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 his Department is taking to support (a) experienced GPs not covered by the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme and (b) other GPs to find employment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We remain committed to growing the number of doctors in general practice (GP) and we are working to increase the GP workforce in England.
NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future, and we will provide £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. GPs are self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, and it is largely up to employers to determine how best to staff their Primary Care Network or GP to best meet the needs of their population.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to improve wi-fi connectivity on the rail network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I have asked my officials to explore the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger connectivity on the rail network. The Department is also measuring the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed.
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 encourage local planning authorities to (a) ring-fence and (b) use developer contributions to provide routes identified in local cycling and walking infrastructure plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use are identified and pursued. Plans should also set out the contributions expected from development, such as that needed for transport and green infrastructure.
Any local authority that receives a contribution from development through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) or section 106 planning obligations must prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. The Infrastructure Funding Statement should set out future spending priorities on infrastructure in line with up-to-date or emerging plan policies.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is his Department's policy to introduce a UK low carbon hydrogen certification scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are considering the role of a UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Certification Scheme in achieving clean power by 2030. Further detail on the Government's approach will be announced in due course.
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 the Competition and Market Authority's publication entitled Housebuilding Market Study, published on 26 February 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the findings that (a) that some housebuilders may be sharing commercially sensitive information and (b) some estate management charges are (i) high and (ii) unclear to homebuyers.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government welcomes the Competition and Market Authority’s final report following their year-long market study on housebuilding. Government will carefully consider the Authority’s recommendations and respond in due course.
The Government is already clear that it is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end – we will consult on the best way to achieve this. We will also implement new protections for homeowners on private estates in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of routinely using S106 agreements to pay for new sewage treatment plants in order that large developers always make a direct contribution to upgrades of the water and sewerage network to support new housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National planning policy sets out that local planning authorities should include policies in their Local Plan for making sufficient provision for water and sewerage infrastructure.
A developer can be required to enter into a section 106 agreement, as a requirement of obtaining planning permission, to make their development ‘acceptable in planning terms’. The section 106 requirement might, for example, require a contribution towards the provision of water and sewerage network upgrades needed due to the development.
Separately, developers also pay water companies for new connections to a water main, with water companies entitled to reclaim reasonable costs.
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 plans to take to ensure that only appropriately accredited psychologists are able to (a) diagnose and (b) treat illnesses and psychological disorders.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The British Psychological Society accredits undergraduate and postgraduate psychology programmes. Accreditation is an important hallmark of quality that is extensively acknowledged by employers in the field, and an essential stepping-stone for students who are looking to progress to become a Chartered Psychologist after graduation.
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which is independent of the Government, is the statutory regulator of practitioner psychologists in the United Kingdom, meaning that only those who are registered with the HCPC and meet its standards can practise as practitioner psychologists.
In addition, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care holds a list of accredited voluntary registers, which they have independently assessed against nine standards. In relation to psychological professions, accredited registers include: the British Psychoanalytic Council (a professional association of the psychoanalytic psychotherapy profession)’ s Register of practitioners; and the British Psychological Society’s Wider Psychological Workforce register of Wellbeing Practitioners and Associate Psychologists.
Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.
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 bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the (a) sale and (b) installation of spray foam insulation.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are aware of the issues some homeowners are facing in obtaining finance where spray foam insulation has been installed.
We will bring forward proposals for system wide reform to the construction products regulatory regime in due course.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his keynote speech at the Energy UK conference 2024 on 17 September 2024, what steps he plans to take to help protect communities with an above-average number of substations resulting from high volumes of large projects being simultaneously submitted by different developers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The strategic network planning processes led by the Government’s new National Energy System Operator ensures community impact is considered when recommendations for new transmission infrastructure are made and that new infrastructure locations are considered strategically and sensitively. Where such infrastructure is needed, developers seek to reduce impacts through its design.
It is also important to this Government that, where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it, and we are considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 ensure that people with a prepayment meter are eligible for electric vehicle friendly tariffs.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Prepayment meter households can be eligible for a range of tariffs, depending on their circumstances. To take advantage of charging an electric vehicle at off-peak rates a smart prepayment meter, or other meter that works on a time of use basis, is required and can be fitted free of charge.