Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of waiting times for accessing services through the NHS Continuing healthcare programme on patient outcomes; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Liaison Care on those waiting times; and what further steps his Department is taking to improve waiting times for the NHS Continuing healthcare programme.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Statutory guidance and assurance regimes are in place so that people are assessed and receive care in a timely way. For example, NHS England’s assurance standard requires that integrated care boards (ICBs) must ensure that more than 80% of cases proceed to a full assessment of eligibility, and that the eligibility decision should be made within 28 days of being notified of potential NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) eligibility. Nationally, 72% of referrals were completed within 28 days during July to September 2024.
Once an individual has been referred for a full assessment of NHS CHC eligibility, the ICB is responsible for coordinating the process until the eligibility decision has been made. The ICB should identify a coordinator who may be either from the ICB or an external organisation. An individual should not be left without appropriate support while they await the outcome of the assessment and decision-making process.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to undertake a national audit of care needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing individuals’ care and support needs and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. Where individuals do not meet the eligibility threshold, they can get support from their local authority to make their own arrangements for care services, as set out in the Care Act 2014.
The Government is committed to building a consensus on the long-term reform needed to build a National Care Service that meets the needs of older people and working age disabled adults.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to implement the policies in her Department's policy paper entitled The plan for drivers, published on 2 October 2023.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
“The Plan for Drivers” was published by the previous government. The Department is considering the measures within it in the light of this Government’s priorities.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 on the effectiveness of the Government's work on tackling violence against women and girls.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade and we are determined to deliver on that ambition.
We will keep all legislation under review as we develop our approach to tackle sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls. We currently have no plans to change the law but will consider licensing regulations to make sure that they are protecting the vulnerable and tackling sexual crime, as well as public nuisance.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding the Government has allocated for spending on advertising (a) in total and (b) by Department over the next Parliament.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office operates spend control on behalf of HMT on an annual basis. During this process departments and ALBs submit an overview of any spend (including marketing and advertising) planned for the next financial year.
Historical data on advertising spend is listed by department on the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on GOV.uk.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding the Government allocated to spend on advertising in each year since 2015, broken down by Department.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office operates spend control on behalf of HMT on an annual basis. During this process departments and ALBs submit an overview of any spend (including marketing and advertising) planned for the next financial year.
Historical data on advertising spend is listed by department on the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on GOV.uk.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the ability of local authorities to resource Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) offer a vital opportunity for national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths and treat every death as preventable.
The funding for DHRs is provided through the local government funding settlement and the Home Office is unable to provide specific guidance on how funding should be allocated locally.
However, whilst the Government is committed to the fundamental principle of the DHR process, we recognise that there is room for improvement in the way these reviews are currently conducted and the lessons applied.
The department recently ran a public consultation seeking views on a revised version of the statutory guidance which underpins DHRs and we will be carefully considering the findings to ensure that improvements are made.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of train cancellations by Great Western Railway on passengers travelling to and from Cheltenham Spa station on (a) weekdays and (b) weekends.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Minister recently met with Great Western Railway and Network Rail Western route to review recent performance and made it clear that both organisations must address issues contributing to cancellations. Officials continue to monitor both organisations’ performance against targets and when performance falls below these, appropriate action will be taken to address this.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of reduced media coverage of magistrates' courts on (a) democracy and (b) transparency of the justice system.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are aware of the reduced number of journalists to cover magistrates' proceedings. The Ministry of Justice is committed to open justice and ensuring that the media can report on proceedings effectively. Allowing the public to scrutinise and understand court processes helps to build trust and confidence in the justice system and our democracy. Courts and tribunals are improving how they provide information to the media and the public, ensuring our justice system remains transparent.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT from defibrillators in the forthcoming Budget.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government currently provides VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of defibrillators. This means that charities pay no VAT if they purchase a defibrillator and then donate it to an eligible body.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations. Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole in the public finances left by the last government.
The government keeps all taxes under review.