Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what legal assistance will be available in Rwanda to asylum seekers relocated under the UK-Rwanda treaty.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Relocated Individuals will be provided with legal representation free of charge throughout the asylum process. Part 3 of Annex B to the treaty details the provision that shall be made in Rwanda for Relocated Individuals to access legal assistance and interpreters.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detention spaces are available for people seeking asylum who are due to be deported to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
As of 24 April, the Home Office has the capacity to detain around 2,200 people in immigration removal centres.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to section 1.17 of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines entitled Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy) chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management, published on 29 October 2021, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that hospital staff are aware of NICE guidelines for caring patients with very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline, Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management, published in October 2021, outlines the expectations for inpatient care for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The guidance states that where possible, patients with ME should be provided with a single room, and that factors such as the level of lighting and sound should be taken into consideration, and necessary adjustments made.
It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the NICE. Whilst guidelines are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take them fully into account when designing services that meet the needs of their local population. The NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media.
The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff in providing better care and improving patient outcomes. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME.
We have finished consulting on My Full Reality, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. We are in the process of analysing the results of the consultation. The views and experiences gathered through this consultation will be used to build a picture of how well the interim delivery plan identifies and meets the needs of the ME community, and to highlight any significant gaps where further action may be necessary. We will publish a summary of the consultation responses, which will inform the final delivery plan being published later this year, in due course.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 16630 on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, when she plans to publish the final myalgic encephalomyelitis delivery plan.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline, Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management, published in October 2021, outlines the expectations for inpatient care for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The guidance states that where possible, patients with ME should be provided with a single room, and that factors such as the level of lighting and sound should be taken into consideration, and necessary adjustments made.
It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the NICE. Whilst guidelines are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take them fully into account when designing services that meet the needs of their local population. The NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media.
The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff in providing better care and improving patient outcomes. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME.
We have finished consulting on My Full Reality, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. We are in the process of analysing the results of the consultation. The views and experiences gathered through this consultation will be used to build a picture of how well the interim delivery plan identifies and meets the needs of the ME community, and to highlight any significant gaps where further action may be necessary. We will publish a summary of the consultation responses, which will inform the final delivery plan being published later this year, in due course.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to increase inpatient provision for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline, Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management, published in October 2021, outlines the expectations for inpatient care for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The guidance states that where possible, patients with ME should be provided with a single room, and that factors such as the level of lighting and sound should be taken into consideration, and necessary adjustments made.
It is the duty of clinicians to keep themselves appraised of best practice, in particular guidance issued by the NICE. Whilst guidelines are not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take them fully into account when designing services that meet the needs of their local population. The NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media.
The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff in providing better care and improving patient outcomes. The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning package on ME to all United Kingdom medical schools, and encourage medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME.
We have finished consulting on My Full Reality, the cross-Government interim delivery plan on ME, which seeks to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with this condition. We are in the process of analysing the results of the consultation. The views and experiences gathered through this consultation will be used to build a picture of how well the interim delivery plan identifies and meets the needs of the ME community, and to highlight any significant gaps where further action may be necessary. We will publish a summary of the consultation responses, which will inform the final delivery plan being published later this year, in due course.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, what progress her Department has made on boosting AI research through the launch of nine new research hubs across the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has invested £86 million in new research hubs that will propel the UK to the forefront of advanced AI research. The hubs are broad consortia of universities and businesses, which will leverage the UK’s world leading AI research, connecting universities and businesses and creating spinouts who will deliver next-generation innovations and technologies.
This focussed investment will enable AI to evolve and tackle complex problems across applications from healthcare treatments to power-efficient electronics, transforming the way we develop and use AI, and is part of a larger investment of over £300 million in AI research and training by EPSRC over the past 12 months, safeguarding the UK’s digital future.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, how much of the £10m to jumpstart regulator’s AI capabilities has been allocated.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is moving at pace to design the mechanism for allocating the £10m funding to jumpstart regulator capabilities. The Government is actively engaging with regulators to ensure this is delivered in a way that best supports their needs. The Government expects to launch the fund this summer and will allocate the funding during the course of this financial year and 25/26.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Green Heat Network fund in supporting shared ground loop deployment in rural off-gas grid areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 21 March 2024 to my hon Friend the Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas) to Question UIN 18922.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help support the deployment of shared ground loops in rural areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides grants of £7,500 to support the installation of air source, ground source and water source heat pumps including plants installed as part of a shared ground loop. We are increasing the shared ground loops system capacity limit in May from 45kW to 300kW to address the concerns that groundworks for ground source heat pumps are a significant barrier to deployment.
Shared ground loop installations which satisfy the eligibility criteria for the Green Heat Network Fund can apply to the scheme for support. To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that their networks can deliver a minimum of 2GWh per year of heat.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support clean heat installations in rural areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government ‘help to heat’ schemes supports deployment of low carbon heating in rural areas through ECO, Wave 2 of SHDF and HUG2.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme also provides grants of £7,500 towards upfront cost and installation of air and ground source heat pumps. Up to the end of February 2024, 57% of grants paid out were for clean heat installations in rural areas
Through the Heat Network Transformation Programme, the Government is working with industry and local authorities to develop new heat networks and improve existing ones, including investing £500 million half a billion pounds in funds.