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 commission a review of the reasons that registered nurses have left the NHS in the past 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no specific plans at present to commission further research on reasons why National Health Service registered nurses leave their roles. We have already commissioned research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to both evaluate the impact of the programme to have 50,000 more nurses in the NHS in England by 2024, and to understand factors influencing later career NHS nurse retention. Both will encompass elements of the drivers of retention of nurses in the NHS, with the former having already produced published research on push and pull factors in nursing careers, which is available at the following link:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748924002219?via%3Dihub
Summaries of the scope of the NIHR’s work are available at the following two links:
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR203842
https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR205962
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) young people and (b) new entrants into farming.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Attracting bright new talent into land-based careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming.
Defra works closely with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) which is encouraging young people and new entrants into farming in its capacity as an industry led professional body for the farming industry. This includes leading a cross-industry initiative to address common negative misconceptions about the sector and providing free TIAH membership for students. TIAH is also developing online capabilities to support matching mentees with mentors, and those looking for land with those who wish to provide access to land.
Furthermore, the Government has launched Skills England to ensure there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, which are aligned with skills gaps and what employers need. It will work with its partners to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.
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 assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its guidance on Discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness published with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 26 January 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2024 to Question 10124.
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 estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of homeless people discharged from hospital to the street and (b) average readmission rates of people discharged from hospital to the street in the last (i) three months, (ii) six months and (iii) 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 October 2024 to Question 10122.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when Runcorn receive the initial allocation of funding from the Long Term Plan for Towns scheme.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out at the Autumn Budget, the Long-Term Plan for Towns will be retained and reformed as part of a new regeneration programme.
Halton Borough Council received an initial £50,000 capacity payment in April 2024.
Following feedback that the previous programme timelines were too short and not conducive to the level of engagement places wished to undertake with their communities, it was confirmed at Budget that we will make available a further £200,000 of capacity funding in the financial year 2025/26. This will support the development of plans in line with a revised prospectus that will be published in due course.
Delivery grant funding will therefore begin in the financial year 2026/27.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the quality of water in river ways in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The watercourses of the River Weaver, River Gowy, Peckmill Brook and Keckwick Brook and their tributaries, together with the Mersey Estuary, were classified in 2019 and 2022. They are mainly at ‘Moderate’ ecological status. The Environment Agency publishes data on the classifications of rivers in England at England | Catchment Data Explorer.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the National Wealth Fund on offshore wind supply chain development.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Wealth Fund builds on the success of the UK Infrastructure Bank, expanding its mandate, with an enhanced risk budget, to support the broader Industrial Strategy.
The National Wealth Fund aims to address key barriers to investment and strengthen the entire value chain, by catalysing more private investment and accelerating investable projects coming to market to unlock growth opportunities across the UK. This will ensure robust support for domestic clean energy supply chains.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential merits of including support for the wind industry in the Government’s industrial strategy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Given the key interactions between the two departments, this Department is in regular discussions with the Department of Business and Trade regarding the Industrial Strategy
Due in Spring 2025, the Industrial Strategy will channel support to eight key growth-driving sectors – those in which the UK excels today and will excel tomorrow – and this includes Clean Energy Industries. Future work will be done to determine the key subsectors, using evidence collected from the Invest 2035 Green Paper and further evidence-gathering.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on offshore wind supply chain development.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Chancellor has launched the National Wealth Fund, capitalised with £27.8bn, to mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s world-leading clean energy and growth industries.
£8.3bn has also been announced for Great British Energy which will work in lockstep with the National Wealth Fund.
The Government has just launched the Clean Industry Bonus, an addition to Contract for Difference (CfD) payments for fixed and floating offshore wind developers who invest in their supply chains.
The Government will set out its full approach to supporting UK clean energy supply chains in the Industrial Strategy in the spring.
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 his Department is taking to help ensure that homeless people are discharged safely from hospital.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have published guidance and supporting materials for health and care staff on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. This ensures that every health and care interaction with a homeless person acts as an opportunity to provide support and signposting, with the aim of ending rough sleeping. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the development of the Government’s plans for social and affordable housing. Further information on the published guidance and supporting materials for health and care staff on discharging people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness, is available at the following link: