Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support NHS England to facilitate negotiating a better price for the drug trastuzumab deruxtecan.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for negotiating commercial agreements with individual companies, and the Department encourages companies to come forward with proposals that represent value to the taxpayer. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published final draft guidance for appeal on the use of trastuzumab deruxtecan for the treatment of HER2-low metastatic or unresectable breast cancer after chemotherapy, and was unable to recommend it as a clinically and cost effective use of National Health Service resources at the price offered by the company. Following extensive discussions through late 2023 and into 2024, NHS England is no longer engaged in any active commercial negotiations on this topic, but remains available to work with the NICE, should AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo be willing to offer trastuzumab deruxtecan at a price that represents value to the NHS.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish the evidential basis on which the value of the fixed and final offer for Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme claimants was set at £600,000.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is regularly publishing data on the redress paid out across the Horizon work-streams. The fixed sum awards for the Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme and for overturned convictions have been set at a level that is likely to be generous for a significant proportion of claims, allowing them to be resolved promptly. However, it will not suit everyone and anyone who wishes to pursue the full claims process is able to do so.
The Horizon Shortfall Scheme fixed sum is set at the same level as the GLO to ensure consistency between the two schemes.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish the evidential basis on which the value of the fixed sum award for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme claimants was set at £75,000.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is regularly publishing data on the redress paid out across the Horizon work-streams. The fixed sum awards for the Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme and for overturned convictions have been set at a level that is likely to be generous for a significant proportion of claims, allowing them to be resolved promptly. However, it will not suit everyone and anyone who wishes to pursue the full claims process is able to do so.
The Horizon Shortfall Scheme fixed sum is set at the same level as the GLO to ensure consistency between the two schemes.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government launches pay transparency pilot to break down barriers for women, published on 8 March 2022, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the pay transparency pilot.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Since it was first announced, we have sought to ensure that the pay transparency pilot fits with new priorities introduced by the current Minister for Women and Equalities, and that it does not duplicate work elsewhere in the Equality Hub. As a result, the pilot itself is yet to commence.
However, we continue to urge organisations to take steps towards pay transparency, and once established, the pilot will involve organisations sharing how they have overcome challenges to make this a reality.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have the necessary security clearance to access the (i) Merlin database and (ii) documentation stored on the Merlin database pertaining to the nuclear test programme and its veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As set out in the answer I gave on 23 January to Question 10374 from the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey), seven officials at the Atomic Weapons Establishment have appropriate clearance and are authorised to access the Merlin database.
All Ministers hold clearances appropriate to their roles and responsibilities. As the Minister responsible in the Ministry of Defence for veteran's affairs I retain the relevant clearances to view the information retained on Merlin.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) costs and (b) merits of extending the statutory requirement for a Cladding External Wall System form to include all apartment block buildings below 11m in height.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Cladding External Wall System form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. RICS has issued guidance on the use and application of these forms, and a surveyor must justify any request for an EWS1 form.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 requires all multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that, where necessary, includes the external walls. A Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) done to the PAS 9980 standard developed by the British Standards Institution is the appropriate way to assess that risk in the external wall system.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of not extending the statutory requirement for a Cladding External Wall System form for properties in buildings below 11 meters on (a) property sales and (b) safety risk to residents.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Cladding External Wall System form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. RICS has issued guidance on the use and application of these forms, and a surveyor must justify any request for an EWS1 form.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 requires all multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that, where necessary, includes the external walls. A Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) done to the PAS 9980 standard developed by the British Standards Institution is the appropriate way to assess that risk in the external wall system.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2023 to Question 6822 on Companies: Registration, when the broader powers given to the Registrar under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 will come into effect; and whether her Department will provide additional resources to the Registrar to ensure it is able to use these powers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The reforms we are making to Companies House are significant, and we are adopting a phased approach to implementation. The new powers at the Registrar's disposal will come into effect over the coming months, with many being available to the Registrar from 4 March. Some others, such as ID verification, require secondary legislation and significant systems development, and will not take effect until later.
We are committed to ensuring the Registrar has the necessary resources to implement these changes.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) potential merits and (b) cost of expanding eligibility for winter fuel payments to those reaching state pension age in winter 2023-24.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
An individual is entitled to a winter fuel payment if they have reached State Pension age by the end of the 'qualifying week', which has been defined in law since 1999 as the week beginning on the third Monday in September.
This is to allow time to check eligibility, make the calculations (which in some cases include an assessment of household formation as well as date of birth and place of residence), and make payments as far as possible before Christmas.
In 2023, the number of people who claimed State Pension between the end of the qualifying week (25 September) and Christmas (data available to 17 December) was 158,803.
Source: Power BI
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support the mental health of children from (a) families seeking asylum and (b) refugee families in educational settings.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government wants all children, regardless of their background or the challenges they face, to grow up happy, healthy and safe.
While education settings are not specialist mental health support providers, schools and colleges have an important role to play in identifying and responding to mental health needs, whether by providing targeted pastoral support or ensuring referrals are made to external specialist support. The department has put in place a wide range of training and guidance to help education staff do so effectively.
The department’s mental health and behaviour guidance supports education staff to identify children in need of extra mental health support. This includes information on how adverse childhood experiences, including loss or separation and traumatic incidents, can affect children’s mental health, and on working with external agencies to put in place effective support. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2.
The department is offering every state school and college in England funding to train a senior mental health lead, who can oversee an effective whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. This approach should include robust processes for identifying pupils or groups of pupils in need of further support, which may include children from refugee or asylum-seeking families.
To ensure more children and young people have access to early intervention support, the department is continuing to roll out mental health support teams to schools and colleges in England. These teams currently cover over 35% of pupils in schools and learners in further education and the department is extending coverage to at least 50% by April 2025.
Further information on these programmes and other sources of support to help schools and colleges promote and support mental health can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges.