theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Barry Gardiner:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17501 on Fisheries: Monitoring, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it a mandatory requirement for vessels over 24 metres to have cameras onboard under the Remote Electronic Monitoring roll out. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra have already assessed which fisheries should have mandatory Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) and published the results in 2023.

The assessment concluded that over 24 metre pelagic trawlers in English waters should be a priority. Implementation began in summer 2024.

A further four fisheries were also identified as priorities. In those fisheries, REM will be mandatory for vessels over 10 metres.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the regulation of Northern Ireland Water. \p Emma Hardy: Water policy and regulation in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the Northern Ireland Executive. However, there are regular opportunities for ministerial discussions on a wide range of issues where there are shared challenges and opportunities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Barry Gardiner:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17500 on Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries, for what reason he was not able to provide a timescale. \p Emma Hardy: The Department has not yet been able to provide a timescale for these measures due to the need to follow due process and consider how we can best meet the Government’s priorities. The Government recognises the need for action to protect and restore our marine environment, while supporting a sustainable fishing industry.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what specific steps he is taking to (a) monitor and (b) mitigate the environmental impact of sewage spills on (i) waterways and (ii) broader ecosystems. \p Emma Hardy: From 1 January 2025, water companies will be required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning (under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991 as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021).

In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Bill will introduce a duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning.

This will create an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see where, and how often, overflows are discharging, and hold water companies to account. This will meet the Government commitment to ensure monitoring of every outlet.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill will also introduce a statutory duty for all water companies in England and Wales to publish annual Pollution Incident Reduction Plans.

The measures in this Bill will provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers for the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies in the next investment period, which is due to start in April next year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a strategic plan for food security. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is currently considering an ambitious food strategy that will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, and in doing so will consider elements of the food system that can contribute towards those outcomes. More details will be made available in due course.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the methodologies used by the Rural Payments Agency for deciding which areas of farmland are eligible for the Farming Recovery Fund. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Rural Payments Agency uses both the Environment Agency and Met Office data to establish which farm businesses may be eligible for Farming Recovery Payment. The data on river flooding and exceptional rainfall allows the agency to identify affected land.

The full methodology can be found in the link below.

Our approach to Farming Recovery payments – Farming.
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George Freeman:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to use earth observation data to help support the (a) measurement, (b) monitoring and (c) setting of (i) agricultural, (ii) landfill and (iii) land use contributions to the UK's net zero emissions targets. \p Daniel Zeichner: Remote sensing technologies have increasing potential to provide cost-effective solutions for monitoring land use changes, gas leaks, and population density. Defra is examining the feasibility of employing Earth observation techniques for the monitoring and measurement of point source greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture, landfills, and other land uses.

We will continue to follow advances in this technology and investigate opportunities for its deployment, including via satellite-based Earth observation, and other remote sensing technologies such as drones and handheld equipment, which are crucial for ground truthing and establishing baseline measurements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Andrew Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of the condition of the canal towpath network and (b) potential merits of enabling higher levels of use of the canal towpath network for (i) walking and (ii) cycling. \p Emma Hardy: Use of towpaths by walkers and cyclists is an operational matter for individual navigation authorities, and Government does not have a role in that. However, Defra provides an annual grant of £52.6 million to the Canal and River Trust, which is the largest navigation authority in England and Wales with 2,000 miles of waterways. The Trust reports that towpath user satisfaction in 2023/24 was 91%.
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Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support small businesses with flood damage (a) prevention and (b) mitigation. \p Emma Hardy: Protecting communities and small businesses around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities.

That is why we have committed £2.4 billion to invest over the next two years to bolster the nation’s resilience, which is vital if we are to protect homes and business across the country.

As part of this investment, we are prioritising repairing and restoring critical assets to get our defences back on track and our new Flood Resilience Taskforce will play a key role in coordinating national and local flood preparation ahead of the winter flood season.
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Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many pensioners are eligible for the Warm Homes Discount in each region. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Warm Home Discount statistics (published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/warm-home-discount-statistics-2023-to-2024) provide data on the number of rebates received by region (table 2), by the benefits claimed which make recipients eligible (including pension credit, table 12) and by the age of the lead beneficiary (table 14). These statistics reflect rebates paid rather than eligibility.
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Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to page 69 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, how much funding will be available to UK Research and Innovation to extend regional partnerships. \p Feryal Clark: Our ambition through the innovation commitments announced in the English Devolution White Paper is to generate innovation-led growth across the country, and help places make stronger contributions to a thriving national innovation ecosystem. Through UK Research and Innovation, we will support more local leaders, working in partnership with businesses and universities, to unlock their regions’ innovation potential.

