Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide additional revenue funding to hospices in (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-2028, and (c) 2028-2029 financial years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who died while waiting to receive end-of-life care in each financial year since 2020–21.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
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 potential impact of changes in hospice services on NHS palliative and end-of-life care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on palliative care in each financial year since 2020–21; and how much funding has been budgeted for palliative care in (a) 2026-2027, (b) 2027-2028 and (c) 2028-2029 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Palliative care and end-of-life care services are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs) and spend is not measured or held centrally in a way that allows a comprehensive breakdown by each financial year. Additionally, palliative care and end-of-life care are broad, holistic approaches provided through a range of professionals and providers, both universal and specialist, across National Health Service, social care, and voluntary sector organisations. Therefore, it is difficult to measure the total provision or spend at either a national or local level as relevant consultations and tasks are not always coded as palliative care or end-of-life care.
Recently published research from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Unit, however, estimates that total palliative care and end‑of‑life care expenditure in England is approximately £24,000 per person for 2024. This does not include social care and informal costs, such as unpaid care provided by family members.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end-of-life care is provided by NHS staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones. We have supported the hospice sector with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care for 2024/25 and 2025/26.
We have also provided £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26, and are providing approximately £80 million of further funding over the three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29, equating to approximately £26 million per year, adjusted for inflation.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the timetable for local government reorganisation in Sussex.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government remains committed to the indicative timeline published in July 2025, on GOV.UK under “Summary of the local government reorganisation process”.
Sussex is now in line with the remaining 14 areas undergoing local government reorganisation, with indicative timings set out at paragraph 11, with decisions on which proposal to implement expected to be announced before the summer recess.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mental health support is available to judges, barristers and other court officials working in Crown Courts (a) during and after particularly distressing cases and (b) on an ongoing basis.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Judges have access to a range of confidential services delivered by our Judicial Assistance Provider, which are tailored to support them in their judicial roles including specific support for those judges hearing distressing cases in the Crown Court. This support includes access to a 24/7 Judicial Helpline and counselling service, and access to the Trial Support Service, which is specifically designed to provide three stage support (pre-trial, during trial and after trial) in particularly distressing cases. In addition, salaried judges within the Crown Court have an opportunity to speak confidentially with qualified professionals about the cumulative impact of their work. Additional support is also available following critical incidents, alongside peer support from designated welfare judges. Further resources, such as occupational health services and specialist therapeutic support, are also available where needed.
Court Officials working in Crown Courts have access to professional critical incident and trauma support during and after a trial. Court Officials have access to the Employee Assistance Programme, and the Department has a team of Mental Health Allies that are trained to support staff.
Barristers are not employed by the Ministry of Justice and would therefore obtain support via their employers or professional bodies.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration is being given by his Department to improving guidance and standards for public toilet provision to better accommodate stoma users.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 70255 on 4 September 2025 and UIN 117465 on 11 March 2026. The Building Safety Regulator has a duty, under s.5 Building Safety Act 2022, to keep the standard of buildings under review. Government policies on design and accessibility of toilets is set out in statutory guidance accompanying the Building Regulations (Approved Document M Volume 2) and makes provision for facilities in new buildings (or those undergoing major redevelopment) other than dwellings, that fall above a certain size threshold.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times each maternity unit has been temporarily closed due to insufficient staffing levels to operate safely in each of the last three years; and what the longest duration of such a temporary closure was for each maternity trust in each of those years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not hold this data centrally. National Health Service commissioning bodies such as integrated care boards are responsible for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for local services. This makes sure that decisions are made locally and tailored to local population needs.
NHS England has undertaken urgent and targeted retention work to address midwifery shortages. NHS England has also invested in unit-based retention leads who focus on staff retention and provide pastoral support to midwives.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mothers were transferred from maternity units to alternative units due to (a) lack of capacity and (b) staffing shortages in each of the last three years nationally.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not hold this data centrally. National Health Service commissioning bodies such as integrated care boards are responsible for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for local services. This makes sure that decisions are made locally and tailored to local population needs.
NHS England has undertaken urgent and targeted retention work to address midwifery shortages. NHS England has also invested in unit-based retention leads who focus on staff retention and provide pastoral support to midwives.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many earnings-related Carer's Allowance overpayments were referred to Debt Management between January 2025 and March 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by unpaid carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends with disabilities.
Overpayments can arise for a number of reasons. With respect to those linked to the treatment of earnings in Carer’s Allowance, we inherited a system where some busy carers, already struggling under a huge weight of caring responsibilities, found themselves with unexpected debts. We commissioned an Independent Review, led by Liz Sayce OBE, to investigate why overpayments occurred, how people affected can be better supported, and what changes are needed to prevent similar issues in future. We have published the findings of the Review, acknowledged the shortcomings identified, apologised to those affected, and accepted in full or in part 38 of the Review’s 40 recommendations.
We do not record the reason for Carer’s Allowance overpayments where we do not seek to recover those overpayments and therefore the earnings-related overpayments referred to Debt Management are not available. Therefore the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.