Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what ‘more dynamic’ solutions his Department plans to replace public governors and staff governors with.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The removal of the councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts (FTs) forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. This will require primary legislation, which the Government will bring forward when parliamentary time allows, and the will of Parliament. Until then, FT governors will remain in post with their statutory powers unchanged.
While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some FTs, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight. For example, approaches to engagement that better reflect local demographics and geography rather than a ‘one size fits all’ governor model, as well as supporting an increased focus on the outcomes of the engagement, including the evidence that local people are involved in key decisions about how care is provided and their voices are listened to.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department’s has plans to remove of hospitals, public governors and staff governors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The removal of the councils of governors from National Health Service foundation trusts (FTs) forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. This will require primary legislation, which the Government will bring forward when parliamentary time allows, and the will of Parliament. Until then, FT governors will remain in post with their statutory powers unchanged.
While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some FTs, we now need to move to a more dynamic model, drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight. For example, approaches to engagement that better reflect local demographics and geography rather than a ‘one size fits all’ governor model, as well as supporting an increased focus on the outcomes of the engagement, including the evidence that local people are involved in key decisions about how care is provided and their voices are listened to.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure the whole population, particularly those who are not natural users of smartphones, are able to access and use the services from the NHS app by 2028.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Government is committed to delivering digital services that are accessible to all patients and has established a national change programme to ensure the NHS App is accessible to the whole population by 2028, including those who do not routinely use smartphones.
As part of its 10-Year Health Plan, the Government has tasked National Health Service integrated care boards and providers with mitigating any digital exclusion through operational guidance, proactively offering NHS App communications while maintaining high quality non-digital options such as letters, phone, and face to face contact.
Furthermore, the NHS App is co-designed and tested with people from deprived and inclusion groups, including blind and visually impaired users, as well as people with low digital confidence.
Practical support is being expanded through public libraries, where NHS App guidance and staff support are provided, alongside training for frontline NHS staff and an NHS App Ambassadors programme that runs sessions in general practices, libraries, and community centres across England. Of course, the NHS App is also accessible through the NHS website.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help support parents of students with SEND with having Education, Health and Care Plans in place.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department works closely with a range of charities, who support parents, carers, children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans currently in place.
We have extended our current participation and family support contract to guarantee continuity of vital support services for parent carers and children and young people throughout 2026/27. These services include a national helpline which gives independent advice, support and resources to parent carers, and also the training of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) staff to ensure they are up to date with legal advice and information, and that they can support families locally. SENDIASS offer independent impartial information, advice and support on the full range of education, health and social care for parents, carers, children and young people with SEND. They also provide advocacy support for individual children, young people, and parents, which includes representation during a tribunal hearing if the parent or young person is unable to do so.
These services are designed to help families understand the impact of changes to the SEND system particularly in relation to EHC plans.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Ofwat and (b) Thames Water on the potential merits of issuing penalties to Thames Water for alleged breaches of its license agreement in the context of its investment grade credit ratings.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The enforcement of licence conditions is a matter for Ofwat as the independent economic regulator. To remedy its licence breach in losing its investment grade credit ratings in 2024, Ofwat has confirmed it accepted an enforcement undertaking from Thames Water in August 2024 (Ofwat confirms actions for Thames Water following investment credit rating downgrade - Ofwat). These commitments will remain in place until the company regains two investment grade credit ratings.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the financial stability of Thames Water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The water white paper published on the 20 January sets out the Government’s plans to reform the water sector and the wider water system. It will create a new regulator with powers to prevent companies from accumulating unmanageable debts and to ensure the sector as a whole is financially resilient.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes in doses of (a) insulin and (b) diabetic medication on driver license renewals.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) assesses licence applications from drivers using insulin or other diabetes medications based on the risk of hypoglycaemia and the stability of diabetes management.
Car and motorcycle drivers who use insulin must demonstrate adequate hypoglycaemic awareness and must not have experienced two or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia in the previous 12 months. The most recent episode must have occurred more than three months prior to application. Drivers are also required to attend regular medical reviews and meet the statutory eyesight standards.
Drivers of lorries and buses are subject to more stringent medical requirements due to the size of their vehicles and the length of time they spend driving. They must have had no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, demonstrate full hypoglycaemic awareness, and provide medical evidence of stable diabetes control. This includes four weeks of glucose readings as part of an annual independent diabetes medical assessment when they apply for a licence.
