Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the impact of bright (a) LED and (b) conventional motor vehicle headlights on people in rural communities.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All types of road vehicle headlamps are designed, tested and approved to internationally recognised standards to help prevent undue glare on a broad range of roads and environments. However, the Government is aware of concerns raised by members of the public and we are considering options for building our evidence base on this issue.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral contribution of 18 January 2024, Official Report, column 1003, what recent comparative assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of steps being taken to understand the risks associated with (a) cyber security and (b) red-rated computer systems in (i) the UK and (ii) other countries.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The National Cyber Strategy 2022 sets out the Government’s ambitions to raise levels of resilience across all sectors by 2025, with a particular focus on our Critical National Infrastructure and making government an exemplar. We are also strengthening protections to online services and connected consumer devices to reduce the cyber security burden on UK citizens.
We continually assess cyber risk and the implementation of the National Cyber Strategy. In August 2023, we published the first Annual Progress Report for the National Cyber Strategy 2022. The report demonstrates our progress against the five strategic objectives, demonstrating how we have adapted to a significantly shifting geopolitical landscape. It supports our aim to be transparent in the way we work and reinforces the UK’s status as a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power. The report highlighted the success in improving cyber resilience through the NCSC Cyber Action Plan and Cyber Essentials as well as disruptions such as the first tranche of cyber sanctions and the takedown of the GENESIS marketplace, a go-to service for cyber-criminals.
During the formulation of the Legacy IT Assessment Risk Framework, input was sought from various commercial and governmental entities to gather insights. These comparative assessments, conducted during the framework's design phase, aimed to strike a balance between aligning with industry standards for user familiarity and addressing the specific requirements of a standardised cross-government framework for evaluating risks associated with legacy digital technology assets.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing NICE guidance for (a) Tourette's syndrome and (b) other tic disorders.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tourette syndrome was discussed in 2022 by a cross-agency topic prioritisation group, made up of senior executives from the Department, NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The group did not consider it to be a national priority at that time and therefore decided not to prioritise development of a NICE guideline on Tourette syndrome.
NICE is currently finalising a new approach to topic prioritisation, which will come into effect in May 2024, operationalised through an integrated prioritisation board led by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer. NICE plans to consult on its new prioritisation process and a common framework for topic selection at the beginning of March. Details will be made available on the NICE website in due course. NICE is also developing medical technologies guidance on digitally-enabled therapy for tic disorders in children and young people. This is in the early stages of development. NICE expects to consult on the draft guidance between 5 September and 3 October 2024, with publication of final guidance in December 2024.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to increase the availability of the shingles vaccine.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The shingles vaccine is readily available to those eligible for the shingles programme via their general practices. Eligibility includes anyone aged between 70 and 80 years old, and those who turned 65 years old on or after 1 September 2023. The shingles vaccine is also available for those aged 50 years old and over, who are at significant risk of severe complications. The eligibility criteria and the expansion of the programme is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and there are no plans to review the age criteria for the shingles programme.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to improve the quality of training for service providers on (a) Tourette's syndrome and (b) other tic disorders.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Tourette’s syndrome, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR has funded, or supported studies into, the causes of and treatments for Tourette’s syndrome, including a study on deep brain stimulation in people with the condition and a mixed-methods study to co-design a service model for children and young people with tic disorders.
Individual employers are responsible for ensuring that staff are trained, competent and have the necessary skills to safely and effectively treat patients in their care, including those with Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders.
NHS England’s e-learning for Healthcare has produced modular online learning resources in relation to Tourette’s and other tic disorders, within its neurodevelopmental disorder and healthy schools programme domains, which are freely accessible to all, including service providers.
The Department has no specific plans to increase the number of specialist practitioners researching and treating Tourette’s Syndrome. The majority of services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan the provision of services subject to local prioritisation and need. In June 2023, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), which sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The LTWP is a high-level plan to support the NHS workforce as a whole, and is designed to identify the right supply of staff across all clinical pathways and specialisms rather than workforce plans for specific services.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to increase funding for (a) research into the causes of and (b) treatments for Tourette’s syndrome.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Tourette’s syndrome, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR has funded, or supported studies into, the causes of and treatments for Tourette’s syndrome, including a study on deep brain stimulation in people with the condition and a mixed-methods study to co-design a service model for children and young people with tic disorders.
Individual employers are responsible for ensuring that staff are trained, competent and have the necessary skills to safely and effectively treat patients in their care, including those with Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders.
NHS England’s e-learning for Healthcare has produced modular online learning resources in relation to Tourette’s and other tic disorders, within its neurodevelopmental disorder and healthy schools programme domains, which are freely accessible to all, including service providers.
The Department has no specific plans to increase the number of specialist practitioners researching and treating Tourette’s Syndrome. The majority of services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan the provision of services subject to local prioritisation and need. In June 2023, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), which sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The LTWP is a high-level plan to support the NHS workforce as a whole, and is designed to identify the right supply of staff across all clinical pathways and specialisms rather than workforce plans for specific services.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to increase the number of specialist practitioners (a) researching and (b) treating Tourette's syndrome in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) the north of England.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Tourette’s syndrome, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR has funded, or supported studies into, the causes of and treatments for Tourette’s syndrome, including a study on deep brain stimulation in people with the condition and a mixed-methods study to co-design a service model for children and young people with tic disorders.
Individual employers are responsible for ensuring that staff are trained, competent and have the necessary skills to safely and effectively treat patients in their care, including those with Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders.
NHS England’s e-learning for Healthcare has produced modular online learning resources in relation to Tourette’s and other tic disorders, within its neurodevelopmental disorder and healthy schools programme domains, which are freely accessible to all, including service providers.
The Department has no specific plans to increase the number of specialist practitioners researching and treating Tourette’s Syndrome. The majority of services for people with Tourette’s syndrome are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan the provision of services subject to local prioritisation and need. In June 2023, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), which sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The LTWP is a high-level plan to support the NHS workforce as a whole, and is designed to identify the right supply of staff across all clinical pathways and specialisms rather than workforce plans for specific services.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken with (a) the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities and (b) local authorities to increase public awareness of the environmental impacts of domestic wood burning.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works closely with local authorities on all matters pertaining to air quality, including through providing relevant training and resources.
Local authorities are also able to bid for funding for projects to tackle emissions in their communities through our annual Local Air Quality Grant. We have committed to spend at least £6million on such projects this year.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 20 October 2023 to Question 202904 on Parking: Private Sector, what his planned timetable is for publishing the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 impact assessment.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government, following the introduction of the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry.
Currently the Government is developing a new code of practice which will set out straightforward rules that private parking companies across England, Scotland and Wales must follow.
We are currently updating our Impact Assessment following a recent call for evidence exercise. We will publish this document in due course, alongside a consultation on parking charge levels and debt recovery fees.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to regulate parking enforcement companies.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government, following the introduction of the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry.
Currently the Government is developing a new code of practice which will set out straightforward rules that private parking companies across England, Scotland and Wales must follow.
We are currently updating our Impact Assessment following a recent call for evidence exercise. We will publish this document in due course, alongside a consultation on parking charge levels and debt recovery fees.