Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inspectors his Department has trained to (a) inspect and (b) assess the health of (i) bees and (ii) their hives.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit has 50 trained inspectors which includes the National Bee Inspector and 8 Regional Bee Inspectors. All of these inspectors are trained to inspect and assess the health of bees and the hives in England and Wales.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 help support the devolved Administrations to (a) increase the children’s palliative care workforce and (b) improve access to specialist services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Healthcare funding and administration, including in relation to palliative and end of life care services, is a devolved matter across the four nations of the United Kingdom, and, therefore, is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
In England, we have committed to develop a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, and a central part of the plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients, including children with palliative and end of life care needs, across our communities. This summer, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS in England has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when and where they need it, including for children with palliative and end of life care needs.
In England, palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, including specialist services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification for children and young people.
We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices in England for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there will be Barnett consequentials from the £3.25bn Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Transformation Fund will be allocated to UK Government departments through the Spending Review process. The Barnett formula will apply in the normal way, as per the Statement of Funding Policy.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents with recent trends in the cost of daycare facilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
It is the department’s ambition that parents have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare.
Next year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.
From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months. So far, over 320,000 additional parents are now accessing a place. Going further, from September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns nine months until they start school. The department has also taken action to protect parents from reported instances of very high additional charges on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible and affordable for parents. We have updated our statutory guidance, confirming that whilst providers can charge for some extras, these charges must not be mandatory.
Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare.
The department also wants to ensure that parents are aware of and accessing all government funded childcare support they are eligible for. We are raising awareness of the government-funded childcare support available via the Childcare Choices website to stimulate increased take-up by eligible families, because this could make a significant financial difference to families.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 5 March 2025 to Question 34165 on Food and Livestock: Transport, how many vehicles containing (a) live animals and (b) food products attended Sevington for further inspection in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Due to the intelligence led and dynamic nature of our biosecurity controls, and to ensure operations are not impacted, we are unable to share data on inspection volumes.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a dedicated communications budget within his Department for sepsis awareness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have a dedicated communications budget for sepsis awareness.
NHS England has several training programmes aimed at improving the diagnosis and early management of sepsis among healthcare professionals. These programmes are regularly reviewed and revised with support from subject matter experts as updated national sepsis guidance is implemented. Furthermore, individual National Health Service trusts may choose to implement public awareness campaigns and initiatives on sepsis locally.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to people who survive sepsis to be signposted to commissioned services in sepsis (a) after-care, (b) support and (c) rehabilitation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that there is sufficient and comprehensive post-sepsis support in the National Health Service.
Most people make a full recovery from sepsis. However, the Government and the NHS recognise the physical and emotional complications that can last for months, or years after sepsis. The care needs for individual patients will vary hugely on a case-by-case basis. People who survive sepsis have access to follow-up pathways with personalised healthcare tailored to their individual needs. Integrated care boards can provide signposting to after-care, support, and rehabilitation services available locally.
Furthermore, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is funding research to improve outcomes for sepsis survivors.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 5 March 2025 to Question 34165 on Food and Livestock: Transport, how many times the Border Control Post has contacted people responsible for a load in relation to (a) concerns and (b) concerns about non-attendance in each of the last twelve months.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Due to the intelligence led and dynamic nature of our biosecurity controls, and to ensure operations are not impacted, we are unable to share this data.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of including rapid diagnostics as part of the five-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle antimicrobial resistance. Supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them is a core commitment in the NAP. Outcome six of the UK’s AMR NAP specifically relates to supporting the development of diagnostic tests for infection.
NHS England is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the commitments of the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP. This includes reducing barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests, identifying innovations, and increasing the evidence for putting those innovations into practice.
Sepsis has no specific diagnostic test, and presentation can vary, making it difficult to diagnose. In hospitals, clinicians are supported in recognising sepsis by using the National Early Warning Score, now used in 99% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England. To support clinical staff in primary and secondary care settings, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence published updated national guidance in March 2024 on sepsis recognition, diagnosis, and early management.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help develop a dedicated diagnostic pathway for sepsis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle antimicrobial resistance. Supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them is a core commitment in the NAP. Outcome six of the UK’s AMR NAP specifically relates to supporting the development of diagnostic tests for infection.
NHS England is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the commitments of the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP. This includes reducing barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests, identifying innovations, and increasing the evidence for putting those innovations into practice.
Sepsis has no specific diagnostic test, and presentation can vary, making it difficult to diagnose. In hospitals, clinicians are supported in recognising sepsis by using the National Early Warning Score, now used in 99% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England. To support clinical staff in primary and secondary care settings, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence published updated national guidance in March 2024 on sepsis recognition, diagnosis, and early management.