Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the annual saving to the public purse from not fully disregarding (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments in the assessment of Pension Credit in the previous financial year.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No formal assessment has been made on the annual saving to the public purse on not fully disregarding these payments.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the Delivery Plan for ME/CFS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, final delivery plan will be published shortly. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on businesses in Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
Properly funding public services and restoring economic stability required difficult decisions, which is why we are asking employers to contribute more.
Stabilising the public finances is the only way to create long-term stability businesses need to thrive.
We are protecting the smallest businesses by more than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of small businesses will either gain or be unaffected.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
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 provide routine access to circulating tumour DNA blood tests to support the (a) detection and (b) treatment of breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to improving faster and earlier detection of breast cancer and will work to ensure that patients have timely access to lifesaving, innovative treatments. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over four million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to treatment. There are no current plans to provide routine access to circulating tumour DNA blood tests.
The Government’s wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer. We are also proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden National Institute for Health and Care Research Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including breast cancer.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spends on average per patient with secondary (metastatic) breast cancer; and if he will make a comparative assessment of the average spend per patient with primary breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the lives of those diagnosed with both primary and secondary breast cancer. The Department does not hold the information to make a comparative assessment of the average spend per patient with primary or secondary breast cancer.
Reducing unwarranted variation in cancer treatment is a strategic priority for the National Health Service. NHS England commissioned new clinical audits on primary and metastatic breast cancer to increase the consistency of access to treatments. On 12 September 2024, the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre published their State of the Nation Report on breast cancer. Officials at the Department and NHS England are in the process of considering the audit’s findings and what any next steps could be. To drive up the completeness of data for breast cancer, progesterone receptor status is already collected as part of the NHS Cancer Outcomes and Services Data set. No specific breakdown is available at this time.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Audit of Metastatic Breast Cancer will provide a specific breakdown by (a) breast cancer subtype and (b) hormone receptor status.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the lives of those diagnosed with both primary and secondary breast cancer. The Department does not hold the information to make a comparative assessment of the average spend per patient with primary or secondary breast cancer.
Reducing unwarranted variation in cancer treatment is a strategic priority for the National Health Service. NHS England commissioned new clinical audits on primary and metastatic breast cancer to increase the consistency of access to treatments. On 12 September 2024, the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre published their State of the Nation Report on breast cancer. Officials at the Department and NHS England are in the process of considering the audit’s findings and what any next steps could be. To drive up the completeness of data for breast cancer, progesterone receptor status is already collected as part of the NHS Cancer Outcomes and Services Data set. No specific breakdown is available at this time.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
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 ensure that the 2013 mandate to accurately collect and collate data on cancer recurrence is being fully implemented.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that data on cancer is complete and of sufficiently high quality. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects recurrence data for non-primary cancers via data submissions as part of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset (COSD). The COSD has been the national standard for reporting cancer in the National Health Service in England since January 2013, and provides a helpdesk and data liaison service to support data completeness.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
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 is taking to ensure that people diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer are routinely offered MRI scans for follow-up monitoring.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients in England, including those with lobular breast cancer, have access to personalised care, including a needs assessment, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support.
Treatment for cancer is highly individualised and decisions about cancer treatment, including ongoing monitoring and follow up care, are typically made by clinicians and multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals. These decisions are based on medical assessments and what's best for the individual's overall health and well-being.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department (a) has made and (b) plans to make an assessment of the impact of exposure to chemicals on cancer incidence rates.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (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: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure young people are supported in choosing from the range of (a) technical and (b) vocational options available to them after the end of the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge contract in summer 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Enabling access to apprenticeships and technical education remains a key part of this government’s education policy. There is a range of support available to schools, colleges, parents, careers and young people to support careers education and the promotion of apprenticeship and technical education options.
Young people, parents and carers, as well as schools and colleges seeking support to raise awareness of apprenticeships and technical education can continue to access: