Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce sewage discharges in Somerton and Frome constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Last year, Government published the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years.
In February 2023, I asked water and sewerage companies to set an action plan on every storm overflow in England. I have also announced water companies will face higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.
In Frome and Somerton, the Environment Agency (EA) are scrutinising Wessex Water’s performance and asset management on a number of fronts, including:
The EA also regulate private discharges from small-scale sewage treatment works in this rural catchment. They have a monitoring programme, and failures in discharge quality are subject to robust follow-up and, if appropriate, formal action to ensure improvements are made.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaths there were in care homes in April 2020 that (a) received transfers and (b) did not receive transfers from NHS Hospitals.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support NHS Trusts to (a) manage patient pathways and (b) track patient outcomes for people living with rheumatic conditions.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
General rheumatology services are all locally commissioned by integrated care boards who are best placed to make decisions according to local need.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to help increase chemotherapy capacity for prostate cancer patients in (a) the UK and (b) each integrated care system.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
NHS England has set a target for systems to increase cancer treatment capacity by 13%, with the aim of further reducing cancer waiting lists. The latest statistics for February 2023 show that 98.04% of National Health Service patients have received their subsequent chemotherapy treatment within 31 days, against a target of 98%.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with Integrated Care Boards on (a) the impact of increases in the cost of living on people diagnosed with coeliac disease and (b) gluten free prescribing for people diagnosed with coeliac disease.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No specific discussions have been had. The majority of services for patients with coeliac disease are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, who are best placed to plan the provision of services subject to local prioritisation and funding.
A range of gluten free staples are available on prescription. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for those with the greatest need.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Warm Home Prescription pilots; and whether he will take steps to extend the scheme to kidney patients receiving home dialysis.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Warm Home Prescription pilots have been undertaken in several local areas, delivered by the Energy Systems Catapult working with the National Health Service and other local partners. An initial pilot study from 2021/22 was reported as delivering increased indoor temperatures for a number of vulnerable households over the winter. Eligibility for these schemes is determined locally.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of all NHS diagnostic activity took place in Community Diagnostic Centres in each month of the last financial year for which figures are available.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
This information is not held.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 14 March 2023 to Question 162208 on Surgical Hubs, how many surgical hubs will be operational in 2024-25.
Answered by Will Quince
There are currently 87 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England, these surgical hubs will help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care.
57 new surgical hubs have been proposed, of which 37 have received an NHS England approved business case, announced in February 2023.
Details of any new operational surgical hubs will be announced as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 reduce waiting times for elective procedures relating to children and young people.
Answered by Will Quince
In February 2022, the National Health Service published a delivery plan setting out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and reduce waiting times for elective services including treatment for children and young people.
To support this recovery the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems in 2021/22 to help drive up and protect elective activity.
Steps being taken include increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand their choices.
Having virtually met our target to eliminate long waits of two years or more for elective procedures in July, we have also made significant progress in tackling waits of 78 weeks or more for elective services including child health services.
NHS England will soon publish statistics that demonstrate what has been achieved to date.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to implement a ban on cigarette filter tips that contain plastic.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Cigarette butts continue to be the most littered item according to a survey commissioned by Defra. On our behalf, WRAP have recently explored options for tackling littering of cigarette butts. We are now considering next steps.