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 reduce waiting times for (a) GP referral for assessment, (b) assessment and (c) treatment for patients with eating disorders.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practice (GP) is the front door to the National Health Service, and we know that patients are struggling to see a GP. We are committed to fixing this and delivering the care that patients deserve. That is why, in October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will increase the number of GP appointments delivered, which will benefit thousands of patients seeking access to GP care. We will also bring back the family doctor by incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key to managing and supporting patients with conditions, including eating disorders.
The Department continues to work closely with NHS England to ensure that people with an eating disorder get the care and treatment they need. NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder services’ capacity. This includes crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood. Also, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay.
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 steps he is taking to support industrial electrification.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Fuel switching from fossil fuels to electricity has the potential to significantly reduce annual industrial emissions, making a critical contribution to our carbon budget commitments contributing between 15% and 40% of the necessary carbon abatement in industry by 2050. The Government remains committed to supporting industrial electrification and addressing the barriers to investment that were highlighted in the 2023 call for evidence on enabling industrial electrification. This includes further development of policy options to address the high cost of electricity relative to natural gas, and the implementation of planning reforms to speed up infrastructure development and unblock issues on grid connection delays.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Local Government Pension Scheme on levels of economic growth in local communities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) already invests approximately 30% of its assets in the UK, as part of its duty to invest to pay pensions. The government believes that the LGPS can make a distinctive contribution to local economic growth building on its local role and networks, through increasing its long-term investment in local communities.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with (a) the Country Land and Business Association and (b) other industry bodies to support working farms, in the context of her proposed changes to (i) agricultural property relief and (b) business property relief.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Minister responsible for the UK tax system, I have participated in several meetings with agricultural organisations since Autumn Budget 2024 to listen to views. Similarly, ministers from other Departments, such as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, have also held meetings with these organisations to listen to their views.
Most recently, on 18 February 2025, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs and I met with representatives from various agricultural organisations, including the President of the Country Land and Business Association.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases to employers National Insurance contributions on home to school transport for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
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 steps he is taking to ensure that the deployment of offshore renewables is not detrimental to blue carbon stores.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to delivering clean power by 2030, to accelerating to net zero and to restoring nature. The Government needs to ensure that the UK’s marine ecosystems are healthy and capturing and storing carbon too. This means that new energy infrastructure needs to be planned and developed in a way that protects the natural environment and supports nature recovery.
Assessment and mitigation of environmental impacts are a core part of the Government’s planning processes, and future spatial plans will support rebuilding the UK’s natural infrastructure at the same time as building the new energy infrastructure the UK needs for the twenty-first century.
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 steps he is taking to promote nature-positive renewable energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will ensure that the protection of nature is embedded into the delivery of clean power and we will be driving for nature to not only be protected but restored through clean power infrastructure.
As part of our Clean Power Action Plan, we are considering how to use development to fund nature recovery unlocking a win-win outcome for the economy and for nature. We are working with nature delivery organisations, stakeholders and the sector to consider how we can better support the delivery of infrastructure whilst driving better environmental outcomes.
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 steps he is taking to ensure that the rollout of offshore wind is not detrimental to halting species decline by 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to delivering clean power by 2030, to accelerating to net zero and to restoring nature. New energy infrastructure should be built in a way that protects the natural environment and supports nature recovery, by following a “mitigation hierarchy” to avoid damage to marine protected areas, and minimising, restoring and delivering compensation when damage cannot be avoided. On 29 January 2025, the Government announced reforms in infrastructure consenting to unlock up to thirteen major offshore wind infrastructure projects while protecting the marine environment and the Government’s commitment to protect 30% of our seas for nature by 2030.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve road safety for vulnerable road users.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.
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 recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of electricity distribution networks, in the context of meeting the Government's net zero targets.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Infrastructure Commission published recommendations on 21 February1 on making the electricity distribution network fit for net zero. Their modelling demonstrates that nationally, £37-50 billion of investment in the distribution network could be needed to meet net zero targets by 2050, taking into account expected increases in electricity demand. We are reviewing the study with our key delivery partners and will publish a formal response this spring.
1 https://nic.org.uk/app/uploads/Electricity-Distribution-Networks-report-21-Feb-2025.pdf