Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department's policy on periodic hydraulic balancing of hydronic domestic heating systems for ensuring that consumers’ fuel bills are minimised; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is clear that hydraulic balancing is an expected practice to be completed by heating engineers when a heating appliance, including a natural gas boiler, is installed in a wet central heating system.
The Government is seeking views on how to ensure hydraulic balancing and other installation practices take place at the time of install and how and whether to encourage hydraulic balancing as part of heating system servicing, through the consultation on Improving Boiler Standards and Efficiency, which closes on 21 March.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women who are experiencing (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping are receiving the support they need.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We know that women sleeping rough have different experiences and needs to men, particularly relating to violence and abuse, and that female rough sleepers can be less visible than other rough sleepers as a result. It is important rough sleeping services meet the needs of women.
As part of our Ending Rough Sleeping Strategy, we committed to the creation of an operational risk assessment tool which will help local authorities to prevent rough sleeping. The tool will be developed to consider various factors that contribute to rough sleeping, including how best to support different cohorts such as women.
The tool will enable local networks to allocate Rough Sleeping Initiative and other funding streams appropriately to support tailored and targeted interventions for groups like women sleeping rough who are not known to outreach services.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) gender informed methods and (b) patterns of women’s homelessness are incorporated into data collection on rough sleeping.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We know that women sleeping rough have different experiences and needs to men, particularly relating to violence and abuse, and that female rough sleepers can be less visible than other rough sleepers as a result. It is important rough sleeping services meet the needs of women.
As part of our Ending Rough Sleeping Strategy, we committed to the creation of an operational risk assessment tool which will help local authorities to prevent rough sleeping. The tool will be developed to consider various factors that contribute to rough sleeping, including how best to support different cohorts such as women.
The tool will enable local networks to allocate Rough Sleeping Initiative and other funding streams appropriately to support tailored and targeted interventions for groups like women sleeping rough who are not known to outreach services.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to review the definition of rough sleeping to ensure it recognises women who use the tactic of hidden homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We know that women sleeping rough have different experiences and needs to men, particularly relating to violence and abuse, and that female rough sleepers can be less visible than other rough sleepers as a result. It is important rough sleeping services meet the needs of women.
As part of our Ending Rough Sleeping Strategy, we committed to the creation of an operational risk assessment tool which will help local authorities to prevent rough sleeping. The tool will be developed to consider various factors that contribute to rough sleeping, including how best to support different cohorts such as women.
The tool will enable local networks to allocate Rough Sleeping Initiative and other funding streams appropriately to support tailored and targeted interventions for groups like women sleeping rough who are not known to outreach services.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to roll out a nationwide annual women's rough sleeping census that is gender informed.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We know that women sleeping rough have different experiences and needs to men, particularly relating to violence and abuse, and that female rough sleepers can be less visible than other rough sleepers as a result. It is important rough sleeping services meet the needs of women.
As part of our Ending Rough Sleeping Strategy, we committed to the creation of an operational risk assessment tool which will help local authorities to prevent rough sleeping. The tool will be developed to consider various factors that contribute to rough sleeping, including how best to support different cohorts such as women.
The tool will enable local networks to allocate Rough Sleeping Initiative and other funding streams appropriately to support tailored and targeted interventions for groups like women sleeping rough who are not known to outreach services.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to mark the 31st Anniversary of killings in Khojaly on 26 February 1992.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
FCDO established a Mass Atrocity Prevention Hub in September 2022; the Hub is supporting FCDO teams to embed atrocity prevention work and build capability, including on monitoring and risk assessments. The UK Government remains committed to supporting efforts to secure positive relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and continues to work through bilateral channels and multilateral fora in pursuit of that goal. In recent engagements with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 22 February and Armenian Foreign Minister on 18 January, I [Minister Docherty] reinforced the need for constructive negotiations between the two states. The events of February 1992 were a tragic episode in Azerbaijan's history, and were strongly condemned by the UK Government at the time. Such hostilities should never take place again. The UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan laid a wreath at the memorial in Baku on 24 February.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent atrocities; and if he will make a statement on the 31st anniversary of the killings in Khojaly in Azerbaijan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
FCDO established a Mass Atrocity Prevention Hub in September 2022; the Hub is supporting FCDO teams to embed atrocity prevention work and build capability, including on monitoring and risk assessments. The UK Government remains committed to supporting efforts to secure positive relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and continues to work through bilateral channels and multilateral fora in pursuit of that goal. In recent engagements with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 22 February and Armenian Foreign Minister on 18 January, I [Minister Docherty] reinforced the need for constructive negotiations between the two states. The events of February 1992 were a tragic episode in Azerbaijan's history, and were strongly condemned by the UK Government at the time. Such hostilities should never take place again. The UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan laid a wreath at the memorial in Baku on 24 February.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Sanofi's report on the analysis of the relationship between the use of prednisolone for asthma and COPD and social deprivation, published in November 2022, if his Department will take steps to investigate the potential higher prescribing of oral corticosteroids for people living with asthma and COPD in areas of higher social deprivation; whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) taking steps to reduce the higher prescribing of oral corticosteroids for asthma and COPD in the areas of highest social deprivation and (b) introducing a target or incentive for the reduction of maintenance oral corticosteroid use in patients with asthma.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to undertake an assessment of the prescribing of oral corticosteroids for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Reducing health inequalities amongst people with COPD and asthma is a key cross-cutting focus for NHS England. Respiratory clinical networks have been established to support delivery of the objectives set out in the Long-Term Plan, which includes a particular focus on reducing health inequalities.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) provide clear guidance on the prescribing of oral steroids for both COPD and asthma. For both conditions, short courses only are recommended in cases of acute exacerbations.
For people with COPD, NICE do not normally recommend maintenance use of oral corticosteroid therapy. However, some people with advanced COPD may require maintenance oral corticosteroids when these cannot be withdrawn after an exacerbation. In these cases, the dose of oral corticosteroids should be kept as low as possible
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has received representations from (a) industry representatives and (b) consumers on BT Openreach’s proposed increase in the price of wholesale broadband; and what steps Ofcom can take under the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review to alter the level of the increase.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Price regulation in the telecoms market is a matter for Ofcom as an independent regulator. Openreach’s prices are fixed by Ofcom as part of their five-year Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review (WFTMR) process and have been allowed to increase by CPI in order to reflect the significant additional costs faced when deploying new physical infrastructure. There are no plans to change the WFTMR until 2026. This is in line with industry requests for long-term stable regulation that incentivises competition and investment in the fixed telecoms market in order to increase the coverage of gigabit-capable networks as quickly as possible. This approach has been successful, with over 80 companies investing approximately £35 billion to connect premises across the UK.
The Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom, published in 2019, states that we want to see regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators. The Department regularly meets with Ofcom at all levels to discuss progress against its strategic priorities. My officials also regularly engage with representatives across the telecoms sector. On wholesale price increases specifically, the Department has received representations from both industry members and consumer groups.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities spent on tobacco control policy and implementation in 2021-22; and how much is budgeted to be spent by that office for that purpose in 2022-23.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
In the 2021/22 financial year, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities spent £901,873 on tobacco control policy and implementation and the 2022/23 budget is up to £1,182,000.