Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 December 2024 to Question 16662 on NHS: Public Consultation, what the total budget is for deliberative engagement in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following an invitation to tender competition process, we appointed Thinks Insight, Kaleidoscope Health and Care, and IPPR to support us to run the 10-Year Health Plan engagement exercise. The awarded value of the contract is up to £2.96 million, and includes running online and in-person engagement activities, the Change NHS online portal, and analysis of the insight received.
The current contract start date is 13 September 2024 with an end date of 31 March 2025, with an option to extend by three months. This means that final costs, such as those to undertake analysis, are dependent on the level of engagement that takes place.
The details of this award and redacted contract are available at the following link:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/80963989-c4d6-4a16-8e12-c31b43a81dda
We will be able to provide full costs of the exercise once it is complete.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10-year health plan will include policies on palliative care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to developing a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders, including those in the hospice sector, as we develop the plan.
The engagement process has been launched, and I would encourage the palliative and end of life care sector, including hospice providers, service users, and their families, to engage with that process to allow us to fully understand what is not working as well as it should, and what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:
On 19 December the government announced the biggest investment in a generation for hospices to help ensure that hospices can continue to deliver the highest quality end of life care possible for their patients, families, and loved ones.
We are supporting the hospice sector with £100 million funding for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
Children and young people’s hospices will also receive a further £26 million revenue funding for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.
We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination in the new year.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency has spent on custom wheel lug nuts for Agency vehicles in each of the last three years; and for what purpose.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A breakdown of how much the Environment Agency spent on its commercial fleet’s maintenance by vehicle type and fuel type in the last three financial years is shown in the table below. This does not include leased vehicles as maintenance costs are included in their monthly costs. Data on ‘non-essential modifications’ is not available.
Vehicle and Fuel Type | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 |
Car | £671.17 | £2,089.80 | £2,344.56 |
HYDROGEN | £671.17 | £2,089.80 | £2,344.56 |
Small Van | £197,643.65 | £197,404.86 | £227,939.27 |
DIESEL | £197,643.65 | £197,404.86 | £224,646.14 |
ELECTRIC | £0.00 | £0.00 | £3,293.13 |
Medium Van | £86,972.06 | £99,222.66 | £103,457.00 |
DIESEL | £81,230.17 | £91,656.48 | £73,595.68 |
ELECTRIC | £5,741.89 | £7,566.18 | £29,861.32 |
Large Van | £301,630.69 | £382,204.70 | £451,251.81 |
DIESEL | £301,630.69 | £382,204.70 | £423,340.53 |
ELECTRIC | £0.00 | £0.00 | £27,911.28 |
Small 4x4 | £208,105.55 | £231,725.88 | £285,599.07 |
DIESEL | £54,821.86 | £45,706.05 | £34,994.41 |
PLUGIN P | £153,283.69 | £186,019.83 | £250,604.66 |
Medium 4x4 | £126,009.05 | £114,164.04 | £120,265.74 |
DIESEL | £126,009.05 | £114,164.04 | £120,265.74 |
Large 4x4 | £898,377.91 | £1,130,997.98 | £1,243,435.82 |
DIESEL | £898,377.91 | £1,130,997.98 | £1,243,435.82 |
HGV | £264,550.99 | £284,979.48 | £295,272.97 |
DIESEL | £264,550.99 | £284,979.48 | £295,272.97 |
Grand Total | £2,083,961.07 | £2,442,789.40 | £2,729,566.24 |
The Environment Agency does not purchase customised wheel lug nuts. The ratio of staff to road vehicles in the Environment Agency, for the last three financial years, is shown in the below table:
Financial Year | Staff Count | Commercial Vehicles | Ratio | Lease Cars | Ratio |
21/22 | 11,645 | 1,451 | 8.03 | 3,641 | 3.20 |
22/23 | 12,539 | 1,415 | 8.86 | 3,229 | 3.88 |
23/24 | 14,072 | 1,522 | 9.25 | 2,848 | 4.94 |
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency spent on road vehicle fleet maintenance by (a) vehicle type, (b) fuel type and (c) non-essential modifications in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A breakdown of how much the Environment Agency spent on its commercial fleet’s maintenance by vehicle type and fuel type in the last three financial years is shown in the table below. This does not include leased vehicles as maintenance costs are included in their monthly costs. Data on ‘non-essential modifications’ is not available.
Vehicle and Fuel Type | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 |
Car | £671.17 | £2,089.80 | £2,344.56 |
HYDROGEN | £671.17 | £2,089.80 | £2,344.56 |
Small Van | £197,643.65 | £197,404.86 | £227,939.27 |
DIESEL | £197,643.65 | £197,404.86 | £224,646.14 |
ELECTRIC | £0.00 | £0.00 | £3,293.13 |
Medium Van | £86,972.06 | £99,222.66 | £103,457.00 |
DIESEL | £81,230.17 | £91,656.48 | £73,595.68 |
ELECTRIC | £5,741.89 | £7,566.18 | £29,861.32 |
Large Van | £301,630.69 | £382,204.70 | £451,251.81 |
DIESEL | £301,630.69 | £382,204.70 | £423,340.53 |
ELECTRIC | £0.00 | £0.00 | £27,911.28 |
Small 4x4 | £208,105.55 | £231,725.88 | £285,599.07 |
DIESEL | £54,821.86 | £45,706.05 | £34,994.41 |
PLUGIN P | £153,283.69 | £186,019.83 | £250,604.66 |
Medium 4x4 | £126,009.05 | £114,164.04 | £120,265.74 |
DIESEL | £126,009.05 | £114,164.04 | £120,265.74 |
Large 4x4 | £898,377.91 | £1,130,997.98 | £1,243,435.82 |
DIESEL | £898,377.91 | £1,130,997.98 | £1,243,435.82 |
HGV | £264,550.99 | £284,979.48 | £295,272.97 |
DIESEL | £264,550.99 | £284,979.48 | £295,272.97 |
Grand Total | £2,083,961.07 | £2,442,789.40 | £2,729,566.24 |
The Environment Agency does not purchase customised wheel lug nuts. The ratio of staff to road vehicles in the Environment Agency, for the last three financial years, is shown in the below table:
Financial Year | Staff Count | Commercial Vehicles | Ratio | Lease Cars | Ratio |
21/22 | 11,645 | 1,451 | 8.03 | 3,641 | 3.20 |
22/23 | 12,539 | 1,415 | 8.86 | 3,229 | 3.88 |
23/24 | 14,072 | 1,522 | 9.25 | 2,848 | 4.94 |
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the ratio of staff to road vehicles in the Environment Agency (a) is and (b) was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A breakdown of how much the Environment Agency spent on its commercial fleet’s maintenance by vehicle type and fuel type in the last three financial years is shown in the table below. This does not include leased vehicles as maintenance costs are included in their monthly costs. Data on ‘non-essential modifications’ is not available.
