Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 make it easier for patients in Broxbourne constituency to contact their GP practice to book appointments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know patients are struggling to contact their general practices (GP), including in the Broxbourne constituency. That is why we have committed to eliminating the 8:00am scramble for appointments by implementing a modern appointment booking system.
The most recent data from the Health Insight Survey found that between July and August 2024, 78% of people had successfully contacted their GP on the same day, in the last 28 days. Of those who tried to contact their GP practice in the last 28 days, 72.6% of adults perceived their overall experience of their GP practice as either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’.
99.4% of the primary care estate are now live with digital telephony and 90% have been enrolled to use online registration systems.
We are determined to reduce bureaucracy, which is why the Government has launched a red tape challenge, ensuring GPs spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure customers are compensated when water companies fail to meet Ofwat targets.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under new proposals set out by this Government, households and businesses will be entitled to higher payments from water companies when basic services are hit in a wider range of circumstances – with payments water company customers are legally entitled to when key standards are not met at least doubling.
The Government is also expanding the list of circumstances that can trigger compensation, to include payments for boil notices when drinking water standards drop, and for failures to conduct meter readings or installations as promised. It would mean recent outages in Hastings, Brixham and Bramley earlier this year would have all automatically led to compensation at higher rates for all customers.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support small businesses to recruit new employees.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our forthcoming Small Business Strategy will reaffirm our long-term support for small businesses and outline our vision for boosting scale-ups and helping all types of business to thrive and grow. This strategy will empower business owners and entrepreneurs to innovate, export, and create jobs across their regions.
In addition, as confirmed in the autumn Budget the Government has taken steps to protect small businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This measure will help small businesses in particular - in 2024 small businesses (with 0-49 employees) make up 99.2% of the total business population.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with Hertfordshire County Council on local government reorganisation.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There have been no specific discussions on local government reorganisation between the Department and Hertfordshire County Council, Broxbourne Council, or East Herts Council. The Department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.
The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s reorganisation plans, including working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with East Herts Council on local government reorganisation.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There have been no specific discussions on local government reorganisation between the Department and Hertfordshire County Council, Broxbourne Council, or East Herts Council. The Department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.
The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s reorganisation plans, including working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with Broxbourne Council on local government reorganisation.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There have been no specific discussions on local government reorganisation between the Department and Hertfordshire County Council, Broxbourne Council, or East Herts Council. The Department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.
The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s reorganisation plans, including working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were hit by a train across the railway network in the last 12 months; and what steps she taking to prevent such incidents.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
According to British Transport Police (BTP) data, from November 2023 to October 2024, 358 people have been struck by a train on the railway; of these, sadly 304 people lost their lives. Of the 304 who died, 297 of those are suspected to have taken their own life by suicide, and 6 died in rail accidents (with one classification pending).
The Department is committed to working with the rail industry to reduce the number of deaths by suicide. Each rail operator is responsible for delivering a suicide prevention plan and maintaining accreditation to the independently assessed Safeguarding on Rail Scheme. Their plan must include training of public-facing staff in suicide prevention, putting in place mitigation measures at stations and promoting avenues of help for vulnerable people at risk of suicide or self-harm.
The rail industry works together, using campaigns and education, physical barriers, training staff and working with charities to prevent these incidents.
BTP works in collaboration with its partners to ensure all incidents are managed swiftly and people are treated with dignity.
Network Rail has a long-standing relationship with The Samaritans and funds the ‘Small Talk Saves Lives’ campaign. Since launching in 2017, the campaign has successfully raised awareness within railway stations and other public settings about the need to trust your instincts and start a simple conversation if you think someone might need help.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is her Department's policy to support the Crossrail 2 project.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Crossrail 2 has not received government funding since 2020 when the scheme was paused. The Department for Transport will be considering its future investment priorities as part of the current Spending Review.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to introduce mandatory dementia training for adult social care workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision, and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role.
We now have a national career framework for adult social car, the Care Workforce Pathway, which is linked to a number of existing competency frameworks, including the dementia training standards framework.
The Department has also launched a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification which links to the outcomes in the Care Workforce Pathway. This contains the baseline knowledge required to provide quality care, and will make sure that those who are starting out their careers have an informed awareness of dementia.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department plans to take to support the establishment of Banking Hubs in town centres that no longer have any bank branches.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 80 banking hubs are already open and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 100 hubs to be open by Christmas.
The specific location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network. LINK considers certain criteria, such as whether another bank branch remains nearby, the local population, the number of cash-accepting businesses and the financial vulnerability of the community. An assessment of a community’s cash access needs can be requested on LINK’s website.
An alternative option for accessing face-to-face banking services is via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, cash cheques, and check their balance at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.