Cat Smith MP: written questions
114 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Public Health: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14641More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to announce (a) allocations of public health grants to local authorities and (b) the length of the funding cycle; and if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities have adequ
Answer: We will publish local authority public health grant allocations for 2025/26 in due course, with the aim of giving local authorities as much notice as possible to plan.We will aim to confirm future multi-year allocations later in 2025, following the next p...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPrisons: StaffMinistry of JusticeTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12091More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy that contracts for the provision of prison education should include requirements to implement the new fair deal policy for pensions for affected staff.
Answer: The guidance on the New Fair Deal is currently being reviewed by HM Treasury. The impact of this review is explained in the Invitations to Tender for the current procurement for prisoner education services. Further information can be found using the follo...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPrisons: StaffMinistry of JusticeTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12090More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to implement the new fair deal policy for pensions for prison education staff employed by further education colleges.
Answer: The guidance on the New Fair Deal is currently being reviewed by HM Treasury. The impact of this review is explained in the Invitations to Tender for the current procurement for prisoner education services. Further information can be found using the follo...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Work England: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12085More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to provide additional funding to Social Work England for the provision of additional fitness to practice final hearings.
Answer: The department has provided additional funding of £7.1 million to Social Work England to clear the backlog of legacy cases inherited from the previous regulator. The department continues to look at ways to provide additional support to reduce cases curren...
Answered 8 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Workers: Medical ExaminationsDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11610More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate the impact of delays to fitness to practice final hearings on (a) the public and (b) social workers.
Answer: To mitigate the impact of delays to fitness to practice final hearings on the public and social workers, the department and Social Work England have made changes to legislation for operational efficiencies. In addition, the department has provided additio...
Answered 5 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordPlaygroundsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 28 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11307More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) quantity, (b) quality and (c) location of public playgrounds.
Answer: Playgrounds are an important part of healthy, happy and connected communities. Playgrounds can be found in schools, private housing, public parks and many other places.Local authorities maintain many public playgrounds. The National Planning Policy Framew...
Answered 5 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordLancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals ProgrammeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10093More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) business case status and (b) RIBA stage is of the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme scheme.
Answer: The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, h...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordLancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals ProgrammeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10092More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding had been allocated by the Treasury for the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme scheme by 2 July 2024.
Answer: The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, h...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordLancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals ProgrammeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10091More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme scheme had received up to the end of the 2023-24 financial year.
Answer: The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, h...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordLancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals ProgrammeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10090More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme scheme.
Answer: The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, h...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8455More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of access to tennis facilities on the physical activity levels of (a) older people, (b) disabled people, (c) women and girls and (d) other l
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: DisabilityDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8454More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of access to indoor tennis facilities on the level of participation in disability tennis.
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8453More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department plans to provide for tennis facilities in each of the next three financial years.
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8452More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the provision of accessible (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis courts in underserved communities.
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8451More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities, in the context of her Department's target for increasing the number of people
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8450More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help increase access to (a) affordable and (b) covered or indoor community tennis courts.
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTennis: FacilitiesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8449More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has provided for (a) covered and (b) indoor (i) tennis and (ii) padel courts in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including older people, girls and women and those with disabilities, all have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is c...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordDogs: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6307More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Answer: Ear cropping has rightly been banned in the UK for over 15 years. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation e.g., where a surgical procedure is not carried out for medical purposes, suc...
Answered 16 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordReindeer: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6306More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the welfare of reindeer used at seasonal events in winter 2024-25.
Answer: Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), owners and keepers of animals, including reindeer, must take reasonable steps to provide for the health and welfare of animals under their care. Under schedule 7 of the Licensing of Activities Involving An...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordADHD: MethylphenidateDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6305More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the availability at pharmacies of methylphenidate medication for people with ADHD.
Answer: The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information is not collected on a local level.The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to ...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordEpilepsy: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6304More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of anti-convulsant medicines to control epilepsy.
Answer: The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, some issues, including with s...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBicycles: SalesDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6303More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an estimate of the average economic benefit of buying a bicycle to (a) an individual and (b) society.
Answer: The Department has not made an estimate of the economic value of buying a bicycle. A report by Transport for Quality of Life, titled ‘The UK cycle industry: current economic and employment benefits and its decarbonisation-driven growth potential’ publishe...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBicycles: Voucher SchemesDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6302More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report entitled The cycling opportunity, published by Sustrans on 11 September 2024.
Answer: The Department welcomes the findings of this research and will consider its recommendations carefully as we develop our future plans for active travel.
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordState Retirement PensionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have deferred their State Pension.
Answer: It is not possible to estimate the overall number of people who have deferred their State Pension, because we do not know who has deferred until they make their claim for it. In May 2023, there were 138,872 people who had made a deferred claim for their N...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFurther Education: PayDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5065More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to increase pay in the further education sector.
Answer: The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE), and the FE sector does not have a Pay Review Body (PRB). Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers and are free to implement their own pa...
Answered 18 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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