Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 increase the early identification of palliative care needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Early identification of someone who has palliative and end of life care needs is vital. There are tools to aid clinicians in identifying those approaching the end of life, for example the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool and the EARLY toolkit. Further information on the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool and the EARLY toolkit is available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.spict.org.uk/the-spict/
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to ensure that England has a palliative care workforce able to cope with increases in demand for end of life care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it, including in palliative care and end of life care.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 Drax's sourcing from old growth forests in Canada on the UK's environmental and sustainability commitments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Large-scale biomass generators must comply with sustainability criteria which include wide ranging environmental protections regarding biodiversity, legal and sustainable harvesting, maintenance of forest productivity, and social criteria pertaining to indigenous land rights and worker health and safety.
We have enhanced protections under the new contract for difference which takes effect from 2027 and prohibits the use of primary material derived from primary and old growth forests. Any breaches would result in significant financial penalties for Drax and could lead to termination of the contract.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to reduce emergency hospital admissions involving people who are in the last 12 months of life.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out that community-based advice and support will help more people die in their home, while community teams will work closely with care homes and paramedics to share care plans to avoid people being taken to accident and emergency unless absolutely necessary. Those teams can include hospice outreach staff and palliative care professionals. Additionally, rapid response teams will help symptom management, including pain.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
NHS England has published universal principles for advanced care planning (ACP). These principles facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP in England. The principles focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences, including the place of care, when they are nearing the end of life. The universal principles for ACP are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his planned timeline is for publishing the final Local Government Outcomes Framework.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Outcomes Framework will be published alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. The data will be displayed in a digital tool from Spring 2026.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of the biomass burned in large-scale biomass power stations was sourced from old growth or primary forest in 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Biomass sustainability criteria require all biomass for power generation to be legally harvested, and comply with any applicable legislation in the countries of origin to protect primary forest and old growth areas. This means the risk of material from primary forests and old growth areas entering the UK is low, and volumes are minimal.
The Government takes this issue seriously and from 2027 new requirements will explicitly exclude primary material from forestry in primary forest and old growth areas from eligibility for subsidy, protect against regulatory regression abroad, and impose enhanced audit and assurance standards on biomass generators.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy that no retrospective eligibility conditions will be applied to existing British National (Overseas) visa holders who have settled in the UK on the basis of the rules originally published for the five year pathway.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The new mandatory requirements for settlement are basic requirements that we think are reasonable for people to meet if they want to settle here. However, we are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that any changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain eligibility criteria do not retrospectively disadvantage British National (Overseas) visa holders who arrived in the UK under the five year settlement pathway on the basis of the Government’s original commitments; and whether BN(O) families will be exempted from potential new income thresholds.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The new mandatory requirements for settlement are basic requirements that we think are reasonable for people to meet if they want to settle here. However, we are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's open consultation on Earned settlement, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of applying the proposed tax-contribution requirement to (a) non-working dependants and (b) other members of British National (Overseas) families.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
The new mandatory requirements for settlement are basic requirements that we think are reasonable for people to meet if they want to settle here. However, we are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.