The Spending Review settlement set out the overall R&D budget for my department, which is £13.9 billion for 2025/26. Further details of how this funding will be allocated will be announced in due course, and the next phase of the spending review will confirm multi-year budgets for innovation funding.
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Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK's franchising framework. \p Blair McDougall: The self-regulation of franchising through the British Franchise Association has generally served the UK well, with the franchise sector contributing significantly to our economy.

However, the government is not complacent and is concerned to maintain fairness in business relationships and will continue to monitor developments in this area. Government is dedicated to implementing an ambitious regulatory reform agenda. In March we published our Action Plan for Regulation outlining changes to streamline rules and regulations to support growth. Our modern Industrial Strategy also includes an ambitious package of regulatory reforms that will support our growth-driving sectors and the wider economy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations on the delivery of post. \p Blair McDougall: The Universal Service Obligation requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week to every address in the UK at a uniform price.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and ensuring that Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations. It sets Royal Mail enforceable targets to deliver a certain proportion of items on time each year. Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified.

In October, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its quality-of-service targets and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.
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Graham Stuart:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make a statement on the (a) timing and (b) outcome of the Trade Remedies Authority’s investigation into imports of US-produced Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and set out the steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK biodiesel producers are not placed at a competitive disadvantage resulting from unfair trading practices. \p Chris Bryant: The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK’s independent arms-length body responsible for the conduct of trade remedy investigations. They make recommendations to the Secretary of State as to whether any such measures should be introduced.

On 17 March 2025 the Trade Remedies Authority initiated a subsidy investigation on the import of HVO Biodiesel of US-origin. As the investigation remains ongoing, I cannot comment further. The TRA will publish relevant information on the public file as the review progresses.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the level of the UK's exposure to Investor State Disputes in the fossil fuel industry. \p Chris Bryant: Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means for investors to resolve disputes with states where they believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory, or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. An independent Tribunal will determine the level of liability, if any, in Investor State Dispute proceedings. The Government has never faced a successful ISDS claim.

The UK has a longstanding track record of supporting foreign investment, including through fulfilling its obligations in the international investment agreements to which it is a party.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59033 on Liquefied Natural Gas: Mozambique, whether the UK Export Finance due diligence in relation to UK support for the Mozambique liquefied natural gas project has concluded. \p Chris Bryant: UK Export Finance is currently in talks with project sponsors and other lenders, including export credit agencies, and other stakeholders, regarding the latest status of the Mozambique LNG project. I am unable to comment further during these talks for reasons of commercial sensitivity, but I will update the House once discussions conclude.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support the aluminium industry through its negotiations on free trade agreements. \p Chris Bryant: We have taken decisive action to support the UK aluminium industry through recent trade agreements that reduce barriers and enhance market access by removing tariffs.

Additionally, thanks to the strength of the UK-US partnership, the UK remains the only country to benefit from a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium exports to the US, avoiding the global rate of 50%. The UK is the only country to have secured this commitment, giving our companies a competitive advantage.
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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials in her Department hold language qualifications in (a) Mandarin, (b) Cantonese, (c) Russian, (d) Ukrainian, (e) Arabic, (f) Farsi, and (g) Hebrew, broken down by C1 and C2 levels. \p Seema Malhotra: The language proficiency of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) staff cannot adequately be assessed solely by looking at the number with current C1 and C2 qualifications, as this does not take into account those staff members who may hold other qualifications in those languages or be native speakers. A full record of staff language capabilities is not centrally held, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on external training courses involving actors since July 2024. \p Seema Malhotra: Data on external training involving actors is not tracked separately and is spread across various expense codes and expenditure types. Isolating this would require manual review of large volumes of data, making it impractical to extract reliably without disproportionate effort and cost.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will her Department's contracts with Inter Mediate. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 25 September 2025 to question 70453.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to formally recognise Taiwan. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 19 December 2024 to Question 19224.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Bangladeshi counterpart on ending religious-based violence in that country. \p Seema Malhotra: The UK remains deeply concerned about religious-based violence in Bangladesh. The previous Minister for the Indo-Pacific visited Bangladesh in November 2024 and discussed the importance of protection of religious minorities with the Chief Adviser. In February 2025, the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, visited Bangladesh and held meetings with the Interim Government to discuss issues of justice, accountability, and the protection of fundamental freedoms.

