Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to consult with people who have rare conditions on the integration of NHS England functions into his Department.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases.
Through our public consultation on the 10 Year Plan, the Government has shown that we are committed to engaging with the public, patients, and clinicians. We are currently in the initial phases of scoping and designing a new integrated Department that aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our healthcare system. Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential carbon emissions that would be released by Europa's proposed proppant squeeze project at Burniston Mill in North Yorkshire.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not have a role in assessing the potential environmental impacts or carbon emissions of a proposed onshore oil and gas project. The relevant Mineral Planning Authority considers such impacts as part of providing planning permission and can request an Environmental Impact Assessment to be completed. Relevant planning permissions and permits, including from the Environment Agency, are required before any operations can take place.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential environmental impact of Europa's proposed proppant squeeze project at the Burniston Mill site in North Yorkshire.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not have a role in assessing the potential environmental impacts or carbon emissions of a proposed onshore oil and gas project. The relevant Mineral Planning Authority considers such impacts as part of providing planning permission and can request an Environmental Impact Assessment to be completed. Relevant planning permissions and permits, including from the Environment Agency, are required before any operations can take place.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the White Paper entitled High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published on 27 April 2023, whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing Cumulative Impact Assessments (CIAs) for gambling licensing.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities play a crucial role in the regulation of gambling at a local level and have a range of powers in relation to gambling premises. We want local authorities to feel empowered to make decisions that are in their communities’ best interests.
As set out in the gambling white paper, cumulative impact assessments, which local authorities are already familiar with due to the role they play in alcohol licensing, would allow local authorities to take into account a wide range of evidence to inform licensing decisions and to consider the cumulative impact of gambling premises in a particular area.
We will look to complement local authorities’ existing powers in relation to licensing of gambling premises, in line with the gambling white paper published in April 2023, when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the policy paper entitled High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age, published on 27 April 2023, what progress her Department has made on introducing Cumulative Impact Assessments for gambling licensing.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Local authorities play a crucial role in the regulation of gambling at a local level and have a range of powers in relation to gambling premises. We want local authorities to feel empowered to make decisions that are in their communities’ best interests.
As set out in the gambling white paper, cumulative impact assessments, which local authorities are already familiar with due to the role they play in alcohol licensing, would allow local authorities to take into account a wide range of evidence to inform licensing decisions and to consider the cumulative impact of gambling premises in a particular area.
We will look to complement local authorities’ existing powers in relation to licensing of gambling premises, in line with the gambling white paper published in April 2023, when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning the proppant squeeze process of gas extraction.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Proppant squeezes are not currently defined in legislation as high volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction. We are committed to banning fracking for good and any future decision on national planning policy for fracking will take into account all volumes of hydraulic fracturing.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the proppant squeeze process of gas extraction.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Proppant squeezes are not currently defined in legislation as high volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction. We are committed to banning fracking for good and any future decision on national planning policy for fracking will take into account all volumes of hydraulic fracturing.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to help ensure that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis are followed by NHS staff.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account when designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time. NHS England remains committed to supporting integrated care boards to ensure equitable access and evidence-based care. This partnership will support the integration of best practices and insights to enhance service quality and consistency across the system.
There are steps that the Government is taking to improve care for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). It is a priority for the Department to publish the final ME/CFS delivery plan by the end of June 2025. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. The responses to the interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with other parts of the Government, the National Health Service, and external stakeholders including the NICE, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a whole host of issues across our brief, including myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care including ME/CFS. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on ME/CFS to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
Together with the Medical Research Council, which is part of UK Research and Innovation, we are actively exploring the next steps for research in ME/CFS, and we will outline further research actions as part of the final ME/CFS Delivery Plan, which we aim to publish by the end of June. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. This will outline the additional support we will offer to the research community to increase the volume and quality of applications and, therefore, increase the allocation of funding to this area.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will publish the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Delivery Plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We aim to publish our myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), final delivery plan by the end of June 2025.
The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. The responses to the interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with other parts of the Government, the National Health Service, and external stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan.