Every parliamentary written question tabled by Tessa Munt this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 61–80 of 80 · this parliament
Media and Sport, which of the 106 Listed Places of Worship in Wells and Mendip Hills constituency have received Grants under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme since its inception.
Since 2022, the Department has awarded 50 grants, totaling £173,587.94, to Listed Places of Worship in the constituency of Wells and Mendip Hills. This includes grant funding to Wells Cathedral, Holy Trinity Church and St Mary's Church East Brent.
What involvement (a) he and (b) his Ministers had in setting the (i) guidance and (ii) spending limits for the Government's radiotherapy machine fund.
The £70 million of funding for new radiotherapy machines will be allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. Officials from the Department have been engaged with NHS England officials in discussions about how the funding will be allocated.
With reference to the letter from NHS England to NHS Trusts of 24 December 2024, for what reasons the radiotherapy machines fund guidelines exclude the cost of updating critical bunker protections.
The £70 million of funding is for new radiotherapy machines. The responsibility for costs relating to other aspects of radiotherapy treatment remains with local systems.
Whether additional funding to update radiotherapy machines includes a commitment to renew every machine aged 10 years and older commissioned by the NHS to deliver radiotherapy.
The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.
If he will extend the 22 January deadline for NHS Trusts to apply for funding towards new radiotherapy machines.
The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of recovered used tyres exported from the UK to India in the last 12 months.
This data is publicly available on the HMRC’s trade database which is available at https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of AI products in the funding for updating radiotherapy machines.
The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.
If NHS England will publish the data it holds on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines which deliver more doses of radiation; and for what reason guidance on future purchases of radiotherapy machines requires a minimum of 9,000 fractions per annum.
The funding for new radiotherapy machines will be used to replace outdated machines, and allocated to trusts using criteria that NHS England has developed. The new machines will support the recovery of cancer waiting times and help ensure that patients have access to the most up-to-date treatments. The £70 million central funding is not intended to replace every machine aged 10 years and older, and the spending on machines remains the responsibility of local systems.There are no plans to extend the 22 January 2025 deadline, nor has the relevant NHS England team received any requests from providers to do so. NHS England is working with providers to ensure they can get applications completed in time.There are no plans for an assessment of the potential merits of requiring NHS England to include the cost of artificial intelligence products with this funding.NHS England does not hold any data on the effectiveness of radiotherapy machines relative to the number of doses that they deliver. NHS England has set out a technical specification for linear accelerators with three options that providers need to choose between, however, the technical specification does not make any requirement about the number of fractions to be delivered.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to ensure that recovered tyres exported to India are not shipped in a form which enables them to be used in batch pyrolysis plants.
The UK has strict controls on the export of waste to ensure that the waste is treated in an environmentally sound manner. These controls are established in UK legislation and enforced by the UK’s waste shipment competent authorities. Defra and the Environment Agency are engaging with the Indian authorities including the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change who have confirmed that the import of waste tyres for pyrolysis is prohibited under Indian law.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that recovered tyres exported from the UK to India are not exported in a form that allows them to be refitted to vehicles in India.
The UK has strict controls on the export of waste to ensure that the waste is treated in an environmentally sound manner. These controls are established in UK legislation and enforced by the UK’s waste shipment competent authorities. Defra and the Environment Agency are engaging with the Indian authorities including the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change who have confirmed that the import of waste tyres for pyrolysis is prohibited under Indian law.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Indian counterpart on steps to ensure that recovered tyres exported to India are not used to breach Indian domestic law.
The UK has strict controls on the export of waste to ensure that the waste is treated in an environmentally sound manner. These controls are established in UK legislation and enforced by the UK’s waste shipment competent authorities. Defra and the Environment Agency are engaging with the Indian authorities including the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change who have confirmed that the import of waste tyres for pyrolysis is prohibited under Indian law.
Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is to introduce regulations to remove the T8 waste exemption on used tyres.
Removal of the T8 waste exemption is one measure among a package of possible reforms to the waste exemptions regime. This Government is currently considering priorities for waste and resources and reform of the waste exemptions regime including related to used tyres.
From which Departments he received confirmation that all the data held in relation to those Departments' transparency returns for the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024 was submitted by the end of October 2024.
Guidance on ministers’, special advisers’, and senior officials’ transparency returns is published on GOV.UK outlining the Cabinet Office's internal feedback process.
Whether his Department plans to publish the findings of the consultation entitled Improving the experiences of people with ME/CFS: interim delivery plan, published on 9 August 2023.
We are committed to improving the care and support for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. We recognise how devastating the symptoms can be, and the significant impact they can have on patients and their families.We published a summary report of the responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan on 19 December 2024. The responses to that consultation, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan, which we aim to publish by the end of March 2025. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.The report is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-experiences-of-people-with-mecfs-interim-delivery-plan/outcome/improving-the-experiences-of-people-with-mecfs-consultation-outcome
What his planned timetable is to respond to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's Report entitled End of life care: improving Do Not Attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation conversations for everyone, published on 14th March 2024.
