Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her plans to improve the safety of the rail network for women and girls will include changes to existing roles and responsibilities on (a) safety and (b) tackling (i) crime and (ii) anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ensuring the safety of passengers on the rail network is a priority for the department. We work closely with BTP, the rail industry, and Home Office police forces for cross government strategies to tackle violence against women and girls, and we have ambitions in this space to reduce offences on the transport network.
There are currently no plans to change existing roles and responsibilities regarding safety and tackling crime and anti-social behavior. The British Transport Police will continue to police the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when the Period Poverty Taskforce (a) last met and (b) next plans to meet.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Period Poverty Taskforce was an initiative under a previous government, and last met in 2020. I thank them for their hard work.
Rather than re-launch a standalone initiative, this Government's approach is to resolve the issue at the source by tackling the reasons women and girls are pushed into period poverty to start with. We are protecting women’s living standards, alongside the public services they rely on, so that no one has to go without life's essentials.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the impact of period poverty on educational attainment in England.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We do not hold data on the impact of period poverty on educational attainment in England.
The Period Products Scheme removes periods as a barrier to accessing education and addresses pupils being unable to afford period products. Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 87% of post-16 organisations in England have placed orders through the scheme.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Children and Young People with Cancer Taskforce will recognise that cancer is different in (a) young people and (b) children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer, from birth to 24 years of age. That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, which will identify tangible ways to drive improvements for cancer patients across this age range. The taskforce’s membership, which is currently being finalised, will reflect the diversity of needs across these patient groups.
We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and so age-appropriate care is necessary, particularly regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications. Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age range of the Children and Young People with Cancer Taskforce is.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer, from birth to 24 years of age. That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, which will identify tangible ways to drive improvements for cancer patients across this age range. The taskforce’s membership, which is currently being finalised, will reflect the diversity of needs across these patient groups.
We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and so age-appropriate care is necessary, particularly regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications. Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Children and Young People with Cancer Taskforce will recognise that teenagers and young adults with cancer have different needs to children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children, teenagers, and young adults with cancer, from birth to 24 years of age. That is why we have relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce, which will identify tangible ways to drive improvements for cancer patients across this age range. The taskforce’s membership, which is currently being finalised, will reflect the diversity of needs across these patient groups.
We recognise that cancer in teenagers and young people is different to cancer in adults and children, and so age-appropriate care is necessary, particularly regarding treatment, diagnosis, and wider support, as per the NHS England service specifications. Department officials are working with chairs of the taskforce to develop the Terms of Reference ahead of the first meeting, currently planned for March. The taskforce will consider the most appropriate dissemination routes or publication channels for taskforce materials in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many removals of surgical mesh have taken place at the University College London Hospital in each month since this service began.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse gets the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support.
According to information held by NHS England, since going live in July 2021, there have been 281 surgical mesh removal operations at the University College London Hospital. Monthly data is not available due to very low patient numbers per month.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the average waiting times for mesh centres; and what steps he is taking to reduce this.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support. NHS England publishes data on referral to treatment waiting times. This is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/
The Department does not hold information on the average waiting times specifically for mesh centres. Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and we are taking steps to return to the 18-week standard. The Elective Reform Plan sets out how the National Health Service will reform elective care services and meet the 18-week referral to treatment standard by March 2029.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on (a) how much each mesh centre received in specialised commissioning funding and (b) how many removals took place in each month since this service began.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on how much each mesh centre received in specialised commissioning funding and on the number of removals that have taken place each month since the service began.
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management and psychological support.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce mandatory food waste reporting urgently.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In our manifesto, the Government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy.
The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts across government, industry, academia, and civil society has been established to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Preventing food waste will be a key part of this work and we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy to evaluate what interventions may be needed as we develop the strategy.