Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve water quality in the River Tyne.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water quality in the River Tyne is influenced significantly by historical metal mines in the region. Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are working in partnership with the Coal Authority on the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines Programme. The River Tyne is a priority for action. The Nent Haggs mine water treatment scheme, expected to start operating in summer 2023, will capture up to 3 tonnes of zinc and cadmium each year and improve water quality in 60km of rivers. The similar scale Nenthead mine water treatment scheme is also being developed. This year, contaminated sediment containing about 0.3 tonnes of zinc, lead and cadmium was removed from two check-weirs, in the River Nent and River West Allen, decreasing the amount of metals accumulating in the Tyne Estuary sediments.
In August, we also launched the most ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows of any government. Our new strict targets will see the toughest ever crack down on sewage spills and will require water companies to secure the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. Our Plan will protect biodiversity, the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come.
The EA will not hesitate to take the strongest enforcement action against polluters – up to and including prosecution, when this is required. The EA is currently conducting 2 investigations into pollution entering the River Tyne and both investigations have the potential to result in a prosecution.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to publish the Government's environmental targets before the COP15 UN biodiversity conference.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs set out in a written statement published on 28 October, we will continue to work at pace in order to lay draft statutory instruments as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provides guidance to trainee doctors in the NHS on how to discuss child organ donation with bereaved parents.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Organs can only be transplanted shortly following death therefore donations are usually received from intensive care patients. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance suggests that a discussion around organ donation will involve the medical and nursing staff involved in the care of the patient following death. This process is led by a consultant and a specialist nurse for organ donation.
NHS Blood and Transplant provides training for doctors in intensive care on discussing organ donation with bereaved family members. The National Deceased Donation Course for Intensive Care Medicine Trainees uses actors as family members and high-fidelity simulation, including a paediatric specific pathway. Specialist nurses for organ donation receive training for conversations and end of life care practices for paediatric donation.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming NHS England long-term workforce plan will include a specific plan for (a) midwifery and (b) other occupations within the maternity care team.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention. The plan will review all National Health Service professions, including midwifery and other occupations within the maternity care team.
In 2022, an additional £127 million has been invested in the National Health Service maternity workforce and improving neonatal care, including in York Central. This is in addition to the £95 million invested in 2021 to fund a further 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians. We have provided approximately £450,000 to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to develop a new workforce planning tool to improve how maternity units calculate medical staffing requirements.
NHS England is working with the Department and the Nursing and Midwifery Council to support midwifery international recruitment and Health Education England is working with stakeholders to implement an increase of 3,650 midwifery student places by the end of 2022/23.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many midwives have received support under the NHS Learning Support Fund, and how much financial support they have received, (a) in total and (b) broken down by (i) learning support grant, (ii) parental support, (iii) travel and dual accommodation expenses, and (iv) the exceptional support fund.
Answered by Will Quince
The information is not collected in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of awards to midwifery students in receipt of the NHS Learning Support Fund and expenditure by grant type in each year since 2020/21.
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | ||
Number of awards | Expenditure £ | Number of awards | Expenditure £ | |
Total | 7,964 | 28,510,830 | 16,371 | 48,770,255 |
Training Grant | 7,964 | 24,952,186 | 16,371 | 41,773,188 |
Specialist Subject | 2 | 1,320 | 0 | 0 |
Parental Support | 2,640 | 3,289,185 | 5,574 | 5,741,169 |
Travel | 768 | 218,204 | 2,601 | 964,387 |
Accommodation | 82 | 31,657 | 260 | 213,905 |
Exceptional Support | 7 | 18,277 | 30 | 77,606 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority.
Note:
The volume of awards reflects student numbers. A student could be awarded more than one component as every student receives a training grant.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a tiered system of redress for the Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme to support those with less than 60% disability from an adverse vaccination reaction.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is prioritising the improvement of the current Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme to ensure claimants receive outcomes as quickly as possible. Consideration of future reforms will be made as further evidence emerges, particularly on COVID-19 vaccine claims. Other Government support remains available for those with a disability or long-term health condition, including Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Personal Independence Payments.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the age profile of the NHS midwifery workforce in (a) England and (b) each NHS region of England (i) for the most recent month for which figures are available and (ii) in the same month in (A) 2010 and (B) 2015.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The following table shows the headcount number of midwives working in National Health Service hospital trusts and commissioning bodies in England by age band in June 2010, June 2015 and June 2022.
| June 2010 | June 2015 | June 2022 |
All age bands | 24,108 | 25,711 | 26,181 |
Under 25 years old | 791 | 1,282 | 1,764 |
25 to 34 years old | 4,488 | 5,905 | 7,532 |
35 to 44 years old | 7,003 | 6,162 | 6,758 |
45 to 54 years old | 8,897 | 8,764 | 5,656 |
55 to 64 years old | 2,797 | 3,416 | 4,174 |
65 years old and over | 132 | 182 | 297 |
Source: NHS Digital Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics
A table showing the age profile of NHS midwives by region is attached.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the ratification of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, when mutual recognition of legal qualifications between those countries will be introduced.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will facilitate the recognition of professional qualifications in professional services, such as legal services, including through supporting regulators’ work towards mutual recognition arrangements.
Specifically in relation to legal services, the FTA sets up a legal services regulatory dialogue. The dialogue establishes structured engagement between the UK and Australian legal professions with the aim of addressing remaining barriers to practising law locally in each market such as those relating to requalification.
It is our intention to ratify the FTA at the earliest opportunity so that businesses can reap the benefits.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
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 tackle the reduced rate of potential cancer sufferers seeing a consultant within two weeks of an urgent GP referral.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department committed a further £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund in 2021/22 to increase capacity in elective services, including for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’, published in February 2022, contains two targets for cancer care to improve performance for the two-week waiting time. The plan aims to return the number of people waiting more than 62 days to start treatment following an urgent referral due to suspected cancer to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023. In addition, 75% of patients who have been urgently referred by their general practitioner for suspected cancer will be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days by March 2024.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average monthly cost of accommodation for an asylum seeker was in (a) the UK and (b) Newcastle upon Tyne in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential; therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts(opens in a new tab).