Vehicle and Fuel Type | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 |
Car | £671.17 | £2,089.80 | £2,344.56 |
HYDROGEN | £671.17 | £2,089.80 | £2,344.56 |
Small Van | £197,643.65 | £197,404.86 | £227,939.27 |
DIESEL | £197,643.65 | £197,404.86 | £224,646.14 |
ELECTRIC | £0.00 | £0.00 | £3,293.13 |
Medium Van | £86,972.06 | £99,222.66 | £103,457.00 |
DIESEL | £81,230.17 | £91,656.48 | £73,595.68 |
ELECTRIC | £5,741.89 | £7,566.18 | £29,861.32 |
Large Van | £301,630.69 | £382,204.70 | £451,251.81 |
DIESEL | £301,630.69 | £382,204.70 | £423,340.53 |
ELECTRIC | £0.00 | £0.00 | £27,911.28 |
Small 4x4 | £208,105.55 | £231,725.88 | £285,599.07 |
DIESEL | £54,821.86 | £45,706.05 | £34,994.41 |
PLUGIN P | £153,283.69 | £186,019.83 | £250,604.66 |
Medium 4x4 | £126,009.05 | £114,164.04 | £120,265.74 |
DIESEL | £126,009.05 | £114,164.04 | £120,265.74 |
Large 4x4 | £898,377.91 | £1,130,997.98 | £1,243,435.82 |
DIESEL | £898,377.91 | £1,130,997.98 | £1,243,435.82 |
HGV | £264,550.99 | £284,979.48 | £295,272.97 |
DIESEL | £264,550.99 | £284,979.48 | £295,272.97 |
Grand Total | £2,083,961.07 | £2,442,789.40 | £2,729,566.24 |
The Environment Agency does not purchase customised wheel lug nuts. The ratio of staff to road vehicles in the Environment Agency, for the last three financial years, is shown in the below table:
Financial Year | Staff Count | Commercial Vehicles | Ratio | Lease Cars | Ratio |
21/22 | 11,645 | 1,451 | 8.03 | 3,641 | 3.20 |
22/23 | 12,539 | 1,415 | 8.86 | 3,229 | 3.88 |
23/24 | 14,072 | 1,522 | 9.25 | 2,848 | 4.94 |
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 ensure that fees paid by commissioners take into account changes in the costs faced by not-for-profit social care providers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes negotiating and ensuring fee levels take into account the costs of delivering care, including inflationary and other pressures, to support market sustainability and provider viability.
The Government recognises the important role councils have in commissioning and delivering adult and children’s social care services. To support social care authorities to deliver these key services in light of pressures, the Government has this week announced a further £200 million for adult and children’s social care.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding (a) his Department and (b) NHS England has provided for the Global Majority Fellowship Programme in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no such thing as the Global Majority Fellowship Programme. The NHS Global Fellowship programme offers volunteer reciprocal leadership development opportunities for clinical and non-clinical staff to experience health systems across the globe.
NHS England provided £441,773.27 for the NHS Global Fellowships Programme for the financial year 2023/24.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 14178 on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the minimum residual bin collection requirement in the final Simpler Recycling policy on the prevalence of local waste collection authorities moving to three-weekly or monthly bin collections.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are already legally required to deliver waste collection services to all households in their area. Simpler Recycling in England will go further by mandating weekly food waste collections under the Environment Act 2021. Local authorities have always had flexibility to choose residual waste frequency, depending on local need.
Local authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services. We recognise that as recycling services are expanded and improved under Simpler Recycling, local authorities may choose to review residual waste services to ensure they are providing best value for money in line with local need. The Government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now.
Defra recently published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained. These include ensuring that there are no disamenity impacts, such as the build-up of odorous waste at the kerbside or an increase in fly-tipping of residual waste. We expect local authorities to monitor any changes to collection frequencies to ensure there are no unintended adverse consequences.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the refreshed NHS workforce plan will include policies on the palliative care sector.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan will deliver the transformed health service that we will build over the next decade and will ensure that patients get the treatment they need, when and where they need it, including those at the end of their lives. In the development of the plan, we will engage with a range of stakeholders to ensure their needs are considered.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance has been produced by his Department on the issuing of fines by local authorities on householders who leave items by the curtilage of their property to be given away and re-used.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has not produced guidance for local authorities on issuing fixed penalty notices for householders who leave items by the curtilage of their property to be given away and re-used.
The principles of the Regulators’ Code applies, however, to enforcement action local authorities undertake. This states that regulatory activity should be carried out in a way which is proportionate, transparent, accountable and consistent. We are considering whether further guidance is necessary with regards to fly-tipping enforcement.