Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 ensure that domiciliary care is sustainably funded.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to reforming adult social care and improving the quality of care for people in need. That’s why we are taking steps to ensure all adult social care is sustainably funded, including domiciliary care. In 2025/26, the Government is providing at least £600 million in new grant funding for social care, as part of a broader estimated real terms increase in local government spending power of approximately 3.2%.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the results of the consultation entitled the Fur market in Great Britain, published on 31 May 2021.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in due course, including the consultation on the Fur Market in Great Britain. Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.
Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which organisation is responsible for (a) litter collection and (b) tree management along the A52 in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Responsibility for litter collection on the A52 in Nottinghamshire lies with the local authorities in the area, in this case that is Broxtowe Borough Council, Nottingham City Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council.
National Highways is responsible for tree management on the A52 in Nottinghamshire, this includes cyclical inspections of trees within National Highways ownership and can include third party trees that are identified as being a significant and imminent hazard to the Strategic Road Network.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that Highways England fulfils its statutory functions for (a) litter collection and (b) tree management.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport regularly engages with National Highways to discuss its performance and management of the Strategic Road Network.
The Office for Road and Rail, as Highways Monitor, also plays an important role in monitoring on behalf of the Secretary of State, holding National Highways to account for its licence commitments to maintain, operate and improve motorways and major ‘A’ roads in England. Should the Office for Road and Rail deem that National Highways is not complying with its statutory functions or the requirements outlined in the Roads Investment Strategy, they may determine that enforcement action is appropriate.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to encourage practices to create salaried GP roles instead of using physician associates.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to training thousands more GPs across the country which will increase capacity in the system and take the pressure off those currently working in the system. NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future and we are providing £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified GPs, via the additional roles reimbursement scheme, so patients can get the care they need.
Physician associates (PAs) can make a valuable contribution to patient care providing appointments and performing clinical and administrative tasks as part of the wider General Practice multi-disciplinary team with appropriate supervision. But they must not substitute the role of the GP within general practice.
GP practices are self-employed contractors to the NHS and it is largely up to employers to determine how best to staff their primary care network (PCN) or GP practice to best meet the needs of their population.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 consult on phasing out the use of cages for layer hens in England.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Wokingham, Clive Jones, on 31 October 2024, PQ UIN 11121 .
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve approaches to tackling online crime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
As the Prime Minister has made clear the Government recognises the serious impact that online crime has on victims and wider society.
This Government is working closely with tech companies to tackle criminal activity on their platforms. We are pressing ahead with the implementation of the Online Safety Act, which places duties on tech companies to take action to prevent the spread of illegal content online. The Act covers the full range of online harms including the most serious offences that can originate online, including child sexual exploitation and terrorism. We expect Ofcom to publish the first codes of practice on illegal content in December 2024. This will mark a significant shift in what we expect from platforms, as they will be required to assess illegal harms risk and implement appropriate safety measures by March 2025.
Harmful content is just one component of online crime. Cybercrime where criminals gain unauthorised access to systems through hacking and other illegal methods is a significant challenge to the UK and our prosperity and security. This international problem requires an international response. Recently in conjunction with Singapore the UK has led innovative new policy guidance for ransomware victims.
The new guidance agreed on 1st October 2024 at the Counter Ransomware Initiative summit will encourage organisations to carefully consider their options instead of defaulting to make payments to cyber criminals. This guidance also marks collaboration between government and the insurance industry on a global basis.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that play areas are (a) designed and (b) upgraded to be accessible for children with SEND.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is firmly committed to creating better access to play areas, and parks more widely. They are an essential part of local social infrastructure which supports more connected, stronger communities.
Local authorities must consider their obligations under the Equalities Act of 2010 in relation to work being done on play areas, this includes ensuring that they are accessible and inclusive. Furthermore, the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places. The Government is committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for all disabled people and putting their voices at the heart of what we do.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to (a) understand more about the relationship between smartphone use and young people’s mental health, (b) reduce any negative impact of those devices on young people’s mental health and (c) bring forward legislative proposals on the use of smartphones in schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. Additionally, the government’s non-statutory guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Headteachers are responsible for implementation of guidance within their schools.
Research suggests excessive screentime can be detrimental to children’s wellbeing. The Online Safety Act aims to protects children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and to ensure that technology companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, last updated on 2 August 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of applying golden rule b to non-Green Belt land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Green Belt serves a number of specific national planning purposes, including checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another, and assisting in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.
It is precisely because the Government recognises the public value provided by the Green Belt that we believe any major development on land release from it should be subject to golden rules, including providing necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure, to ensure public benefit.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. This will remain the case irrespective of whether any proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework or wider national planning policy are taken forward.
When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
Additionally, the Government provides financial support through the £1.5 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land fund which will boost local areas by transforming disused sites and investing in vital infrastructure to help create vibrant communities for people to live and work, while also protecting green spaces.