Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil servants are working on Heathrow expansion.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Chancellor announced on 29 January that the government supports expansion that is in line with our legal, environmental and climate obligations and has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, to be brought forward by the summer.
As the lead Department supporting this key priority, we are working with colleagues across government to ensure appropriate resource to support the successful delivery of this work.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she will publish the Aviation Night Noise Effects report.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Aviation Night Noise Effects study is expected to conclude later this year and we intend to publish the report as soon as possible once it has been reviewed.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that plans for Heathrow’s expansion do not result in increased costs for passengers.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is important to the Department that airport expansion is delivered in a way which ensures minimal cost to the consumer.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) determines the specific regulatory model for Heathrow independently of Government. The CAA’s primary duty in setting the price cap at Heathrow is to protect consumers’ interests.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of Heathrow Airport's regulatory framework.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) determines the specific regulatory model for Heathrow independently of Government. The CAA’s primary duty in setting the price cap at Heathrow is to protect consumers’ interests. Officials are working closely with the CAA to better understand the various positions on the right regulatory framework to facilitate expansion.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to undertake a comprehensive review of Heathrow’s economic regulation before a final decision on a third runway is made.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is important to the Department that airport expansion is delivered in a way which ensures minimal cost to the consumer.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) determines the specific regulatory model for Heathrow independently of Government. The CAA’s primary duty in setting the price cap at Heathrow is to protect consumers’ interests. Officials are working closely with the CAA to better understand the various positions on the right regulatory framework to facilitate expansion.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 merits of including strokes as a Category 1 ambulance call.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. NHS England’s guidance recommends ambulance services increase the clinical assessment of 999 calls, including increasing the proportion of Category 2 calls, which are those calls classified as an “emergency” and which include serious time-sensitive incidents such as strokes. Calls are clinically navigated, validated, and triaged in ambulance control centres to ensure the sickest patients are prioritised for ambulances.
NHS England's Emergency Call Prioritisation Advisory Group determines the appropriate ambulance response for various clinical situations and triage codes, and works in conjunction with the Clinical Coding Review Group, and the National Ambulance Service Medical Director's group, to ensure clinical guidance is up-to-date and effective.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 impact of the length of ambulance response times on outcomes for stroke patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. NHS England’s guidance recommends ambulance services increase the clinical assessment of 999 calls, to ensure the sickest patients are prioritised for ambulances.
The National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service set out an evidence based pathway for joined-up stroke care throughout the patient journey. The service models set out that high quality stroke care should include fast emergency response and better-informed ambulance service 999 calls, to reduce mortality and disability.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 merits of a national roll out of the category 2 segmentation pilots run by (a) London Ambulance Service and (b) West Midlands Ambulance Service to prioritise the most urgent calls.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. NHS England guidance recommends ambulance services increase the clinical assessment of 999 calls, to ensure the sickest patients are prioritised for ambulances and patients that do not need a face-to-face response are transferred to services more appropriate to their needs.
The NHS England 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance identified reducing avoidable ambulance dispatches and conveyances and reducing hospital handover delays as key improvement areas, with the expectation that ambulance services increase the proportion of Category 2 calls that are clinically navigated, validated and triaged in ambulance control centres.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS as a result of the changes to PIP in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No formal assessment has been made.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and care needs are met, and we are working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care on this.
At the heart of our reforms is a drive to protect the most vulnerable while ensuring disabled people and people with health conditions are given equal chances and choices to get jobs and stay in work. Through these reforms, we will be investing an extra £1bn a year in employment support by the end of the decade, in addition to work we have already begun. We know from evaluations and analysis that the department has published that good work is good for people’s mental and physical health, and that giving people support to get jobs provides an overall saving to the Exchequer and to society, including by reducing the costs and pressures on the NHS.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposals in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper on young people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a range of proposals and plans to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Some information on the impacts of the reforms has been published in the evidence pack, impacts analysis and equality analysis at:[https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper].
The equality analysis examines a range of protected characteristics, including age. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
The reforms announced in the Green Paper, including our new employment support package, will help to provide the support that young people need to succeed. There are nearly one million young people (16-24) not in Education Employment and Training, and the number is rising. Our future depends on young people being able to achieve their full potential. The period when young people transition from full-time education to building their careers is critical in shaping their professional future. We know that disengaging from employment and learning during early adulthood can have a lasting and detrimental impact on both career prospects and health and well-being.
The Government is launching the Youth Guarantee to ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we are consulting on raising the age someone can access the Universal Credit Health Element to 22, which would remove a potential disincentive to work during this time. It would also be on the basis that resources may be better spent on improving the quality and range of opportunities available to young people through the guarantee, so they can move towards a life of learning, training or work rather than a life on benefits.