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 improve dementia care and support for (a) patients and (b) families post-diagnosis in (i) England and (ii) Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia, and central to this is the provision of personalised care and support planning for post diagnostic support.
The Department has produced guidance on what to expect from health and care services following a dementia diagnosis, which is available at the following link:
There has been a longstanding priority in the London Borough of Bromley, including Beckenham and Penge, to ensure fast and effective dementia diagnostic services, as well as a strong community support offer which is provided by the Bromley Dementia Support Hub and MindCare Dementia respite service. These services are delivered through a partnership of National Health Service and voluntary sector partners to ensure that there is a tailored offer of support for those who need it.
The Bromley Dementia Support Hub, together with the MindCare Dementia Service provided by South-East London Mind, and in partnership with the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Bromley Well, and Age UK Bromley and Greenwich, offers a range of support services and stimulating activities both in-person and online for people living with dementia, and their friends and family carers.
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 assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to maternal mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve or need, which is why we will fix the system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, and that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on hospitals.
NHS England’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services commits to offering all women a personalised care and support plan, considering physical health, mental health, and social complexities, with an updated risk assessment at every contact.
Specialist perinatal mental health services are available in all 42 integrated care system (ICS) areas of England. Maternal mental health services are available in 40 of the 42 ICS areas in England, and the last two are being supported by NHS England to ensure they are up and running as soon as possible. There are currently 19 Mother and Baby Units across England, with 153 operational beds.
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 she is taking to tackle (a) financial scams and (b) fraud nationally.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to working with law enforcement, civil society and industry to better protect the public and businesses from this appalling crime.
We have committed to completing the outstanding commitments of the Fraud Strategy set out by the previous government and are determined to do more. We will be working closely with partners to develop our new, expanded strategy over the coming months. Details of our approach will be set out in due course.
In the meantime, the Government brought together key partners across law enforcement, industry and victim groups at the Joint Fraud Taskforce last month, launching an Insurance Fraud Charter with key insurance firms to reduce insurance fraud.
In parallel, we have taken steps to ensure a new corporate criminal liability offence of Failure to Prevent Fraud comes into effect next year and played a central role in the adoption of the first ever UN resolution on fraud, which will strengthen the international response.
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 she is taking to protect (a) people with dementia and Alzheimer's and (b) other vulnerable people from (i) financial abuse, (ii) fraud and (iii) scammers.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The impact of fraud extends beyond financial losses. It is important that victims of fraud receive the critical support that they are rightly entitled to.
Improving support for victims is a key part of the Fraud Strategy and the replacement of Action Fraud over the course of 2025 will improve the service victims receive.
All 43 police forces in England and Wales have now also rolled out the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit service to ensure victims receive tailored support. Furthermore, we are supporting National Trading Standards in the rollout of their Multi Agency Approach to Fraud, bringing together local services to improve support to the most vulnerable victims.
Through the Fraud Strategy we also continue to tackle the ways in which vulnerable people might be targeted by fraudsters. We are working with Ofcom to stop malicious number spoofing and prevent mass texting services from abuse by fraudsters.
Under our Telecommunications Charter, the industry has introduced firewalls that detect and stop scam texts from reaching customers. Finally, we legislated to require the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to introduce mandatory reimbursement for APP scams, ensuring more victims get their money back.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 end rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents (a) nationally and (b) in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Renters’ Rights Bill will prohibit rental bidding practices.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to introduce regulatory reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework to help deliver affordable homes in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help tackle climate change.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary focused on action on climate and nature at the UN General Assembly and with Commonwealth leaders at CHOGM. We will send a strong delegation to COP29, including the new the UK Special Representative for Climate.
We are seizing the opportunity of this year's three COPs on biodiversity, climate and desertification, to drive international progress with partners. This will include building a Global Clean Power Alliance, taking our mission to make the UK a Clean Energy Superpower to the international stage, and pushing for an ambitious new climate finance goal at COP29.
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 progress his Department has made on tackling illegal water pollution in rivers (a) nationally and (b) in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In July, we announced swift action to begin resetting the water sector, including ringfencing vital funding for infrastructure investment and placing customers and the environment at the heart of water company objectives.
In September, the Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers.
Furthermore, on 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
The Environment Agency regulates discharges to water using environmental permits and investigates pollution incidents, nationally and in the Beckenham and Penge constituency. Regulators will take action when illegality is identified, in line with their enforcement and sanctions policies.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with (a) autism and (b) SEND in mainstream settings in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high quality teaching and effective allocation of resources, regardless of whether they have a diagnosis.
The department is strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice in mainstream settings. We have recently commissioned evidence reviews from Newcastle University and University College London. These reviews will help to drive inclusive practices by highlighting what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people, aged 0 to 25, with different types of needs.
In November 2023, the department announced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme. PINS brings together Integrated Care Boards, local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children and their families and enable an inclusive school environment. PINS employs specialists from both health and education workforces into 10% of mainstream primary school settings, which equates to around 1680 schools. The programme is being evaluated and the learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.
The department also holds and funds the Universal SEND Services contract, which brings together SEND-specific continuous professional development and support for the school and further education workforce. The programme aims to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those with autism. As part of the contract, the Autism Education Trust (AET) provide a range of training and support for staff on autism. Since the contract began in May 2022, over 185,000 professionals have received training from AET training partners.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to work with Community Land Trusts in providing affordable housing as part of the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Community Land Trusts can apply to our delivery partners Homes England and the Greater London Authority for funding through the Affordable Housing Programme. If the development includes low cost rented tenures, they will also need to be a registered provider of social housing to receive funding or work in partnership with a registered provider.