Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of incorrectly completed HC3 forms have resulted in penalty to the claimant.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to make an assessment on the adequacy of the application form for the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS), however the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the administrator of the NHS LIS, is trialling a new online service available to those who meet certain criteria.
Incorrectly completing the NHS LIS application form does not result in a penalty for the applicant, but may lead to the result of their claim being delayed. Anyone who is entitled to help will be sent a HC2 certificate for full help with health costs or a HC3 certificate for limited help.
In 2024/25, the NHSBSA received a total of 375,625 applications for the LIS, and 121,428 of those applications are either pending for more information/further contact, or have been abandoned by the claimant.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the ease of use of the HC3 form for people applying for low-income support for NHS costs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to make an assessment on the adequacy of the application form for the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS), however the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the administrator of the NHS LIS, is trialling a new online service available to those who meet certain criteria.
Incorrectly completing the NHS LIS application form does not result in a penalty for the applicant, but may lead to the result of their claim being delayed. Anyone who is entitled to help will be sent a HC2 certificate for full help with health costs or a HC3 certificate for limited help.
In 2024/25, the NHSBSA received a total of 375,625 applications for the LIS, and 121,428 of those applications are either pending for more information/further contact, or have been abandoned by the claimant.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the light-touch review process for PIP claimants with ongoing awards will be included in future reviews of PIP reassessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead. To make sure we get this right, we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details about the scope of the review as plans progress.
In the meantime, we also set out in the Green Paper that we are exploring ways to improve our communication with people receiving ongoing awards in PIP who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life. We are considering improvements to the information we provide when we write to people about an ongoing award decision, what support is offered to people receiving ongoing awards between ‘light touch’ reviews and looking at the length of time between ‘light touch’ reviews.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that medical aid reaches civilians (a) at the Nasser Hospital and (b) elsewhere in Khan Younis.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply concerned about the impact of Israel's aid block and military operations activity on healthcare in Gaza. Medical staff and facilities must be protected, and civilians should be able to safely access medical treatment. On 21 March, the Foreign Secretary issued a joint statement with the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany, in which they called on Israel to ensure access to medical care and temporary medical evacuations in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. The Foreign Secretary called Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar and Minister for Strategic Affairs Dermer on 20 and 21 March to press Israel to restore humanitarian access and raise serious concerns about civilian deaths in Gaza. Since 7 October 2023, the UK has provided £5.5 million in funding to UK-Med, enabling them to provide vital care to over 373,000 Gazans, including critical limb and life-saving surgeries, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on waiting lists for treatment for eating disorders.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between October 2024 to December 2024, 80.8%, or 350 out of 433, of urgent referrals to Children and Young People’s Eating Disorders services were seen within one week, and 81.9%, or 2,064 out of 2,521, of routine referrals were seen within four weeks. Data on access and waiting times is not published for adult eating disorders due to concerns about data quality.
NHS England is continuing to expand the capacity of community-based eating disorder services, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, and to prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood.
NHS England has asked local health systems, through this year’s National Health Service operational planning guidance, to focus on improving performance against the waiting time standards for children’s eating disorder services, so that 95% of urgent cases are seen within one week and 95% of routine cases are seen within four weeks.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that reductions in Official Development Assistance spending do not disproportionately impact children.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing VAT exemptions on zero-emission boilers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock, through improvements such as low carbon heating, insulation, solar panels, and batteries. Zero-emission boilers are a type of heat battery.
Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.
Decisions on tax policy are taken by the Chancellor and are considered as part of the Budget process.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of (a) psychiatrists, (b) psychologists and (c) dietitians on the quality of eating disorder support provided by the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
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 with Cabinet colleagues on implementing the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review 2020.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Seven of the nine recommendations have been previously accepted by the Government, in full, in part, or in principle, and four of these have been successfully implemented, including:
- issuing an unreserved apology on behalf of the healthcare system;
- appointing Dr Henrietta Hughes as the first ever Patient Safety Commissioner in England in respect of medicines and medical devices; and
- establishing nine specialist mesh centres, which are in operation across England.
Work is ongoing in respect of the remaining recommendations, including working across the Government to consider the recommendations in the Hughes Report, which looked into and provided advice on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the child maintenance system being used as a tool of financial abuse.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government have recently consulted on proposed reforms to manage all CMS cases in one service allowing the CMS to automatically identify missed, late and partial payments. This will provide greater protection from financial abuse. Responses to consultation are currently under consideration.