Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help secure the financial sustainability of (a) the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and (b) all local councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government recognises that council funding has been under pressure since 2010. Any council that has unmanageable pressures and is concerned about its financial position should approach the department.
We will provide councils with more stability and certainty through moving towards multi-year funding settlements and by ending wasteful competitive bidding pots. This will ensure councils can plan their finances for the future properly, delivering better value for money for taxpayers. Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged.
Department officials continue to engage regularly with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead regarding its financial position.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 reduce waiting lists for heart care treatments, in the context of recent statistics published by the British Heart Foundation on trends in the number of premature deaths from heart and circulatory diseases.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. The waiting list at the end of July stood at 7.62 million patient pathways, with 417,864 incomplete pathways waiting for treatment for cardiology.
We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, including in cardiology services, as a First Step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.
We will be supporting NHS Trusts to deliver these through innovation, sharing best practice to increase productivity and efficiency, and ensuring the best value is delivered.
This government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients across all specialities, including cardiology, are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps he is taking to improve the water quality of rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After 14 years of Conservative failure, we share the public’s fury at the levels of sewage being released into our rivers, lakes and seas.
That is why this Government has introduced legislation to put the water companies under special measures to end their disgraceful behaviour. But this is not all we are doing.
We will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the water industry is run and speed up the delivery of upgrades to our sewage infrastructure to clean up our waterways for good.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed increases to water bills by Thames Water in the period to 2030 on households in relative poverty.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing, especially as many people have been impacted by cost-of-living challenges.
Firmer action should have been taken over the last fourteen years to ensure money was spent on fixing the water and sewage system, not syphoned off for bonuses and dividend payments.
I am angry that over a decade of Conservative failure means customers will now have to pay higher bills to fix the system - this didn't need to happen.
But while I can’t undo the failure of the past – I can stop it happening again.
That is why I have announced reforms to ensure that funding for vital infrastructure will now be ringfenced, meaning it can only be spent on upgrades that benefit customers and the environment, not diverted to pay bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
Where money for investment isn’t spent, companies will refund it to their customers.
We are going further to work with the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills. All water companies, including Thames Water, offer affordability support for households who struggle to pay their bills in full including WaterSure and social tariffs, payment holidays, payment matching, benefit entitlement checks and financial advice referral arrangements.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 providing access to Enhertu on the NHS for cancer patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS in England are taken by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the basis of an evaluation of a treatment’s costs and benefits. NICE’s methods are internationally respected, and have been developed through extensive work with industry, academics and the public to ensure they appropriately capture the costs and benefits, and best reflect social values. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is important that they are made independently and on the basis of the available evidence.
We understand that despite NICE instigating an exceptional pause in the process to allow for commercial negotiations to take place with the companies, Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, a deal to enable patient access to this treatment on the National Health Service in England has not been reached.
We know NICE’s announcement has come as a blow to many women and their families. We understand that NICE and NHS England have already sought to apply as much flexibility as they can in their considerations of Enhertu for HER2 LOW breast cancer and have made it clear to the companies that their pricing of the drug remains the main obstacle to access.
Within 16 weeks of the publication of final guidance, companies can also request a rapid review to consider new patient access scheme proposals, with the aim of establishing a pricing agreement that would improve cost-effectiveness and enable patient access to high-cost medicines. This Government wants to see a deal reached to make Enhertu available. NICE and NHS England remain open to considering an improved offer from the companies through the rapid review process, and we strongly encourage the companies to come back to the table.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 report entitled The impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission, published on 16 June 2022, whether her Department has taken steps to review the efficacy of local authority enforcement for parks; and whether she plans to introduce a national enforcement body.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 1177 on 31 July 2024.