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 she is taking to (a) monitor the progress of and (b) evaluate maternity and neonatal safety improvement schemes.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Improving safety and outcomes for women and babies is central to NHS England’s Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, which is built on recommendations from recent maternity safety inquiries and specifically addresses the key themes raised in them.
The Plan includes determining success measures that will be used to monitor outcomes and progress in achieving key objectives on the plan. To facilitate monitoring against the key objectives, NHS England published technical guidance which includes information to provide clarity on the data sources and indicator construction for these measures.
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 many complaints her Department received about the (a) processing and (b) administration of GP pensions in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) administers the NHS Pension Scheme. NHS England act as the host board for general practitioners (GPs) and are responsible for local pension administration for GPs. This is provided through the Primary Care Support England contract they hold with Capita. Complaints about the processing and administration of GP pensions may be directed to the NHSBSA or NHS England. The NHSBSA and NHS England operate their own complaints processes.
The Department does not routinely receive complaints on GP pension matters, but it does receive items of correspondence on this issue. However, it is not possible to isolate items of correspondence relating to GP pension processing and administration from other items of correspondence relating to NHS Pension Scheme policy.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the Stannington gas flood in Sheffield Hallam constituency for his policies on the level of investment in maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set in the Plan for Water, the Government recognises the need for additional investment in water infrastructure. Ofwat set out a £51 billion five-year investment package in its 2019 Price Review, including requirements for water companies to cut leaks by 16% and reduce mains bursts by 12% between 2020 and 2025. We have also set a statutory water demand target, where leakage will need to reduce by 37% by 2038, this is part of the trajectory to achieving a 50% reduction by 2050. Ofwat will hold water companies to account for delivering leakage reduction targets, with financial penalties if they fail to meet them.
In the specific case of the Stannington gas flood, a high-pressure water main rupture led to water ingress into the gas distribution network, impacting around 35 properties. Yorkshire Water responded by replacing the water main away from the gas network and providing a £60 goodwill initial automatic payment to affected customers and compensating for any property and appliance damage.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) planned timetable and (b) scope is for the review of his Department's Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy; and whether he has plans to consult outside of his Department as part of that review.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office is currently undertaking a review of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention Policy. The policy aims to safeguard vulnerable individuals in immigration detention by providing a framework to assess if their detention or continued detention is appropriate.
The scope of the review includes the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy and Detention Centre Rules 34 and 35. The review is ongoing and the timetable for completion will become clearer as the review progresses.
Engagement outside of the Department will form part of this review and the process for this engagement is currently being considered.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's approved budget for the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
HM Treasury will publish the Supplementary Estimates for 2023-24 by the end of the current financial year. This will include the Department for Transport's final, approved budget for the 2023-24 financial year.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the implications of the Stannington gas flood in Sheffield Hallam constituency for her policies on (a) the potential impact of public infrastructure on households energy security and (b) levels of investment in the maintenance of infrastructure to prevent further crisis.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government works closely with industry to continually improve and maintain the resilience of old and new energy infrastructure, networks and assets, to reduce vulnerabilities and ensure an effective response to actual or potentially disruptive incidents. Ofgem ensures that Gas Distribution Networks have sufficient funding to invest in the resilience of their infrastructure, manage risk on their networks, and meet their statutory obligations, via their price control settlement.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Stannington gas flood in Sheffield Hallam constituency for his policies on emergency responses to a major incident; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a single consolidated priority register for all utility providers.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Central Government Concept Of Operations provides clear guidance on the levels of emergencies as well as responsibilities for response and recovery activities. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 places duties on gas distributors and other utility companies (as Category 2 responders) to cooperate and share information with other local responders with regards to emergency planning and response.
Regarding the priority register, it was announced in the recent Autumn Statement, that the Government will consult on strengthening the economic regulation of the energy, water and telecommunications sectors, with proposals that include a consolidated Priority Services Register so that vulnerable people can be confident their status is recognised by all their utilities providers and support will be provided when needed.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, if he will publish a timetable on the implementation of safe access zones around abortion clinics.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Home Office in the House of Lords on 20th November.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's timescales are for completing its review of the UK's membership of the Energy Charter Treaty; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On 1 September 2023, the UK announced it would be reviewing its membership of the ECT if the modernised Treaty was not adopted by November 2023. The Government is considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society, and Parliament as part of this process. Parliament will be informed at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools the Building schools for the Future programme had planned to rebuild or refurbish; how many schools marked for rebuild or refurbishment were completed under the (a) Building Schools for the Future programme and (b) Priority School Building Programme; and how many schools that were not selected for either programme have been identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.