Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
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 adequacy of Statutory Sick Pay for (a) full- and (b) part-time staff working in the care sector in the context of continued requirements for staff who test positive for covid-19 to self-isolate.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The majority of staff working in the social care sector, either full-time or-part time, are employed by private sector providers which determine their pay and terms and conditions of employment. Statutory Sick Pay is available to those who are infected with COVID-19 and are unable to work, payable after four days. It is paid at £99.35 per week and is available across all sectors to those who earn more than £123 a week on average.
Social care staff who test positive for COVID-19 are expected to self-isolate to protect those they care for. All providers should support good health and safety practice, as for other risks and individual employers should determine how to ensure staff stay away from the workplace when there would be a health risk to those in their care. Social care staff have access to free lateral flow device tests and can return to work after receiving two negative tests.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will provide further funding to help local authorities with additional emergency accommodation costs in addition to the funding announced under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Funding of £10,500 per person is provided to local authorities under the Homes for Ukraine scheme which includes funding for homelessness. Further details are set out in the published guidance for local authorities.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what system his Department has in place to help ensure that NHS trusts reimburse patients who dialyse at home for the cost of the energy required to run their dialysis machines.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
For adult home dialysis, NHS England do not reimburse patients directly. Patients’ additional direct utility costs, which may include electricity, water, gas and telephone, are met through the payment of the national tariff to providers, which provide reimbursement to the individual. The costs reimbursed should be based on documentary evidence, such as copies of utility bills before and after the specialised equipment was introduced. The costs should be agreed between the provider and the individual patient.
For paediatric home haemodialysis, there is currently no national tariff and as such, it is at the discretion of individual providers as to whether they reimburse additional direct utility costs for patients.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy monitors the energy market in the United Kingdom to ensure it meets the need of all consumers, including those receiving medical treatment at home.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
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 adequacy of Statutory Sick Pay for (a) full- and (b) part-time staff working in the care sector in the context of continued requirements for staff who test positive for covid-19 to self-isolate.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of Devon's Campaign to Protect Rural England's suggestion that regenerative agriculture is a better use for Devon's greenfield land than solar panels.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We recognise the need to preserve our most productive farmland. As stated in the recently published British Energy Security Strategy, we will continue supporting the effective use of land by encouraging large-scale solar projects to locate on previously developed, or lower value land, where possible, and ensure projects are designed to avoid, mitigate, and where necessary, compensate for the impacts of using greenfield sites. The Government also supports solar that is co-located with other functions (for example, agriculture) to maximise the efficiency of land use.
Our new Environmental Land Management schemes will support and incentivise farmers who embrace sustainable, regenerative practices. Many farm businesses are already adopting and developing regenerative techniques such as the use of cover crops, strip tilling, and practices to reduce fertiliser or herbicide use. We believe that environmental improvements and producing food go hand in hand. We have recently increased the Farming Investment Fund for small technology grants from £17 million to over £48 million, supporting around 4,000 farmers with their investment plans.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of allowing fourth dose of Coronavirus vaccines to be made available to those with severe physical and/or learning disabilities who have diminished or no capacity to exercise their own judgment.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 21 February 2022, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose as a precautionary measure for those at most at risk of severe disease. As a result, a ‘spring dose’ is being offered to all adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed. The JCVI has not specifically recommended a further dose for those with severe physical and/or learning disabilities, unless they are eligible in these patient cohorts.
If an adult has been assessed as lacking capacity to make their own decisions about vaccination, it may be possible to proceed with immunisation under the principle of acting in their ‘best interests’. Healthcare workers considering immunising under a ‘best interests’ decision have a statutory duty to follow the Code of Practice and checklist set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Department has made of the level of risk of exploding battery energy storage systems associated with solar panels.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Electricity storage is a critical technology for ensuring security of supply and decarbonisation of the energy system. When installed, maintained and decommissioned correctly, electricity storage poses minimal risks. A robust health and safety regime is in place with appropriate provisions to ensure that battery storage at all scales can be operated safely in a range of environments. The government is currently working with the industry-led Storage Health and Safety Governance Group to establish common standards for product development and installation of domestic/small-scale battery storage and develop guidance for grid-scale storage.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2022 to Question 150169 on Energy: Standing Charges, what assessment he has made of whether the cost to suppliers of (a) service administration fees, (b) connections to and maintenance of energy networks and (c) Government schemes to help reduce carbon emissions and fuel poverty has increased in the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are several reasons for the increase in standing charges. These can include increases to the Warm Homes Discount, the increase in renewable energy sources and changes to distribution costs.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2022 to Question 145873 on Energy: Standing Charges, whether maintenance on infrastructure accounts for a proportion of the rise in the standing charges.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Standing charges are a daily fixed amount paid for the supplying of gas and electricity. It varies by region due to the different costs to transport power.
The charge pays for the costs that are fixed for a supplier on a per customer basis. Including service administration fees, connections to and maintenance of energy networks and Government schemes to help reduce carbon emissions and fuel poverty. The standing charge is passed on to consumers as a flat rate per day rather than as a percentage charge based on how much energy they use.
More information can be found at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-if-energy-price-cap-affects-you.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take further steps to tackle the shortage of NHS dentists.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are working with the British Dental Association to reform the NHS dental contract to make it more attractive to the profession. Health Education England set out a range of recommendations in their Advancing Dental Care Review, which will improve recruitment and retention of dentists and other professionals. Action is being taken to implement these through their Dental Education Reform Programme. We are also working to allow greater flexibility to expand on the registration options open to international dentistry applicants.