The UK welcomed public condemnations of violence from Bangladeshi leaders and civil society and supports the interim Government's actions to safeguard vulnerable communities.

Our commitment to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is reflected in our £27 million Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme (2023-2028), which aims to protect civic space, foster inclusive dialogue, and address tensions that can lead to violence.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps she has taken with international counterparts to ensure the protection of Christian communities in Somalia. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 6 August to Question 68009.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for the Government's (a) trade and (b) security cooperation with the US of the (i) deportation and (ii) detention centre activities of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. \p Stephen Doughty: US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities. Our Embassy in Washington works closely with US officials to understand how their policies impact British citizens and we update UK travel advice accordingly.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the protection of freedom of religion or belief in countries identified as priority areas as part of her Department’s freedom of religion or belief strategy. \p Chris Elmore: The UK champions Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, both in sub-Saharan Africa and across the world. On 8 July, the UK's Special Envoy for Religious Freedom, David Smith MP, set out the Government's new strategy on FoRB, providing a framework for engagement with other countries, and describing the links between the protection of FoRB and other goals including the prevention of conflict. As part of this strategy, the UK continues to support FoRB on the international stage, through our position in the United Nations, G7 and Article 18 Alliance.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the (a) humanitarian, (b) security and (c) political situation in Sudan. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians on 30 October.
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Juliet Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on the reported massacres in el-Fasher in Sudan. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians on 30 October.
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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recent fighting in el-Fasher, Sudan. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians on 30 October.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 October to Question 83336. All spending is subject to standard value for money assessments.
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Layla Moran:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to negotiate an agreement with the EU for a reciprocal key scheme to allow access to disabled toilets in Europe. \p Stephen Doughty: The Euro key scheme gives access to accessible toilets in 16 countries in the EU and European Economic Area. We have initiated discussions with the organisation of persons with disabilities based in Germany that sells and provides keys for the scheme to understand the situation and identify the barriers that need to be addressed.
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Sir Iain Duncan Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her counterpart in Ukraine on an extension of tariff-free access for Ukrainian (a) poultry and (b) egg products, which is due to expire in March 2026. \p Stephen Doughty: The extension was raised by the Ukrainians during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Kyiv on 12 September. This information was relayed to the Department for Business and Trade who lead on the UK-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement including the question of the extension of provisions for eggs and poultry. The Department for Business and Trade have confirmed that they will review the options on egg and poultry tariffs before March 2026.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has taken steps to help support residents of the Cayman Islands in response to Hurricane Melissa. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement published on 4 November on the UK's response to Hurricane Melissa.
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Dr Beccy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support water and sanitation projects through Official Development Assistance. \p Chris Elmore: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 17 September to question 75697. Further to the answer given, the latest consolidated Statistics for International Development, published in September 2025, shows that UK bilateral Official Development Assistance spent on water, sanitation and hygiene totalled £80 million in the 2024 calendar year.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy for the UK to advocate against a policy of Ukrainian appeasement towards Russia in diplomatic discussions with all other countries, for as long as it remains Ukraine's position to oppose appeasement. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK is focussed on ensuring Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, and on ramping up the pressure on Putin to force him to engage in meaningful talks that result in a just and lasting peace. We are united with partners that the fighting should stop immediately, that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations, and that international borders must not be changed by force.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that (a) British nationals and (b) citizens of British Overseas Territories holding British passports are provided adequate (i) food, (ii) housing, (iii) medical care, (iv) welfare and (v) other humanitarian support whilst resident in the UK in search of specialist medical care unavailable within their home territory. \p Stephen Doughty: The UK remains committed to meeting the reasonable assistance needs of Montserrat. Much of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funding allocated to the Government of Montserrat (£62 million in this financial year alone) is used to support the provision of primary healthcare on island. This includes the construction of Montserrat's new national hospital, as well as delivery of Montserrat's Health Transformation Strategy and when necessary medical evacuations off island.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to measure the potential impact of UK leadership in multilateral development fora on global poverty reduction outcomes. \p Chris Elmore: The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82981 on PE and sport premium grant funding, what alternative funding streams her Department provides that are available to primary schools for capital expenditure on sports equipment. \p Georgia Gould: Schools, including primary schools, are allocated devolved formula capital (DFC) to spend on capital projects and capital purchases that meet their own priorities.

