Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has had discussions with energy suppliers on taking steps to reduce the daily standing charges for gas and electricity in (a) North Wales and (b) Merseyside to at least the national average.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The regulation of standing charges is a matter for Ofgem. The cost of distributing electricity varies regionally, mirroring differences in distribution expenses across the country. These disparities stem from maintaining and upgrading distribution networks in specific areas and the number of consumers sharing these costs. Consequently, less densely populated and remote regions incur higher operational expenses.
Ofgem launched a call for input on standing charges, which closed in January 2024, looking at how they are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered. I am supportive of Ofgem’s decision to gather information and evidence on the current standing charge model. Ofgem are currently assessing the responses received and will publish a decision in due course here: www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/launch-review-standing-charges-energy-bills.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2024 to Question 13068 on Energy: Standing Charges, whether her Department has had discussions with Ofgem on the equitability of daily standing charges for gas and electricity in (a) North Wales and (b) Merseyside.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I regularly meet with Ofgem to discuss the energy retail market, including standing charges. Ofgem’s recent Call for Input (CfI) on standing charges closed on January 19th 2024. Ofgem are considering the responses they received and are thinking about next steps.
Network charges vary by region to reflect the different costs of supplying consumers in each region. In 2015, Ofgem carried out an assessment of moving away from regional charging and the assessment showed that it would risk an increase in overall costs and reduce accountability to the customers being served.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available to adults with complex mental health needs.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Through the NHS Long Term plan, the Government is providing record levels of investment, and increasing the mental health workforce, to expand and transform National Health Service mental health services in England. Almost £16 billion was invested into mental health in 2022/23, enabling 3.6 million people to be in contact with mental health services.
As part of this, we’re set to reach nearly £1 billion of additional funding invested by 2023/24, to transform community mental health services. This is the largest area of investment within the NHS Long Term Plan for mental health, aiming to support more people with the care that is most appropriate for their needs, and that is integrated between primary and community mental health services. Over the last full financial year, 2022/23, 288,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illness were able to access mental health support through these new models.
The safety and care of mental health patients is of paramount importance. Those with complex mental health needs in an inpatient mental health facility deserve to receive safe, high-quality care, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
NHS England has established a Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme. This programme is working to support cultural change and a new model of care for the future, across all NHS-funded mental health, learning disability, and autism inpatient settings.
The ambition is to increasingly shift mental healthcare towards early intervention and prevention, with treatment primarily delivered in the community. This includes increasing the number of personalised care roles, such as peer support workers, with expansion focused on mental health services where need is greatest.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS trusts in the Liverpool City Region on the adequacy of mental health provision for adults.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England is responsible for supporting integrated care boards (ICBs), National Health Service providers, and their local partners, in delivering their plans. The relevant NHS England regional team holds the primary relationship with ICBs and their partner NHS providers.
No such discussions have taken place within the last 12 months, between my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS trusts in the Liverpool City Region, on the adequacy of mental health provision for adults. In June 2023 ministers met with ICBs to discuss the Right Care, Right Person policy, which included representation from the Liverpool city region.