theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that care providers have a (a) clear and (b) enforceable duty of care towards employees who are victims of serious assaults in the workplace. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government condemns violent or aggressive behaviour towards social care staff. They have a right to expect a safe and secure workplace.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), and the health and safety regulations made under it, impose duties on employers, such as care providers, to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of their workers, and to assess the risks to employees and take appropriate measures to prevent or reduce the risk. The HSWA applies to work-related acts of violence and aggression. Health and Safety Executive, along with local authorities, play a critical role in preventing violence in the workplace by regulating and enforcing health and safety legislation in Great Britain.

Other enforcing authorities, such as the police, are responsible for dealing with the criminal acts of serious assaults and for bringing the perpetrators to justice.
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Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that hospices receive the funding required to raise staff pay in line with nationally agreed NHS pay rises. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are immensely grateful for the critical role healthcare workers, including hospice staff, play in our health service and the high quality, compassionate care they deliver.

The impact that National Health Service pay uplifts will have on the hospice sector will depend on the structure of the charity, which includes the number of employees and the salary levels. Independent organisations, such as charities and social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales.

It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face if they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local integrated care boards and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Leicester South to discuss the role of the optometry sector as part of the NHS 10 Year Plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Mr Calvin Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the evidence presented in Prostate Cancer Research’s report entitled Prostate Cancer Screening: The Impact on the NHS, on targeted prostate cancer screening for high-risk men; and if he will ensure that this is considered as part of the UK National Screening Committee’s review of prostate cancer screening options. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that people living in each region have equal levels of access to palliative care. \p Stephen Kinnock: Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is investing £3 million in a new Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit launched in January 2024 and is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.

On ICB accountability, NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that charitable hospices play as well, which is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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Mr Clive Betts:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consult people in South Yorkshire about the potential fluoridation of drinking water. \p Stephen Kinnock: The 10-Year Health Plan for England confirmed that we will assess the feasibility of the further rollout of water fluoridation where oral health outcomes are worst.

The National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) for England: oral health survey of 5 year old schoolchildren 2024 showed Yorkshire and the Humber to have the second highest prevalence of tooth decay by region in England.

We are currently engaging with Yorkshire Water on whether water fluoridation arrangements would be operable and efficient. This requirement must be completed before any subsequent decision and public consultation to fluoridate drinking water in South Yorkshire.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of residential and nursing care home fees on older people; and if his Department will take steps to ensure that annual fee increases are transparent. \p Stephen Kinnock: Fee rates are set by the providers of adult social care, the majority of which are in the independent sector. The Department does not have the power to limit the level of fees that a care home can charge. However, all businesses are required to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with customers.

The importance of price transparency is set out in Regulation 19 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, which requires that providers give timely and accurate written information about the cost of their care and treatment to the people who use their services.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of fully funding specialist palliative (a) care, (b) advice and (c) assessments provided by hospices. \p Stephen Kinnock: Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life, as well as their loved ones.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative care, including specialist palliative care, and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area. It is important to note that hospices, like the NHS, provide both specialist and generalist palliative care and end of life care. Not all patients will require specialist palliative care.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing for England, in the context of equivalent commissioners in (a) Wales and (b) Northern Ireland. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to improving the lives of older people in England, and we are progressing towards a National Care Service based on higher standards, greater choice and control, and better joined up care between services, with over £4 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by 2028.

We have previously considered the merits of appointing a Commissioner for Older People and Ageing in England, similar to those in Wales and Northern Ireland. However, we believe that the duties such a role would cover are already addressed through existing structures and initiatives across the health and social care system.

