Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
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 routine monitoring of infant head circumference after 8 weeks of age as a diagnostic tool for early identification of hydrocephalus.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is vitally important that babies are diagnosed as early as possible so treatment can be provided. Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends measuring the head circumference of babies in the first week, at approximately eight weeks, and at other times only if there are concerns. The baby’s general practitioner, or nominated primary care examiner, has responsibility for ensuring the six-to-eight-week newborn infant physical examination screen, where head size is measured, is completed for all registered babies. The Department is seeking advice from the NICE and the royal colleges on the value of a clinical review of the current guidelines surrounding infant head circumference.
The Healthy Child Programme sets out the requirements for health visiting services, including five mandated reviews, where the child’s health and development is assessed. This includes when the baby is 10 to 14 days old, and at six to eight weeks old, as well as additional contacts depending on need, providing an opportunity to identify any health or development concerns and to make appropriate referrals. The Department and the NHS National Disease Registration Service do not hold information on the proportion of infants diagnosed after eight weeks.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
What steps he is taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have announced a target to deliver 300,000 home upgrades this year, as we know that too many families are living in poor quality housing and paying over the odds to heat their homes.
The Warm Homes Plan will be critical to ending the scourge of energy inefficiency and ensuring that families have energy security.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of infants with hydrocephalus initially present symptoms after 8 weeks of age.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is vitally important that babies are diagnosed as early as possible so treatment can be provided. Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends measuring the head circumference of babies in the first week, at approximately eight weeks, and at other times only if there are concerns. The baby’s general practitioner, or nominated primary care examiner, has responsibility for ensuring the six-to-eight-week newborn infant physical examination screen, where head size is measured, is completed for all registered babies. The Department is seeking advice from the NICE and the royal colleges on the value of a clinical review of the current guidelines surrounding infant head circumference.
The Healthy Child Programme sets out the requirements for health visiting services, including five mandated reviews, where the child’s health and development is assessed. This includes when the baby is 10 to 14 days old, and at six to eight weeks old, as well as additional contacts depending on need, providing an opportunity to identify any health or development concerns and to make appropriate referrals. The Department and the NHS National Disease Registration Service do not hold information on the proportion of infants diagnosed after eight weeks.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 13669 on Rivers: Sewage, which six sewage treatment works in the River Mole catchment have been inspected by the Environment Agency in this financial year.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that the six Wastewater Treatment works (WwTW) inspected in the River Mole Catchment in the current financial year, referenced in the response to PQ 13669 on Rivers: Sewage, are as follows:
In the time since the response to Question 13669 was provided, the EA has inspected three additional WwTW in the Rive Mole catchment:
The EA has confirmed plans for a fourfold increase in water company inspections – 4000 by end of March 2025 - to hold companies to account, including unannounced inspections.
The increase in inspections will allow the EA to conduct more in-depth and independent audits to get to the root-cause of incidents, reducing the reliance on operator self-monitoring.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many community pharmacies have closed in (a) Surrey and (b) Esher and Walton constituency in each year since 2019.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2019, there have been a total of 39 pharmacy closures in Surrey, and four in the Esher and Walton Constituency. In Surrey, this has broken down as: seven closures in 2019; six in 2020; four in 2021; two in 2022; and 15 in 2023, with a further five having closed between January and 30 September 2024. In Esher and Walton, there were no closures between 2019 and 2022. Three closed in 2023, and one closed between January and 30 September 2024.
We are aware of the reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years, and recognise that pharmacy closures can impact on local communities. Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served, and must keep these assessments under review. Integrated care boards give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from the new contractors. Contractors can also apply to open a new pharmacy to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA.
Patients can also access the approximately 400 Distance Selling Pharmacies who must operate nationally and send medicines to patients’ home free of charge. In rural areas, dispensing doctors can also supply medicines.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
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 potential impact of community pharmacy closures on (a) local health provision and (b) patient outcomes in (i) England and (ii) Surrey.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2019, there have been a total of 39 pharmacy closures in Surrey, and four in the Esher and Walton Constituency. In Surrey, this has broken down as: seven closures in 2019; six in 2020; four in 2021; two in 2022; and 15 in 2023, with a further five having closed between January and 30 September 2024. In Esher and Walton, there were no closures between 2019 and 2022. Three closed in 2023, and one closed between January and 30 September 2024.
We are aware of the reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years, and recognise that pharmacy closures can impact on local communities. Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served, and must keep these assessments under review. Integrated care boards give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from the new contractors. Contractors can also apply to open a new pharmacy to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA.
Patients can also access the approximately 400 Distance Selling Pharmacies who must operate nationally and send medicines to patients’ home free of charge. In rural areas, dispensing doctors can also supply medicines.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what flood (a) prevention and (b) relief measures have been put in place to support communities along the Thames between Weybridge and Long Ditton in the event of flooding in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following Storm Henk, the Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken a significant amount of debris clearance on weir structures, including the removal of a number of sunken & stricken vessels. The cost of the clean-up operation undertaken by our teams and supply chain partners has been more than £1 million over the last 6 months.
The main flood risk reduction plan currently being developed along this area is the proposed River Thames Scheme (RTS). It is a partnership between the EA, Surrey County Council and other local partners, that will reduce the risk of flooding for communities from Staines to Teddington, including between Weybridge and Long Ditton. This will be achieved through the creation of a new flood channel, in two parts, and capacity improvements to Sunbury, Molesey and Teddington weirs on the Thames and to the river in the Desborough area. RTS will reduce flood risk to around 11,000 homes and 1,600 businesses.
The EA are also looking at how to reduce the impact of flooding in Thames Ditton. Measures under consideration include raised barriers and property flood resilience measures to reduce the impact of flooding and allow a faster recovery. Any solution must be cost beneficial to attract public funding.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what formula her Department is using to calculate Special Educational Needs and Disability high needs funding allocations for local authorities next year.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The high needs national funding formula will be used to allocate high needs funding to local authorities in the 2025/26 financial year. Provisional 2025/26 national funding formula allocations for local authorities have now been published and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.
For 2025/26, Surrey County Council has been allocated a provisional high needs funding amount of over £239 million. This represents an increase of 7% per head of their projected 2 to 18-year-old population, compared with their 2024/25 formula allocation.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for which local authorities her Department has provided (a) support and (b) intervention for safety valve agreements since 2019.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has made Safety Valve agreements with 38 local authorities. These are: Bath and North East Somerset, Barnsley, Bexley, Blackpool, Bolton, Bracknell Forest, Bristol, Bury, Cambridgeshire, Croydon, Darlington, Devon, Dorset, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Isle of Wight, Kent, Kingston upon Thames, Kirklees, Medway, Merton, Norfolk, North Somerset, North Tyneside, Richmond upon Thames, Rotherham, Salford, Slough, South Gloucestershire, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Surrey, Torbay, Wiltshire, Wokingham and York. All agreements are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-very-high-deficit-intervention.
Of these, five agreements are currently suspended. The local authorities with suspended agreements are Bath and North East Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hillingdon and Norfolk.
All Safety Valve local authorities receive ongoing support through the monitoring process.
Asked by: Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
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 improve the (a) performance of and (b) patient experience at the GP practices in the bottom 5% of the 2024 GP Patient Survey.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that general practices (GPs) are working hard to deliver for their patients, and are delivering more appointments than ever before, however we know that some patients are struggling to access the care they need, and GPs are struggling to deliver it.
The GP Contract requires NHS England to arrange an annual review of GP contractors’ performance against their contractual obligations. Integrated care boards also consider concerns or complaints raised by patients, and can take action where services are not meeting the needs of their local population.