I have responded to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's March 2024 report entitled End of life care: improving Do Not Attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation conversations (DNACPR), in a letter dated 5 November 2024. In this response, the Department set out the ongoing work on each of the recommendations in the report.The Department is committed to ensuring that DNACPR discussions do not happen in silo or only in emergency settings, which is often too late and carried out under extreme stress, but as a part of wider advance care planning (ACP) conversations. To facilitate this, the Department and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman will jointly convene a roundtable to further discuss ACP and the findings of this report.
When he plans to publish Departmental transparency returns for the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024.
Ministers’, Senior Officials’ and Special Advisers’ transparency returns for the period of April to June 2024 were published on 28th November. Data for the period of July to September will be published in due course.
Whether he plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Session 2023-24 on Lobbying and Influence: post-legislative scrutiny of the Lobbying Act 2014 and related matters, HC 203.
The Government is grateful to the Committee for its report. The Government will consider the report alongside the development of other proposals to strengthen standards in public life and will update Parliament in due course.
Whether the delivery plan for ME/CFS will include measures to improve the safety of NHS care for patients with ME.
No assessment has been made on the impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID on economic growth. However, the Government recognises that long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. As part of the Get Britain Working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.The Government has established a Growth Mission Board focused squarely on reviving economic growth, and has established a new Growth Delivery Unit in HM Treasury to track and support delivery of key growth priorities.The final ME/CFS delivery plan is a priority for the Department, and it is our intention to publish a response summary later this autumn. We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by the consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, with three broad themes of attitudes and education, research, and living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish this in the winter of 2024/25.The Department funds ME/CFS research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring next steps for research in this area. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME/CFS.Ring-fencing funding for ME/CFS has been considered and discussed with the community during the development of the Interim Delivery Plan for ME/CFS, as well as the recent roundtables on ME/CFS and Long COVID. Ring-fencing is not usual practice for research funders as applications in all areas compete for the funding available. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. Funding for high quality research is available through NIHR programmes, and there is support available for researchers to successfully apply for these awards.Over the last five years, the NIHR has invested over £3.6 million in research programme funding for ME/CFS. This includes over £1.5 million to the DecodeME study, co-funded with the MRC, which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition, and in doing so increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ring-fencing biomedical research funding for ME.
No assessment has been made on the impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID on economic growth. However, the Government recognises that long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. As part of the Get Britain Working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.The Government has established a Growth Mission Board focused squarely on reviving economic growth, and has established a new Growth Delivery Unit in HM Treasury to track and support delivery of key growth priorities.The final ME/CFS delivery plan is a priority for the Department, and it is our intention to publish a response summary later this autumn. We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by the consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, with three broad themes of attitudes and education, research, and living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish this in the winter of 2024/25.The Department funds ME/CFS research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring next steps for research in this area. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME/CFS.Ring-fencing funding for ME/CFS has been considered and discussed with the community during the development of the Interim Delivery Plan for ME/CFS, as well as the recent roundtables on ME/CFS and Long COVID. Ring-fencing is not usual practice for research funders as applications in all areas compete for the funding available. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. Funding for high quality research is available through NIHR programmes, and there is support available for researchers to successfully apply for these awards.Over the last five years, the NIHR has invested over £3.6 million in research programme funding for ME/CFS. This includes over £1.5 million to the DecodeME study, co-funded with the MRC, which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition, and in doing so increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.
What assessment he has made with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential impact of (a) ME and (b) long covid on economic growth.
No assessment has been made on the impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID on economic growth. However, the Government recognises that long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. As part of the Get Britain Working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.The Government has established a Growth Mission Board focused squarely on reviving economic growth, and has established a new Growth Delivery Unit in HM Treasury to track and support delivery of key growth priorities.The final ME/CFS delivery plan is a priority for the Department, and it is our intention to publish a response summary later this autumn. We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by the consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, with three broad themes of attitudes and education, research, and living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish this in the winter of 2024/25.The Department funds ME/CFS research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring next steps for research in this area. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME/CFS.Ring-fencing funding for ME/CFS has been considered and discussed with the community during the development of the Interim Delivery Plan for ME/CFS, as well as the recent roundtables on ME/CFS and Long COVID. Ring-fencing is not usual practice for research funders as applications in all areas compete for the funding available. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. Funding for high quality research is available through NIHR programmes, and there is support available for researchers to successfully apply for these awards.Over the last five years, the NIHR has invested over £3.6 million in research programme funding for ME/CFS. This includes over £1.5 million to the DecodeME study, co-funded with the MRC, which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition, and in doing so increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.