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, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 47877 on NHS dental professionals, what criteria his Department uses to identify which areas are in greatest need of increased numbers of NHS dental professionals.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of local populations is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.
ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. Dental practices in specific areas, determined locally as experiencing significant dental pressures due to workforce challenges impacting patient access, were invited by their ICBs to express interest in participating in the scheme and notified of the outcome of their application via their ICB. Further information on the dental recruitment process can be found in guidance issued by NHS England, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dental-recruitment-incentive-scheme-2024-25/
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 he is taking to help ensure continuity of weight-loss medication for people who have already demonstrated clinically significant (a) weight reduction and (b) health improvements from private prescriptions of such drugs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we shift the focus from treatment to prevention through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are determined to bring revolutionary modern treatments to everyone who needs them, not just those who can afford to pay.
NHS England has worked with Eli Lilly to ensure that the list price increase will not affect National Health Service commissioning of tirzepatide in England as a treatment for eligible patients, and we remain committed to the rollout of this medicine as a weight loss treatment based on clinical priority. This will enable 220,000 eligible people to access the medication over the first three years. Not everyone who wants tirzepatide will be able to access it at first, and the initial eligibility criteria will be for people with a body mass index of 40 or more in addition to four or more qualifying comorbidities.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have also entered equivalent agreements to maintain their current commissioning approaches.
Pricing in the private market is a matter for Eli Lilly and for private providers. Private patients who are impacted by price increases should discuss any concerns with their private provider. This includes their options regarding payment plans, alternative treatments, and/or stopping or tapering off their current medication. Eli Lilly is working with private providers to support continued patient access.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to (a) improve and (b) expand the financial education resources available through Oak National Academy to help support schools to provide financial literacy teaching.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In April last year, Oak National Academy (Oak) launched over 80 new financial education resources to support teachers in delivering high quality lessons and preparing children for life and employment in the modern world. The resources, which cover both primary and secondary, explore core financial concepts such as budgeting, saving and taxation, as well as more contemporary areas such as keeping money safe from scams, virtual spending whilst online gaming, and assessing claims made by influencers.
These have been created in partnership with the mathematics education charity, MEI, and the Association of Citizenship Teaching, and cover mathematics, citizenship and financial education. Oak will keep its offer under review based on teacher feedback and any changes required following the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to enhance the teaching of financial education within the Personal, Social, Health and Economic curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the provision of financial education in schools beyond the mathematics curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers receive adequate (a) training and (b) other resources to provide financial education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21190.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trials being repeatedly adjourned on the mental health of victims of sexual violence.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact delays to court processes may have on victims of sexual violence. We are committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases; and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days to tackle the outstanding caseload and delays. We also commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims.
To ensure ongoing communication with victims in the pre-trial period, every Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) area now has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are also offered to all adult victims of these crimes and the CPS has also delivered trauma-informed training to staff as part of their Victim Transformation Programme.
The Ministry of Justice funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses. This may include providing information about the court and its processes, facilitating explanations around any delays and accompanying the witness (if allowed by the court) into the court room when they give evidence.
This year, to help support the wellbeing of sexual violence victims, we have protected dedicated Ministry of Justice Violence Against Women and Girls victims spending, maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support. This includes the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund grant, which directly supports specialist sexual violence services.
The funded services, which include advocacy and counselling support, can be accessed at any point. This includes supporting victims to continue their criminal justice system journey if their trial has been delayed or adjourned.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many criminal trials involving charges of sexual violence have been adjourned due to insufficient courtroom time in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data on trials that have been adjourned due to insufficient court time is not held by the Ministry of Justice. Related data regarding trial effectiveness can be found here: trials_tool.xlsx.
We recognise the impact on victims when trials do not proceed as planned. The Ministry of Justice funded Witness Service provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses. This may include providing information about the court and its processes, facilitating explanations around any delays and accompanying the witness (if allowed by the court) into the court room when they give evidence. To ensure ongoing communication with victims in the pre-trial period, every Crown Prosecution Service area now has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are also offered to all adult victims of these crimes.
This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. The scale of cases entering the courts is now so great that, even with the Crown Court sitting at a historically high level, this would not be enough to make meaningful progress on reducing the outstanding caseload and bring down waiting times. It is clear that we must go further and do things differently if we are to deliver swifter justice and long-lasting change for victims.
That is why the Government asked Sir Brian Leveson to chair an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, to propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims. Part one of the Review has been published. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals before setting out the Government’s full response in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) protect the rights and (b) support the wellbeing of victims of sexual violence when trials are (i) delayed and (ii) rescheduled.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises the impact delays to court processes may have on victims of sexual violence. We are committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases; and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days to tackle the outstanding caseload and delays. We also commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims.
To ensure ongoing communication with victims in the pre-trial period, every Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) area now has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its rape and serious sexual offences unit. Pre-trial meetings are also offered to all adult victims of these crimes and the CPS has also delivered trauma-informed training to staff as part of their Victim Transformation Programme.
The Ministry of Justice funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day emotional and practical support to victims who are witnesses. This may include providing information about the court and its processes, facilitating explanations around any delays and accompanying the witness (if allowed by the court) into the court room when they give evidence.
This year, to help support the wellbeing of sexual violence victims, we have protected dedicated Ministry of Justice Violence Against Women and Girls victims spending, maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support. This includes the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund grant, which directly supports specialist sexual violence services.
The funded services, which include advocacy and counselling support, can be accessed at any point. This includes supporting victims to continue their criminal justice system journey if their trial has been delayed or adjourned.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in bringing historical child sexual violence cases to trial.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is focused on delivering meaningful change for victims of child sexual violence. In April, we published our plan for responding to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s (IICSA) recommendations.
In line with recommendations from IICSA, the Government has announced the removal of the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in respect of their abuse. This reform also provides express protection for the right to a fair trial, with the burden falling on defendants to show that a fair trial is not possible. This change is intended to reduce the trauma survivors face when seeking justice and ensure that more cases can proceed without unnecessary procedural barriers. This reform is part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently being considered in Parliament.
We are also committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases; and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 110,000 Crown Court sitting days. We also commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims, including for victims of sexual violence. We will respond to the recommendations in the Independent Review of Criminal Courts in due course.