Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help protect people online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to keeping people safe online. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that users, especially children, can benefit from its wide-reaching protections.
In-scope services will have to take effective action to reduce the risk their service is used for illegal activity, and they must take appropriate measures to protect children against harmful or inappropriate content such as pornography and the promotion of self-harm and eating disorders. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers available against companies who fail to fulfil their duties.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of NHS urgent and emergency care services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service to reduce urgent and emergency service waiting times, and to achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ordered an investigation of NHS performance by Professor Lord Darzi. The report, which was published on 12 September 2024, includes an assessment of the pressures on urgent and emergency care services, and is available at the following link:
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 reduce air pollution (a) nationally and (b) in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(a) The Government will introduce a comprehensive Clean Air Strategy to deliver legally binding targets to improve air quality. The Clean Air Strategy will include a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.
(b) Air quality policy in London is devolved to the Mayor. The Mayor and the London Assembly prioritise action to improve air quality and support local authorities including Bromley to improve air quality in their area.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people with (a) learning and (b) other disabilities who are seeking paid employment in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Beckenham and Penge constituency, we have a dedicated Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) who supports learning disabled and neurodiverse customers alongside partner organisations that we work closely with.
We have a range of specialist initiatives to support people with learning disabilities and other disabled people into work. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants, and joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies.
As part of the Get Britain Working plan, we will be devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.
Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes promoting a digital information service for employers to help them support disability at work and the Disability Confident scheme.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to help increase public confidence in the safety of AI.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government wants to ensure the safe development of AI models. As set out in the Manifesto, the Government intends to introduce targeted requirements on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI systems. We will be consulting on these proposals shortly.
These proposals will place the AI Safety Institute on a statutory footing. The AISI conducts research and model evaluations to assess the capabilities of frontier AI systems and works with developers and international partners to enhance the safety of models. Such policies are key to increasing public confidence in AI safety, which will drive adoption across the country.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and we will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers, including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 to reduce waiting times for elective surgeries in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, as we get the National Health Service back on its feet. Equality of both access to care and outcomes will be at the heart of building an NHS that is fit for the future.
We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week across the country, and will increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests, that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits.
Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are also helping to reduce elective surgeries’ wait times by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and transforming the way the NHS provides elective care. There is one surgical hub within the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the Orpington Hospital Elective Surgical Hub. This stand-alone hub opened in December 2013 and is a single specialty hub focusing on trauma and orthopaedics. Patients from the Beckenham and Penge constituency can be referred to this surgical hub for elective surgeries.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to clear up water ways in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has met with water company bosses, including Thames Water, to make clear companies will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.
In addition, the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill will strengthen regulation, giving the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increasing accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector. The Government will be carrying out a review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Also, in Beckenham and Penge, and across the country, the Environment Agency undertakes weekly debris screen clearances and vegetation clearances at priority locations to keep the main rivers clear.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the role of pharmacies in (a) delivering healthcare and (b) improving health outcomes in the community.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to expanding the role of community pharmacies. We want to develop and better utilise the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to improve access to care in local communities and address inequalities.
That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. In preparation, NHS England is piloting the use of prescribing by community pharmacists in a range of pathways that will enable them to play an increased role in delivering clinical services in primary care.
Pharmacies have demonstrated their reach into their local communities, particularly in delivering preventative healthcare like vaccinations and advice on minor illness. The Government is committed to shifting more care from the hospital to the community, and pharmacies will play a vital role in that.