Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of secondary (a) mainstream and (b) maintained special schools offered British Sign Language GCSE in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department published British Sign Language GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach them. As such, no schools are currently offering the GCSE. The department’s aim is that exam board specifications will be available to schools who wish to offer the GCSE from September 2025.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of British Sign Language GCSE in mainstream secondary schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department published British Sign Language GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach them. As such, no schools are currently offering the GCSE. The department’s aim is that exam board specifications will be available to schools who wish to offer the GCSE from September 2025.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of NHS England funding the training of specialists in (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The sexual and reproductive healthcare workforce is diverse as services are offered across primary care, community and sexual health clinic settings, other public health settings as well as acute and ambulatory care settings.
The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genitourinary and HIV care to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 ensure the adequacy of (a) genitourinary and (b) HIV care for the next five years; and if she will make an estimate of the number of consultants specialising in (i) genitourinary and (ii) HIV care who will be employed in the NHS in 2029.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.
NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.
The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.
We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of sexual and reproductive health professionals in (a) post and (b) training in the context of trends in the level of sexually transmitted infection rates.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS workforce statistics show that in November 2023, there were 243 full time equivalent (FTE) consultants working in the specialty of genito-urinary medicine (GUM) in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, and 133 FTE consultants working in the specialty of community sexual and reproductive health in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England.
NHS England is responsible for providing HIV care and in March 2024 published the NHS England national service specification for adult specialised services for people living with HIV. Specialised adult inpatient and outpatient HIV services aim to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV, and associated conditions, to support individuals to stay well, remain engaged in care, and to reduce onward transmission. The services will ensure that outcomes, wellbeing, and quality of life are maximised, that they are culturally competent, in recognition of the disproportionate number of people from diverse backgrounds who access HIV care, and that people are central to decisions about the management of their health and social care.
The Department is consulting with NHS England to reform the funding of specialist training in genito-urinary and HIV care, to increase the ability of specialists to train and then practice in areas of greatest need. We are committed to achieving no new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing an additional £20 million for new research, which will involve an expansion and evaluation of bloodborne virus opt-out testing in 47 additional emergency departments in areas of England with high HIV prevalence. This is expected to deliver approximately 1.5 million more HIV tests to help us get people with the virus into care. The Department is also allocating over £3.5 million to deliver a National HIV Prevention Programme between 2021 and 2024 to raise awareness of HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and prevention strategies, targeting populations most at risk of HIV, including young people.
We continue to support the delivery of local sexual health services, providing guidance and data through the UK Health Security Agency and the Department. In March 2023 we published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services, and providing advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps (a) for tax relief generated through the investment allowance for oil and gas companies through the Energy Profits Levy to be returned to the Exchequer and (b) to allocate that money to the construction of a 5GW offshore wind farm.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK currently requires oil and gas to meet our energy needs, and there will be a continued role for oil and gas over the coming decades. The Energy Profits Levy includes investment allowances which give the oil and gas sector additional incentives to reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security.
The Government already provides significant support for low-carbon electricity generation development through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which has been hugely successful in driving the deployment of renewable energy whilst reducing costs. Since introduction, the CfD has contracted over 30GW of low-carbon generation including 20GW of offshore wind.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how he plans to take information about expected future climatic conditions affecting (a) UK food production and (b) food imports into account in constructing the new Food Security Index.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are in the process of developing the content of the new Food Security Index (FSI). We expect it will include a selection of indicators giving an assessment of food security across the five themes identified in the UK Food Security Report (UKFSR), including domestic food supply and imports.
We expect the annual FSI will focus on a selection of indicators that typically show variation on an annual basis. The updated UKFSR, which will be published later this year, will include analysis of longer-term trends, such as the impact of changing climatic conditions on food security.
Defra officials are considering what would be most useful to monitor on an annual basis. It will likely draw on key statistics in the UK Food Security Report.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing financial support for drivers to upgrade to Clean Air Zone compliant vehicles for (a) residents of Clean Air Zones and (b) non-residents who may travel into Clean Air Zones.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responsibility for road charging measures such as Clean Air Zones (CAZ) lie with Local Authorities. The local authority is responsible for the measures they introduce to address air quality in their local area as well as whether to provide exemptions that address issues such as the need to upgrade vehicles and support for those on Low incomes.
Government has allocated £883m under the NO2 Programme to help Local Authorities tackle NO2 exceedances as well as set up the Clean Air Fund to mitigate the impact of air quality measures, including Clean Air Zones, on those residents and businesses most affected. To date, more than £402m of support from the Clean Air Fund has been allocated to Local Authorities in areas with NO2 exceedances.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what central Government funding is available for local authorities looking to introduce (a) Clean Air Zones and (b) Scrappage Schemes for residents with non-compliant vehicles.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responsibility for road charging measures such as Clean Air Zones (CAZ) lie with Local Authorities. The local authority is responsible for the measures they introduce to address air quality in their local area as well as whether to provide exemptions that address issues such as the need to upgrade vehicles and support for those on Low incomes.
Government has allocated £883m under the NO2 Programme to help Local Authorities tackle NO2 exceedances as well as set up the Clean Air Fund to mitigate the impact of air quality measures, including Clean Air Zones, on those residents and businesses most affected. To date, more than £402m of support from the Clean Air Fund has been allocated to Local Authorities in areas with NO2 exceedances.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of means-tested exemptions from Clean Air Zone fees for people on low incomes.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responsibility for road charging measures such as Clean Air Zones (CAZ) lie with Local Authorities. The local authority is responsible for the measures they introduce to address air quality in their local area as well as whether to provide exemptions that address issues such as the need to upgrade vehicles and support for those on Low incomes.
Government has allocated £883m under the NO2 Programme to help Local Authorities tackle NO2 exceedances as well as set up the Clean Air Fund to mitigate the impact of air quality measures, including Clean Air Zones, on those residents and businesses most affected. To date, more than £402m of support from the Clean Air Fund has been allocated to Local Authorities in areas with NO2 exceedances.