Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 merits of having a dedicated mental health professional in every school.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a mental health professional in every school in England, so that mental health conditions can be identified early on and prevented from developing into more serious conditions in later life.
We are working with our colleagues at NHS England and the Department for Education to consider options to deliver this commitment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 improve the quality of care in maternity units.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year plan for maternity and neonatal services. The plan sets out how the NHS will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families.
As part of the delivery plan, all local leadership teams are taking part in a Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme, helping them to develop and maintain a positive safety culture. Additional funding has also been provided for Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships to ensure local voices are used to inform decisions and services.
An updated version of the ‘Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle’ is being rolled out across England, which is a package of interventions aimed to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth, as well as initiatives to reduce inequalities. 14 Maternal Medicine Networks have been developed across England to ensure that women with chronic and acute medical problems related to pregnancy have access to specialist management and care.
While good progress has been made, the Government recognises that there are real issues within maternity services. Whilst change will not happen overnight, we are determined to go further to ensure all women and babies receive the care they deserve, and have committed to providing support to trusts failing on maternity care, recruit thousands of new midwives, and tackle the unacceptable inequalities that exist.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce diagnosis times for endometriosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis times for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis.
We have taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. In gynaecology, the plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home, and the piloting of gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres.
Endometriosis is also included in the core curriculum for general practitioners, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists. The General Medical Council is introducing the Medical Licensing Assessment for the majority of incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating from the academic year 2024/25 and onwards. Within this assessment are a number of topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis. This will encourage a better understanding of endometriosis among doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.
Clinical guidelines support healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat conditions. In November 2024 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published updated recommendations on the diagnosis, management, and treatment of endometriosis. This is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 improve survival rates for acute myeloid leukaemia.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Wokingham on 20 January 2025 to Question 23624.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 support young people with mental health issues.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Too many young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.
We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community. We are working with our colleagues at NHS England and across Government to consider options to deliver these commitments.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of electric cars charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A widespread, easy-to-use and reliable network of public chargepoints is crucial to support the electric vehicle transition. As of 1 February 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 74,234 publicly available charging devices in the UK, alongside over 680,000 private chargepoints in England alone, supporting drivers to switch to EVs.
In 2024, nearly 20,000 public charging devices were added to the network, making it a record year. Government investment will continue to support public chargepoint rollout, including the £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund which, alongside private investment, is estimated to deliver a further 100,000 chargepoints alone.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of progress in meeting sustainable aviation fuel targets.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) Mandate – which came into effect at the start of this year - is the UK’s key policy to decarbonise jet fuel. It obligates the supply of an increasing amount of SAF in the overall UK aviation fuel mix; starting at 2% in 2025, reaching 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
The Government has considered feedstock availability and SAF technology readiness in setting targets which are both ambitious and deliverable. To support delivery of the Mandate’s targets, we are taking actions to grow supply of SAF. We are providing £135m to support 13 UK SAF projects through the Advanced Fuels Fund and have allocated an additional £63m of funding to March 2026.
The Government has also committed to introduce an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to encourage the aviation industry to use more sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The SAF Mandate – which came into effect at the start of this year - is the UK’s key policy to decarbonise jet fuel. It obligates the supply of an increasing amount of SAF in the overall UK aviation fuel mix; starting at 2% in 2025, reaching 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
We are also taking steps to grow a UK SAF industry. The Advanced fuels Fund (AFF) provides grants to support SAF projects looking to develop large scale production facilities in the UK. We have extended the AFF for a further year to March 2026, with an extra £63m of funding.
The Government has also committed to introduce an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism. On 29 January 2025, we published our response to the SAF Revenue Certainty Mechanism consultation, confirming that we are proceeding with the guaranteed strike price model.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing levels of production of sustainable aviation fuel in Runcorn and Helsby constituency on the environment.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate – which came into effect at the start of this year - could deliver up to 6.3 megatonnes of carbon savings per year by 2040. A supply of UK-produced SAF can help deliver those savings.
In England, SAF production facilities require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency in order to operate. The Environment Agency will only grant a permit if it is satisfied that the process would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the proportion of flights (a) to and (b) from the UK that use sustainable fuel.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Answer given on 5 February 2025 to PQ UIN 26884.