Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Procurement Innovation Champion has been appointed as set out in the Autumn Budget 2024.

Answered by Chris Ward

At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor set out that each Department should appoint a Procurement of Innovation Champion at Director General level to act as driving forces for behavioural change and to support the identification and adoption of innovation opportunities across the organisation.

His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) are co-ordinating the appointment of Procurement Innovation Champions and will publish an update on this shortly.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers her Department has to hold local authorities accountable for their performance in maintaining flood defences.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Hon Member is right to raise this important issue and I know from visiting her constituency the impact of flooding on her local community.

It is essential that local authorities maintain their flood defences as part of their statutory flood risk management duties, even if that council does not believe in climate change.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Extended Producer Responsibility packaging fees on home improvement manufacturers who sell through builders' merchants and cannot evidence that products are not destined for household waste; and if she will review household packaging classification rules to reflect end-use.

Answered by Mary Creagh

The Government published an updated assessment in October 2024 of the impact of introducing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging. This assessed packaging producers as a whole but did not assess individual sectors or routes to market, such as home improvement manufacturers selling through builders’ merchants.

We are aware of industry concerns about producers being charged disposal fees for packaging disposed of through commercial waste streams. Defra continues to work at pace on treatment of dual-use packaging and packaging unlikely to enter the household waste stream. Any future changes would need to be workable, enforceable and protect scheme integrity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the Integrated Care Boards with a women's health hub are delivering all eight core services specified by NHS England; and if his Department will publish the location and service offer of each hub.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Women's health hubs were established as a pilot model, supported by £25 million of funding across 2024/25. It was for integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission these services in the way that best met the needs of their local populations. Information about the number of women’s health hubs and the services they offer is held at ICB level and the Department has no future plans to publish this information.

A core part of the improved women’s health offer set out in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy will be neighbourhood women's health services. This model, learning from the proof-of-concept women's health hubs, will transform women's healthcare in every community in line with our 10-Year Health Plan neighbourhood model. Where high-quality women's health hubs exist, they will continue to lead service delivery. In other areas we anticipate there will be a dedicated space within broader neighbourhood health centres.

In the future, our vision is that every neighbourhood will provide proactive, specialist and preventative women's health care that complements and extends the primary care offer, directly delivering intermediate care services and leading population prevention within neighbourhoods, including preconception health, contraception, and screening services.

The model will build on the learning from the women’s health hub pilots and moves toward collecting population-level data on access to services, health outcomes and inequalities. This will move the focus from reporting on infrastructure to focusing on impacts of system changes.

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations

Found: Sarah Edwards (Labour; Tamworth) Alison Griffiths (Conservative; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) Leigh Ingham

Found: the meeting Business and Trade Sub-Committee members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); John Cooper; Leigh Ingham

Found: Members present: Liam Byrne (Chair); Antonia Bance; Chris Bloore; John Cooper; Alison Griffiths; Leigh Ingham

Found: Sarah Edwards (Labour; Tamworth) Alison Griffiths (Conservative; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) Leigh Ingham

Found: Leidos Glasgow G3 8EP Information technology and telecoms Employer Central, East and North Scotland Leigh Ingham