Every parliamentary written question tabled by Daisy Cooper this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 281–300 of 449 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 39567 on Local Plans: Gardens Trust, what criteria was applied to the decision to remove the Gardens Trust as a statutory planning consultee.
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).
What funding his Department provides to support services for the children of alcoholics.
Our mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes supporting the children of parents with alcohol problems and other adverse childhood experiences.Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve services and wider recovery support, which includes housing and employment. Further details are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-2025-to-2026/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026All local authorities can invest some of their allocation on interventions that strengthen the support available to children and families affected by alcohol and/or drugs, according to local need.The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/
Whether he has made an estimate of the cost to the NHS of (a) unused and (b) underused clinical (i) buildings and (ii) rooms.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the National Health Service’s property estate. NHS trusts decide locally how best to manage their estate.Data for the occupancy and utilisation rates of clinical rooms in the NHS estate for the latest period, from 2023 to 2024, published in December 2024, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24No estimate has been made of the cost to the NHS of unused and underused clinical buildings and rooms.
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the NHS property estate.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the National Health Service’s property estate. NHS trusts decide locally how best to manage their estate.Data for the occupancy and utilisation rates of clinical rooms in the NHS estate for the latest period, from 2023 to 2024, published in December 2024, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24No estimate has been made of the cost to the NHS of unused and underused clinical buildings and rooms.
What the (a) occupancy and (b) utilisation rates of clinical rooms in the NHS estate was in the latest period for which data is available.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of adopting intelligent booking systems to maximise the utilisation of the National Health Service’s property estate. NHS trusts decide locally how best to manage their estate.Data for the occupancy and utilisation rates of clinical rooms in the NHS estate for the latest period, from 2023 to 2024, published in December 2024, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24No estimate has been made of the cost to the NHS of unused and underused clinical buildings and rooms.
How many and what proportion of applications for naturalisation as a British citizen took longer than the six month service standard in the latest reporting period for which data is available.
The information requested is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/passports-and-citizenship-data-q4-2024.
Whether he has had discussions with (a) Ripple Energy and (b) the administrators of Ripple Energy on protections for the customers of Ripple Energy’s cooperative energy projects.
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she plans to publish guidance for parish and town councils on how to engage with her Department on shaping the parish council role in local government devolution.
Town and parish councils are the first tier of local government and play a crucial role in community engagement and provide key local services.The English Devolution White Paper emphasises the value of governance on a community scale and that the government wants to see stronger community arrangements during reorganisation, enhancing how councils engage at a neighbourhood level. At present, there are no plans to publish specific guidance for parish and town councils on how to engage with the Department on shaping their role in local government devolution.
How much his Department spent on redesigning the logo for Great British Energy in 2025.
Great British Energy’s branding and logo were developed in-house with government resources.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of guidance issued by District Valuer Services on the availability of city centre GP premises.
GP premises costs are reimbursed by the NHS. Any increase in charges by the landlord impacts the cost of providing primary care in that locality. The District Valuer Service offers independent advice on appropriate level of market rent, considering the building’s nature, age and condition.ICBs can make supplementary payments on top of the District Valuer Service’s assessment of new schemes, if appropriate and affordable.
Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions The Gardens Trust has (a) not provided a timely response to a request for feedback and (b) provided feedback that was in conflict with matters settled in the relevant local plan as a statutory planning consultee in the last three years.
The Garden Trust publish data on their work as a statutory consultee as part of their annual general meeting reports. Their 2023/24 Conservation Committee Report, which can be found here, makes clear that in the year to April 2024, they received 1733 statutory consultations. The Department does not collect data on whether feedback from the Garden Trust is in conflict with matters settled in the local plan.
Whether he has made any recent assessment of the security of the supply chain of titanium salicylate.
The Department works in partnership with industry, the National Health Service, and the wider health system to assess any potential issues across the medical supply chain. The Department was notified of the discontinuation of metanium nappy rash ointment, which contains titanium salicylate, from September 2024. The supplier has also communicated the discontinuation of this product to healthcare professionals and wholesalers.
Whether he has received notification from the NHS Business Services Authority that they will not be able to meet the 31 March 2025 deadline to provide eligible retired members of the NHS Pension Scheme with remediable service statements.
