Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to remove (a) electricity and (b) gas standing charges for customers on pre-payment meters.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The standing charge is a fixed charge that suppliers pass on to their customers to cover the cost of providing a live supply. It includes the cost of using pipes and power lines carrying the supply, the maintenance and installation of meters and billing and accounting.
Ofgem has recently consulted on levelling the cost of standing charges on Prepayment Meters by socialising prices across payment types, to make standing charges more equal across different payment types. Ofgem is currently considering the responses, with an aim to implement changes in April 2024, following the end of the Energy Price Guarantee.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with Ofgem on the adequacy of regulation for (a) electricity and (b) gas standing charges.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
DESNZ Ministers regularly meet with Ofgem to discuss issues relating to the energy retail market.
The setting of the standing charge is a commercial matter for suppliers. It reflects the ongoing costs that suppliers incur to provide a live supply of energy to individual properties, regardless of how much energy is consumed.
The standing charge includes transmission and distribution costs and the Supplier of Last Resort levy.
The allocation of these costs is regulated by Ofgem.
The energy price cap also set by Ofgem limits what suppliers can charge for the standing charge to consumers on default tariffs.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the waiting times for patients referred to NHS hospital trusts for (a) hearing and (b) sight loss.
Answered by Will Quince
We are taking action to recover elective services, including for patients with hearing and sight loss, by working towards the targets set out in the Elective Recovery Plan and providing the National Health Service with record levels of staffing and funding. To support elective recovery, we plan to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, supported by a £5.9 billion investment in capital, including for new beds, equipment, and technology.
This funding could deliver the equivalent of around nine million more checks and procedures, including for patients referred to NHS hospital trusts for hearing and sight loss, and a significant part of this funding will be invested in staff, both in terms of capacity and skills.
£2.3 billion was awarded at the 2021 Spending Review to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Most of this will help increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, expanding and protecting elective planned diagnostic services. The funding will also be used to increase capacity for imaging and improving digital diagnostics. Large CDC hubs provide ophthalmology and audiology tests.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 43 of his Department's report entitled Bus back better: national bus strategy for England, published on 15 March 2021, what recent progress his Department has made on the rollout of a zero-emission bus fleet.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Since February 2020, an estimated 4,200 zero-emission buses (ZEBs) have been funded across the UK, this includes 1,300 ZEBs supported by the £280m ZEBRA scheme. On 8 September 2023, we announced that the ZEBRA 2 scheme would provide up to a further £129m of funding for local transport authorities in England (outside of London) to support the introduction of hundreds more ZEBs and associated infrastructure.
The National Bus Strategy also contained a commitment to set a legal end date for the sale of new diesel buses and set an expectation for when the entire bus fleet will be zero-emission. In spring 2022, the Department ran a consultation to help determine the exact date for ending the sale of new non-ZEBs. Calls for evidence about the decarbonisation of coaches and minibuses were also launched. We will make an announcement on the end of sales date in due course.
In April 2022, the Government increased the rate at which the Bus Service Operators Grant can be claimed for ZEBs to 22p per km, further incentivising the take up of ZEBs.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of regional disparities in the provision of fracture liaison services on patients.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government recognises the value of quality assured secondary fracture prevention services, including fracture liaison services (FLS). Within the 'Major Conditions Strategy: Case for change and our strategic framework', under next steps for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, it sets out that, together with NHS England, we will explore supporting the provision of FLS. This could include identifying people at risk of further osteoporotic fragility fracture and implementing strategies to reduce risk of future fracture, including falls, and mortality.
Through its Getting it Right First Time Programme, with a specific workstream on MSK health, NHS England is exploring how best to support integrated care systems in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. This includes a focus on improving provision of and equity of access to high-quality, secondary fracture prevention services, such as FLS, which help to identify those most at risk and offer preventative support.
We are currently assessing the accessibility of FLS through data collected in the national Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme. This aims to identify any disparities in provision across England and to improve services.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing fracture liaison services across England.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government recognises the value of quality assured secondary fracture prevention services, including fracture liaison services (FLS). Within the 'Major Conditions Strategy: Case for change and our strategic framework', under next steps for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, it sets out that, together with NHS England, we will explore supporting the provision of FLS. This could include identifying people at risk of further osteoporotic fragility fracture and implementing strategies to reduce risk of future fracture, including falls, and mortality.
