Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the provision of emergency co-responders in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Collaboration between emergency services has a vital role to play in keeping the public safe in a way that optimises efficiency and effectiveness. However, it is for local emergency service providers to decide what collaborative activities will best serve their communities’ needs.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 16 June 2025 to Question 58827 on Trandolapril, for what reason does Trandolapril continue to be unavailable to patients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Trandolapril capsules are supplied by two suppliers in the United Kingdom, who are both continuing to experience manufacturing issues. We are unable to confirm a resupply date currently due to these ongoing issues. The Department has issued comprehensive management plans to the National Health Service, which we continue to review. These include advice on alternatives, and how to manage affected patients.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation similar to that introduced in France to reduce commercial food waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made of the merits of introducing legislation similar to that introduced in France to reduce commercial food waste.
Defra recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. This Government has announced plans to publish a Circular Economy Strategy and is committed to transitioning to a circular economy – one that stimulates growth, reduces waste, and alleviates pressure on household bills. As this work is developed, we will consider the evidence for action and evaluate what interventions may be needed. This includes measures to prevent food waste and support surplus food redistribution.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) support food redistribution and (b) reduce commercial food waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy outlines how all businesses should deal with food surplus and waste, preventing food surplus where possible and redistributing any surplus should it arise.
Defra funds the UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Through the Pact, we support the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which provides a toolkit to help businesses identify their surplus and waste and take steps to reduce it. This approach enables food businesses to reduce their food waste, and get more surplus to redistributors where it does arise. Defra also engages a working group of supply chain and redistribution sector organisations to develop best practice and overcome barriers to redistribution.
In addition, a £15 million farm surplus fund, is aiming to increase the capacity and capability of the redistribution sector to ensure more farm surplus food gets to those who need it most rather than going to waste. This shall see an extra 17,000 tonnes of food waste diverted to redistribution charities.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on how many occasions his Department has withheld information due to the risk of prejudicing private commercial interest under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in this Parliament.
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: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department required any private commercial suppliers or delivery partners previously contracted to work on the New Hospital Programme to be excluded from working on the New Hospital Programme Review.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The review of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) was led by a Director from the NHP Sponsor team in the Department. They were supported by a number of officials from the NHP Sponsor team in the Department along with officials from NHS England, with input from the NHP’s interim commercial and delivery partners and officials in HM Treasury. The NHP developed the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis tool with support from its interim commercial and delivery partners.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to issue Remediable Service Statements to veterans under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 Remedy; and whether the deadline for non-complex cases remains December 2025.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The implementation of the McCloud Pension Remedy is one of the most complex initiatives ever undertaken across Public Sector Pension Schemes, impacting over three million individuals.
Within the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, the scale and technical complexity of delivery have unfortunately led to delays in issuing Remedial Service Statements to some members. The Ministry of Defence acknowledges these challenges and is actively working to overcome them. It remains fully committed to ensuring that all affected members receive their statements as swiftly as possible, with a firm deadline of 31 March 2026.
Regular updates on the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 Remedy are available on GOV.UK via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans#pension-remedy
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of sexual violence were referred to the NHS by (a) charities and (b) local support organisations in 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service provides support for victims and survivors of sexual violence through a range of services which can be accessed via self-referral or referral from other organisations. This includes mental health services and sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) which provide crisis care, medical and forensic examinations and onward referral to other support services. SARCs had a total of 27,738 referrals in the year 2024/25 and of those, 65 came via the voluntary sector.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 support the provision of emergency co-responders in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important contribution of co-responders in improving response times, particularly in hard-to-reach rural and coastal communities.
The Department supports the provision of emergency co-responders in rural and coastal areas through the Community First Responders (CFR) programme, where volunteers are trained by the ambulance service to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work.
Ambulance trusts are responsible, on an individual basis, for taking decisions on the capacity and support needed to deliver their services in their local areas.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 merits of funding rape and sexual abuse support services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the vital importance of rape and sexual abuse support services.
NHS England funds sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) which provide crisis care, medical and forensic examinations and onward referral to other support services. NHS England spent £57.6m on SARCs in 2024/25. NHS England regions also commission voluntary sector organisations to support victims and survivors, totalling £4.5m in 2024/25.