In England, local authorities have statutory responsibilities under the Care Act 2014 to promote individual wellbeing, prevent or delay the development of care needs, and ensure a sustainable and diverse care market, including for older people. This includes duties to assess needs, shape local provision, and support people to live independently for as long as possible. These responsibilities are reinforced by the Care Quality Commission’s assurance framework, which monitors how well councils are delivering these duties and which helps drive improvement across the system.
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10 Year Health Plan for England will include primary care provision; and if he will make it his policy to work with (a) optometrists, (b) pharmacists and (c) dentists in delivering that plan. \p Stephen Kinnock: The 10-Year Health Plan sets out to create a new model of care. It sets out to reinvent the National Health Service through three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. At the core of the plan is the development of the provision of care closer to home through, through neighbourhood health services. The plan is clear that we need to expand the local services that are offered, many of which are currently provided by the four sets of primary care contractors alongside community health services. It will be imperative therefore that we work with all these sectors, both nationally and locally, as plans develop. We have already started that process. As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we ran a significant public engagement process to collect views and ideas from across the country, on order to help inform the plan. This engagement will continue as we seek to work with stakeholders from across primary care to deliver a service fit for the future.
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Lauren Edwards:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that hospice contracts reflect (a) the cost of the services they provide and (b) the needs of their local populations. \p Stephen Kinnock: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

Additionally, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide NHS email accounts to (a) optometrists and (b) other NHS contractors to support more (i) efficient and (ii) secure communication across services. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS.net, formally NHSmail, provides licences for optometry practices in England, specifically for General Ophthalmic Services contractors with 10 or fewer sites. Eligible practices can receive one shared mailbox and up to three individual NHS.net accounts per site, enabling the secure communication of patient data. NHS.net also provides secure communication to other commissioned partners delivering healthcare across pharmacy, dentistry, social care, and other neighbourhood community providers.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating specialist dementia care homes to complete the Herbert Protocol for all residents with dementia. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Herbert Protocol is a form that can provide the police and other emergency services with essential information about a person with dementia should they go missing.

While this is not currently mandated, it is freely available for use online and can be completed by a person living with dementia, or those that care for them. Further information is available on the Herbert Protocol website at the following link:

https://herbertprotocol.com/
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase capacity in hospital eye services by expanding the use of optometry-led diagnostic and treatment pathways. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

We recognise the importance of making better use of the optometry sector and the capabilities to support eyecare capacity in the community, in order to reduce pressures on hospital services whilst also providing care closer to home. In line with our 10-Year Health Plan, we are working to develop neighbourhood health services so that more care takes place in the community, including optometry.

Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing the health needs of their population and for commissioning primary and secondary care, such as eye and optometry services, to meet the populations’ needs.

NHS England is working with eyecare providers to consider how eyecare services should be commissioned to ensure future sustainability. This includes looking at how more patients can be triaged and managed in the community, freeing up capacity for those that need face to face specialist care.
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on improving digital connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services through NHS England digital accelerator sites. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS England’s digital accelerators pilots have provided the evidence to demonstrate the value of the digital integration of primary and secondary care through a refined single point of access model. The digitally enabled single point of access uses IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services to improve the referral and triage of patients, with patient data and images being assessed by clinicians to determine if patients need an appointment in secondary care. This was found to reduce unnecessary hospital appointments, the time from referral to treatment, and supports more patients being managed in the community. The learning from the pilots has been shared with integrated care boards.
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Gareth Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, where does he expect a neighbourhood health centre to be established in the London Borough of Harrow; and when this will be. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.

That is why, over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health through services like debt advice, employment support, and obesity management programmes.

We recently announced the places that will form wave 1 of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP), after a rigorous assessment of applications against the core criteria. The first wave of the NNHIP covers 43 sites across England, from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the south-west to Sunderland in the north-east, ensuring that communities nationwide benefit from this new model of care.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning, planning, securing, and monitoring general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. Both ICBs and local health systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for Neighbourhood Health Centres.

Nationwide coverage will take time, but we are starting in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ICBs have retained their unspent dental allocation in each of the last five years. \p Stephen Kinnock: The requested information is not available. Dental budgets have been ringfenced since 2023/24. The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most. Where there are unused resources, NHS England will seek to ensure that these are used to improve dental access.