Through its Getting it Right First Time Programme, with a specific workstream on MSK health, NHS England is exploring how best to support integrated care systems in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. This includes a focus on improving provision of and equity of access to high-quality, secondary fracture prevention services, such as FLS, which help to identify those most at risk and offer preventative support.
We are currently assessing the accessibility of FLS through data collected in the national Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme. This aims to identify any disparities in provision across England and to improve services.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the time taken to diagnose ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including ovarian cancer, remains a priority. We are working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. The latest published data shows this was 52% between January to December 2020. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. The National Health Service is improving pathways to get people diagnosed faster once they are referred and is looking into alternative routes into the system, including non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. This will help support faster ovarian cancer diagnosis. 108 NSS pathways are currently operational, with more in development. By March 2024, the NSS programme will achieve full population coverage across England for non-specific symptom pathways as set out in the 2023/24 NHS Planning Guidance.
Reducing variation in cancer services is a strategic priority for the NHS Cancer Programme. The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned five new cancer clinical audits, which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October last year with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. This includes an audit on ovarian cancer.
To encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaigns. This included multiple phases of the campaign that had a focus on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer, most recently in November and December 2022. Alongside that phase of the campaign, NHS England funded a series of community engagement events coordinated by a cluster of gynaecological cancer charities, led by Target Ovarian Cancer.
The NHS plans to run further HUHY campaign activity through 2023/24.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help increase awareness of the main symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Answered by Will Quince
Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including ovarian cancer, remains a priority. We are working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. The latest published data shows this was 52% between January to December 2020. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. The National Health Service is improving pathways to get people diagnosed faster once they are referred and is looking into alternative routes into the system, including non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who do not fit clearly into a single ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway but who are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer. This will help support faster ovarian cancer diagnosis. 108 NSS pathways are currently operational, with more in development. By March 2024, the NSS programme will achieve full population coverage across England for non-specific symptom pathways as set out in the 2023/24 NHS Planning Guidance.
Reducing variation in cancer services is a strategic priority for the NHS Cancer Programme. The NHS Cancer Programme has commissioned five new cancer clinical audits, which will provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October last year with the first outcomes expected in 2023/24. This includes an audit on ovarian cancer.
To encourage people to get in touch with their general practitioner if they notice or are worried about symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England is running the ‘Help Us, Help You’ (HUHY) campaigns. This included multiple phases of the campaign that had a focus on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer, most recently in November and December 2022. Alongside that phase of the campaign, NHS England funded a series of community engagement events coordinated by a cluster of gynaecological cancer charities, led by Target Ovarian Cancer.
The NHS plans to run further HUHY campaign activity through 2023/24.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to prevent rough sleeping (a) through the use of social housing and (b) by reforming the private rental sector.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
In September 2022, we published our new cross-government strategy 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good', setting out how we are investing £2 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, and our prevention first approach.
The Government has committed to continue working towards its ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country. And the Local Authority Housing Fund will help ensure a new supply of social housing for communities across the country, especially those who have been most generous in welcoming arrivals from Afghanistan and Ukraine.
The Renters (Reform) Bill was introduced into Parliament on 17 May. The Bill will deliver a fairer, more secure, and higher quality private rented sector that is fit for the 21st century. The date for Second Reading of the Bill is subject to parliamentary scheduling and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to page 29 of his Department's publication entitled Ending Rough Sleeping for Good, published on 3 September 2022, what progress his Department has made on ending rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Since publishing the rough sleeping strategy last September, Government is making good progress on core commitments: for instance, we have extended our flagship Rough Sleeping Initiative to 2025, with over £530 million funding so that local areas can provide the tailored support needed to tackle rough sleeping in their areas. On the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, we have now delivered over 5,000 units of accommodation out of a programme target of 6,000 and have launched the new £200 million Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme which will provide much needed homes for young people and rough sleepers with complex needs.
Rough sleeping levels are 35% lower in 2022 compared to the peak in 2017 and 28% lower than they were in 2019 before the pandemic. We will continue to work with local authorities and partners, the voluntary and community sector and private sector.
As the Hon. Member will be aware, rough sleeping and homelessness policy is devolved.