Written questions by Aquarone.

What steps she is taking to ensure the timely release of funds by banks to executors of wills.

In recent years banks and building societies have sought to make the bereavement process easier by increasing the amount they will release without needing a grant of probate. As such the threshold varies between different firms. The nominal threshold in legislation is to require probate to be obtained for estates above £5000 in value (The Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965), although in practice many financial institutions operate a threshold of £20,000. Banks also differ on issues such as whether they are willing to release funds for funeral and other essential expenses ahead of probate being granted. These are commercial decisions. UK banks and building societies are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA does not have specific rules or guidance regarding probate in its rules. Nonetheless, banks are bound by the FCA’s Consumer Duty which requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes and avoid causing harm to customers. The FCA also provides guidance on firms providing fair treatment for vulnerable customers, which includes those going through a bereavement. If an executor is having a dispute with a bank, then they will be able to raise a formal complaint. The FCA’s rules require firms to properly investigate all complaints, and it continues to monitor firms’ complaint handling processes. The Government is also supportive of previous industry efforts to improve handling of these sensitive cases, including the Financial Services Death Notification Service developed by UK Finance.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce a re-insurance scheme for properties at risk due to coastal erosion.

The £36 million coastal transition accelerator programme is supporting communities and businesses at risk of coastal erosion to transition and adapt to a changing coast. This includes working with the finance and property sectors to explore innovative finance or funding mechanisms to help move communities away from rapidly eroding areas, for instance schemes to incentivise the relocation of at-risk infrastructure for businesses and homeowners. The Environment Agency administers the Coastal Erosion Assistance Grant on behalf of Defra. The grant provides £6,000 per property to assist local authorities with the demolition and removal costs associated with homes at imminent risk from coastal erosion. There are currently no plans to extend the scope of the Flood Re scheme, however Defra regularly reviews all policies, including eligibility for Flood Re.

What recent estimate he has made of when he will meet his target of providing an extra 62,000 neurology appointments in England in each year.

Patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. Currently, the waiting list stands at 7.48 million patient pathways, with over 6 million people waiting, including 235,000 on neurology waiting lists.We will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029, increasing performance to 65% by March 2026, as set out in the Elective Reform Plan. We will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialties, including neurology appointments, during our first year in Government, as a First Step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.Alongside the breadth of reforms and productivity efforts in the plan, we will increase activity, deliver improvements in patient experience, and reduce waiting times for neurology patients across the country.

What steps he is taking to improve (a) data for and (b) research into coastal communities.

The National Institute for Heath and Care Research (NIHR) has funded a range of research specifically focusing on coastal populations, including investing in local authority and higher education partnerships, as well as studies that focussed on health care in these areas. Further information about this research is available at the following link:https://nihr.opendatasoft.com/pages/homepage/The NIHR has a Research Inclusion Strategy which, amongst other objectives, aims to widen research access and participation for greater diversity and inclusion, including for populations in coastal communities. Further information on the strategy is available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/who-we-are/research-inclusion/strategy-2022-27The NIHR’s research funding guidance requires researchers to show how they will make sure their research is inclusive and addresses inequalities in health and care, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/who-we-are/research-inclusion/funding-application-guidance

If he will publish a cross-Government strategy on the health and wellbeing of coastal communities.

We are taking action across Government to address the environmental and socio-economic determinants of health, and are aiming to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions. We know that targeted action to tackle health inequalities will facilitate economic opportunities, and support a National Health Service fit for the future.Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. We have established 11 working groups to take forward policy development that will feed into the plan. This includes working groups focused on how care should be designed and delivered to improve healthcare equity, alongside ensuring that access to healthcare services is effective and responsive.

How many prescriptions for pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy were dispensed by Norfolk and Waveney (a) integrated care board and (b) clinical commissioning group in each year between 2019 and 2024.

The Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) provided by the NHS Business Services Authority gives the total number of prescription items of each medicine dispensed in the community in England. The following data relates to prescriptions for products that fall within the definition as set out in Paragraph 010904, related to pancreatin, in the British National Formulary.The following table shows the total number of National Health Service prescription items that were dispensed in the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, regardless of where prescribed, from January 2019 to November 2024YearNumber of prescription items201914,291202013,587202113,933202213,933202314,460202414,698Note: data for 2024 is from January to November.The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) relates to the prescribing organisation, so the following statistics are consistent with the English Prescribing datasets rather than the dispensing organisation shown in PCA.The following table shows the total number of NHS prescription items that were prescribed by cost centres linked to the Sub Integrated Care Board Location (SICBL), or prior to 2020 the CCG area of Norfolk and Waveney, from January 2019 to November 2024:YearNumber of prescription items201914,290202013,727202114,238202214,387202314,904202414,935Note: data for 2024 is from January to November.Historical data has been re-presented using the latest NHS organisation structure. These two tables are not directly comparable as the data available for integrated care boards relates to dispensing, whereas the data available at the SICBL or CCG level relates to items prescribed.

