I completely agree with you that the unprecedented threat of the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us how vital our health and care system is to all of us. I want to assure you that the NHS will always be free at the point of use, and any proposed reforms will aim to continue to improve the quality of these services and patient outcomes.

As we recover from the pandemic, it is right and necessary that our health and care services are at the forefront. The pandemic underlined not only the dedication and skill of those in this sector, but also the necessity of a broader, more integrated health and care system. I welcome the intention to develop more joined up, integrated care between the NHS, Local Government and other partners including the voluntary and community sector, which will be vital in tackling the factors that affect the long-term sustainability of patient services. The Bill will make permanent some of the innovations we have seen as a result of the pandemic. I understand that these proposed reforms will also include proper accountability mechanisms, and give patients and the public the confidence that they are receiving the best care from their healthcare system. 

The measures set out in the Health and Care Bill deliver on the NHS’s own proposals for reform in its Long Term Plan. I believe these proposals have been developed in consultation with key stakeholders in this sector, and I am encouraged by the preliminary positive feedback received. In particular, the comments from the former Chief Executive of NHS England, who has said that this Bill “will support our health and care services to be more integrated and innovative so the NHS can thrive in the decades to come”, are reassuring.

DS.

I agree that every human has a right to nutritious and adequate food supply. This is a serious issue and it is vital everything possible is done to help people with the cost of living. Ministers are working hard to improve competition to help producers and retailers offer the best prices for food and regularly discuss all aspects of food security, including accessibility.

I know that the Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, and continues to do so through many measures, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22. Further, throughout the pandemic, Ministers delivered an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and businesses and, for those in most need, injected billions into the welfare system.

As the economy recovers, it is my ambition to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible, based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. Through the Plan for Jobs, Ministers are investing over £33bn in measures to create, support and protect jobs. This includes over £2bn investment in the Kickstart programme and an additional 13,500 Work Coaches in our Jobcentres, as well as other measures focused on boosting work search, skills and apprenticeships.

DS.

I am pleased to tell you that my Ministerial colleagues are examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals and are considering the options. They have also committed to continuing to focus on maintaining world-leading farm animal welfare standards through both regulatory requirements and statutory codes.

I am encouraged that this Government has set itself a challenging agenda to tackle animal welfare issues and is taking action on many fronts to improve the health and wellbeing of farm animals. A major example is the commitment to end excessively long journeys for live animals going for slaughter and for fattening, which will be realised through the Kept Animals Bill now making its way through Parliament. Now we have left the EU, Ministers are also able to reward farmers for providing higher standards of animal welfare and environmental protection measures. I am pleased that Ministers have committed to co-designing an Animal Health and Welfare Pathway under this plan, which aims to promote the production of healthier, higher-welfare farm animals at a level beyond compliance with current regulations.

Ministers have also been clear that it is their ambition for farrowing crates to no longer be used for sows. Indeed, the new pig welfare code clearly states that “the aim is for farrowing crates to no longer be necessary and for any new system to protect the welfare of the sow, as well as her piglets.” It is important that we make progress towards a system that both works commercially and safeguards the welfare of the sow and her piglets, and that we do so as quickly as possible. I am pleased to confirm the UK is already ahead of most pig producing countries in terms of non-confinement farrowing, with around 40 per cent of our pigs housed outside and not farrowed with crates.

Of course, if you do have specific concerns about the welfare of an animal, I would recommend reporting it to the police or to the RSPCA who can investigate and take action where necessary.

DS.

I am concerned by the reports of women being drugged via drinks or needles in nightclubs and elsewhere. 

While it is the case that it is difficult to make an assessment on the prevalence of spiking by injection at this stage, the concerns of women across the country are real and we must ensure that safety in and around nightclubs is taken seriously. 

That is why I am encouraged that the Home Secretary has requested an urgent update from police on investigations into reports of women who may have been spiked. It is vital that this behaviour is reported to the police. 

