Lisa Smart MP: written questions 2024
45 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Radiotherapy: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21492More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the new additional funding for new radiotherapy machines aligns with the (a) NHS Long-Term Plan and (b) the upcoming 10-year cancer strategy.
Answer: The £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to patients. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish the new national cancer plan, which will include further detai...
Answered 7 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRadiotherapy: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21489More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is to spend the additional funding allocated for new radiotherapy machines on 28 October 2024.
Answer: The £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to patients. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish the new national cancer plan, which will include further detai...
Answered 7 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21190More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to improve the teaching of financial literacy through (a) enhanced teacher training programmes, (b) increased funding for financial education (i) resources and (ii) initiatives and (c) other s
Answer: In general, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rests with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements. The government has committed to introducing a Teacher...
Answered 7 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21189More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of financial education on young people at (a) primary and (b) secondary school level.
Answer: Financial education is currently taught through the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4 and citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which together cover personal budgeting, saving for the future, managing credit and debt and calculating in...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21188More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to create a strategy for embedding financial literacy within the primary and secondary education curricula.
Answer: Financial education is currently taught through the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4 and citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which together cover personal budgeting, saving for the future, managing credit and debt and calculating in...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21186More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on encouraging participation in the OECD’s next PISA financial literacy assessment, scheduled for 2025.
Answer: Financial literacy is not an option offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) in the current (2025) cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign-language assess...
Answered 7 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21184More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure England's participation in the OECD’s PISA financial literacy assessment in 2025.
Answer: Financial literacy is not an option offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) in the current (2025) cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign-language assess...
Answered 7 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRefugees: EmploymentHome OfficeTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20461More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to discontinue the Refugee Employability Programme on the ability of refugees to (a) secure employment, (b) integ
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 December to Question UIN 18515.
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordRefugees: EmploymentHome OfficeTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20460More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason her Department discontinued the Refugee Employability Programme.
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 December to Question UIN 18515.
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPreventive MedicineDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20303More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to create a cross-governmental strategy for the prevention of ill health that would include measures on tackling (a) health and (b) other lifestyle factors that affect
Answer: As part of the Government’s health mission, we will shift from sickness to prevention, to tackle ill health, prevent premature deaths, and build a fairer United Kingdom where everyone lives longer, healthier lives.We have committed to developing a 10-year...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDiseases: Health EducationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20302More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise (a) public and (b) professional awareness of (i) inflammatory bowel disease and (ii) other unseen disabilities in the context of access to (A) healthcar
Answer: NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme on gastroenterology aims to reduce variations in care, increase early diagnosis and proactive management of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and increase access to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: DisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20066More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of financial support available through the benefits system to people with (a) inflammatory bowel disease and (b) other unseen disabilities.
Answer: Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. These benefits are assessed on the basis of needs aris...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordInflammatory Bowel Disease: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20065More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) support and (b) care pathways in the NHS for people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
Answer: NHS England’s National Bladder and Bowel Health Project is delivering better care for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with a focus on developing best practice clinical pathways. NHS England commissions specialised colorectal services nationa...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordBank Services: Direct DebitsTreasuryTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20064More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require explicit consumer consent for each direct debit set up on a bank account.
Answer: The government believes there should be strong protections in place to ensure that customers can make payments in a secure and informed way. There are already such protections in place for Direct Debit payments under the rules made by its operator, Pay.UK...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDirect DebitsTreasuryTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20063More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help tackle the potential misuse of customer bank details by merchants when setting up direct debits.
Answer: The government believes there should be strong protections in place to ensure that customers can make payments in a secure and informed way. There are already such protections in place for Direct Debit payments under the rules made by its operator, Pay.UK...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordBank Services: Direct DebitsTreasuryTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20062More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring banks to notify account holders when a new direct debit is established against their account.
Answer: The government believes there should be strong protections in place to ensure that customers can make payments in a secure and informed way. There are already such protections in place for Direct Debit payments under the rules made by its operator, Pay.UK...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordCoroners: StandardsMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17307More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will take steps to (a) improve communication practices, (b) ensue greater sensitivity in interactions, (c) better manage families’ expectations to prevent (i) delays and (ii) unnecessary distres
Answer: It is important that the inquest process is as swift, efficient and sensitive as possible and that bereaved families are put at the heart of the process in order to avoid additional distress at such a difficult time in their lives.Whilst the Ministry of J...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Hazel GroveDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17306More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of dentists in Hazel Grove constituency.
Answer: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild de...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEndometriosis: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17017More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of (i) endometriosis and (ii) adenomyosis.
Answer: The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines support healthcare professionals to diag...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordParliamentary and Health Service OmbudsmanCabinet OfficeTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17016More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee's report entitled Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2022–23, HC 198, published on 4 March 2024, if he will make
Answer: The previous Government formally responded to the report and its recommendations on 10 May 2024 (HC 774, published on 23 May 2024). This Government continues to promote the PHSO complaint standards and support NHS England and NHS Resolution to further enc...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordCycling: ClothingDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17015More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to launch a public awareness campaign to promote pedestrian and cyclist visibility on roads by encouraging the use of light or reflective clothing.
Answer: THINK!, the Government’s flagship road safety campaign, aims to reduce those killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales by driving awareness of key road safety issues and encouraging attitude and behaviour change among high-risk road u...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSelf-employed: AdoptionDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 17014More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to (a) extend Statutory Adoption Pay to self-employed individuals and (b) introduce an equivalent benefit that provides guaranteed financial support to self-employed indiv
Answer: Government very much values people who come forward to take on the challenging but rewarding role of being an adoptive parent. That is why there is provision for Local Authorities to make discretionary payments, equivalent to Maternity Allowance, to self-...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Greater ManchesterDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16776More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential (a) impact of the Greater Manchester Dental Quality Access Scheme on access to NHS dental services in Greater Manchester and (b) merits of r
Answer: The Department and NHS England are aware of several local access schemes across the country and are keen to learn from all initiatives, including the Greater Manchester Dental Quality Access Scheme.Local schemes are considered in the development of nation...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordInsulin: PharmacyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16775More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure insulin is distributed to (a) large and (b) small pharmacies across the UK.
Answer: The Department continues to work with all suppliers to ensure that insulin products are distributed and available for both small and large pharmacies.There are ongoing global supply issues with Tresiba FlexTouch 100 units per millilitre pre-filled pens an...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordImmigration: Proof of IdentityHome OfficeTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12488More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) accuracy and (b) reliability of personal immigration status information generated by the Government View and Prove system; and what safeguar
Answer: The transition towards eVisas is already underway, with millions of people already receiving and using eVisas successfully, by logging into the View and Prove service using their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account.While most people are able to use th...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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