Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings data companies have had with the Government to discuss ID cards; what the dates of those meetings were; and which companies attended those meetings.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Information about Ministerial meetings, with data companies and others, is routinely published on GOV.UK in a quarterly transparency return. The latest Cabinet Office return can be found here.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to help support people with poor digital connections to use a digital ID card.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The digital ID scheme will be underpinned with the principle that no one should be left behind.
We recognise that not everyone has the same level of digital access or confidence, and that’s why the scheme will be accompanied by a major government digital inclusion drive.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) support the health and wellbeing of and (b) prevent stress and burn out in the NHS workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health and wellbeing of all National Health Service staff is a top priority.
Local employers across the NHS have arrangements in place to support staff including occupational health provision, employee support programmes, and a focus on healthy working environments. At a national level, NHS staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health and wellbeing support, including trauma and addiction.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made in setting out a strategy on dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.
We intend to engage with a range of partners over the coming months to enable us to build a framework which is both ambitious and practical, to ensure we can improve system performance for people with dementia both now and in the future.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on introducing NHS staff treatment hubs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to the roll out of Staff Treatment Hubs, to provide a high-quality, wellbeing and occupational health service for all National Health Service staff. Work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the Staff Treatments Hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes and capacity.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure family hubs are accessible for adoptive and kinship families.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) will be open to all families, including adoptive and kindship families. Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) are focused on universal, preventative services, targeting disadvantaged families. They can also serve as a non-stigmatising gateway for more targeted, intensive, support delivered by Family Help services and other interventions.
Parents and carers including adoptive and kinship families will have access to a universal offer of parenting programmes through their local hub, alongside targeted support for those most in need.
When adoptive and kinship families walk through the door of their local BSFH, they should be able to see evidence of various services co-located in one place and be easily connected to a wider range of support delivered elsewhere in the BSFH network. BSFHs should bring together a wide range of statutory and non-statutory services for children ages 0 to 5 within BSFHs, spanning education, childcare, health and social care.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to optimise the capacity of deep geothermal projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the renewable resource that the UK has for geothermal energy. However, the Deep Geothermal opportunities vary across the UK depending on Geology. Geothermal technologies that generate electricity are eligible for Contracts for Difference, which is the Government's main mechanism for supporting low carbon energy generation
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that pregnant women are (a) asked about alcohol use at the earliest point in their pregnancy and (b) given healthcare to abstain from alcohol use throughout the duration of their pregnancy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pregnant women with alcohol problems are often highly vulnerable with multiple and complex support needs. The Government is committed to ensuring pregnant women with alcohol problems are supported to reduce the risk of harm to themselves and the foetus, and later the baby, and to help them to engage in antenatal care, safeguarding, and other local services.
The Department, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has recently developed and published the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment. The guidelines have a full section dedicated to pregnancy and perinatal care which sets out the principles that guide the personalised care that women and other people who are pregnant should receive, in order to be supported to reduce, and when safe to, stop their alcohol use as quickly as possible, and that this should be done in a non-judgemental, non-stigmatising way. Healthcare staff, including in maternity and alcohol treatment services, should make every effort to provide accessible care and to engage women who are pregnant and who are alcohol dependent or drinking heavily.
The guidelines also reference the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance QS204, which recommends that pregnant women are asked about their alcohol use throughout their pregnancy and that the response is recorded. If there is evidence of failure to follow NICE guidelines, which can lead to negative outcomes, the Care Quality Commission can take appropriate action in response. NICE guidance is expected to be followed unless there is clear justification and alternative evidence-based practice for any deviation from them.
We are providing local authorities with £3.4 billion ringfenced funding over the next three years for alcohol and drug treatment and recovery. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning alcohol treatment and recovery services and can invest in interventions that strengthen the support available to children and families, including pregnant women affected by alcohol, according to a local assessment of need.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 levels of provision of dental services on (a) children’s and (b) adults' oral health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The recently published Adult Oral Health Survey 2023 provides the first picture of adult oral health in England for more than a decade. This shows that among dentate adults, those with at least one natural tooth, over two-fifths, or 41%, showed evidence of obvious decay and 9% had one or more potentially urgent dental conditions. Similarly, the Oral Health Survey for five-year-olds in 2024 indicates that 22.4%, or more than a fifth, of five-year-old schoolchildren had experience of obvious tooth decay.
The Government is focussed on the prevention of poor dental health through our supervised toothbrushing programme to reach up to 600,000 children in the 20% most deprived areas of England, and by expanding community water fluoridation to the North East of England. This intervention will reach an additional 1.6 million people and will reduce tooth decay and inequalities in dental health, particularly in children and vulnerable adults.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on interim improvements to the National Health Service dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the new GP contract provides financial security for GPs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking into account demand and the cost of delivering services.
We have started the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, and we look forward to listening to a range of stakeholders to help strengthen policy making, ensuring that GPs works for staff and patients. Further details will be announced in due course.