The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the value is in each financial year of each service contracted out by Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group.
Jane Ellison
The data requested are not centrally available. This is a matter for Fylde and Wyre Clinical Commissioning Group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs have notified cases of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
This information is not collected in England.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidance, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, published in 2007, estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the use of buffer zones outside NHS hospitals where abortions are carried out.
Mike Penning
While peaceful protest is a vital part of our democratic society, there is a balance to be struck between the rights of those who wish to peacefully protest and the rights of others, such as clinic staff and patients, to go about their business free from harassment and intimidation.
The law provides protection against harassment and intimidation and the police have a range of powers to manage protests. The use of these powers are an operational matter for the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many full-time equivalent jobs there were in January 2016 in (a) the 39 Crown post offices the Post Office is proposing to franchise and (b) the three Crown post offices the Post Office plans to close.
George Freeman
Post Office Limited runs and manages its Crown post offices. Franchising of these offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office.
I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the last meeting of the National Autism Programme Board, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that waiting times between referral and first assessment for a diagnosis of autism are included in the HSCIC Mental Health Services Data Set, which now includes the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services data set.
David Mowat
To support local areas in addressing long waits, NHS England, supported by the Department and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, initiated a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups and local authorities. These visits aimed to develop a better idea of the challenges in securing timely autism diagnosis across all ages, looking at the variability in diagnosis times and sharing good practice to help areas to improve their service. NHS England submitted a report on the visits to the 16 June meeting of the Cross Government Autism Programme Board, which includes representatives of autism third sector organisations and people who have autism. NHS England will have further discussions with relevant organisations over the summer about actions in their report, including on the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework, before reporting back to the Autism Programme Board.
In parallel, as recommended by the independent Mental Health Taskforce, the Department is undertaking a five year plan for the development of mental health data to be published by the end of the year. The plan will set out future requirements and timings for developing data to inform pathways of care, which will include requirements for autism in the Health and Social Care Information Centre Mental Health Services Data Set. Data on referrals or appointments for an autism diagnostic assessment are not currently captured in published mental health data.
The parliamentary question asked by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
What steps his Department is taking to support pensioners with increases in the cost of living.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Laura Trott)
All pensioner households are in the process of receiving an extra £300 to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter. For those in receipt of pension credit, the second cost of living payment of £324 was issued in November.
Cat Smith
Rural pensioners face additional challenges to the cost of living crisis, and I have recently heard from constituents in the villages of Forton and Winmarleigh who are still waiting for information from the Government on the payment of the alternative fuel payment scheme, as they are off grid. Additionally, the removal of the Bay Plus Megarider bus ticket has increased the price of bus tickets, which may not directly affect those pensioners, but where they are supporting adult children and school-age children in their households, it is impacting on their family budgets. What steps are the Government taking to support pensioners who live in rural parts?
Laura Trott
I recognise a lot of the challenges that the hon. Lady mentions, and this is why we are giving pensioners £850, and people on pension credit £1,500, to get through this winter.
Sir David Evennett
I welcome my hon. Friend to her position and I would like to thank her for the answer she has just given us. I wish her well in her job. The Government’s £300 boost to the winter fuel payment will give pensioners vital support this winter, and I know it is much appreciated by my constituents. However, will she join me in encouraging pensioners on low incomes to look into whether they are eligible for pension credit and to submit an application for this additional support as soon as possible?
Laura Trott
I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He is, as always, absolutely right. I know that he visited Age UK recently and raised these issues. It is vital that any pensioners receiving less than £182.60 a week look into whether they are eligible for pension credit, and if they are, they should try to claim it before 18 December, because the cost of living payment of £324 can be backdated.
The parliamentary question asked by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in the House of Commons on 1 December 2022.
Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the voluntary sector in delivering youth services.
Mr Speaker
Welcome back, Minister.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
This Government know the importance of local youth services, and we have guaranteed that by 2025 every young person in England will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities. That is a clear commitment based on feedback from 6,000 young people, supported by £560 million of funding.
Cat Smith
Last week I had the pleasure of spending my Wednesday evening with a group called the Squirrels, which is the new expanded offer from the Scouts, offering four and five-year-olds the opportunity to engage in new services. It was perhaps a refreshing change from this Chamber to spend time with 20 or so four and five-year-olds. More seriously, research by the Scouts has raised concerns about the rising cost of living, with parents unable to afford some of the fees for those services. In addition, the cost of delivering those services with rising rents and energy bills is putting pressure on organisations such as the Scouts. What support can the Government give to organisations such as the Scouts, which offer so many opportunities for young people, to help them meet that need?
Stuart Andrew
The hon. Lady is right to praise the work of many of our non-military uniformed youth groups. I am pleased to say that, in trying to tackle many of the waiting lists across England, we will be investing about £15 million in the area. I also recognise the additional cost of living pressure and am working with the sector to ensure that we feed in all the issues that it faces to the Departments that are looking at them for the long term.
