Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
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 adequacy of suicide prevention support in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Every death by suicide is a tragedy that has a devastating and lasting impact on families, friends, and communities. We are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which aims to reduce suicide rates and address the risk factors contributing to suicide, as well as improving support for those who have self-harmed or are bereaved by suicide.
To strengthen access to suicide prevention support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Work is also underway to ensure crisis support is available via text, to widen access for people who may find voice calls difficult.
We are also making £473 million of capital funding available over the next four years, which we encourage systems to invest in new care models such as community-based mental health centres and new mental health emergency departments, also known as crisis assessment centres.
In Cheshire and Merseyside, partners are taking forward a range of suicide prevention activity, supported by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative. This includes work to strengthen crisis care services, improve access to mental health support in local communities, and develop coordinated prevention plans informed by local data and partnerships. In addition, the Local Government Association is undertaking a rapid review of suicide prevention arrangements across the sub-region to identify priorities for action, share good practice, and support a strengthened system-wide approach to preventing suicide.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
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 improve suicide prevention support in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Every death by suicide is a tragedy that has a devastating and lasting impact on families, friends, and communities. We are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which aims to reduce suicide rates and address the risk factors contributing to suicide, as well as improving support for those who have self-harmed or are bereaved by suicide.
To strengthen access to suicide prevention support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Work is also underway to ensure crisis support is available via text, to widen access for people who may find voice calls difficult.
We are also making £473 million of capital funding available over the next four years, which we encourage systems to invest in new care models such as community-based mental health centres and new mental health emergency departments, also known as crisis assessment centres.
In Cheshire and Merseyside, partners are taking forward a range of suicide prevention activity, supported by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative. This includes work to strengthen crisis care services, improve access to mental health support in local communities, and develop coordinated prevention plans informed by local data and partnerships. In addition, the Local Government Association is undertaking a rapid review of suicide prevention arrangements across the sub-region to identify priorities for action, share good practice, and support a strengthened system-wide approach to preventing suicide.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
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 estimate of the number of mental health staff recruited in the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB area since July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the latest available National Health Service workforce data from NHS England’s Electronic Staff Record for trust-employed, whole time equivalent (WTE) mental health (MH) staff in the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board area:
July 2024 (WTE) | April 2026 (WTE) | Increase | |
All MH staff (including admin and clerical) | 7,333 | 7,966 | 633 |
All MH staff (excluding admin and clerical) | 6,935 | 7,567 | 632 |
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to resolve backlogs in the issuing of RSS to veterans.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) administrator to issue Remediable Service Statements (RSS) and reduce outstanding volumes as quickly and accurately as possible. To date, this has included increasing administrative resource, implementing automation to reduce manual processing, and reallocating the workforce to allow staff to focus on the most complex cases. Regular reviews are conducted with the scheme administrator to monitor progress and improve throughput.
The MOD is finalising the timetable for completion of RSS issuance and will communicate confirmed timescales to affected members once available.
Regular progress updates continue to be published in the AFPS Quarterly Digest and at the following link on the gov.uk website:
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the RSS backlog to be resolved.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) administrator to issue Remediable Service Statements (RSS) and reduce outstanding volumes as quickly and accurately as possible. To date, this has included increasing administrative resource, implementing automation to reduce manual processing, and reallocating the workforce to allow staff to focus on the most complex cases. Regular reviews are conducted with the scheme administrator to monitor progress and improve throughput.
The MOD is finalising the timetable for completion of RSS issuance and will communicate confirmed timescales to affected members once available.
Regular progress updates continue to be published in the AFPS Quarterly Digest and at the following link on the gov.uk website:
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to establish transitional arrangements to allow businesses to sell through existing stock in the event that requirements pursuant to EU Regulation 2023/1542 on batteries are introduced; and what assessment she has made of a reasonable minimum sell-through period for manufacturers and retailers holding non-compliant inventory.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn and will use this consultation to assess transitional needs, including a reasonable minimum sell-through period for manufacturers and retailers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to a) introduce requirements in Great Britain equivalent to EU Regulation 2023/1542 on batteries; b) what the indicative timeline is for any such introduction; c) and what consultation process she plans to undertake with industry before any proposed implementation date is confirmed.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn and will use this consultation to assess transitional needs, including a reasonable minimum sell-through period for manufacturers and retailers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential risk of Great Britain becoming a market for lower-specification or less sustainable batteries if regulatory alignment with EU Regulation 2023/1542 is delayed; and what steps she is taking to ensure domestic environmental and supply chain standards are maintained in the interim.
Answered by Mary Creagh
No assessment has been made of the potential risk of Great Britain becoming a market for lower-specification or less sustainable batteries as a result of divergence with EU Regulation 2023/1542. While some obligations have already come into force in EU Regulation 2023/1542 (which also applies in Northern Ireland), others phase in over a period of time with some provisions, for example, set to apply in 2028.
Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn.
In the meantime, the existing producer responsibility regime will continue to operate which places obligations on producers to collect waste batteries, promoting reuse, recycling and recovery as well as environmentally sound disposal. The current regime also restricts hazardous substances used in batteries.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential requirement for businesses that manufacture electrical products to produce separate Northern Ireland-compliant variants if EU Regulation 2023/1542 takes effect in Northern Ireland ahead of Great Britain; and what guidance her Department is providing to such businesses regarding compliance during this period.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The EU Batteries Regulation applies directly in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. We will shortly publish guidance for businesses in Northern Ireland to help them comply with these new requirements.
Through stakeholder engagement, we understand that batteries placed on the UK market, whether sold separately or incorporated into appliances, are generally manufactured to meet EU requirements.
Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support manufacturers to increase capital intensity.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Last year this government published our Modern Industrial Strategy, setting out our long-term approach to strengthening domestic capability. The complimentary Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan outlines both sector-specific and cross-cutting measures designed to support manufacturers grow and thrive – including on skills, access to finance and tech adoption. This is underpinned by £4.3 billion government funding over 5 years, alongside £4 billion from the British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital and £27.8 billion available from the National Wealth Fund to help manufacturing business access the finance they need to expand.
We have also enhanced and expanded the Office for Investment to target advanced manufacturing investors.