Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the HERO (Health Economics in Radiation Oncology) study published by the UK Radiotherapy Board, which is the first report to estimate the cost of radiotherapy services in England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2016, there has been significant investment in radiotherapy equipment, so that every radiotherapy provider had access to modern, cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment, enabling the rollout of new techniques like stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. The total central investment made between 2016 and 2021 was £162 million, and enabled the replacement or upgrade of approximately 100 radiotherapy treatment machines. This is investment on top of that committed by National Health Service trusts, either from their own capital budgets or via donations. From April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 spending review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current cost of radiotherapy services in England, following the publication of the HERO (Health Economics in Radiation Oncology) report by the UK Radiotherapy Board.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since 2016, there has been significant investment in radiotherapy equipment, so that every radiotherapy provider had access to modern, cutting-edge radiotherapy equipment, enabling the rollout of new techniques like stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. The total central investment made between 2016 and 2021 was £162 million, and enabled the replacement or upgrade of approximately 100 radiotherapy treatment machines. This is investment on top of that committed by National Health Service trusts, either from their own capital budgets or via donations. From April 2022, the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 spending review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to nominating or supporting a specific candidate to be Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO Ministers are considering the UK position in advance of the upcoming election for the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority. The question of mineral-resources related activities in the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction for the benefit of humankind is a critical one, and we are therefore giving full consideration of all candidates for the election.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the the UK Nutrient Profiling Model 2018 review, when they plan to implement an updated version of the Nutrient Profiling Model.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) is a tool that can underpin policy and implements dietary recommendations.
The United Kingdom NPM was first developed by the Food Standards Agency in 2004 to 2005 (UK 2004/5 NPM). The first Childhood Obesity Plan (2016) committed Public Health England to review the UK 2004/5 NPM and align it to the latest dietary recommendations. A robust and transparent process was undertaken to update the model, with an Independent Expert Group to provide oversight and scientific scrutiny. In 2018, as part of the process, a 12-week public consultation on the modifications made to the current UK 2004/5 NPM took place. The final version will be published in due course.
Any application of the updated NPM in a policy would be subject to normal policy making and consultation processes and would be accompanied by technical guidance to support its use and implementation. Stakeholders and interested parties would have an opportunity to comment on developing work as part of that process.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure that people are safeguarded from serious harm as a result of the new policies currently under consultation in relation to Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The purpose of the consultation is to open a conversation on Personal Independence Payment. The consultation is guided by three priorities: providing the right support to the people who need it most; targeting our resources most effectively; and supporting disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to live independently and reach their full potential. As we develop any proposals, we will carefully consider the impacts of any potential changes.
We recognise that as a Department we come into contact with some claimants who are potentially very vulnerable. We have a range of policies and procedures in place to help those individuals with difficult personal circumstances and/or life events to access benefits and use our services and will continue to provide this support should any changes be taken forward as a result of the consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are in receipt of Personal Independence Payment assessments in England and Wales.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All claims to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), except those made under Special Rules for End of Life, are subject to a PIP assessment. From when PIP was introduced in 2013 until January 2024 there were 7,016,000 PIP claims cleared in England and Wales under normal rules. This number has been rounded to the nearest 1,000 and may include multiple claims made by the same person.
This data is available on Stat-Xplore at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ in the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Independent Review Group on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality, published on 22 April; what are the implications of the report for future UK policy towards the agency; and whether they will resume funding UNRWA.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The UK recognises that UNRWA is critical to aid delivery in Gaza. The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
We remain absolutely committed to getting humanitarian aid to people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive, since the restoration of devolved institutions in Northern Ireland on 3 February, about financial allocations from the Treasury.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has regular discussions with its devolved administration counterparts, including the Northern Ireland Executive.
Since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has met with the Northern Ireland Finance Minister on three occasions.
UK Government officials continue to engage regularly with the Northern Ireland Executive on the implementation of all aspects of the UK Government’s £3.3 billion restoration financial package which will stabilise and transform Northern Ireland’s public finances.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 12 March (HL2920), whether they will forecast the impact of different charges at different border control posts on traffic volumes, queues and emissions once the commercial ports have set their own fees.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is up to individual commercial ports to determine their own charging structure and rates. This will allow ports to ensure costs cover their expenses while remaining viable for both industry and businesses.
Border Control Posts are designed to handle high volumes of imported sanitary and phytosanitary goods and offer extended opening hours with staff working shifts on site to carry out reliable checks which minimise friction on traffic flow.
The Government has worked with port and airport operators, traders, Port Health Authorities and the Animal and Plant Health Agency to make sure we have the right infrastructure, systems and resources in place.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of findings from the Royal College of Radiologists, published in May, showing a regional disparity in wait times for cancer treatment in 2023, with 11 per cent of patients in England waiting more than 31 days for treatment after the decision to treat had been confirmed, compared to 19 per cent of patients in the North East and Yorkshire.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
According to the latest data, of those 10,328 cancer patients referred for first or subsequent treatment for radiotherapy in March 2024, 89.7% were treated within 31 days. The proportion of patients waiting more than 31 days for radiotherapy treatment in March 2024 was therefore 10.3%. This has decreased by 4.5% since January 2024.
We are aware of regional disparities in wait times for cancer treatment through NHS England’s data, and are considering the findings made by the Royal College of Radiologists. Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access of cancer diagnostics, including regional disparities, is a key focus of the Government. NHS England has commissioned six new cancer clinical audits in breast cancer, both primary and metastatic, as well as ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney cancer. These will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatments and outcomes for patients. The first outcomes of these audits are expected in September 2024.
The Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. In 2023/24, NHS England invested an additional £50 million to increase the number of cancer and diagnostic specialists.
The Government is also backing the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places. The plan sets out an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.
We are building our cancer workforce. In January 2024 there were over 35,200 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the cancer workforce, an increase of over 13,300, or 60.7% since January 2010. Regarding clinical oncology specifically, as of January 2024, there are currently over 1,600 FTE doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 30, or 2.2%, more than last year, over 300, or 27.7%, more than 2019, and over 600, 66.5%, more than in 2010. This includes over 900 FTE consultants. This is over 40, or 5.1%, more than last year, over 100, 22.0%, more than in 2019, and over 400, 80.2%, more than in 2010.