Helen Morgan MP: written questions
1130 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Integrated Care Boards: Operating CostsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56907More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the template issued by NHS England to Integrated Care Boards for completing their cost reduction plans by 31 May 2025.
Answer: NHS England has asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure with the expectation of achieving a reduction in their run...
Answered 16 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care BoardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56906More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to to transfer (a) statutory duties and (b) functions from Integrated Care Boards to other bodies.
Answer: NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within the health and care structure.To deliver on this commitment, NHS Engla...
Answered 16 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: Operating CostsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56905More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what statutory basis NHS England has required Integrated Care Boards to reduce their running cost allowances by 50% by Quarter 3 of the 2025-26 financial year.
Answer: The National Health Service Act 2006, as amended by The Health and Care Act 2022, grants NHS England powers to establish integrated care boards (ICBs) as statutory bodies for commissioning the majority of health and care services in England. The National ...
Answered 16 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: RedundancyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56904More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has provided guidance to integrated care boards on sequencing cost reduction to avoid operational disruption.
Answer: NHS England provided guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs), National Health Service trusts, and NHS foundation trusts in a letter on 1 April 2025, where ICBs were tasked with developing plans setting out how they will manage their resources to deliver...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: RedundancyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56903More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has (a) issued and (b) waived guidance to integrated care boards on redundancy policies since 1 April 2025.
Answer: NHS England expects integrated care boards (ICBs) to manage any change programmes within their local policies. Where two or more ICBs come together, we will expect them to apply a consistent change policy approach, as agreed with local unions.
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: RedundancyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56902More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has approved a national redundancy scheme for the 50% integrated care board cost reduction target; and whether he has allocated funds allocated to meet exit costs.
Answer: There are significant workforce implications following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the integration of the Department and NHS England, and the associated reduction in size, as well as the subsequent announcement of integrated care board and Nation...
Answered 12 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture and Business: Inheritance TaxTreasuryTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56394More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 35636 on Agriculture and Business: Inheritance Tax, if her Department will publish its modelling for an alternative clawback mechanism for agricultural property relief
Answer: The Office for Budget Responsibility only certifies costings for the Exchequer impact of the Government’s tax policies. In accordance with standard practice, the Government does not publish modelling of alternative tax proposals that are not Government po...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordMarkets: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56393More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce business rates for the owners and tenants of buildings containing market stalls.
Answer: Business rates are paid by the occupiers of commercial properties. In the event a property is unoccupied, the property owner is liable for the property’s business rates bill. To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax ra...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: ProcurementCabinet OfficeTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55550More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support small businesses with public procurement applications.
Answer: The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small businesses. For too long, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and soci...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: ProcurementCabinet OfficeTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55549More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) cost and (b) complexity of public procurement applications on the capacity of small and medium-sized businesses.
Answer: The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small businesses. For too long, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and soci...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: ProcurementCabinet OfficeTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55548More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of public procurement contracts awarded to small and medium sized businesses.
Answer: The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small businesses. For too long, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and soci...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordProject Gigabit: Freedom FibreDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55522More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Freedom Fibre on Project Gigabit contracts since 1 January 1 2025; and whether he will publish the minutes of those meetings.
Answer: As the executive agency responsible for delivering Project Gigabit, Building Digital UK (BDUK) holds regular meetings with suppliers, including Freedom Fibre, to discuss their progress with delivery of their Project Gigabit contracts. Ministers have had n...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordProject Gigabit: North ShropshireDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55521More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made and assessment of the suitability of Freedom Fibre to deliver the Project Gigabit contract in North Shropshire constituency since the termination of Freedom Fibre’s
Answer: The Project Gigabit contract for North Shropshire was awarded following a procurement which was compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.Officials in Building Digital UK (BDUK) meet regularly with Freedom Fibre to oversee its delivery of this ...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordProject Gigabit: North ShropshireDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55520More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many properties had been connected to full fibre under the North Shropshire Project Gigabit contract on 1 May 2025.
Answer: As part of Project Gigabit, Freedom Fibre was awarded a contract to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to premises in North Shropshire that were not expected to be reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout.As of 1 May 2025, Building Digital UK (BDUK) had re...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordProject Gigabit: North ShropshireDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55519More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Project Gigabit rollout in North Shropshire constituency since 1 January 2025.
Answer: As part of Project Gigabit, Freedom Fibre was awarded a contract to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to premises in North Shropshire that were not expected to be reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout.As of 1 May 2025, Building Digital UK (BDUK) had re...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: ReformDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54418More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to personally meet with cross-party representatives to discuss social care reform.
Answer: Building a cross-party consensus is fundamental to the national conversation that the Prime Minister has tasked Baroness Louise Casey of Blackstock to facilitate.The commission is independent and Baroness Casey has the full support of my Rt. Hon. friend, ...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: Agency WorkersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54417More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the potential savings to the public purse from reduced usage of on-framework staffing agencies.
Answer: We have answered this question referencing the Planning Guidance for 2024/25, where NHSE England stated that trusts should end the use of off-framework agencies.The 2025/26 NHS priorities and operational planning guidance aims to improve procurement, cont...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordNurses: VacanciesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54416More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned 30 per cent reduction in agency spend outlined in the NHS Planning Guidance 2025-26 on nurse fill rates.
Answer: As outlined in the NHS Planning Guidance 2025/26, all trusts are required to reduce agency spend by at least 30%, with an additional focus on achieving a 10% reduction in spend on bank staff. This aims to transition away from a reliance on costly temporar...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordFoot and Mouth Disease: EU CountriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54049More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has updated its contingency plans following foot and mouth disease outbreaks in mainland Europe in 2025.
Answer: Defra’s approach to foot and mouth disease (FMD) control is set out in the Foot and Mouth Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England.Defra and the Animal and Plant Heal...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordLevel Crossings: Chirk BankDepartment for TransportTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53681More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will ask Network Rail to install Overlay Miniature Stop Lights at Viaduct level crossing in Chirk Bank.
Answer: My department looks to Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager for Britain’s railways, to make operational decisions independent of government in accordance with its statutory safety duties and expertise. These include decisions on the appropriate saf...
Answered 27 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53680More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to set out a timeline for negotiations with community pharmacies for the 2026-27 Contractual Framework.
Answer: There is currently no set timeline for commencing consultations on the future community pharmacy contractual framework beyond 2025/26. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 will be set through Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which will conclude in June.A ma...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the full budget available to community pharmacies in 2025-26 is spent on the sector.
Answer: For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This increas...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: Medical RecordsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the mishandling of patient information by social care providers.
Answer: Responsibility for delivering shared care records sits with local integrated care boards (ICBs).The health and care organisations which participate in the Devon and Cornwall Care Record are joint controllers for the shared care record system and are respo...
Answered 17 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordWorkplace Pensions: Index LinkingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53677More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help support pensioners in North Shropshire constituency whose pre-1997 contributions are not subject to indexation.
Answer: Most schemes do pay some pre-1997 indexation, because of scheme rules or as a discretionary benefit. Analysis published last year by the Pensions Regulator shows that as of March 2023, only 17 per cent of members of private sector defined benefit pension ...
Answered 23 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPostal Services: North ShropshireDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53676More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve access to postal services in North Shropshire constituency.
Answer: The Government protects the sustainability of the Post Office branch network, including in North Shropshire and across the rural network, providing funding stipulating that Post Office meets its minimum access criteria ensuring 99% of the population live ...
Answered 2 Jun 2025
Original Parliament record
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