NHS England patients who opt to use Right to Choose will receive their treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 impact of the reduction of the Rural England Prosperity Fund in the 2025-26 financial year on rural areas.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the government spending review.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the amount of money clawed back by NHS England from primary care NHS dental practices in England that had not met their contractual targets in each year since the 2020-21 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 elective services changes in the NHS payment scheme on (a) patients and (b) people with (i) ADHD and (ii) other disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 (a) improve the quality of administrative tasks within the NHS and (b) reduce the number of people receiving an invitation to an appointment after the date it is supposed to have taken place.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is putting patients first, making sure they are seen as quickly as possible and have the best possible experience, which includes receiving timely communication and experiencing high quality administration.
The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025 as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, sets out the reform we will deliver to reduce waiting times and improve experience of care. This will be patient-led and co-developed with people that use the National Health Service. We will work with patients, carers, and their representatives to target the things that matter most and will publish minimum standards patients should expect to experience.
We are reforming the digital landscape to improve productivity, communication, and offer greater convenience for NHS service users, including changing the NHS App to make it easier and more helpful for patients to access information about their appointments. By the end of March 2025, 85% of acute trusts will allow patients to view appointment information via the NHS App if they wish, reducing reliance on physical letters. We will also provide high quality, non-digital options for those who want and need them.
The Government is also reducing the burden of administrative tasks in the NHS. On Friday 4 October 2024, the Government and NHS England launched a Red Tape Challenge to address bureaucracy between primary and secondary care and give our health professionals back time to do what they do best. The challenge is being led by NHS England leaders, Medical Director for Primary Care, Dr Claire Fuller, and Medical Director for Secondary Care and Quality, Stella Vig.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of (a) 24 July 2024 to Question 835 and (b) 25 November 2024 to Question 15073 on Whitchurch (Shropshire) Station: Access, what progress she has made on providing step-free access at Whitchurch Railway Station in Shropshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail have completed an option selection report for step-free access at Whitchurch railway station. This will be reviewed alongside 49 other stations across Britain to determine which should progress.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support she is providing to local authorities which own buildings in need of repair due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The issues with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) are longstanding and well known.
All building owners are responsible for managing building safety and performance risks of all kinds in their buildings, including RAAC, in a proportionate, risk-based, and evidence-based manner, and acting where they deem necessary. To do so, they should continue to follow guidance published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) to identify, assess, and manage RAAC.
Local authorities are responsible for managing their own budgets and delivering on their responsibilities, including their duty as building owners.