Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
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 tackle shortages of (a) methylphenidate and (b) other ADHD medications.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Disruptions to the supply of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been primarily driven by issues which have resulted in capacity constraints at key manufacturing sites. The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve those issues and expedite deliveries to boost supplies of these medicines, as quickly as possible. As a result of our ongoing activity and intensive work, some issues have been resolved. Many strengths of lisdexamphetamine, and all strengths of atomoxetine capsules, are now available. Medicine supply issues remain for some strengths of guanfacine, lisdexamphetamine, and methylphenidate. However, we continue to escalate these issues with the manufacturers to ensure that action is taken to resolve regulatory issues and expedite deliveries. We have been informed that these disruptions should largely be resolved by April or May 2024.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support he is providing for public transport in Somerset.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the importance of high quality, affordable public transport and is committed to working with local authorities to support and improve services for passengers. We have taken action to help improve public transport in Somerset, including providing over £13 million to help deliver better bus services, and as part of the MetroWest Programme and May ‘23 Timetable, increased rail services are now running to and from the area.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) publish the responses to the 2021 consultation on the commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into Great Britain and (b) commit to a legislative timeframe to ban the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published in due course.
The practice of non-exempted mutilations such as cropping dogs' ears is abhorrent and has rightly been banned in the UK for over 10 years.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for North Devon on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of dental practices stopped providing NHS services in Somerset in the last five years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of dentists who performed National Health Service work in the last five years, as well as the number of dentists who started and stopped NHS work in the Somerset Integrated Care Board in each year, is available at the following link:
We do not hold data on the proportion of dental practices that have stopped providing NHS services in Somerset in the last five years.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the support that is available to jurors who have been adversely affected by sitting on a jury.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Juries are a vital part of our criminal justice system, and jury service is an important civic duty. We want to do everything we can to help jurors feel supported as they undertake this important role.
If any aspect of jury service has left a juror feeling distressed, they are encouraged to speak to their GP and/or the Samaritans. Their GP can help them to access counselling services and the Samaritans can provide support over the telephone, email or through a local Samaritan branch. A leaflet entitled ‘Supporting You Through Jury Service’ which offers further advice to jurors is available in courts.
Our courts request regular feedback from jurors through Juror Experience Surveys to better understand jurors’ needs which finds most jurors enjoy completing jury service. We are using this research alongside the extensive academic research available and experience from other jurisdictions to inform our approach. We are aware that a small minority of jurors suffer adverse effects and are working to understand their specific needs to ensure that the support we offer is appropriate.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring inspections by the Care Quality Commission to take into account the experience of LGBTQ+ residents in care homes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any discrimination in adult social care on the basis of one’s sexual or gender identity, or indeed on the basis of any protected characteristic, is unacceptable. The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace, and in wider society.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects and assesses care homes and other social care providers for compliance against the fundamental standards embedded in regulation. This includes the requirement, as clearly described in the CQC’s guidance, for providers to do everything reasonably practicable to make sure that people who use the service receive person-centred care, that meets their needs and reflects their personal preferences. As part of this, during an inspection, the CQC will take account of how the service considers a person’s protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
The CQC has also published its Equality Objectives, which outline how the CQC is taking a preventative approach to LGBTQ+ people experiencing prejudice or abuse, as well as improving the data it collects around equality risks. Finally, the new duty on the CQC to assess local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties went live from April this year. CQC assessment of local authorities will increase transparency, and enable people to hold their local authority to account.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the prevalence of discrimination against LGBTQ+ (a) residents and (b) staff in care homes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Any discrimination in adult social care on the basis of one’s sexual or gender identity, or indeed on the basis of any protected characteristic, is unacceptable. The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace, and in wider society.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects and assesses care homes and other social care providers for compliance against the fundamental standards embedded in regulation. This includes the requirement, as clearly described in the CQC’s guidance, for providers to do everything reasonably practicable to make sure that people who use the service receive person-centred care, that meets their needs and reflects their personal preferences. As part of this, during an inspection, the CQC will take account of how the service considers a person’s protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
The CQC has also published its Equality Objectives, which outline how the CQC is taking a preventative approach to LGBTQ+ people experiencing prejudice or abuse, as well as improving the data it collects around equality risks. Finally, the new duty on the CQC to assess local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties went live from April this year. CQC assessment of local authorities will increase transparency, and enable people to hold their local authority to account.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of land have been protected for wildlife as a result of the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nutrient neutrality advice aims to halt further pollution of England’s most important protected waterways whose catchments cover an area of approximately 1.8m ha.
Natural England has developed a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme that has so far secured approximately 257 ha of land to reduce nutrient pollution from new housing development. This land will also be managed for the purposes of nature conservation and, where appropriate, public access.
Natural England is currently investigating other sites across England which, if considered feasible, would secure approximately 512 ha of land for the purposes of nutrient mitigation and nature recovery.
Natural England aims to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land when investing in nutrient mitigation projects.
The nutrient mitigation scheme operates alongside a number of other providers of nutrient mitigation across England, including Local Authorities, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, private markets and developers. Many of the solutions invested in by these providers will be nature-based and will not only reduce nutrient pollution but benefit nature and people.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many visas have been issued to members of the Afghan Special Police Commando Force under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy as of 19 February 2024.
Answered by James Heappey
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 11984.
The hon. Member should also note that the Home Office are responsible for issuing visas to ARAP eligible principal applicants and their family members, once further security checks have been conducted in line with existing immigration rules.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent progress his Department has made on ratifying the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement; and what his latest estimate is of the timescale for ratification.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK was pleased to be among the first signatories to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement when it opened for signature at the UN on 20 September 2023 and the Agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement, which will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.