The total underspend for the 2023/24 financial year was £392 million. Information on underspend for the 2024/25 financial year is currently unavailable, as this data has not yet been validated. Prior to the 2023/24 financial year, a dental ringfence was not in place.
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Gareth Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many extra GP appointments have been created in Harrow West since the end of June 2024; and at which GP surgery locations. \p Stephen Kinnock: Harrow West sits within the NHS North West London Integrated Care Board (ICB). Across the ICB, there were 661,209 more appointments in the 14-months to August 2025 than the 14-months to August 2024 across 343 individual practices. There were 1,617 fewer appointments in the 14-months to August 2025 than the 14-months to August 2024 in the Harrow West constituency, across 16 practices.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure ICBs meet national requirements for hospice performance. \p Stephen Kinnock: Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.  The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative care and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment.

NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.

Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.  Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and, therefore, covers the palliative and end of life care sector, including independent hospices. The CQC registers health and adult care providers, monitors and inspects services to see whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and publishes its findings, including quality ratings.

The CQC can use its legal powers to take action where poor care is identified, and publishes regional and national views of the major quality issues in health and social care, including palliative and end of life care, encouraging improvement by highlighting good practice.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

I am pleased to confirm the continuation of children’s hospices funding for the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of stipulating that GP practices only receive the uplift to the Global Sum if that funding is passed onto employees. \p Stephen Kinnock: General practices (GP) are independent businesses, contracted to provide National Health Services. Every year we consult the profession regarding what services GPs will provide and the funding they will receive in return for these services.

We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, the biggest cash increase in over a decade.

The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we have accepted the DDRB’s pay recommendation and have uplifted the pay elements of the GP Contract by 4% on a consolidated basis, an increase of 1.2% on top of the 2.8% interim uplift in April.

Funding for these awards will be backdated to April 2025. We expect GP contractors to implement pay rises to other GP staff in line with the uplift in funding they are receiving. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for GPs to determine uplifts in pay for their employees.
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Tim Farron:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to train more GPs in Cumbria. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government has committed to training thousands more general practitioners (GPs) and has increased the number of available GP training places by an additional 250 from September 2025. This brings the total number of GP training places to 4,250 per year.

As of 31 August 2025, there were 89.8 full-time equivalent GPs in training grades working in practices in Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness.

We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, to treat patients on time again.

The 2018 to 2020 medical school expansion created new medical schools in regions where doctors were hard to recruit and where inequalities were high, and focussed on where there were medical specialty shortages, which includes GPs and psychiatry.

Current and future expansions to post-graduate training, including foundation training and GP specialty training, have been planned on the basis of relative need, balanced with the ability of locations to support trainees.
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Home Office's document entitled Statement of changes in immigration rules, published on 1 July 2025, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that vacancies in social care settings can be filled. \p Stephen Kinnock: Although overseas recruitment for adult social care ended as of 22 July 2025, for a transition period until 2028, in-country switching for those already in the country and working legally for their employers will be permitted. This means, for example, that care providers will continue to be able to recruit those who want to switch from student or graduate visas, who we know have provided a vital role in workforce capacity in recent years. This approach will be kept under review.

International workers who are already sponsored to work legally in the sector by the end of the transition period will be able to continue to extend their stay, change sponsors and when qualified, apply to settle. These arrangements include those who need to switch employers following a sponsor licence revocation. The Department is providing up to £12.5 million this financial year to 15 regional partnerships to help support workers affected by licence revocation into alternative, ethical employment.

More broadly, we recognise the scale of reform needed to make adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure those who work in care are respected as professionals. That is why we are introducing new Fair Pay Agreements for adult social care workers, with legislation currently going through Parliament, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care. We are also providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications. These changes will help attract staff to the sector, providing proper recognition and opportunities for them to build their careers.
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Tim Farron:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to deliver 50 new neighbourhood health centres by the end of this Parliament; and whether any will be built in Cumbria. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.

That is why over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health through services like debt advice, employment support, and obesity management programmes.

Nationwide coverage will take time, but we are starting in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings.