The answer I gave on 31 December 2024 to the Hon. Member for Lewes to Question 20389 set out that the Department does not expect that the majority of affected retired members will receive their remediable service statement until after April 2025. It also confirmed that the NHS Business Services Authority will communicate revised delivery timelines for remediable service statements once these are confirmed.The Department has robust governance arrangements in place to oversee the NHS Business Services Authority’s implementation of the remedy for affected NHS Pension Scheme members. The NHS Business Services Authority regularly reports on remediable service statement delivery plans and progress as part of these arrangements.
Whether retired members of the NHS Pension Scheme who are eligible to make a choice to revert to legacy benefits can present evidence to the NHS Business Services Authority of financial difficulty for the purposes of making a choice to revert to legacy scheme benefits sooner.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is prioritising the provision of remediable service statements to those cohorts of NHS Pension Scheme members affected by the public service pensions remedy, the McCloud remedy, who are most likely to receive higher pension benefits following their benefit choice.Affected members do not need to present evidence either to receive a breakdown of information about their choice or to apply to receive a remediable service statement. A fast-track process is in place to which members meeting certain criteria can apply to receive a remediable service statement sooner.
By what process the NHS Business Services Authority identifies retired members of the NHS Pension Scheme who are in the greatest financial difficulty for the purposes of inviting them to make an immediate choice on whether to revert to legacy scheme benefits sooner.
The NHS Business Services Authority has identified NHS Pension Scheme members whose records indicate that they are more likely to have been affected by age discrimination during the McCloud remedy period. Factors considered in making this assessment include members’ transitional protection status and whether they have only claimed 1995 Scheme benefits. These members will be offered their choice as a priority. Other affected groups are being prioritised according to complexity and the likely risk of detriment. Revised delivery timelines will be communicated with affected members at the earliest date possible.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing NHS Pension Scheme members in receipt of pension benefits to choose to revert to legacy scheme benefits if they can evidence financial difficulty.
The NHS Pension Scheme is delivered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). NHSBSA is prioritising the issuance of remediable service statements to cohorts of NHS Pension Scheme members affected by the public service pensions remedy (‘McCloud’) who are most likely to receive higher pension benefits following their benefit choice. A fast-track process to enable members who meet certain criteria to apply to receive a remediable service statement sooner has been in place since late 2023.
On what basis the NHS Business Services Authority decided that expected eligibility to make a choice to revert to legacy scheme benefits under the McCloud remedy should not be considered a disclosure event as defined by The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013.
All members of the NHS Pension Scheme who are affected by the McCloud remedy were contacted by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in January 2024 to inform them that they are eligible to make a benefit choice. Further information to enable this choice to be made will be provided to NHS Pension Scheme members by the NHSBSA at the earliest opportunity.
Pursuant to the Answer of 13 March to Question 36781 on Refuges: Public Transport, what progress she has made on plans she has to explore targeted options for affordable bus travel for (a) women and (b) children residing women's refuges; and whether there is a mechanism available for hon. Members and stakeholders to submit ideas for improvements.
The government is investing over £150 million to deliver a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025 to help millions of people. In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding however they wish to improve services for passengers, including introducing new fares initiatives, introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities. Moving forward, the government is exploring more targeted options that deliver value for money to the taxpayer, to ensure affordable bus travel is always available for the groups who need it most – such as young people. Departmental Ministers and officials also regularly meet and engage with parliamentarians and stakeholders on a range of issues, including exploring opportunities to improve bus services, and will continue to do so. The Department for Transport has an ambitious programme of work to contribute towards the Safer Streets mission and tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). This includes a measure in the upcoming Buses Service Bill on mandating training for staff in the bus industry, including drivers, on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour, including acts of VAWG.
Pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2024 to Question 404 on Watford Hospital: Construction, whether he plans to visit West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust before 4 July 2025.
Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK becoming a signatory to the World Health Organisation's resolution entitled Reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases through the promotion of kidney health and strengthening prevention and control of kidney disease.
The United Kingdom actively engaged in negotiations on the World Health Organization (WHO) resolution, Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease, in advance of the 156th WHO Executive Board in February 2025. The Executive Board recommended adoption of all resolutions considered to the World Health Assembly, including this one, subject to ongoing budget discussions. If adopted, the resolution will apply to the UK as a Member State of the WHO. We remain committed to tackling NCDs, including kidney disease, domestically and internationally.