Written questions by Argar.

Which NHS Trusts have declared a critical incident since 1 December 2024.

There is no official National Health Service data collected and validated for publication on the number of ‘critical incidents’ as these are declared locally by NHS organisations and can be stood-up and stood-down quickly.NHS management information as of 8 January 2025 reports that that there are 18 active critical incidents. Critical incidents can be declared in response to operational pressures and for other reasons including power outages, or IT or estates issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of developments on flood risks in Leicestershire.

The Government has committed to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed and sustainable homes, and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery. Flood risk is an important consideration in the planning system. The Environment Agency (EA) is a statutory consultee in the planning process on flood risk matters, in particular flooding from rivers. On a strategic level, the EA actively engages with Local Planning Authorities’ (LPAs) Local Plan making process to ensure that new developments will be in line with the National Planning Policy Framework’s requirements on flood risk. The EA ensures the LPA has the most up-to-date flooding information and data to make informed decisions regarding which locations they choose for significantly sized new development, using the principle that those areas at least risk of flooding should be chosen first.

What estimate he has made of the total cost to the hospice sector of the increase in employers National Insurance contributions.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.The employer National Insurance contributions (ENICs) rise will be implemented in April 2025. The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, like hospices, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with ENICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim ENICs reliefs, including those for under 21 and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.Our approach to ENIC exemptions has been consistent with the approach taken by previous governments. This does not include an exemption for independent contractors, including charities like hospices.On 19 December, the Government announced the biggest investment in a generation for hospices in England, supporting the sector with a £100 million boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices. We will set out the details of the funding allocation and dissemination in the coming weeks.

Food and Rural Affairs, what additional (a) funding and (b) support his Department has provided to (i) communities and (ii) local authorities in Leicestershire to help tackle the impact of recent flooding.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, the Government will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. In addition, the Government’s new Floods Resilience Taskforce sets out a new approach to preparing for flooding by working cross-government and with external stakeholders. It plans to meet again in January 2025 and will discuss the recent flooding. During the flooding incident, the Environment Agency (EA) has informed the public about flood risk; operated flood risk assets to prevent or reduce the severity of flooding; supported authorities to pump flood water away from properties and infrastructure; and worked with partners to coordinate the emergency response. Going forward, the EA will contribute to the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland Recovery Cell; continue to deploy officers to affected communities to assess the impacts of flooding to properties and businesses; and continue to work with others to identify further opportunities to reduce flood risk in Leicestershire and support the resilience of communities to flooding.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the Environment Agency's budget for flood prevention and mitigation was in Leicestershire in the 2023-24 financial year.

The Environment Agency (EA) has spent the following in Leicestershire on flood prevention and mitigation: Investment in capital projects in Leicestershire in 2023/24 included:£223k on Wood Brook and Tributaries Flood Risk Management scheme to develop the business case.£59k on Quorn House recondition work to repair flood bank low spots.£48k on Leicester Flood Risk Management Scheme conveyance works to complete handover of asset to the local authority.£25k on River Soar Flood Risk Management Scheme to close-out the project which cannot proceed due to it being economically unviable.£20k on new flow gauging on Rothley Brook at Rothley for improved flood warning and modelling. Additionally, in 23/24 the EA were allocated £2.9 million revenue funding for flood prevention and mitigation in Leicestershire. This is for the EAs work on asset maintenance and repairs, and in-river maintenance such as vegetation clearance and de-silting.

When he has met NHS England's (a) National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care and (b) Deputy Chief Operating Officer on NHS winter preparedness.

Ministers in the Department engage with NHS England regularly on a variety of issues, including, but not limited to, winter preparedness.

What funding was allocated to promote the update of the influenza vaccine in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.

The annual winter vaccination communications campaign supports the uptake of seasonal vaccinations for influenza and COVID-19 amongst eligible cohorts. This is an integrated campaign, so spend cannot be separated out by vaccine. The budget for the marketing campaign covers the Department, the National Health Service, and the UK Health Security Agency. The following table shows the allocations for winter vaccines promotion, for each of the last three years: YearBudget allocation for winter vaccines promotion2022£3,020,0002023£4,400,0002024£6,000,000 Each year, the campaign combines paid-for marketing and partnerships with earned national media, and social and stakeholder engagement, to raise awareness of the potential benefits of winter vaccinations and how they can be accessed by the public.

How many NHS (a) 111 and (b) 999 call handlers there were on (i) 1 September, (ii) 1 October, (iii) 1 November and (iv) 1 December 2024.

This information is not available. While NHS England collects information on the number of call handlers working in NHS 111 and 999 services, this information has not been centrally validated.

How many ambulances were in use in the NHS in (a) September, (b) October and (c) November 2024.

This information requested is not held centrally by the Department.

What percentage of patients waited longer than four hours in A&E in (a) September, (b) October and (c) November 2024.

