Questioner: Gerald Jones (LAB - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to reconsider the cessation of the temporary universal credit £20 uplift in response to the impact on household finances of rising energy prices.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has always been clear that the £20 per week increase to Universal Credit was a temporary measure to support households whose incomes and earnings were affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Now that the economy has reopened, the Government is focusing on supporting people to move into and progress in work
The Government is committed to supporting low-income families with the cost of living including with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments. The Energy Price Cap is also in place to protect millions of customers from the sudden increases in global gas prices this winter. Despite the rising costs of wholesale energy, the cap still saves 15 million households up to £100 a year.
The Government has also recently announced the £500 million Household Support Fund which will support vulnerable households with essentials over winter as we enter the final stages of recovery from the pandemic.
Questioner: Shabana Mahmood (LAB - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with local leaders in the West Midlands on the Integrated Rail Plan.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The government is committed to providing better rail connectivity between London, the Midlands and the North. The Treasury works closely with the Department for Transport to understand local leaders’ views on the Integrated Rail Plan, which will soon set out how best to scope, sequence and integrate Northern Powerhouse Rail, HS2 Phase 2b and other major Network Rail programmes.
The West Midlands will benefit significantly from Phase One of High Speed 2, which will cut journey times between Birmingham and London to less than 50 minutes. Budget 2021 also included £50m to develop proposals for transport improvements around the HS2 Interchange station to help support local regeneration.
Questioner: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (LAB - Slough)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to include the Western Rail Link to Heathrow in the upcoming Spending Review.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Spending Review will set UK Government departments’ resource and capital budgets for the next 3 years (2022-23 to 2024-25) and devolved administrations’ block grants for the same period. The Spending Review will conclude on 27th October alongside the Autumn Budget 2021.
Questioner: Stella Creasy (LAB - Walthamstow)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) forecasted expenditure and (b) actual expenditure for the tax-free childcare scheme for financial year 2020-21.
Answered by Simon Clarke
At the Spring 2020 budget, the forecast expenditure for Tax-Free Childcare in 2020/21 was £0.34bn. Tax-Free Childcare expenditure in 2020/21 was £0.24bn.Questioner: Luke Evans (CON - Bosworth)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of undertaking a targeted public awareness campaign on reducing the risk of developing dementia.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
No formal assessment has been made.
Since 2018, dementia risk reduction messaging has been incorporated in the NHS Health Check for all eligible adults in England aged 40 to 74 years old to increase dementia awareness and motivate people in midlife to make positive changes to reduce their risk.
To reduce the risk of dementia the Government recommends the following:
- eating a healthy diet as depicted in the Eatwell Guide;
- maintaining a healthy weight;
- exercising regularly;
- not drinking too much alcohol;
- stopping smoking; and
- keeping blood pressure at a healthy level.
We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in due course which will include a focus on risk reduction and prevention.
Questioner: Daisy Cooper (LDEM - St Albans)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2021 to Question 49964 on Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, what assistance the Government can provide to secure a response from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to (a) letters from hon. Members and (b) referrals from constituents.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I would advise the hon. Member to contact the Ombudsman directly at MP@ombudsman.org.uk for any general correspondence or queries about particular cases.
The Government will, of course, pass on correspondence and complaints to the Ombudsman but cannot intervene directly in the Ombudsman’s day-to-day business. Members can also raise issues with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee who scrutinise the Ombudsman if they have concerns about how the Ombudsman engages with members.
Questioner: Holly Lynch (LAB - Halifax)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is for publication of the outcome of the infected blood inquiry compensation consultation.
Answered by Michael Ellis
I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 23 Sept 2021 - the consultation closed on 9 August 2021 and the Terms of Reference for the study have now been published online. I look forward to receiving Sir Robert's recommendations.
Questioner: Valerie Vaz (LAB - Walsall South)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has an advisory role to the Sovereign on the appointment of Anglican bishops; and what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of reviewing the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Under reforms introduced in 2007 by the then Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister does not choose bishops or advise on the choice of bishops. His or her role is confined to putting the name of the nominated candidate to Her Majesty The Queen.
The Government does not have any current plans to review the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.
Questioner: Stephanie Peacock (LAB - Barnsley East)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to bring forward the public inquiry into the Government's response to the covid-19 pandemic to afford bereaved families the opportunity to have their concerns answered and come to terms with their losses.
Answered by Michael Ellis
On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into COVID-19 would be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022.
Further details will be set out in due course.
Questioner: Rachael Maskell (LAB - York Central)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an award as a benchmark of quality social care for responsible care providers, which includes consideration of Care Quality Commission reports, a lack of complaints or tribunals in respect of staff payment and the introduction for staff of the living wage.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have no current plans to make this assessment. The quality of adult social care providers is regulated independently by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Local authorities also have a duty under the Care Act 2014 to promote diversity and quality in provision of services. This includes a range of factors, including the CQC’s fundamental standards as a minimum, to ensure services are appropriate for its users and clear criteria on quality are established and met. The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay, independent of central Government.
Questioner: Matthew Offord (CON - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase NHS capacity.
