Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the availability of ear wax removal services in community and primary care settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal.
ICBs are responsible for commissioning ear wax removal services in line with the recommendations for ear wax removal as set out in guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng98/chapter/Recommendations
Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the NICE, due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.
However, in line with NICE guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.
When ICBs exercise their functions, including commissioning healthcare services such as ear wax removal, they have a duty to reduce inequalities between people with respect to their ability to access health services, and to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
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 implications for his policies of the recommendations of the report by the Taskforce for Lung Health entitled A National Five Year Plan for Lung Health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The taskforce’s Five Year Plan was published in 2018, and the taskforce has subsequently published a reflection on the progress of the missions within the taskforce plan, which is available at the following link:
https://www.taskforceforlunghealth.org.uk/progress/
The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.
This will support earlier diagnosis and better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including respiratory conditions, closer to home. Earlier diagnosis of conditions will help prevent deterioration and improve survival rates. Taking action to reduce the causes of the biggest killers, such as enabling a smoke free generation, can further help prevent lung conditions.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of implementing the Equality and Human Rights Commission proposed code of practice for services, public functions and associations, published on 20 May 2025, in context of the provision of single-sex spaces in healthcare settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the cost, including any associated legal costs, of implementing the Code of Practice. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently consulting on text for an updated statutory Code of Practice. The English language version closes on 30 June. The Welsh language survey closes on 15 July.
The Supreme Court’s ruling gives clarity to service providers, and we expect all providers to follow the clarity it provides.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the legal costs of implementing the EHRC’s proposed Code of Practise for Primary Care Networks.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the cost, including any associated legal costs, of implementing the Code of Practice. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently consulting on text for an updated statutory Code of Practice. The English language version closes on 30 June. The Welsh language survey closes on 15 July.
The Supreme Court’s ruling gives clarity to service providers, and we expect all providers to follow the clarity it provides.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the potential costs of implementing the Equality and Human Rights Commission proposed code of practice for services, public functions and associations, published on 20 May 2025, to local authority-run buildings.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have not yet made an assessment of the cost and impact on local authorities of implementing the proposed updates to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, which is still open for consultation.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the Equality and Human Rights Commission proposed code of practice for services, public functions and associations, published on 20 May 2025, on costs of litigation to local authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have not yet made an assessment of the cost and impact on local authorities of implementing the proposed updates to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, which is still open for consultation.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the legal costs of implementing the EHRC’s proposed Code of Practise for GPs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the cost, including any associated legal costs, of implementing the Code of Practice. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is currently consulting on text for an updated statutory Code of Practice. The English language version closes on 30 June. The Welsh language survey closes on 15 July.
The Supreme Court’s ruling gives clarity to service providers, and we expect all providers to follow the clarity it provides.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of (a) co-operatives and (b) co-operation in the UK's apporach to international development.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives have made in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or markets and strengthen their voice in local processes. Cooperatives can enable sustainable and inclusive development centred on self-help, democratic ownership, and concern for the community. The UK has supported cooperatives and producer organisations in developing countries, including, for example in agriculture through funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP), which supports producer organisations, and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme (CASA), which partners with cooperatives and small agribusinesses in low-income countries to improve smallholder farmers' access to markets.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with (a) charities, (b) private sector organisations and (c) other non-government organisations on the implementation of changes to practice following the Supreme Court judgment on legal definitions of sex within the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government has set out our expectation that organisations follow the clarity the Supreme Court ruling provides. The EHRC has already committed to supporting organisations with its updated statutory Code of Practice which they are consulting on. We will continue to engage with stakeholders across the board as we have always done.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 38671 on Means-tested Benefits: Veterans, whether her Department has considered requiring local authorities to disregard payments from the (a) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, (b) Service Invalidity Pension, (c) Service Attributable Pension and (d) War Pension when assessing entitlement to (i) Housing Benefit, (ii) Council Tax Support, (iii) Discretionary Housing Payments and (iv) Disabled Facilities Grants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Housing Benefit regulations permit local authorities to disregard beyond the standard disregard of £10 a week the whole or part of any war disablement pensions, war widow’s pensions, war widower’s pensions and guaranteed income payments under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme.
(a) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme £10 disregard with local discretion
(b) Service Invalidity Pension no disregard is applied and it is treated as income
(c) Service Attributable Pension is treated the same as a War Pension so subject to the £10 disregard and local discretion.
(d) War Pension - £10 disregard with local discretion
There are no plans to make changes to the discretionary scheme.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the devolved administrations are responsible for Council Tax Support and Disabled Facilities Grants policy.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid to veterans entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Local authorities administer the Discretionary Housing Payments scheme as they are best placed to make informed judgements about relative priorities and needs in their area to ensure that the most vulnerable are supported and the funds are targeted effectively. There are no prescribed resources tests; local authorities simply have to be satisfied that the person concerned needs further financial assistance towards housing costs. The payments are entirely at local authority discretion, including the amount and duration of any award.