The following table shows the percentage of patients in England who waited longer than four hours in accident and emergency, in September, October, and November of 2023 and 2024:Month and yearPercentage of patients who waited longer than four hoursSeptember 202425.8%October 202427.0%November 202427.9%September 202328.3%October 202329.7%November 202330.2%Source: NHS England, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

What information his Department holds on the number of patients who (a) were medically fit to be discharged and (b) were not discharged from hospital on 1 December 2024.

The number of patients who were medically fit to be discharged, those who no longer met the criteria to reside, in England on 1 December 2024 was 17,646, compared to 25,896 in December 2023. The number of patients who no longer met the criteria to reside but who were not discharged from hospitals in England on 1 December 2024, was 12,086, compared to 12,989 in December 2023.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) economic impact of the bluetongue restrictions on affected farmers and (b) animal health impact of the bluetongue restriction.

Government recognises that keepers and businesses can be affected not only by the impacts of bluetongue disease on animals, but also by disease control measures. That is why Defra seeks to minimise these burdens as far as practically possible, easing them where safe to do so using exemptions under licenses, whilst maintaining the integrity and efficacy of measures intended to mitigate the risk of disease spread. The restricted zone currently in force has contained and slowed the spread of disease and prevented disease circulation in the areas of the country with the highest cattle and sheep density. Defra are aware of the significant challenges that affected farmers and businesses have faced, and we continue to work closely with industry representatives. Restrictions remain under continuous review, including their likely economic impact, and any decisions are based on the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice.

What percentage of (a) ordinary and (b) named day written questions received a holding response from his Department in the first instance between 5 July 2024 and 22 November 2024.

The Department had a total of 2,270 written questions from the House of Commons due for answer between 5 July and 22 November 2024, the most received by any Government department in that period. These consisted of 1,761 ordinary written questions and 509 named day written questions. In the same period, the Department answered 60.0% of those named day written questions and 74.5% of those ordinary written questions within the required timescales.It is Departmental procedure that holding answers are submitted for any named day written questions that are not answered within the required timescales; however, this is not done for ordinary written questions. In the period between 5 July and 22 November, 236 holding answers were submitted.Named day performance has improved month-on-month since the summer recess, however we are determined to make the further improvements necessary to reach the standards expected by the Procedure Committee.

How many additional inpatient beds in acute settings he has funded NHS England to commission for (a) November 2024, (b) December 2024, (c) January 2025 and (d) February 2025 above the total number available in October 2024.

NHS England’s 2024/25 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance set out that, with the additional funding in 2023/24 made recurrent in 2024/25, systems should maintain General and Acute beds at the level funded and agreed through the operating plans in 2023/24 as a minimum.The latest published data is for October 2024, and shows that there was an average of 101,325 General and Acute beds available in England. This compares to 99,067 in October 2023.

What percentage of (a) ordinary and (b) named day written questions were responded to by his Department within required timescales between 5 July and 22 November 2024.

The Department had a total of 2,270 written questions from the House of Commons due for answer between 5 July and 22 November 2024, the most received by any Government department in that period. These consisted of 1,761 ordinary written questions and 509 named day written questions. In the same period, the Department answered 60.0% of those named day written questions and 74.5% of those ordinary written questions within the required timescales.It is Departmental procedure that holding answers are submitted for any named day written questions that are not answered within the required timescales; however, this is not done for ordinary written questions. In the period between 5 July and 22 November, 236 holding answers were submitted.Named day performance has improved month-on-month since the summer recess, however we are determined to make the further improvements necessary to reach the standards expected by the Procedure Committee.

On what date the last of the prisoners who were released in error in September 2024 under the SDS40 early release scheme returned to prison.

All of the 37 people released in error, because of being incorrectly sentenced for breaching restraining orders under outdated legislation, were returned to custody.The last of the 37 prisoners was returned to custody on 28 September 2024.

How many and what proportion of the prisoners released at the 40 percent of sentence point under her SDS40 early release scheme, have subsequently been accused of committing a further offence since 20 September 2024.

On 25 July, the Lord Chancellor announced that around 5,500 offenders will be released, in two tranches, in September and October. Further detail is set out in the Impact Assessment.Data on further offences of SDS40 releases forms a subset of data intended for future publication.

How many prisoners have been released in error under her Department's early release scheme since 10 September 2024.

All of the 37 people released in error because of being incorrectly sentenced for breaching restraining orders under outdated legislation are now back in custody.Data on releases in error since 10 September 2024 forms a subset of data intended for future publication.

With reference to her oral contribution on 10 September 2024, Official Report, column 690, whether probation directors have contracted hotel accommodation for prisoners released under the SDS40 scheme since 10 September 2024.

Data on SDS40 releases forms a subset of data intended for future publication.The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice confirmed to the House on 10 September that Probation Directors could arrange for the temporary use of hotels, where required, and I can confirm that in a small number of cases hotels have been used.

How many prisoners have been released with 40% of sentence served under her Department's early release scheme since 10 September 2024.

On 25 July, the Lord Chancellor announced that around 5,500 offenders will be released, in two tranches, in September and October. Further detail is set out in the Impact Assessment.Data on further offences of SDS40 releases forms a subset of data intended for future publication.