Answered by Edward Argar
The National Health Service will receive an extra £5.4 billion over the next six months to support its response to COVID-19. This includes £478 million to continue the enhanced hospital discharge programme and increasing bed capacity. This includes an extra £1 billion to tackle the elective care backlog and more than £8 billion will be allocated for recovery in the next three years. This additional investment could provide approximately nine million additional checks, scans and procedures.
The NHS 10-point plan to manage emergency care demand and capacity includes providing ambulance trusts an extra £55 million to increase staff numbers ahead of the winter. The seasonal flu vaccination programme and COVID-19 booster vaccines for priority groups will also reduce pressure on NHS services by limiting the number of admissions to hospital services.
Questioner: Matthew Offord (CON - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prepare for a potential resurgence of covid-19 infections in the autumn and winter months of 2021.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The success of the vaccination programme means that economic and social restrictions may not be needed to prevent unsustainable pressure on the National Health Service this autumn. We aim to manage the risk of COVID-19 through pharmaceutical interventions such as vaccines and antivirals, including vaccines for those aged 12 to 15 years old; continuing the Test, Trace and Isolate programme; continuing support for the NHS and social care; and managing risks at the border.
COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021’ sets out measures which will be kept under review and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-autumn-and-winter-plan-2021
Questioner: Patrick Grady (SNP - Glasgow North)
Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Deputy Prime Minister of 22 September 2021, Official Report, Column 277, that Chevening is funded by a charity and not the public purse, whether that charity has received any funding through the Gift Aid scheme in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Helen Whately
HM Revenue and Customs has a statutory duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality, and cannot comment on the affairs of individual organisations.
Questioner: Barbara Keeley (LAB - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) individuals and (b) organisations that attended the reform summit held on 21 September 2021.
Answered by Edward Argar
The following table shows the external attendees at the summit.
Name | Role |
Richard Murray | Chief Executive, The King’s Fund |
Nigel Edwards | Chief Executive, The Nuffield Trust |
Jennifer Dixon | Chief Executive, The Health Foundation |
Sir Muir Gray | Director, Optimal Ageing Programme for Living Longer Better |
Rebecca Steinfeld | Head of Policy, National Voices |
David Halpern | Chief Executive, Behavioural Insights Team |
Richard Sloggett | Director, Future Health Research |
Robert Ede | Health and Social Care, Policy Exchange |
Amanda Pritchard | Chief Executive, NHS England and NHS Improvement |
Alastair Henderson | Chief Executive, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges |
Matthew Taylor | Chief Executive, NHS Confederation |
Saffron Cordery | Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Providers |
Miriam Deakin | Director of Policy and Strategy, NHS Providers |
Tim Mitchell | Vice President, Royal College of Surgeons |
Roland Sinker | Co-chair of the Shelford Group and Chief Executive, Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust |
Rob Webster | Chief Executive, West Yorkshire Integrated Care System |
Lord Darzi | Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London and Chair of Imperial College Health Partners |
Sir Chris Ham | Co-Chair of the NHS Assembly, Chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Health and Care Partnership |
Sir Jim Mackey | Chief Executive, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
Pauline Philip | National Director for Emergency and Elective Care, NHS England & Improvement |
Habib Naqvi | Director, NHS Race and Health Observatory |
Sarah Pickup | Deputy Chief Executive, Local Government Association |
Jim McManus | Director of Public Health, Hertfordshire (and Acting President of the Association of Directors of Public Health) |
Maggie Rae | President, Faculty of Public Health |
Christina Marriott | Chief Executive, Royal Society for Public Health |
Jason Strelitz | Director of Public Health, Newham |
Tom Riordan | Chief Executive, Leeds City Council |
Vic Rayner | Chief Executive, National Care Forum |
Nadra Ahmed | Chairman, National Care Association |
Stephen Chandler | Director of Adult Social Care, Oxfordshire (and President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services) |
Emily Holzhausen | Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Carers UK |
Sir David Behan | Chair, Health Education England |
Jane Townson | Executive Director, United Kingdom Homecare Association |
Martin Green | Chief Executive, Care England |
Caroline Abrahams | Chair Director, Age UK |
Carolyn Wilkins | Former Oldham Accountable Officer & local authority chief executive |
James Sanderson | Director of Personalised Budgets, NHS England & Improvement |
Susan Jebb | Professor of Diet and Population Health, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Oxford University |
Nick Harding | CMO Operose Health. Primary Care & Ex Clinical lead for ICS at NHSE |
Edel Harris | Mencap CEO |
James White | Alzheimer's society |
Kate Lee | Alzheimer's society CEO |
Ian McCreath | Head of Think Local Act Personal |
Questioner: Munira Wilson (LDEM - Twickenham)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of trends in data on the prescription of anti-psychotic medication for people with a diagnosis of dementia by individual CCG.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The Department has no current plans to make such an assessment. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to monitor monthly data published by NHS Digital on the prescribing of anti-psychotic medication for people diagnosed with dementia. They also work closely with regional clinical network leads and local services to understand the patterns in prescribing and potential reasons for any trends.
Public Health England published clinical commissioning group factsheets to provide context around prescribing activity and facilitate an understanding of the patterns in prescribing. These are available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/mental-health/profile/dementia/data#page/