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To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of dialysis capacity in renal units in England; and what steps are they taking to (1) increase early detection of kidney disease, (2) increase home dialysis provision in line with the 20 per cent target set by the Getting It Right...
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of dialysis capacity in renal units in England; and what steps are they taking to (1) increase early detection of kidney disease, (2) increase home dialysis provision in line with the 20 per cent target set by the Getting It Right...
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the renal service specification; what is the timetable for its implementation; and how they will monitor delivery and hold systems accountable for its implementation.
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the renal service specification; what is the timetable for its implementation; and how they will monitor delivery and hold systems accountable for its implementation.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the renal nursing workforce in England; and what steps they are taking to address workforce shortages and ensure that nursing capacity is not a barrier to patients accessing dialysis, including home dialysis where appropriate.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the renal nursing workforce in England; and what steps they are taking to address workforce shortages and ensure that nursing capacity is not a barrier to patients accessing dialysis, including home dialysis where appropriate.
My Lords, is it not the case that the present crisis in housing can be traced back to the sale of council houses that were not replaced, and is that not one of the main causes that has driven up benefits costs to the nation as well?
My Lords, is it not the case that the present crisis in housing can be traced back to the sale of council houses that were not replaced, and is that not one of the main causes that has driven up benefits costs to the nation as well?
My Lords, is the Minister aware of the Merseyside mayor’s proposals to lever in private sector money using this levy for some exciting schemes that will create wealth, growth and jobs? Does she not think that the mayor of Merseyside will know more about generation than the Tory party, which...
My Lords, is the Minister aware of the Merseyside mayor’s proposals to lever in private sector money using this levy for some exciting schemes that will create wealth, growth and jobs? Does she not think that the mayor of Merseyside will know more about generation than the Tory party, which...
My Lords, does the Minister agree that this is an international issue and that the only way we can deal with it is internationally? The most important part will be to make sure that the regulator has the ability to police what is going on in China, America and the rest of the world.
My Lords, does the Minister agree that this is an international issue and that the only way we can deal with it is internationally? The most important part will be to make sure that the regulator has the ability to police what is going on in China, America and the rest of the world.
My noble friend raises a number of interesting points. It is true that we need to address this internationally. AI clearly crosses national borders. It is not like previous forms of new technology. We need to find the way forward in getting the balance right. We have been using our opportunity to lead internationally in having those conversations across borders as one of the leaders in AI safety.
My Lords, has the Minister noticed that the opposition parties are very keen on fighting fraud in the welfare system, but they are very slow to fight blue-collar fraud and their own fraud?
My Lords, has the Minister noticed that the opposition parties are very keen on fighting fraud in the welfare system, but they are very slow to fight blue-collar fraud and their own fraud?
I could not possibly comment on that. What I can say is that public sector fraud wastes public money, drives up the deficit and damages the public sector. We are clear that we want to tackle it, and put structures in place to do this. My noble friend is correct, however, that it is not just public sector fraud that affects the public, and we are determined to do whatever we can to keep the public and the public finances as safe as possible from fraud and error.
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that everyone would like a tax cut? Any individual, company or sector will want tax cuts, but you have to be responsible. The Truss Government were not responsible and that set the bond markets off and caused a lot of the problems...
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that everyone would like a tax cut? Any individual, company or sector will want tax cuts, but you have to be responsible. The Truss Government were not responsible and that set the bond markets off and caused a lot of the problems...
My Lords, does the Minister remember when the Conservative Government closed all the Remploy sites? When they closed them, they told the people they would find them alternative jobs. That did not happen. Should they not apologise before they ask a Question on this subject?
My Lords, does the Minister remember when the Conservative Government closed all the Remploy sites? When they closed them, they told the people they would find them alternative jobs. That did not happen. Should they not apologise before they ask a Question on this subject?
My Lords, I will leave the Opposition to account for their own record. Let me talk about what this Government are doing. Our Connect to Work programme is one of the most exciting things we have seen. We are working with people who face real challenges in getting into work, often because of a particularly strong health condition or complex disabilities. Our individual advisers will work with them, find out what their skills and ambitions are, and then find an employer with an opportunity to match them with. They can help them work together. It is about getting people into jobs but also supporting them to stay in them once they are there. It is that kind of personalised support that people need. Everybody has an opportunity and everybody has potential; our job is to find it and help them fulfil it.
My Lords—
My Lords—
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that health trusts could do a lot more than they do at the moment to offer flexible hours for nurses and other medical staff? I have known of many cases where nurses, for example, have tried to get flexible hours and, having been refused, then end up coming back as agency staff.
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that health trusts could do a lot more than they do at the moment to offer flexible hours for nurses and other medical staff? I have known of many cases where nurses, for example, have tried to get flexible hours and, having been refused, then end up coming back as agency staff.
The key theme my noble friend is raising here is very much about staff retention within the NHS. That is not only the ideal but the practical, best way forward. We are taking action, including, as my noble friend talks about, on flexible working. We are also taking action to make staff feel safer in the workplace, enhancing support for staff health and well-being by, for example, improving access to support for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions. They are the two biggest causes of sickness absence, which also drive demand for temporary cover.
My Lords, has the Minister noticed that over the last few weeks the Opposition have been calling for more public spending at the same time as calling for lower taxes? Have they all joined the “Liz trust” of economics?
My Lords, has the Minister noticed that over the last few weeks the Opposition have been calling for more public spending at the same time as calling for lower taxes? Have they all joined the “Liz trust” of economics?
My noble friend makes a good point about how you cannot have something for nothing. If we are to have the public services that people want in this country, we have to look very carefully at how we intend to pay for them.