When she plans to respond to the correspondence of 26 November 2024 from the hon. Member for North Norfolk, reference SA01948.

This correspondence is receiving urgent attention and a response will be sent from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for North Norfolk in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential (a) cultural and (b) historic merits of protecting areas from flooding and coastal erosion in a future review of the flooding formula.

We will launch a consultation in the coming months which will include a review of the existing flood funding formula to ensure that the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account when delivering flood protection. Feedback will be sought on the advantages and disadvantages of potential reforms to the flood funding formula.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to open the consultation on the flooding funding formula; and how long the consultation will last.

We will launch a consultation in the coming months which will include a review of the existing flood funding formula to ensure that the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account when delivering flood protection. Feedback will be sought on the advantages and disadvantages of potential reforms to the flood funding formula.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21526 on Methylphenidate: Norfolk, how many prescriptions for methylphenidate were dispensed by Norfolk and Waveney (a) integrated care board and (b) clinical commissioning group in each year between 2019 and 2024.

The Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) from the NHS Business Services Authority provides the total number of prescription items of each medicine dispensed in the community in England. The following table shows the total number of National Health Service prescription items for the chemical substance methylphenidate that were dispensed in the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) area from January 2019 to October 2024, latest data available, regardless of where prescribed:Total prescription items dispensed in Norfolk and Waveney ICB201933,733202030,723202131,320202231,267202332,138202428,249Note: data for 2024 is from January to October. In addition, the following table shows the total number of NHS prescription items for the chemical substance methylphenidate that were prescribed by cost centres linked to the Sub ICB Location (SICBL), or prior to 2020, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area of Norfolk and Waveney, from January 2019 to October 2024:Total prescription items prescribed in Norfolk and Waveney SICBL201931,751202029,665202130,334202230,431202331,233202427,086Notes:data for 2024 is from January to October; andhistorical data has been re-presented using the latest NHS organisation structure.The CCG relates to the prescribing organisation, so the statistics are consistent with the English prescribing datasets rather than the dispensing organisation shown in PCA.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce which local authorities have been selected for the devolution priority programme.

We received proposals from a number of local authorities on 10 January expressing interest in joining the Devolution Priority Programme. We are reviewing these at pace, and we hope to announce places on the Programme in the coming weeks.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in levels of costs for statutory external audit fees levied on National Park authorities on those authorities; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) levels of those fees and (b) breadth of those statutory requirements.

Defra acknowledges that rising costs, including to fees required to fulfil statutory obligations, increase the funding pressures on National Park authorities. Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited (PSAA) independently sets fees for eligible bodies defined in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, including National Park authorities. PSAA is responsible for setting the scales of fees for the audit of accounts of authorities who have opted into its services. PSAA consults on and publishes its fee scales - 99% of eligible local bodies opted into its national scheme for the appointing period 2023/24 to 2027/28, including all National Park authorities in England. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a strategy in December to overhaul the local audit system in England. The strategy commits to a series of measures to fix the broken system and consults on several specific proposals.https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-audit-reform-a-strategy-for-overhauling-the-local-audit-system-in-england

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 16285 on Methylphenidate: Shortages, what estimate he has made of the number of prescriptions for methylphenidate (a) successfully and (b) uns

The Prescription Cost Analysis, produced by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), provides the total number of prescription items of each medicine dispensed in the community in England.There were 28,249 National Health Service prescription items f...

Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with infrastructure providers about the compatibility of fibre-to-the-premises broadband and telecare products.

Yes, the Government engages regularly with communication providers and network operators to ensure that the industry-led transition from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely. I have written to...

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 9576 on Methylphenidate: Shortages, what recent progress her Department has made on improving the supply of methylphenidate in (a) Norfolk and

We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues, where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to s...

If she will take steps to support those asked to pay large interest payments on pension contributions as a result of the McCloud judgement.

The purpose of the McCloud remedy is to ensure affected public service pension scheme members are put back into the same position they would have been if the discrimination identified by the Court of Appeal in 2018 had not occurred. It is therefore necess...

What steps she is taking to help tackle crime in rural areas.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling rural crime and the devasting impact it can have on communities and the agricultural sector.That’s why we’re bringing forward tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, including in rural ...

Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of cutting VAT for grassroots music venues.

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues sets out our commitment to working across the music sector to support the sustainability of grassroots music. In particular, the Government is urg...

If he will support the implementation of the Optimal Care Pathway for pancreatic cancer.

We are committed to transforming the National Health Service so that we diagnose cancer earlier, treat it faster, and improve survival rates.On 12 September 2024 the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre published their State of the Nation Report on ...

Whether (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other cancers with lower survival rates will have a focused section in the new cancer strategy.

The Government’s Health Mission sets the aim of building a National Health Service fit for the future and reducing the lives lost to the biggest killers, including cancer. As part of that work, and in response to Lord Darzi’s report, we have launched an e...