Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the contribution of small and micro tech companies to the UK economy.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Whilst DSIT hasn’t conducted specific analysis on the impact of small and micro tech companies on the economy, DSIT recognises that these businesses form a large part of the digital sector. Businesses classified as micro or small by employment band made up 91.9% and 6.4% of the businesses in the UK digital sector respectively in 2023. The digital sector as a whole contributed £158.3bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2022, 7.2% of total UK GVA.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for charitable hospices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. This government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding from the National Health Service. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by integrated care board (ICB) area, and will, in part, be dependent on the local population need and a system-wide approach using a range of palliative and end of life care provision within their ICB footprint.
I recently met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.
Additionally, we have committed to develop a 10-year plan to deliver a NHS fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.
More information about how members of the public, patients, healthcare staff and stakeholder organisations can input into the 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set a national minimum standard for disability equality training for taxi and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government keeps all policies under review and is aware that disabled people continue to report facing inadequate or discriminatory treatment when using taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs). We recognise the need for quality disability awareness training and the latest guidance issued to all licensing authorities in England confirms our expectation that all drivers undergo such training. The Government continues to consider how to improve the regulation of the sector to enable the provision of safe and accessible services that meet a wide range of passenger needs.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
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 tackle drug shortages.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has a responsibility to work with United Kingdom medicine license holders, to help ensure continuity of supply. We monitor and manage medicine supply at a national level, so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand.
We have inherited ongoing global supply problems that continue to impact medicine availability. We know how frustrating and distressing this can be for patients, and we are working closely with industry, the National Health Service, manufacturers, and other partners in the supply chain to resolve these issues as quickly as possible, to make sure patients can access the medicines they need.
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the UK and outside of the Government’s control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines, and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.
While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, and to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing NHS communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.