Report May. 01 2024
Committee: International Development Committee (Department: Department for International Development)Found: Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the environmental and economic challenges affecting
Correspondence May. 01 2024
Committee: Social Justice and Social Security CommitteeFound: He continued to work up until the age of 77, but had to retire two years ago due to ill health.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the State Pension age to 60.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As stated in our previous response to the same question published on 24 April 2024, the Government has no plans to make such an assessment.
Changes to State Pension age were made over a series of Acts by successive governments from 1995 onwards, following public consultations and extensive debates in both Houses of Parliament.
Further changes were introduced through the Pensions Acts 2011 and 2014 in order to protect public finances and maintain the sustainability of the State Pension over the long term.
Under the 2011 Pensions Act the State Pension age for women and men rose to 66.
The rise in State Pension age to 67 has been planned since 2014. Since then, the Government has undertaken two statutory State Pension age reviews, one in 2017 and one in 2023. These reviews both considered whether the existing rules about the timetable for State Pension age rising to 67 remained appropriate.
Both reviews, including the Independent Reports that supported them, concluded that the rules concerning the increase in State Pension age from 66 to 67 should continue as planned.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet representatives of Women Against State Pension Inequality to discuss the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman's findings and recommendations in its report entitled Women’s State Pension Age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the availability of heart valve surgery for (a) women and (b) ethnic minorities.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continues to work with its partners in raising awareness of aortic stenosis, with a particular focus on women. NHS England is also working to increase access to cardiac surgery. The breathlessness pathway, launched in April 2023, encourages general practitioners to examine all patients for the signs of valvular heart disease. Heart valve disease is a focus for cardiac networks, with pathways in in place to improve early detection of valve disease in the community.
In November 2023, a dedicated Heart Valve Disease (HVD) Expert Advisory Group was convened to provide NHS England’s Cardiac Transformation Programme with leadership, advice, quality assurance, expert review, and endorsement of the projects and deliverables that comprise the HVD workstream, with a focus on improving the speed and equity of access to high quality treatment for heart valve patients.
To improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease across England, including aortic stenosis, £2.3 billion has been committed to open 160 community diagnostic centres by March 2025. This will increase the volume of diagnostic activity and further reduce patient waiting times. The centres have delivered over 5 million additional tests since July 2021, including those that detect cardiovascular disease.
In addition, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and through to end-of-life care.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase awareness of the symptoms of heart valve disease in women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England continues to work with its partners in raising awareness of aortic stenosis, with a particular focus on women. NHS England is also working to increase access to cardiac surgery. The breathlessness pathway, launched in April 2023, encourages general practitioners to examine all patients for the signs of valvular heart disease. Heart valve disease is a focus for cardiac networks, with pathways in in place to improve early detection of valve disease in the community.
In November 2023, a dedicated Heart Valve Disease (HVD) Expert Advisory Group was convened to provide NHS England’s Cardiac Transformation Programme with leadership, advice, quality assurance, expert review, and endorsement of the projects and deliverables that comprise the HVD workstream, with a focus on improving the speed and equity of access to high quality treatment for heart valve patients.
To improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease across England, including aortic stenosis, £2.3 billion has been committed to open 160 community diagnostic centres by March 2025. This will increase the volume of diagnostic activity and further reduce patient waiting times. The centres have delivered over 5 million additional tests since July 2021, including those that detect cardiovascular disease.
In addition, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and through to end-of-life care.
Correspondence Apr. 30 2024
Committee: Justice Committee (Department: Ministry of Justice)Found: Letter from Fiona Parker, HM Prison and Probation Service Deputy Director, Prison Supply Directorate
Found: Higher education around the world: Comparing international approaches and performance with the UK
Apr. 30 2024
Source Page: Mr L Ramos v (1) Nottinghamshire Women's Aid Ltd (2) Ms A J Bloomer: [2024] EAT 67Found: He confirmed that he was the appellant in Lady Coco and Leadership Factor Limited and the claimant
Apr. 30 2024
Source Page: MHRA’s AI regulatory strategy ensures patient safety and industry innovation into 2030Found: MHRA’s AI regulatory strategy ensures patient safety and industry innovation into 2030