My Lords, does not everyone have their own favourite piece of legislation that they want introduced, and as quickly as possible? It is for the Government to set the agenda, and once they have promised to do something, they will do it within the timeframe of that Government. As far as the Starmer argument goes, we had very little legislation coming from the Opposition when they were in government, and the legislation we did have did a lot of damage to the country.
My Lords, does not everyone have their own favourite piece of legislation that they want introduced, and as quickly as possible? It is for the Government to set the agenda, and once they have promised to do something, they will do it within the timeframe of that Government. As far as the Starmer argument goes, we had very little legislation coming from the Opposition when they were in government, and the legislation we did have did a lot of damage to the country.
I almost always agree with my noble friend, but on this occasion, I would suggest a tentative correction. Actually, the previous Government did put forward legislation, as the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, mentioned. But we are committed to doing that, and as my noble friend says, there are some competitive pressures. I know something about competition for legislation. I know a lot less about competition law, but I am learning fast.
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that, at the moment, our politics is being funded by spivs, thieves and tax-dodgers, and that the only way we are going to control this is to control the amounts of money that can be spent at elections? That is the way to deal with this problem—not trying to fix the rules but stopping what is becoming a nuclear war for funding for political parties.
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that, at the moment, our politics is being funded by spivs, thieves and tax-dodgers, and that the only way we are going to control this is to control the amounts of money that can be spent at elections? That is the way to deal with this problem—not trying to fix the rules but stopping what is becoming a nuclear war for funding for political parties.
I am not sure that I would use the exact language my noble friend used, but we need to make a concerted effort to tackle what is seen as corrupt practice in election financing. The Government have published an anti-corruption strategy. We want to bring the corrupt actors to justice, prevent them benefitting from illicit wealth, tackle the vulnerabilities to corruption at home and build resilience overseas. That is all coming forward in our new Bill. We need to be robust in our approach to this, otherwise the whole of our democratic process is undermined. I look forward, as I said, to debating the Bill with Members of your Lordships’ House. I hope that we can get this tightened up as quickly as possible.
My Lords, is it not the case that these tax increases are required only because the last Government left us with a £22 billion deficit and hollowed out public services with their policies over many years? Is it not about time they apologise rather than criticise?
My Lords, is it not the case that these tax increases are required only because the last Government left us with a £22 billion deficit and hollowed out public services with their policies over many years? Is it not about time they apologise rather than criticise?
I thank the noble Lord for that question. I have been trying to stay in the spirit of our new Prime Minister and to reach the greatest cross-party consensus that we can on this. What the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have said about being really careful about business costs, and making sure that business stays competitive, takes us some way in that direction. But every businessperson will
tell you that you need to balance the books, and the comment from my Benches suggested that perhaps, three years ago, that was not taking place.
My Lords, is it not the case that we need to be realistic that the greatest military power in the world cannot put enough arms in that area to resolve the present conflict and the only way this is going to be resolved is by discussion and debate? Does the...
My Lords, is it not the case that we need to be realistic that the greatest military power in the world cannot put enough arms in that area to resolve the present conflict and the only way this is going to be resolved is by discussion and debate? Does the...
My Lords, no matter what action is taken by the Government, dodgy people will try to find a way around it. Will the legislation be drafted in such a way that it is flexible enough to take into account things that might happen in the future?
My Lords, no matter what action is taken by the Government, dodgy people will try to find a way around it. Will the legislation be drafted in such a way that it is flexible enough to take into account things that might happen in the future?
The acceptance of the Rycroft recommendations means that the Government have accepted a whole range of measures on tightening
up political donations from overseas, crypto currency, reporting and transparency. We have yet to put those measures into effect, but we have accepted the recommendations and will bring forward legislation to give effect to them at the earliest opportunity. That will help everybody in this House, from His Majesty’s Opposition to the Government to other political parties represented here, to have that transparency. I look forward to taking that forward in due course.
My Lords, is it not the case that, for too long, rich farmers have been getting far too much subsidy? Is it not good that this Government are introducing a system that will help smaller farmers and hill farmers?
My Lords, is it not the case that, for too long, rich farmers have been getting far too much subsidy? Is it not good that this Government are introducing a system that will help smaller farmers and hill farmers?
The new SFI, which we announced fairly recently and which runs through to September, was very much aimed at smaller farms and those that do not already have an agreement. The fact that 50% has been allocated already shows that that was a very popular decision.
My Lords, does not the state of our chalk rivers demonstrate what problems were caused by a Government who did not care about the state of the rivers and a regulator that turned its back on them?
My Lords, does not the state of our chalk rivers demonstrate what problems were caused by a Government who did not care about the state of the rivers and a regulator that turned its back on them?
My noble friend is absolutely right that this is a long-term problem that has been going on for many years. Unfortunately, the water industry has simply not been held to account in
the way that it should have been, and that is why we are bringing in the clean water Bill and changing the regulator.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address practical barriers to home dialysis, including through patient education and choice, assisted peritoneal dialysis, community nursing support, reimbursement of utility costs, addressing storage and housing constraints, and transport incentives that may favour in-centre dialysis.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address practical barriers to home dialysis, including through patient education and choice, assisted peritoneal dialysis, community nursing support, reimbursement of utility costs, addressing storage and housing constraints, and transport incentives that may favour in-centre dialysis.
The updated service specification will be published in due course. It will support ongoing action to increase home dialysis provision in line with the Renal Services Transformation Programme ambition for at least 20% of patients to be treated at home, including through strengthened early patient education, standardised pre-dialysis pathways, and multidisciplinary care models that enable shared decision-making.
The specification will include defined metrics for commissioned providers, including the proportion of dialysis patients receiving home-based therapies, supporting formal assessment against the ambition of achieving at least 20% uptake.
This is complemented by improvements to operational processes, including home assessments and installation pathways, to ensure patients can access home therapies in a timely and consistent way.