Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 reduce gaps in rehabilitation and long-term care provision for people living with acquired brain injury.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government wants a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition such as an acquired brain injury (ABI), receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care, with their families and carers also supported.
We will change the National Health Service so that it becomes not just a sickness service, but one able to prevent ill health in the first place. This will help us be better prepared for the change in the nature of disease and allow our services to focus more on the management of chronic, long-term conditions, like ABIs, including rehabilitation where appropriate.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently developing the guidance Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury, which is expected to be published in September 2025. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181
The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention met the original proponent of the ABI strategy, Sir Chris Bryant MP, in November to discuss ABIs, and had a very fruitful discussion about what might be achievable in both the short and long term. Sir Chris Bryant MP remains an advocate for those who have suffered an ABI and the Department agrees with him that we should, and importantly will, do more, including showcasing those areas that have effectively integrated post-hospital care and support, including rehabilitation, to other areas where patients are not getting the care and support they deserve.
We have announced that we are setting up a new United Kingdom-wide neuro forum, facilitating formal, biannual meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations and health services, and the Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The new forum will bring key stakeholders together to share learning across the UK, discuss the transformation of important neurology services, workforce challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions that will add to both the existing programmes of work and wider health plans.
A decision on the next steps for ABIs at the national level will be taken in due course.
Meanwhile, we have committed to develop a 10-year plan to deliver an NHS fit for the future. We will be carefully considering input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan over the coming months. The engagement process has launched, and I would encourage my fellow parliamentarians and stakeholders to engage with that process to allow us to fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are, including on ABIs. This is available at the following link:
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much new funding healthcare providers in Sheffield Hallam have received since the general election, by provider; and what impact this has had on the number of appointments available for people in that constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through Phase 1 of the Spending Review for 2025, the Government has reset public spending for 2024/25 and set departmental budgets for 2025/26. The Government has prioritised investment into the National Health Service, and this is reflected by a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending and a £3.1 billion increase in capital for the Department over this year and next.
This includes the additional £1.8 billion in direct support of elective activity since July 2024, which has supported the NHS to deliver an additional two million appointments. This settlement also makes progress towards meeting the commitment that, within our first term, patients should expect to wait no longer that 18 weeks from referral to consultant led treatment.
The 2024/25 financial year has not yet concluded so we do not yet have final outturn figures for expenditure and activity by provider. The NHS is currently planning for 2025/26, including for the delivery of the elective targets that systems have been given. We currently do not have the outcome of the planning round for individual providers, including those in Sheffield.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a plan to support disabled children through education and social care.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is working closely with experts on reforms, recently appointing a strategic advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families, as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.
The Law Commission are currently undertaking a review of disabled children’s social care legislation. The Law Commission are expected to submit their final recommendations to the government in summer 2025, at which point we will consider proposals for reforms to the disabled children’s social care system.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to reform the social care system for disabled children.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is working closely with experts on reforms, recently appointing a strategic advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families, as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.
The Law Commission are currently undertaking a review of disabled children’s social care legislation. The Law Commission are expected to submit their final recommendations to the government in summer 2025, at which point we will consider proposals for reforms to the disabled children’s social care system.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, what steps she is taking to help ensure that trees are not damaged during permitted development works.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where development may impact a tree, owners are required to check if the tree is in a conservation area or subject to a Tree Preservation Order. If a tree is subject to either of these, owners are required to obtain the necessary permission to carry out any work in accordance with the relevant legislation.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that contractors are not damaging trees during works.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where development may impact a tree, owners are required to check if the tree is in a conservation area or subject to a Tree Preservation Order. If a tree is subject to either of these, owners are required to obtain the necessary permission to carry out any work in accordance with the relevant legislation.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will hold discussions with (a) Lloyd’s of London and (b) other insurance companies on the provision of (i) insurance and (ii) investment to fossil fuel companies in the context of the Government's climate policies.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury has not made an assessment. The Government and relevant regulatory bodies will continue to engage with insurance industry representatives, including Lloyd’s of London, to ensure insurers' practices support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating the Lloyd’s Act 1982 to align the underwriting activities of that organisation with legally binding climate policies.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury has not made an assessment. The Government and relevant regulatory bodies will continue to engage with insurance industry representatives, including Lloyd’s of London, to ensure insurers' practices support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to improve data collection on suicide rates of (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The cross-Government suicide prevention strategy for England sets the direction for departments and a wide range of other organisations, and makes clear that nobody should be left out of suicide prevention efforts. This includes being responsive to the needs of marginalised communities and addressing inequalities in access to effective interventions to prevent suicides, including for vulnerable groups like refugees and asylum seekers.
The ambitions in the strategy include more comprehensive research on, and better understanding of, national trends and suicide rates in particular groups of people, with a focus on at-risk groups that include refugees and asylum seekers.
Official statistics on deaths by suicide for England are collected and published by the Office for National Statistics, and not by the Department. The official statistics are based on information recorded when deaths occur, are certified, and then registered. For deaths by suicide, registration can occur up to two years after the date of death, and on occasion longer. There is no information recorded as part of the death registration process to inform if a person was a refugee or an asylum seeker.
Improved data collection is part of ongoing wider action. This includes the development of the near to Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance (nRTSSS) system. Drawing upon data collected by the local police force attending deaths considered a ‘suspected suicide’, the nRTSSS provides an early warning system for potential changes in trends in suicides. There are current efforts to investigate the potential for this system to include intelligence relating to refugee and asylum seekers.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to (a) respond to and (b) implement the proposals set out in the consultation entitled Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner's fee structure, published on 14 March 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office together with the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner (OISC) ran the fees consultation for a period of 12 weeks, which closed on 5 June 2024. The consultation was designed to help best understand the impact of proposals to amend the structure of the fees charged by the OISC to its registered advisers, and to minimise the risks of any adverse impact.
The Government is committed to ensuring advice seekers receive the advice that they need, through an efficient and regulated immigration advice sector. We will consider next steps in this area in due course in line with that commitment.