Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the Integrated Care Boards with a women's health hub are delivering all eight core services specified by NHS England; and if his Department will publish the location and service offer of each hub.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Women's health hubs were established as a pilot model, supported by £25 million of funding across 2024/25. It was for integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission these services in the way that best met the needs of their local populations. Information about the number of women’s health hubs and the services they offer is held at ICB level and the Department has no future plans to publish this information.
A core part of the improved women’s health offer set out in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy will be neighbourhood women's health services. This model, learning from the proof-of-concept women's health hubs, will transform women's healthcare in every community in line with our 10-Year Health Plan neighbourhood model. Where high-quality women's health hubs exist, they will continue to lead service delivery. In other areas we anticipate there will be a dedicated space within broader neighbourhood health centres.
In the future, our vision is that every neighbourhood will provide proactive, specialist and preventative women's health care that complements and extends the primary care offer, directly delivering intermediate care services and leading population prevention within neighbourhoods, including preconception health, contraception, and screening services.
The model will build on the learning from the women’s health hub pilots and moves toward collecting population-level data on access to services, health outcomes and inequalities. This will move the focus from reporting on infrastructure to focusing on impacts of system changes.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Procurement Innovation Champion has been appointed as set out in the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Chris Ward
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor set out that each Department should appoint a Procurement of Innovation Champion at Director General level to act as driving forces for behavioural change and to support the identification and adoption of innovation opportunities across the organisation.
His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) are co-ordinating the appointment of Procurement Innovation Champions and will publish an update on this shortly.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Extended Producer Responsibility packaging fees on home improvement manufacturers who sell through builders' merchants and cannot evidence that products are not destined for household waste; and if she will review household packaging classification rules to reflect end-use.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Government published an updated assessment in October 2024 of the impact of introducing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging. This assessed packaging producers as a whole but did not assess individual sectors or routes to market, such as home improvement manufacturers selling through builders’ merchants.
We are aware of industry concerns about producers being charged disposal fees for packaging disposed of through commercial waste streams. Defra continues to work at pace on treatment of dual-use packaging and packaging unlikely to enter the household waste stream. Any future changes would need to be workable, enforceable and protect scheme integrity.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers her Department has to hold local authorities accountable for their performance in maintaining flood defences.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Hon Member is right to raise this important issue and I know from visiting her constituency the impact of flooding on her local community.
It is essential that local authorities maintain their flood defences as part of their statutory flood risk management duties, even if that council does not believe in climate change.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the provision of adequate levels of funding for victim support services.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson
My department has secured £550 million for victim support services over the next three years – the largest investment to date. This includes a year-on-year funding increase, recognising the need to meet the rising cost pressures of delivery and increasing levels of demand.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of Ofgem's decision to recover the costs of the Energy Debt Relief Scheme through consumer bills.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The affordability crisis is the biggest issue facing families across the country. At the Autumn Budget, the Government committed to taking money off energy bills to tackle the cost of living. The changes made at the Budget are factored into bills for years to come, and without that action the rise in the Price Cap from July would have been significantly larger.
The Government is working closely with Ofgem, energy suppliers and consumer groups to develop a range of interventions to reduce energy debt, and to understand the impacts of different approaches on consumers.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
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 safety of the veterinary medicines Librela and Solensia.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
All veterinary medicines, including Librela and Solensia, are subject to rigorous scientific assessment before approval to ensure their benefits outweigh risks when used as authorised. Once approved, they are continually monitored through pharmacovigilance to ensure this remains the case.
Available data show that reported adverse events are uncommon, occurring in approximately 1–10 animals per 1,000 treated. Reports include cases involving use with other medicines, off‑label use, or events later attributed to other causes.
Following in‑depth review of all available evidence, including for Librela, the Department is satisfied that the overall benefits of these products continue to outweigh the risks for the vast majority of animals. As with all medicines, risks exist, and monitoring will continue, with further action taken if new evidence warrants it.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, a) what assessments he has made of the implications of the ongoing regional instability in the Middle East for UK foreign policy priorities; and b) what steps his Department is taking to support de-escalation across the region.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 27 April in response to Question 908756, and to the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on the Middle East at the last session of departmental oral questions on 21 April
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to support the resumption of sustained humanitarian aid access into Gaza; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of aid flows relative to civilian need.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 27 April in response to Question 908756, and to the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on the Middle East at the last session of departmental oral questions on 21 April.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure towns not included in the first wave of Young Futures Hub locations, including in Staffordshire, are not left behind in the delivery of the National Youth Strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.