Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 Continuing Health Care services remain uninterrupted for patients when the services are being transitioned from Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is responsible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) policy and legislation. We have provided statutory guidance, setting out clear processes for CHC, which all integrated care boards (ICBs) must follow. CHC is funded by ICBs, and it is for individual ICBs to make assessments and decisions in a consistent manner, in line with their statutory duties and guidance. This guidance has not changed and ICBs are expected to maintain CHC delivery in line with their statutory duties.
While the Model ICB Blueprint highlighted CHC as one of the functions that are subject to “review for transfer” to “test and explore options to streamline and transfer some activities out of ICBs”, a decision has not been made on this function being transferred out of ICBs. If the function were transferred out, it would require legislative change. The sender and receiver organisations would be responsible for safe transfer, enabling continuity of services and managing risk during any transition.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2025 to Question 29926 on Health Professions: Regulation, what recent progress he has made on setting a timetable for announcing his priorities in relation to the applicability of the five year rule by professional regulators on fitness to practise in cases which involve allegations of historic sexual abuse.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has set out its intention to reform the legislative frameworks of all healthcare professional regulators, starting with the General Medical Council (GMC).
As part of this work, any legislative restrictions on regulators from being able to consider fitness to practise concerns that are more than five years old will be removed from legislation. Regulators such as the GMC will have the discretion to determine whether a concern should be investigated based on the specific details of a fitness to practise case, which may include reflections on the length of time that has elapsed since the concern was raised or occurred.
The Government is aiming to consult on a draft legislative framework for the GMC by the end of this year, and lay the legislation during this Parliament.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44558 on Luton Airport, whether her Department sought legal advice on the compatibility of its decision to expand Luton Airport with commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision on 3 April 2025 to grant consent to the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme are set out in her decision letter which is published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. As an application has been made for judicial review of the decision and the matter is a live litigation case, unfortunately I am unable to provide any further comment.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the measures set out in the Street Works (Penalties for Utility Companies) Bill.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I understand that the second reading of this Bill is scheduled for 11 July. The Government will set out its position as part of that debate.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44560 on Luton Airport and with reference to the expiration of the period for applications for judicial review, if she will publish the modelling that underpins her assessment of the potential impact of expanding Luton Airport on economic growth.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I cannot at this stage confirm when litigation will end, however the full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision on 3 April 2025 to grant consent to the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme are set out in her decision letter which is published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website and there is nothing outside of this to add. As an application for judicial review of the decision has been received and the matter is a live litigation case, unfortunately I am unable to provide any further comment.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of response times to enquiries from hon. Members from Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. We encourage Members of Parliament to raise correspondence timelines directly with their respective integrated care boards.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support further education colleges to secure T Level placements for (a) engineering and (b) other subject students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
While schools and colleges are responsible for sourcing industry placements, the department offers a range of support. The department offers a range of resources, including our support website for schools and colleges with guidance and workshops to help colleges plan and design placements, which is available at the following address https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb.
Our employer website includes case studies and webinars for specific T Levels such as Engineering and Manufacturing and is available here: https://employers.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/13884064882194-Why-host-students-doing-engineering-and-manufacturing-T-Levels.
We have a 900+ strong ambassador network, including representatives across different T Levels. Our Connect service helps colleges connect with local employers and we also provide continuing professional development to upskill colleges with employer engagement activities.
In January 2025 we updated our industry placement delivery approaches, for example, allowing up to 20% of placements to take place remotely (and up to 50% for Digital). Further information can be accessed at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/678a7a302080f65f988bd3a1/T_Level_industry_placement_delivery_guidance.pdf.
Colleges also receive £550 per T Level student to source and monitor industry placements. A targeted employer support fund for the 2025/26 financial year will support all employers delivering Health T Level placements and small and medium enterprises delivering all other placements.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the UK/EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement to improve the ability of businesses to trade in EU countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Prime Minister welcomed President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen and President of the EU Council António Costa to London for a UK-EU Summit on 19 May.
At that Summit we agreed the parameters for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, and increasing choice in the shops.
This agreement will reduce delays and paperwork at the border, make it easier and cheaper to take pets on holiday into the EU, and trade in products such as fresh sausages and burgers will be able to resume.
Further information can be found at UK-EU Summit - Explainer (HTML) - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing inspectors to carry out sanitary and phytosanitary checks at border control points after 5pm.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border Control Posts (BCPs) and Control Points already operate on a range of schedules. The inspection hours are determined by the competent authorities and are based on factors such as the volume of traffic, arrival times, and the resources available at each specific point of entry.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May to Question 51941 on Paraneoplastic Encephalomyelitis: Diagnosis, whether the NHS routinely sends blood samples to the US for analysis when testing for Paraneoplastic Encephalomyelitis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are a number of laboratories in England which provide blood testing for paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis, although the Department has not made a specific formal estimate of how many there are. Several National Health Service laboratories across the United Kingdom also offer diagnostic testing for paraneoplastic antibodies. In England, these laboratories include the University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The NHS in England does not routinely send blood samples to the United States for analysis when testing for paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis. There are specialised laboratories within the UK which the NHS in England uses to conduct these tests.