Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that the National Cancer Plan includes a strategy for (a) research and (b) improved treatment for brain tumours in children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer, including brain tumour patients.
On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experience for children and young people with cancer. The Taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement across detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. It will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the plan.
Research is a key focus of the plan, and we will work closely with partners including the National Institute for Health and Care Research on this. The Department recognises that there are currently limited treatment options available for people who have been diagnosed with brain tumours, and the significant impact that rarer forms of cancer can have on patients, carers and their families. The government is invested in driving new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.
Furthermore, the Department, NHS England, and the National Institute for Health Care and Research are taking several steps to help improve outcomes for brain tumour patients to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Access for All programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since April 2024, 21 Access for All projects have been entered into public service, with a further 7 projects due to complete by the end of March. This will be the most stations completed in a single year since the programme began in 2006.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the national dentistry model to align it with NHS general medical services to include patient registration with NHS dentists.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists.
There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.
We are continuing to work with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to deliver our shared ambition to improve access to treatments for NHS dental patients. At the same time, we will not wait to make improvements to the current system where these can increase access and incentivise the workforce to deliver more NHS care.
Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding NHS dental activity nationally.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.
The NHS in England invests £3 billion into dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to ICBs on dental budgets, including ringfences. NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has now been published and sets out the funding available to ICBs. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the administrative cost to her Department is of preparing an emergency travel document.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The full recovery cost to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for an Emergency Travel Document is £135.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to introduce (a) exemptions and (b) reduced fees for emergency travel documents for people in financial hardship.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not plan to introduce exemptions or reduce the fees for Emergency Travel Documents. In exceptional circumstances, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be able to provide an emergency loan to help British nationals return to the UK, once all other avenues of support have been exhausted. We have long advised British nationals travelling overseas to make sure they have appropriate travel insurance, which will often cover the cost of services like an Emergency Travel Document.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what costs contribute to the fee for an emergency travel document.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The following costs contribute to the fee for an Emergency Travel Document: staff costs, consumables, couriering and digital services.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to introduce (a) exemptions and (b) reduced fees for emergency travel documents for individuals in financial hardship.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have consistently advised British people travelling overseas to make sure they have appropriate travel insurance, which will often cover the cost of services like an Emergency Travel Document (ETD). In exceptional circumstances, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office may be able to provide an emergency loan to help British nationals return to the UK, once all other avenues of financial support have been exhausted. Loans can cover the cost of an ETD where one is needed.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of flexibility in the local application of dental budgets.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.
NHS England supports ICBs with their local commissioning responsibilities for primary dental services with the provision of nationally agreed policies and procedures. NHS England has also published guidance to support commissioners to take advantage of the opportunities offered to commission further and additional services through flexible commissioning, which enables the responsible commissioner to tailor services to meet local population oral health needs. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/opportunities-for-flexible-commissioning-in-primary-care-dentistry-a-framework-for-commissioners/
NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to ICBs on dental budgets, including ringfences. NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has now been published and sets out the funding available to ICBs. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 access to NHS dental services in Stratford-on-Avon.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Stratford-on-Avon constituency, this is Coventry and Warwickshire ICB.