Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the scheduled ending of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in March 2025 on local projects aimed at restoring listed places of worship; and what alternative sources of support her Department plans to provide to ensure the continued preservation and restoration of historic buildings.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department monitors the implementation and impact of the grant scheme through the regular reporting of the grant administrator. Since 2010, the grant scheme has returned over £350 million to listed places of worship. We are aware of the importance of the scheme to local projects and listed places of worship across the UK.
Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 improve the diagnosis and recognition of Lyme Disease.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 November 2024 to Question 13156.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate her Department has made of the average processing times for deputyship applications by the Court of Protection.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the average processing time for deputyship applications, from receipt to disposal by the Court of Protection, is not currently available.
The court has recently migrated to a new case management system and work is in hand as part of the HMCTS data strategy to develop management information data.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help support the rights of women in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn the Taliban’s destruction of nearly every element of women and girls’ freedoms. FCDO officials engage with the Taliban to urge them to reverse their barbaric decisions and we work with our international partners to maintain collective pressure. The UK uses its prominent position in multilateral forums, such as the UN Security Council, to hold the Taliban to account for their deeply repressive policies.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include Annatto (E160b) on the list of allergens that must be labelled under UK food labelling regulations.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are many potential food ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction to sensitised people. The current 14 regulated allergens are recognised as being the most common and potent allergens of public health concern across Europe. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses
The prevalence of allergy to the additive Annatto (E160b) is currently unknown in the United Kingdom. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently working with the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology and other stakeholders on gathering information on hidden and emerging food allergens which will help in assessing the need for further research and work in this area. If further information is received on the prevalence of Annatto as an allergy we will review this evidence. The FSA continues to monitor the situation closely but has no current recommendations to Ministers on amending the list of 14 regulated allergens.
The FSA continues to work to make it easier for people with food hypersensitivities, namely allergies, intolerances, and coeliac disease, to have access to clear and accurate information which is a fundamental part of their work. Their research is available at the following link:
https://www.food.gov.uk/research/food-hypersensitivity
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 (a) encourage NHS trusts in Greater Manchester to participate in the Early Access Programme for Givinostat and (b) to help tackle barriers to participation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not have any initiatives to encourage participation in compassionate use schemes, which are the responsibility of individual pharmaceutical companies.
Participation in the Early Access Programme (EAP) for givinostat, which must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the United Kingdom, is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level although there is general advice that trusts should engage with the relevant commissioner if they choose to participate. A NorthStar Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, but the trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients aligned to eligibility criteria.
NHS England hopes that all NHS trusts, including in Greater Manchester, who receive a request from a NorthStar Centre to provide givinostat to an eligible patient approve this request. NHS England will work with partners to ensure that Trusts understand the urgent need to make access possible for eligible patient.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on encouraging participation in the OECD’s next PISA financial literacy assessment, scheduled for 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Financial literacy is not an option offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) in the current (2025) cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign-language assessment, so a decision on participation is not imminent.
Departmental officials engage with the devolved governments on a range of areas, including on PISA. We have had initial discussions about the timeline for a decision on participation in future PISA financial literacy assessments and will continue to actively engage with them on this topic as more information is provided by the OECD.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure England's participation in the OECD’s PISA financial literacy assessment in 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Financial literacy is not an option offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) in the current (2025) cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign-language assessment, so a decision on participation is not imminent.
Departmental officials engage with the devolved governments on a range of areas, including on PISA. We have had initial discussions about the timeline for a decision on participation in future PISA financial literacy assessments and will continue to actively engage with them on this topic as more information is provided by the OECD.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to improve the teaching of financial literacy through (a) enhanced teacher training programmes, (b) increased funding for financial education (i) resources and (ii) initiatives and (c) other steps.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
In general, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rests with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements. The government has committed to introducing a Teacher Training Entitlement which would support teachers to access more high quality continuing professional development across a range of topics.
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has a statutory duty to coordinate the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing 2020. In 2022, MaPS launched a grant-funded programme totalling £1.1 million to test approaches to supporting teachers and practitioners working with children and young people in vulnerable circumstances and to deliver financial education. The evaluation of this programme can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/en/publications/research/2024/evaluating-grants-improving-financial-education-for-vulnerable-young-people.
The department will work with MaPS to use the findings to promote consistent and evidence-informed practice. MaPS has also published financial education guidance for schools, which can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/en/work-with-us/financial-education-in-schools.
Oak National Academy (Oak) is a non-departmental public body which provides free, optional, and adaptable high quality digital curriculum and lesson resources. Oak has completed its initial curriculum resources in mathematics and will produce additional lessons on financial education and applying mathematics in real life contexts across key stages 1 to 4, which is expected from spring 2025. Lessons on finance and the economy also feature in Oak’s new citizenship curriculum, which was launched earlier this academic year, with lessons to be released by autumn 2025. Oak’s resources are available here: https://www.thenational.academy/.
The department continues to work closely with MaPS, and in partnership with others, to monitor the evidence for financial education and assess school support needs.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 ensure the new additional funding for new radiotherapy machines aligns with the (a) NHS Long-Term Plan and (b) the upcoming 10-year cancer strategy.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to patients. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish the new national cancer plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including improving waiting times for patients.
The funding will be spent in 2025/26, with the exact timetable and allocation of machines still to be determined. The funding will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England is currently developing. These criteria will be shared with providers in due course.