All insulin-treated drivers must comply with glucose monitoring requirements, including checking glucose levels before driving and at regular intervals while driving. Monitoring may be undertaken using either finger-prick testing or continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Freestyle Libre.
For drivers using non-insulin diabetes medications, assessments focus on whether the treatment carries a risk of hypoglycaemia. Car and motorcycle drivers are required to notify the DVLA only if such a risk exists, while lorry and bus drivers must notify the DVLA of any diabetes medication use. In all cases, licence entitlement depends on evidence of stable diabetes management, appropriate monitoring, and effective hypoglycaemic control.
Changes to insulin or medication dosage do not automatically affect a person’s entitlement to drive.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set out the process for driver licence renewals which are subject to the monitoring of blood sugar levels, including Freestyle Libre.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) assesses licence applications from drivers using insulin or other diabetes medications based on the risk of hypoglycaemia and the stability of diabetes management.
Car and motorcycle drivers who use insulin must demonstrate adequate hypoglycaemic awareness and must not have experienced two or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia in the previous 12 months. The most recent episode must have occurred more than three months prior to application. Drivers are also required to attend regular medical reviews and meet the statutory eyesight standards.
Drivers of lorries and buses are subject to more stringent medical requirements due to the size of their vehicles and the length of time they spend driving. They must have had no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, demonstrate full hypoglycaemic awareness, and provide medical evidence of stable diabetes control. This includes four weeks of glucose readings as part of an annual independent diabetes medical assessment when they apply for a licence.
All insulin-treated drivers must comply with glucose monitoring requirements, including checking glucose levels before driving and at regular intervals while driving. Monitoring may be undertaken using either finger-prick testing or continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Freestyle Libre.
For drivers using non-insulin diabetes medications, assessments focus on whether the treatment carries a risk of hypoglycaemia. Car and motorcycle drivers are required to notify the DVLA only if such a risk exists, while lorry and bus drivers must notify the DVLA of any diabetes medication use. In all cases, licence entitlement depends on evidence of stable diabetes management, appropriate monitoring, and effective hypoglycaemic control.
Changes to insulin or medication dosage do not automatically affect a person’s entitlement to drive.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency use in the consideration of applications for licence renewals from drivers who take (a) insulin and (b) diabetes medication.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) assesses licence applications from drivers using insulin or other diabetes medications based on the risk of hypoglycaemia and the stability of diabetes management.
Car and motorcycle drivers who use insulin must demonstrate adequate hypoglycaemic awareness and must not have experienced two or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia in the previous 12 months. The most recent episode must have occurred more than three months prior to application. Drivers are also required to attend regular medical reviews and meet the statutory eyesight standards.
Drivers of lorries and buses are subject to more stringent medical requirements due to the size of their vehicles and the length of time they spend driving. They must have had no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, demonstrate full hypoglycaemic awareness, and provide medical evidence of stable diabetes control. This includes four weeks of glucose readings as part of an annual independent diabetes medical assessment when they apply for a licence.
All insulin-treated drivers must comply with glucose monitoring requirements, including checking glucose levels before driving and at regular intervals while driving. Monitoring may be undertaken using either finger-prick testing or continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Freestyle Libre.
For drivers using non-insulin diabetes medications, assessments focus on whether the treatment carries a risk of hypoglycaemia. Car and motorcycle drivers are required to notify the DVLA only if such a risk exists, while lorry and bus drivers must notify the DVLA of any diabetes medication use. In all cases, licence entitlement depends on evidence of stable diabetes management, appropriate monitoring, and effective hypoglycaemic control.
Changes to insulin or medication dosage do not automatically affect a person’s entitlement to drive.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any British companies are involved in the (a) manufacture and (b) sale of cluster munitions.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the UK takes its obligations seriously and continues to fulfil them. The UK takes a comprehensive approach across government and globally to directly tackle the issue of cluster munitions, including adopting national legislation. The UK Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Act 2010 which was introduced by the then Labour government, created criminal offences banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions (Article 9).
As a consequence, the manufacture of cluster munitions is prohibited in the UK. The export of such munitions is also subject to the strictest controls. Such exports would only be permitted in order for such munitions to be destroyed, for training in detection or disposal, or for development of counter-measures.