Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to support consumers paying increased costs for (a) heating oil (b) petrol and (c) diesel, in the context of conflict in the Middle East.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is closely monitoring heating oil, petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East. International kerosene prices are >75% higher than they were before the conflict and this is putting pressure on heating oil prices.
The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Ministers have also spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority, who have announced they are reviewing evidence of potential unfair practices and anti-competitive behaviour.
We are keeping under review whether any further support or action is needed to protect consumers.
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, how many NHS England employees there (a) are and (b) were on 13 March 2025; and what estimate he has made of the number of NHS England employees there will be following the first round of the voluntary redundancy scheme.
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 of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS England employees have resigned, transferred or otherwise terminated their employment at NHS England since the announcement of its abolition.
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 of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS England employees have opted to take the voluntary redundancy scheme commencing in April 2026.
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 Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the availability of CCTV coverage in train carriages.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Most new train procurements since 1996 have included provision of CCTV. National Rail Contracts and Service Agreements between the Government and train operators impose obligations that where CCTV is installed or upgraded, operators are contractually required to comply with relevant CCTV guidance and industry standards.
Where CCTV is provided, train operators are expected to follow the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) Rail Industry Standard for On-Train Camera Monitoring Systems. This standard sets out requirements for camera placement, image quality, secure data storage and integration with passenger alarms.
The RSSB Key Train Requirements also emphasise the importance of internal CCTV as an element of passenger security, including good coverage, reliable performance and proper maintenance over the life of the train. The Key Train Requirements document assists rolling stock procurers, specifiers, manufacturers, and system suppliers to compile procurement specifications for new and refurbished trains.
As we move towards public ownership we will be working with train operators to ensure equipment is working and retention periods are adhered to.
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 ambulance station closures on ambulance response times in (a) Shropshire (b) rural areas and (c) England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. Responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner. The West Midlands Ambulance Service have two hubs in Shropshire and no current plans to change that.
Integrated care boards are best placed to work with and consult local health and care organisations, local authorities and local stakeholders to decide how to best deliver and meet their local population care needs and national targets for ambulance response times. The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year.
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 trends in the number of year-on-year changes to hospital handover delays in (a) Shropshire (b) West Midlands and (c) England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Shropshire is primarily served by the West Midlands Ambulance Service, along with the wider West Midlands region, where in January 2026 average hospital handovers took one hour, 20 minutes and 15 seconds, which is worse than the same period the year before.
For England overall, the most recent National Health Service performance figures show that average ambulance handover delays have improved, falling to 37 minutes 39 seconds from 40 minutes 23 seconds, an improvement of over two and a half minutes from the same period last year.
From 2023, NHS England has published data on hospital handover delays at acute and ambulance trust level. There is no published data on individual hospital handover times publicly available, so the Deptartment is unable to list the longest hospital handover times recorded. However, the 90th centile of handovers times are published monthly. The data can be found at the following two links:
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, if he will list the longest hospital handover time recorded in each ambulance service area of England in each January of the past five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Shropshire is primarily served by the West Midlands Ambulance Service, along with the wider West Midlands region, where in January 2026 average hospital handovers took one hour, 20 minutes and 15 seconds, which is worse than the same period the year before.
For England overall, the most recent National Health Service performance figures show that average ambulance handover delays have improved, falling to 37 minutes 39 seconds from 40 minutes 23 seconds, an improvement of over two and a half minutes from the same period last year.
From 2023, NHS England has published data on hospital handover delays at acute and ambulance trust level. There is no published data on individual hospital handover times publicly available, so the Deptartment is unable to list the longest hospital handover times recorded. However, the 90th centile of handovers times are published monthly. The data can be found at the following two links:
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 increase the use of call-before-you-convey by ambulance services and hospital trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/2026, ambulance services have been focusing on delivering a range of practical actions to improve performance in 2025/26, including;
All ambulance services have implemented call before you convey arrangements, to ensure crews can access senior clinical advice on scene and convey patients to an emergency department only where it is clinically appropriate.
We are also expanding access to urgent community care services to support the reduction of unnecessary emergency department attendances and hospital admissions.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential safety benefits of providing warning lights for vehicles used by Community First Responders.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers trained by ambulance services to attend certain types of emergency calls in the communities where they live or work. Decisions on operational arrangements, including safety measures and equipment for CFRs, are determined locally by ambulance trusts.
As a complementary resource, CFRs are dispatched only to those calls that appropriately fall within the clinical scope of practice for a volunteer CFR role and assessment of this takes both the safety of the volunteer and patient into account.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, may, by regulations, make provisions for courses of training for driving vehicles at high speed. It is generally taken that those responding to incidents using blue lights and sirens are trained to an appropriate standard that is recognised by the despatching National Health Service ambulance service. The decision to authorise interested CFR and/or co-responder schemes to use blue lights and sirens and claim exemptions is for local determination by NHS ambulance services.
The CFR scheme is designed so volunteers are typically located close to incidents requiring a response, meaning driving under emergency conditions would typically confer relatively little benefit compared with travelling at normal road speed. Any potential benefits must also be weighed against the increased risks to the public associated with using exemptions to road traffic regulations.