More broadly, I welcome the publication of the tackling violence against women and girls strategy to ensure women and girls are safe everywhere. The strategy will increase support for victims and survivors, increase the number of perpetrators brought to justice and to reduce the prevalence of violence against women and girls in the long-term.

A number of measures in the strategy are focused on practical action to increase physical safety in public places. This includes a £5 Million ‘Safety of Women at Night’ Fund, in addition to the Safer Streets Fund, that focuses on the prevention of violence against women and girls in public spaces at night, including in the night-time economy. 

I will continue to monitor the situation and reports of this violence and will engage with Ministers to ensure that nightclubs are doing enough to ensure women can safely enjoy the night-time economy.

DS.

Thank you very much for your email about Football Index. I am very sorry about the losses that some constituents have incurred.

Malcolm Sheehan QC has completed an independent expert review of the regulation of the Football Index gambling product, which follows the Gambling Commission’s decision to suspend the operator’s licence while it carries out its own investigation.

Mr Sheehan’s report was completed in such a way to avoid prejudicing a number of processes and investigations into BetIndex Ltd. (Football Index’s operator). Given the legally sensitive nature of this and the possibility of prejudicing any future legal proceedings, I am not in a position to discuss the actions of BetIndex. I do, however, understand that the report identified areas where the Gambling Commission could have been more effective in responding to the challenges raised by the novel product from its licensing to eventual collapse. It is important to stress that the review was entirely separate from the administration proceedings, which are looking at assets and liabilities of the company and recompense to customers.

The report has also raised some important questions for the Government’s Review of the Gambling Act 2005 which is already taking a comprehensive and evidence-led look at gambling in this country, including a close examination of the Gambling Commission’s powers and resources. I welcome the fact that the Government has confirmed that the Review will consider whether the Commission should require gambling companies to do more to demonstrate their ability to cover liabilities arising from long term bets, especially if they make up a large proportion of their business.

 

DS.

Buildings are responsible for around 30 per cent of our national emissions and the Government has published its Heat and Buildings Strategy which signals a step change in improving the energy efficiency of buildings and how they are heated.

From 2035, all new heating system installed in UK homes will either use low-carbon technologies, such as electric heat pumps, or will support new technologies, such as hydrogen-ready boilers, where the Government is confident clean and green fuel can be supplied. In other words, by 2035 the Government has an ambition that no new gas boilers will be sold.

There are several alternatives to gas boilers already in existence, including heat pumps. A heat pump is a very efficient electrically-driven device that extracts heat from the air or ground and concentrates it to a higher temperature and delivers it elsewhere, for example to a central heating system. Therefore it has the potential to replace fossil fuel heating, such as a gas or oil boilers. In the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan, the Government announced that it will increase the installation of electric heat pumps from 30,000 per year to 600,000 per year by 2028, supporting up to 20,000 jobs by 2030. A new £60 million Heat Pump Ready Scheme will help the Government meet this target by providing funding for pioneering heat pump technologies.

Another possible green alternative is a hydrogen boiler. The Government is working with industry to examine the potential role of hydrogen in heating homes and workplaces. It would work in a similar way to gas boilers today but without any carbon emissions. The UK is already a world leader in hydrogen and the Government is investing £500 million in new hydrogen technologies. Prior to consulting on the role of ‘hydrogen ready’ appliances, the Government will assess the case for encouraging, or requiring, new gas boilers to be readily convertible to hydrogen, so-called ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers, in preparation for any future conversion of the gas network.

The Hy4Heat programme has also supported the development of prototype ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers, cookers and fires. As a result, two ‘hydrogen homes’ have opened to the public in Gateshead to give people an opportunity to experience a zero-emission gas-fuelled home of the future. In addition, there is the opportunity to interact with green technologies inside the showrooms and demonstrate to customers that they can have a choice about how they heat their homes sustainably in the future.

In addition, the  Hydrogen Strategy confirmed that, dependent on the success of the heating trials and the information gathered, the Government aims to make a strategic decision on the future of hydrogen for heat in 2026. Ahead of this, and to help inform the decision, the Government will launch a trial ‘Hydrogen Village’.

DS