We recently announced the places that will form wave 1 of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP), after a rigorous assessment of applications against the core criteria. The first wave of the NNHIP covers 43 sites across England, from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the south-west to Sunderland in the north-east, ensuring that communities nationwide benefit from this new model of care.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that deaf people can receive appropriate care at home. \p Stephen Kinnock: Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their populations, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all people, including ensuring that deaf people receive appropriate care at home.

Additionally, the Government is taking steps to ensure that people, including deaf people, can receive high-quality, personalised care at home. This is part of the Government’s wider improvements to adult social care as we progress towards a National Care Service. These steps include:

- investing £12 million in workforce training through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, helping care workers to develop the skills needed to support people with sensory disabilities, including deaf individuals;

- rolling out the Care Workforce Pathway, which sets out the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to deliver high-quality care across eight role categories, including personal assistants and enhanced care workers;

- supporting unpaid carers, who play a vital role in home-based care – from March 2026, millions of unpaid carers will be able to manage care plans, appointments and prescriptions via the NHS App;

- raising the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to £196 per week and reviewing the case for paid carer’s leave;

- expanding care options to support independent living, with an additional £172 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant over two years, enabling around 15,600 extra home adaptations; and

- introducing care technology standards to help people choose the right support at home.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on whether Sport England has published guidance on mechanisms to challenge the (a) misuse of public funds and (b) neglect of mandated responsibilities by football associations. \p Stephanie Peacock: Sport England has mechanisms to address concerns, either in relation to Sport England funding conditions and/or the Code for Sports Governance via their published complaints procedure.

Sport England require their funding awards to be reconciled on a regular basis. This means that they have oversight of any misuse of funding, and can challenge funding recipients if this is detected.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help football clubs prepare for the introduction of the Independent Football Regulator. \p Stephanie Peacock: Following Royal Assent of the Football Governance Act, every effort is being made to ensure that the Independent Football Regulator is up and running as soon as possible.

Consistent and extensive engagement has been maintained with football clubs and competition owners throughout the passage of the Football Governance Act. The Department will continue to meet with key stakeholders as the focus transitions to the implementation of the new regime.

The Regulator itself is helping prepare the industry for the implementation of the Act. It has started consulting on how the new regime will work and undertaken its first conference to explain how the Regulator will operate, where all clubs from the Premier League to the National League were invited.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a mandatory extension of the £30 away-ticket cap beyond the Premier League on the finances of (a) lower-league and (b) non-league football clubs. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Independent Football Regulator has a tightly defined scope focusing on the financial sustainability of clubs, the systemic stability of the football pyramid and protecting club heritage. Football ticket price caps are commercial decisions and a matter for football clubs.

However, fan consultation is a key part of the licensing regime within the Football Governance Act and the Regulator will require clubs to consult fans on a range of specified relevant matters, including ticket pricing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) Independent Football Regulator and (b) Football Association on the conduct of (i) Manchester City and (ii) Chelsea. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Independent Football Regulator has a tightly defined scope focusing on the financial sustainability of clubs, the systemic stability of the football pyramid and protecting club heritage. Football ticket price caps are commercial decisions and a matter for football clubs.

However, fan consultation is a key part of the licensing regime within the Football Governance Act and the Regulator will require clubs to consult fans on a range of specified relevant matters, including ticket pricing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to support the development of affordable and accessible padel courts in (a) Isle of Wight East and (b) in Britain. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Ruth Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of covered (a) tennis, (b) padel and (c) multi-sport facilities to help facilitate (i) year-round and (ii) all-weather participation. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.

The majority of grassroots sport policy is devolved. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Welsh counterparts to discuss the importance of sport and tackling physical inactivity.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the recently announced £400m UK Government funding for grassroots sports facilities will be allocated to facilities in Southport constituency. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That’s why the Government is investing £98 million into the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme throughout 2025/26 to build and upgrade pitches and facilities UK wide.

On top of this, we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, and will then set out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK, including in Southport.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports and health club facilities in England, through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-22)

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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to take steps to support the LTA’s ambition to develop covered (a) tennis, (b) padel and (c) multi-sport facilities to facilitate year-round, all-weather participation. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives in England that will benefit as many people as possible.