Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS figures showing a recent increase in hospital admissions for cases of (a) malnutrition and (b) nutritional deficiencies, published in The Guardian on 21 December 2023, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to (i) affordable and (ii) nutritious food.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Malnutrition is a complex condition, and it is unclear from hospital admissions data what the underlying causes are. Through our Healthy Food Schemes, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those who need it the most. Healthy Start, Nursery Milk and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme together help more than three million children.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 take steps to (a) reduce the supply of sugar and (b) reverse the exemption for sugar beet crops to the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
British farmers take decisions on the planting of crops based on a variety of factors including the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy, in addition to reacting to market signals. Sugar beet often plays a vital role in soil and crop health in the arable farm rotation, allowing a season of “rest” from intensive cereal production. It is not for the Government to determine which crops farmers should grow or prioritise to include in their crop rotation.
The Government is fully persuaded that the widespread use of neonicotinoids should not be permitted. Approval was withdrawn from December 2018 for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) on any crops, including crops such as sugar beet which are harvested prior to flowering, due to the risk of harmful effects on pollinators. There is no intention to change these restrictions.
There is no ongoing exemption for sugar beet crops from the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides. An application for emergency authorisation to use the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on the 2024 sugar beet crop has been received. No decision has yet been made; once taken, the decision will be published on GOV.UK. Emergency authorisations for pesticides are only granted where strict legal requirements are met. More information on the emergency authorisation process can be found on HSE’s website, here.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will hold discussions with supermarkets on introducing filters to help customers choose British products when shopping online.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials regularly engage with major supermarkets to understand the work they are doing to promote British produce online. We encourage their efforts to promote British food and the innovative ways to make it easier for consumers to pick British and back our farmers, who produce some of the best food in the world.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of Unison on (a) levels of pay and (b) employment conditions for NHS contractor staff; and if she will make it her policy to ensure that NHS contractors receive (i) the same (A) levels of pay and (B) employment conditions as their counterparts who are employed directly by the NHS and (ii) are paid at least the living wage recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State has recently met with Unison to hear concerns on pay and conditions. Pay and Employment Conditions specifically for National Health Service contractor staff was not discussed.
NHS contractor staff are employed by independent organisations who are free to develop and adopt the terms and conditions of employment, including pay, that best help them attract and keep the staff they need.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the British Medical Association about the potential impact of the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024 on patient safety.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Departmental officials have met with the British Medical Association, along with a range of other key stakeholders, in developing the policy behind the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024.
As well as public consultations, throughout the project we have engaged with key stakeholders, including the regulators, the trade unions and professional bodies including the Faculty of Physician Associates and the Association of Anaesthesia Associates. This engagement has been crucial in shaping both our policy intention and the resultant legislation, to ensure that it remains a practical piece of legislation that can be used by the regulators, for the benefit of patient safety and registrants.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with NHS England on (a) pay and (b) conditions for NHS contractor staff.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State has not had recent discussions with NHS England with regard to NHS contractor staff.
NHS contractor staff are employed by independent organisations who are free to develop and adopt the terms and conditions of employment, including pay, that best help them attract and keep the staff that they need.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and (b) tariff liberalisation for palm oil imports on (i) deforestation and (ii) loss of habitats in palm oil supplying countries.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department’s Impact Assessment, published in July 2023, shows that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could boost UK GDP by around £2.0 billion each and every year when compared to projected GDP in 2040. The Impact Assessment also includes assessments made relating to palm oil, deforestation and loss of habitats. The UK is committed to tackling illegal deforestation within our supply chains, and our agreement to join the CPTPP does not change that.
The report of the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission, published in December 2023, concluded that “it is unlikely that CPTPP will lead to an increase in palm oil being grown on deforested land”.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 16 of the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022, what recent progress his Department has made in helping ensure that (a) the (i) UK and (ii) Welsh Government introduce a national guarantee that child victims of sexual abuse will be offered specialist and accredited therapeutic support and (b) these services are fully funded.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Victims’ Code sets out the services and support that victims of crime are entitled to receive from the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Under this Code, all victims, including children, are entitled to access victim support services they may need to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime. When they report a crime, they have the right to receive information about and be referred to support services by the police, including therapy and counselling within two working days. This is regardless of whether anyone has been charged or convicted of a criminal offence or when the crime itself occurred. They can also access support services directly.
We are quadrupling funding for support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. This has allowed us to increase specialist services for survivors of sexual abuse. For example, we are increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers in England and Wales, including those specifically supporting children, by 300 to over 1,000 by 2024/25 - a 43 percent increase over this spending review period. We have also recommissioned the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, which is providing £26 million between August 2023 and March 2025 to more than 60 specialist victim support services in England and Wales.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government response to recommendation 16 of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in May 2023, CP 844, what recent progress his Department has made on ensuring (a) that child victims should be offered specialist therapeutic support and (b) an adequate supply of these services.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Victims and Prisoners Bill aims to improve support services for child victims by driving forward more informed and effective commissioning at the local level. Under the duty to collaborate, local commissioners must consider the particular needs of children when producing their local commissioning strategies. Local areas are required to conduct a joint needs assessment to inform these strategies which must give proper regard to the needs of child victims, including the risk of sexual abuse, and whether, and how local support services meet those needs.
All victims are entitled to support under the Victims’ Code, and we are quadrupling funding for support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. This has allowed us to increase specialist services for survivors of child sexual abuse. For example, we are increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors, including those supporting children, by 300 to over 1,000 by 2024/25 – a 43 percent increase over this spending review period. We have also recommissioned the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF), which is providing £26 million between August 2023 and March 2025 to more than 60 specialist victim support services.
My Department is also investing almost £90,000 in the Bluestar project at the Green House, who will provide training to 60 specialist victim support services who receive funding through the RASASF to build knowledge and confidence in the delivery of pre-trial support to victims of all ages, including children. A further £270,000 is also being invested in the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse to improve the provision of services for victims of child sexual abuse. Activities will include a directory of support services and a data hub. This will enable victims to access information to get the right help, as well as helping commissioners to assess demand for support and allocate resources. Further details can be found in the recent statement from the Home Secretary
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance entitled FibroScan for assessing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis outside secondary and specialist care published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on 7 June 2023, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the use of FibroScans in (a) primary and (b) community care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A practice has clinical discretion to decide if a FibroScan is necessary and appropriate for a patient and can either provide directly or through a provider, typically a hospital out-patient appointment.
FibroScan capacity is also being increased via the community diagnostics centre (CDC) programme, backed as part of a £2.3 billion investment in diagnostic transformation. We currently have plans for 11 sites to be live with FibroScans by the end of 2023/24; seven are currently live with the test. By March 2025 we will have 15 CDCs offering FibroScans.
NHS England is reviewing existing liver diagnosis pathways as part of its wider diagnostic transformation work, to determine what the best approach should be to identify patients at an earlier stage of liver disease, through a liver pathway starting in primary care and involving pathology labs and CDCs. This will include a combination of blood tests and FibroScans.