Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will make an assessment of trends in the level of (a) access and (b) participation in university services by (i) UK and (ii) international students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Universities and higher education providers are independent institutions, and the government plays no part in their day to day running. Consequently, the department does not hold data about trends relating to university services for UK and international students.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of existing disposal infrastructure for pesticides in the UK at protecting (a) the environment and (b) public health.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have no current plans to make an assessment of the effectiveness of existing disposal infrastructure for pesticides in the UK.
The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. All pesticide users should follow good practice in the use, storage and disposal of pesticide products, and work to reduce the amount of waste they produce, as set out in the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products.
For all pesticides there are legal requirements to store the product securely, use it according to its authorisation (which will include conditions considered appropriate to protect people and the environment) and dispose safely of any surplus.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the financial reasons for care providers closing.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care services are provided through a largely outsourced market of commercial organisations and charities. Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the care needs of their populations, and to develop and build local market capacity.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities also have a temporary duty to ensure continuity of care in the event of business failure. This means that people continue to receive the care and support they need if their adult social care provider is no longer able to carry on delivering services.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when GP practices will be informed about the funding settlement details for the next financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing an additional £889 million in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service and bring back the family doctor, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade and means we are reversing the recent trend with a rising share of total NHS resources going to GPs. Details of the contract were announced on 28 February 2025.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of staffing levels in care providers in Devon.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.
The Department continues to monitor adult social care workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool and intelligence from key sector partners.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 8 January 2025 to Question 21470 on Hospices: Charitable Donations, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the potential impact of declining charitable income on hospice services; and if he will introduce targeted financial support for hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.
Charitable hospices, as autonomous organisations, provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, as referenced in the answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21470, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April.
There are a number of hospices in South Devon, serving people in the Newton Abbot constituency and the surrounding area, which are recipients of the £100 million of capital funding. Their allocations from the first £25 million tranche of funding are as follows:
- £158,301 for Rowcroft, a Torbay and South Devon hospice;
- £180,911 for Hospiscare in Exeter;
- £16,934 for Sidmouth Hospice in Home; and
- £176,616 for St Luke's Hospice in Plymouth.
In addition to this record hospice funding package, I recently met the major palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 8 January 2025 to Question 21470 on Hospices: Charitable Donations, what proportion of the recently announced investment for hospices has been allocated; and how much has been distributed to hospices in Newton Abbot constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.
Charitable hospices, as autonomous organisations, provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, as referenced in the answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21470, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April.
There are a number of hospices in South Devon, serving people in the Newton Abbot constituency and the surrounding area, which are recipients of the £100 million of capital funding. Their allocations from the first £25 million tranche of funding are as follows:
- £158,301 for Rowcroft, a Torbay and South Devon hospice;
- £180,911 for Hospiscare in Exeter;
- £16,934 for Sidmouth Hospice in Home; and
- £176,616 for St Luke's Hospice in Plymouth.
In addition to this record hospice funding package, I recently met the major palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Government will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of and (b) lessons learned from the security response to the Russian invasion of Crimea; and if he will make an assessment of the impact of that response on the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Prime Minister made clear in his statement to the House on 25 February 2025 that this Government is actively responding to the security situation regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We have already commissioned a Strategic Defence Review (SDR) to examine the whole of Defence and identify where reprioritisation of roles, capabilities, activities, and support may be made in the current Defence programme to allow new investment, achieve better value for money, and secure greater economic gain for the UK.
The Reviewers will make their final report to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State in the spring of this year. The Secretary of State will then subsequently report to Parliament.
This Government is also beginning the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, reaching 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, maintaining that level for the rest of this Parliament, and then setting a clear ambition for defence spending to rise to 3% in the next Parliament.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 8 January 2025 to Question 21470 on Hospices: Charitable Donations, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of recent reports of reduced service in hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.
Charitable hospices, as autonomous organisations, provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
We are pleased to confirm that the Government has released the first £25 million tranche of the £100 million of capital funding, as referenced in the answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21470, with Hospice UK kindly allocating and distributing the money to hospices throughout England. An additional £75 million will be available from April.
There are a number of hospices in South Devon, serving people in the Newton Abbot constituency and the surrounding area, which are recipients of the £100 million of capital funding. Their allocations from the first £25 million tranche of funding are as follows:
- £158,301 for Rowcroft, a Torbay and South Devon hospice;
- £180,911 for Hospiscare in Exeter;
- £16,934 for Sidmouth Hospice in Home; and
- £176,616 for St Luke's Hospice in Plymouth.
In addition to this record hospice funding package, I recently met the major palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 8 January 2025 to Question 21470 on Hospices: Charitable Donations, if he will provide financial support to hospices to directly cover declining charitable incomes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services.
Charitable hospices, as autonomous organisations, provide a range of services which go beyond that which statutory services are legally required to provide. Consequently, the funding arrangements reflect this.
In addition to the record hospice funding package I mentioned in my previous answer, I recently met the major palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.