Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to (a) develop satellite navigation capabilities and (b) ensure that satellite navigation systems are up to date.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Space Strategy and our identified priority capability goals, including Space Positioning Navigation and Timing, continue to drive government policy and we will publish an ambitious programme for space when the Spending Review has completed.
The Government is also implementing the October 2023 Policy Framework for Greater Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Resilience, which will provide improved resilience for PNT services in the event of any disruption to Global Navigation Satellite Systems. The UK does not own or operate any Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and responsibility for ensuring those systems are up to date lies with their owners.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, when information on how the Government plans to use the extra £1 billion investment in preparing people for work will be available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.
As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who are unable to work due to (a) long-term illness, (b) disability, and (c) other circumstances are adequately supported following her planned reforms to the welfare system.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out plans to reform the health and disability and employment support system. Our reforms will ensure we can always protect people who will never be able to work – now and into the future. But, for those that can, we know that good work brings hope, dignity and self-respect and can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty.
We are taking steps to support those who will never be able to work and to make sure they receive the support that they need. The changes to PIP eligibility will not affect those who are unable to complete activities at all or who require more help from others to complete them, who will continue to receive financial support. For new claimants on the Universal Credit health element after April 2026, we are proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected. We will also aim to guarantee that for both new and existing claims, those in this group will not need to be reassessed in the future.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing subsidised dental care for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that patients with a cancer diagnosis can have specific dental needs. Free National Health Service dental care is available to people who meet the following criteria:
- under 18 years old, or under 19 years old and in full-time education;
- pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months;
- being treated in an NHS hospital and the treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist, although patients may have to pay for any dentures or bridges; and
- receiving low-income benefits, or under 20 years old and a dependant of someone receiving low-income benefits.
Support is also available through the NHS Low Income Scheme for those patients who are not eligible for exemption or full remission of dental patient charges. In 2023/24, 49% of NHS dentistry courses of treatment were delivered to children and adults exempt from paying patient charges. While there are no current plans to extend the list of people eligible for free NHS dental care, the Government is working across the system to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe and effective dental care. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/who-is-entitled-to-free-nhs-dental-treatment-in-england/
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 21525 on Influenza: Vaccination, whether he plans to expand the eligibility criteria for winter flu vaccinations in the context of trends in the number of people with flu in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Eligibility for the seasonal influenza vaccination programme is based on the advice and recommendations of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). This advice is kept under regular review.
Trends in influenza activity varies across the season, and from season to season. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes weekly flu surveillance reports, which are available at the following link:
The UKHSA has confirmed that during this season so far, flu activity has been higher than in the winter of 2023/24, but similar to levels seen in the 2022/23 season.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to expand the eligibility criteria for winter flu vaccinations.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Eligibility for the seasonal influenza vaccination programme is based on the advice and recommendations of an independent expert committee, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The latest JCVI advice on seasonal influenza vaccines is available on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
Details on the annual influenza vaccination programme, based on the JCVI’s advice, are set out in the annual flu letter, a copy of which is available at the following link:
The groups in the 2024/25 programme are:
The JCVI keeps its advice on seasonal influenza vaccines under regular review.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timescale is to provide funding for newly opened dental practices in Spen Valley aiming to secure NHS contracts.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Spen Valley constituency, this is the NHS West Yorkshire ICB.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
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 improve the process for families to obtain a diagnosis for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a quality standard in England for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), to help the health and care system improve both diagnosis and support for people affected by FASD. The quality standard also covers support during pregnancy, to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. It was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204
The Department has also taken a number of steps to help prevent FASD. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines, published in 2016, provide clear advice to women not to drink alcohol if they are planning for a pregnancy or are pregnant, and these are available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80b7ed40f0b623026951db/UK_CMOs__report.pdf
The National Health Service’s website offers advice on the use of alcohol during pregnancy and sources of support, which includes speaking to a general practitioner, midwife, or local treatment service, or contacting the Government’s Talk to Frank website. The NHS’s website and the Talk to Frank website are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/drinking-alcohol-while-pregnant/
www.talktofrank.com/contact-frank
The Department will soon be publishing the first ever clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment for the United Kingdom. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice. The guidelines will set out how maternity, alcohol treatment, and other healthcare professionals should support women to reduce or stop their alcohol use as quickly and safely as possible, to reduce the ongoing exposure of the foetus to alcohol and the risk and severity of future disability.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including people with learning disabilities in the spring Covid-19 booster vaccination programme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme, covering vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:
The Government is considering this advice carefully and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of carers losing access to Carers Allowance once they become entitled to the State Pension on those carers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Although there is no upper age limit to claiming Carer’s Allowance, it cannot normally be paid with the State Pension. It has been a long held feature of the UK’s benefit system, under successive Governments, that where someone is entitled to two benefits for the same contingency, then whilst there may be entitlement to both benefits, only one will be paid to avoid duplication for the same need.
Although entitlement to State Pension and Carer’s Allowance arise in different circumstances they are nevertheless designed for the same contingency – as an income replacement.
Carer’s Allowance replaces income where the carer has given up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to care for a severely disabled person, while State Pension replaces income in retirement. For this reason, social security rules operate to prevent them being paid together, to avoid duplicate provision for the same need.
However, if a carer’s State Pension is less than Carer's Allowance, State Pension is paid and topped up with Carer's Allowance to the basic weekly rate of Carer's Allowance which is currently £81.90.
Where Carer’s Allowance cannot be paid, the person will keep underlying entitlement to the benefit. This gives access to the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit of £45.60 a week and even if a pensioner’s income is above the limit for Pension Credit, they may still be able to receive Housing Benefit.