Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
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 ensure that diagnostic stewardship is embedded across infection care pathways to ensure that clinicians are (a) supported to use infection diagnostics effectively and (b) reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle AMR. A core commitment of the NAP is supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them. Outcome four specifically relates to strengthening antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship by improved targeting of antimicrobials and diagnostic tools.
The Government is also working to deliver outcome six of the NAP, which commits to cross-sector working to develop diagnostics as a tool to tackle AMR. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has invested over £18 million of funding into AMR diagnostics research. The Department also funds the NIHR’s HealthTech Research Centres, which accelerate development of healthcare technologies, including diagnostics.
NHS England’s AMR Diagnostic programme is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP’s commitments. The programme aims to improve current practice, enhance the evidence base, improve engagement and training, and overcome barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests. The ambition is to drive innovation in diagnostics within the system to improve antimicrobial stewardship and reduce the burden of infection and AMR. As part of this programme, NHS England is undertaking Horizon Scanning for new innovations, supporting research into point-of-care tests for key infections, and continuing to work with industry.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government response to the Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments consultation, published on 23 June 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing further information on next steps.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Primary legislation is required to make the change to remove Direct Pay and reform the collection fee structure, meaning these changes will be subject to detailed parliamentary scrutiny. Our intention is to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of administrative capacity to manage the volume of transitions from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit; and what steps she is taking to ensure that vulnerable claimants do not experience prolonged delays or shortfalls in payment due to outstanding actions as a result of these transitions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Adequate resourcing for the transition is an important priority for the department.
The department has identified a small number of cases where the payments due have not all been paid in full in the first assessment period, due to delays in the process. The problem has been addressed by introducing additional automation, and increasing the resources to deal with these cases. DWP has also enhanced the identity verification identity process, reducing the requirement for customers to attend the office or receive a home visit.
We have robust plans in place to support the safe migration of cases onto UC. We will continue to monitor the position on these cases carefully through to the end of the migration activity, responding quickly if difficulties arise.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance the has issued to local authorities on encouraging preventative health behaviours among working-age adults with (a) caring and (b) parental responsibilities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the vital role that preventative health behaviours play in improving long-term health outcomes, including among working-age adults with caring and parental responsibilities.
The Government’s Health Mission sets out a plan to shift our National Health Service away from a model geared towards late diagnosis and treatment, to one where the NHS focuses on prevention, with more services delivered in local communities.
The Government’s Better Health Start for Life campaign provides resources for local authorities, as well as advice to parents and carers. This supports healthy behaviours for babies and children up to the age of five years old on a range of topics, from pregnancy and infant feeding to getting their child school ready.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.