Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Food Standards Agency on its decision to classify Trametes Versicolor and Cordyceps Militaris as novel foods and plans for assessing the safety of consumption of those functional mushrooms.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department of Health and Social Care is the sponsoring department of the Food Standards Agency.
Based on the information currently available to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Trametes versicolor and Cordyceps militaris have not been consumed to a significant degree as food in the UK or EU before 15 May 1997. They are therefore likely to be considered novel foods, which must be authorised before they are placed on the market in Great Britain.
If any Food Business Operator (FBO) would like the FSA to make formal determinations on the novel food status of these two mushroom species, they can submit consultation requests (under Article 4 of assimilated Regulation 2015/2283), including the evidence required on history of consumption.
When an FBO submits an application for the authorisation of a novel food, the safety of the food is considered as part of the risk assessment stage of the process.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps her Department is taking to prioritise Civil Service Pension cases where there are urgent (a) health, (b) financial, or (c) other exceptional circumstances affected by delays under the Capita contract.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The four month quotation process is a guideline, not a rule. Therefore no consideration has been given to changing this process.
To specifically prioritise cases where members are facing urgent health or financial circumstances, the Department has taken the following direct steps:
Health Circumstances: All outstanding ill-health retirement and death-in-service cases have been placed under strict, individual 'hypercare' tracking. We have deployed a cross-government surge team of over 140 civil servants, alongside experts from the Government Actuary’s Department, to bypass standard queues and directly clear the oldest and most complex cases. We have also established dedicated virtual surgeries for MPs and caseworkers to escalate urgent and exceptional cases directly to our recovery taskforce.
Financial Hardship: To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, including those who have left under the compensation scheme, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans of £5,000 and up to £20,000 in exceptional cases - to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members.
Other Exceptional Circumstances: These are considered for prioritisation and ‘hypercare’ tracking on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consideration has been given to (a) varying or (b) suspending the Civil Service Pension Scheme's four month quotation process.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The four month quotation process is a guideline, not a rule. Therefore no consideration has been given to changing this process.
To specifically prioritise cases where members are facing urgent health or financial circumstances, the Department has taken the following direct steps:
Health Circumstances: All outstanding ill-health retirement and death-in-service cases have been placed under strict, individual 'hypercare' tracking. We have deployed a cross-government surge team of over 140 civil servants, alongside experts from the Government Actuary’s Department, to bypass standard queues and directly clear the oldest and most complex cases. We have also established dedicated virtual surgeries for MPs and caseworkers to escalate urgent and exceptional cases directly to our recovery taskforce.
Financial Hardship: To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, including those who have left under the compensation scheme, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans of £5,000 and up to £20,000 in exceptional cases - to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members.
Other Exceptional Circumstances: These are considered for prioritisation and ‘hypercare’ tracking on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to require all new homes to have rainwater collection methods installed on the property.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is taking steps to support rainwater harvesting and recycling in homes. We have committed to reforming how rainwater is used in homes through the Clean Water Bill. This sits alongside our review of the water efficiency and drainage standards in Building Regulations (2010).
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the installation of rainwater collection methods in existing homes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is taking steps to support rainwater harvesting and recycling in homes. We have committed to reforming how rainwater is used in homes through the Clean Water Bill. This sits alongside our review of the water efficiency and drainage standards in Building Regulations (2010).
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues and international counterparts on the potential merits of introducing an additional tax on high-polluting corporations to fund the tackling of pollution caused by such companies.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) is our key lever to ensure those companies who are responsible for carbon emissions pay for them.
Introduced in January 2021, the UK ETS covers 25% of UK emissions across the power sector, energy-intensive industry, domestic and UK–EEA flights, and domestic maritime.
Revenues from the scheme accrue to the consolidated fund and support spending on government priorities, which includes net zero objectives.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce additional funding for SEND support provision in all schools in England as part of the Experts at Hand programme, following the initial funding provision; and whether her Department plans to provide separate funding for additional teaching assistants to support children with SEND in mainstream schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Experts at Hand offer is funded by a £1.8 billion grant, over the three years of the spending review period. It is for local authorities, working in partnership with local system partners, to provide advice and direct support to mainstream schools, colleges and early years settings. This funding is for investment in services that individual settings cannot commission alone, such as specialist health and education support, to improve the quality of inclusive education for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), in line with the 2026 Schools White Paper and SEND Reform consultation document.
Over the same time period, the £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund will be provided for mainstream schools, colleges and early years settings. It will support schools to transition towards a reformed education system that is inclusive by design, ensuring every child and young person receives high-quality, adaptive teaching and early help when they need it.
We have fulfilled a commitment in ‘SEND Reform, Putting Children and Young People First’ to consult on ways to allow local authorities to pass more of their high needs funding directly to local mainstream schools. The proposals are intended to support earlier intervention and enable a more proactive approach to meeting needs, reducing reliance on funding being tied to statutory processes. More information is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/upfront-funding-for-mainstream-schools-creating-a/supporting_documents/upfront-funding-for-mainstream-schools-creating-a-local-send-inclusion-formulapdf.
Over time, there will be further rebalancing of funding from the high needs budget into schools’ budgets, in line with new accountability arrangements. This will allow them to deliver more flexible, direct and timely support and further incentivise early intervention and inclusive practice.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mental health care systems in England require a clinical diagnosis prior to treatment; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this requirement on (a) young people’s waiting times for mental health treatment and (b) the effectiveness of the treatment they receive.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The interim report of the independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism found that access to support is too often slow, fragmented, and heavily dependent on having a diagnosis. Where support depends heavily on a formal diagnosis, demand for assessment can outstrip capacity, contributing to long waits, repeated assessments, and pressure on services. Diagnosis remains essential to inform treatment and enhance understanding, but the review is considering how people can receive appropriate support earlier and according to need. Its final report will make recommendations for the Government, the health system, and wider public services.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to update the National Curriculum to prepare children and young people in education for their future employment, in the context of increasing job automation as Artificial Intelligence progresses.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The world in which young people are growing up is changing more rapidly than ever, and we know that human skills will become even more valuable when preparing them to succeed in life and work.
Our refreshed curriculum will deliver high standards for all, making sure that pupils obtain the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills they need to thrive in the future.
They will learn to master the essential technological and digital skills needed for the workplace through a curriculum rich in digital and media literacy.
The government will nurture the next generation of leaders by creating fluent and confident speakers through a greater emphasis on oracy across curriculum subjects.
We will also widen opportunity for all young people and create clear pathways into further study, training and high-quality careers where they live.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to expand access to clinical trials for (a) pancreatic cancer patients and (b) patients with cancerous brain tumours.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers of 22 May in response to Question 1156 and of 15 July in response to Question 16704.