The speech made by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons on 30 November 2022.
I pay tribute to the poultry farmers of Lancaster and Fleetwood, many of whom I have had some very challenging and emotional conversations with in recent months. Clearly, the poultry industry is facing huge challenges from labour shortages, and the avian influenza outbreak is further compounding those challenges. Colleagues have articulated well the challenges posed by the compensation scheme not meeting the needs of those businesses. The scheme clearly does not work. I am sure the Minister will have heard that loud and clear from colleagues, so I will not dwell on it.
On the issue of biosecurity, which will not stop this pandemic but is a very important part of controlling the speed of transmission, I tabled a written question about what conversations the UK Government are having with devolved nations regarding the housing of birds. I gently ask the Minister to look again at his response, which was basically to explain devolution. I am well versed in how devolution works; what I would like to know is what the Government are doing to come up with a UK-wide response that controls the speed of transmission of the disease.
David Duguid (Banff and Buchan) (Con)
I appreciate the point the hon. Member is making about the need for a UK-wide approach. She and the Minister may be aware that there have been five outbreaks in Scotland in as many weeks, all of which have been in my constituency. My constituency happens to be in the north-east, but as I think the hon. Member mentioned earlier, if it was closer to the border, that would be more of a concern in Cumbria and other places in north England. Will she join me in asking the Scottish Government—or the SNP representative, the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Steven Bonnar)—to comment on that?
Cat Smith
I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. Indeed, the fact that the outbreaks in Scotland have been so far from the border highlights the speed with which this disease is spreading and the requirement for us to act in a co-ordinated way, not just with different Governments in the UK but with our European neighbours. The whole nature of the disease is that birds move around, and wild birds are obviously spreading it. Many of my constituents have raised with me the difficulties they now face in getting insurance for their farms, so will the Minister touch on any support that the Government might be able to give farmers with that particular issue in the years ahead?
One issue that has not yet come up is that of free range. I have a lot of free-range egg producers in my constituency. Currently, of course, there is a 16-week grace period during which a farm can maintain its free-range status. It is likely that a lot of those producers are going to breach that 16-week grace period because of the status of the avian influenza outbreak, and they will face additional costs from rebranding their products, which will no longer be free range, at the end of that period. What specific support will be provided to those free-range egg producers, who are going to face particular challenges?
Vaccines are probably the only way out of this situation, and that is going to involve huge Government support. Colleagues have already touched quite a lot on this issue, but it is going to involve an international effort, so I would like to hear from the Minister what steps the Government are taking internationally on vaccines. Given that 50% of the UK’s protein comes from consuming poultry products, this is actually a food security issue. Indeed, the speed of the response is so critical because farmers will be making decisions in February about whether they go ahead with producing turkeys and geese for Christmas 2023. February is not that far away, and farmers will be making those decisions in the coming weeks. This could have long-term effects. Even if a vaccine were discovered tomorrow and rolled out, the reality is that if we have not taken control of this avian flu outbreak by February, then we will be looking at the consequences into the coming years.
Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)
I am grateful to the hon. Lady, a fellow Lancashire MP, for giving way. Many of the farmers in her constituency are associated with the farmers in South Ribble. I want to emphasise her point about decisions and the future of the industry. Does she agree that it would be great if the Minister could provide some certainty, not only to clarify the rules on farm access, but to keep people in the industry, because they are seriously considering their future?
Cat Smith
I thank my Lancashire neighbour for making that point; she is absolutely right. Farming is a difficult industry. It is not an easy way to make a living. When I speak to farming constituents, many of them tell me that they are concerned about whether their children will go into the industry. In fact, many want their children to have more secure work and an easier way to make a living. That concerns me, because this is an issue of food security. I completely agree with the hon. Lady. To echo her point, I urge the Government to take prompt action and to communicate it clearly with the farming community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to disabled refugees from Syria who are currently in Europe.
Richard Harrington
The UK is prioritising its support and aid efforts where the need is greatest. Only a small percentage of Syrians displaced from Syria are seeking asylum in Europe; the vast majority remain in Syria and neighbouring countries. Those that remain in the immediate region around Syria are more likely to be particularly vulnerable and this is rightly where our focus remains. We are the second largest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid to the Syrian crisis with £1.12 billion already pledged.
With assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees we will identify the most vulnerable Syrian refugees who cannot be effectively supported in the region for resettlement through our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme with the aim of resettling 20,000 refugees during this Parliament.
The UK is not providing direct resettlement or other support to asylum seekers in other Member States. The UK is already providing practical support to those Member States who are experiencing particularly serious pressures and will provide a further ten personnel to the European Asylum Support Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the publication of the new Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (2016/2017) indicators.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Health and Social Care Information Centre make recommendations to NHS England for new indicators for the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Outcomes Indicator set. This process includes a public consultation on potential new indicators. Any new indicators that are selected would be published in the 2016/17 CCG Outcomes Indicator Set during 2016, in time for commissioners to begin using them in 2016/17.