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Written Question
Pupils: Transgender People
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to help protect trans children from bullying and harassment in schools.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, including cyberbullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable.

The department has provided over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, this includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups.

In addition to this, on 19 December 2023 the department published the draft guidance for schools and colleges in relation to gender questioning children, along with a consultation, which was clear that bullying must never be tolerated. The consultation closed on 12 March 2024 and the responses will support the department to finalise the guidance for schools and colleges for final publication later this year.


Written Question
Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing alcohol duty for independent wine merchants.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced that alcohol duty will be frozen until 1 February 2025 to support alcohol producers, pubs, and consumers with cost of living pressures. This extends the six month freeze the Government announced at Autumn Statement 2023 to give businesses time to adapt to the new duty system introduced on 1 August 2023.

As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.


Written Question
Postural Tachycardia Syndrome
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase (a) awareness of and (b) research investment in postural tachycardia syndrome.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

To improve awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) amongst healthcare professionals, and specifically general practices (GPs), the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link:

https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=12386&chapterid=247

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also produced a clinical knowledge summary, last revised in November 2023, which outlines the method healthcare professionals should follow for diagnosing PoTS. This summary is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/

GPs are asked to investigate symptoms to ensure that it is not misdiagnosed. Following referral, patients are treated within National Health Service cardiology and neurology services. Where more specialist advice is required, a referral will be made to an appropriate clinician.

Services for PoTS are locally commissioned and, as such, it is the responsibility of the local commissioning teams within integrated care boards to ensure that their locally commissioned services meet the needs of their local population.

The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including PoTS, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.


Written Question
Postural Tachycardia Syndrome
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people living with postural tachycardia syndrome.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

To improve awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) amongst healthcare professionals, and specifically general practices (GPs), the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link:

https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=12386&chapterid=247

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also produced a clinical knowledge summary, last revised in November 2023, which outlines the method healthcare professionals should follow for diagnosing PoTS. This summary is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/

GPs are asked to investigate symptoms to ensure that it is not misdiagnosed. Following referral, patients are treated within National Health Service cardiology and neurology services. Where more specialist advice is required, a referral will be made to an appropriate clinician.

Services for PoTS are locally commissioned and, as such, it is the responsibility of the local commissioning teams within integrated care boards to ensure that their locally commissioned services meet the needs of their local population.

The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including PoTS, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.


Written Question
Syria: Earthquakes
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support his Department is providing to Syria following the earthquake in that country last year.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In 2023, the UK committed up to £43 million to support the response to the earthquakes in Northwest Syria and Turkey, including £28 million for Syria. The UK also committed up to £150 million to support Syrians at the Brussels Pledging Conference in June 2023. In financial year 2022/23 UK aid in north west Syria supported the provision of over 203,000 health consultations and nutrition support to over 27,000 women and children.

Since 2012, the UK has spent over £3.8 billion to provide lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance to those in need, both inside Syria and to refugee hosting countries.


Written Question
Motor Neurone Disease
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people living with motor neurone disease.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published a clinical guideline on the assessment and management of motor neurone disease (MND), to support its diagnosis. The guideline recommends coordinated care for people with MND, using a clinic based, MND specialist, multi-disciplinary team approach. The core multi-disciplinary team should consist of healthcare and other professionals with expertise in MND, and should include specialist nurses.

The Government has committed to delivering at least £50 million to support MND research over five years, from 2022 onwards, as part of a package of £375 million for research into neurodegenerative diseases. In June 2023, the Government announced that more than £35 million of the £50 million pledged to cutting-edge MND research has now been allocated, just two years into a five-year funding commitment. Work continues at pace to support MND researchers in submitting high-quality bids for open funding calls. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-continues-delivering-on-50-million-funding-pledge-for-motor-neurone-disease-research

NHS England commissions specialised services to support people living with MND, as set out in the published service specification for specialised neurology services. The support provided includes the provision of multi-disciplinary care from specialist clinicians, including neurologists, specialist nurses, speech and language therapists, dietetics and nutrition support, and physiotherapy, depending on individual clinical need. The service specification for specialised neurology services is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

In addition, NHS England commissions a specialised communication aid service known as Augmentative and Alternative Communication, as set out in the published service specification. This service supports and prioritises individuals with rapidly degenerative conditions, including MND. The service specification for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/03/aac-serv-spec-jan-2016.pdf


Written Question
Dementia: Health Services
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support people with early onset dementia.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care. Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs.

The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living well, supporting well, and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that individual needs, wishes and preferences should be taken into account in planning and providing care.

In January 2023 the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy early 2024. By bringing dementia and other conditions strategies together, we will be able to focus on where there are similarities in approach and ensure care is better centred around the patient.


Written Question
Care Homes: Dementia and Learning Disability
Friday 16th February 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help care homes to improve the support they provide to people with (a) learning difficulties and (b) dementia.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

From July 2022, under the Health and Care Act 2022, Care Quality Commission registered health and care providers are required to ensure that staff receive training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and compassionate care for people with a learning disability.

We are taking steps to help care homes improve the support they provide through the Care Workforce Pathway that sets clear expectations about training at different stages of a career. This includes learning disability and dementia as specific areas of practice. We are also introducing a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate available to the sector with content that has been underpinned by the Dementia Training Standards and the Core Capabilities Framework on learning disability.


Written Question
Small Businesses
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help support the development of new small businesses.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government reaffirmed its commitment to all the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses with the creation of a new Small Business Council. The Council builds on the Department’s existing support for SMEs and will provide a bespoke forum for small businesses to have their voices represented within Government.

The Help to Grow website is a one-stop shop for small businesses to clearly identify what funding they can access, webinars as well as the basics of setting up a business.

Businesses can still access government-backed financial support from the Start Up Loans Company, which provides loans and support to new entrepreneurs.


Written Question
Religious Freedom
Wednesday 27th December 2023

Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion and belief in other countries.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We continue to ensure that freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is central to our human rights and wider work. Our International Development White Paper published in November includes a commitment to prioritise FoRB in our bilateral and multilateral work.

We work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In June this year, the UN Security Council adopted, unanimously, a UK-United Arab Emirates (UAE) co-penned resolution on Tolerance and International Peace and Security, which contained language on FoRB. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.

This year, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP served a second consecutive year as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a network of 42 countries committed to the promotion and protection of FoRB.