Further information and DFC allocations for the 2025/26 financial year are published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding.
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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools reported deepfake intimate image abuse in 2024-25. \p Josh MacAlister: Schools are under no obligation to report data on deepfake intimate image abuse to the department.

The department’s statutory safeguarding guidance, 'Keeping children safe in education', which supports schools and colleges to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, includes robust advice on how to protect pupils online. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.
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Sarah Pochin:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria for additional summer holiday support to include all (a) kinship carers and (b) low-income families. \p Olivia Bailey: Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.

This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also provides work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.

The department will be releasing further details about the HAF programme by the end of the year, including updated local authority guidance.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on steps to improve vocational skills teaching in schools in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East, and (e) England. \p Josh MacAlister: The department’s careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks, encourages teachers to use industry and career pathways as a context for teaching the national curriculum and qualifications. We also fund the Careers and Enterprise Company to help schools and colleges deliver high quality careers programmes. To boost skills and work readiness, every young person will receive two weeks’ worth of work experience during their secondary education.

Technical awards are the main vocationally focused pre-16 offer and play an important role in supporting a broad curriculum at key stage 4 and progression to post-16 pathways.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to remove interest rates on student loans. \p Josh MacAlister: Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree. To consider both students and taxpayers, and ensure the real value of the loans over the repayment term, interest rates are linked to inflation.

Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Student loan repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or the amount borrowed. Regular repayments are based on a fixed percentage of earnings above the applicable student loan repayment threshold.

No repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. For lower earners who will not repay much of their loan, any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled after the loan term ends or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of an International Student Levy on the ability for universities to deliver on the Post-16 Skills White Paper. \p Josh MacAlister: The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out how the department intends to work with the sector to achieve our vision for the future of higher education (HE).This includes the introduction of a tuition fee escalator to put the sector on a more sustainable footing, and the reintroduction of targeted means-tested maintenance grants, alongside a commitment to increase maintenance loans in line with inflation every academic year to widen access. We are also strengthening the Office for Students’ powers to tackle pockets of low quality provision and protect value for public money.

The levy on international student fees will fund the means-tested maintenance grants. We will set out further details on both measures at the Autumn Budget.

HE providers are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure consistent access to post-diagnostic dementia support. \p Stephen Kinnock: Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under our 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia. It will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

Those with dementia will also benefit from more joined up care through co-created care plans.

We have also published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool to help simplify best practice. This is available at the following link:

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-tool
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Mark Sewards:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in full-time employment who have caring responsibilities can access GP appointments. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department is expanding capacity in general practice which will help deliver more appointments to patients, ensuring everyone, including those in full-time employment and with caring responsibilities, can access care.

General practitioner (GP) core hours are between 8am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday, extending beyond the usual working day and usual school day to allow easier access for those in employment, or with caring responsibilities.

In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of over 2,000 additional GPs into primary care networks (PCNs) across England, helping to increase appointment availability. In addition, practices are now required to provide access to online services throughout core operating hours, reducing the 8am scramble and increasing flexibility for patients.

PCNs must also offer appointments outside of core hours, including on weekends, which can be more convenient for people in full-time employment, or with caring responsibilities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Mark Sewards:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services for (a) carers and (b) frontline care workers. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a National Health Service dentist including for carers and front-line workers. We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments from 1 April 2025.

ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August 2025. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of GP services in Gloucestershire to meet patient demand. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are expanding capacity in general practice, enabling more appointments for patients both nationally and in Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board has achieved a 6.4% increase in appointments delivered in general practice since 2024, with 398,000 appointments provided in September 2025 compared to 374,000 in September 2024.

In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of an additional 2,500 GPs into Primary Care Networks across England. This has helped to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. We have invested an additional £1.1 billion in general practice to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service which was the biggest increase in over a decade. Additionally, we have invested £102 million into the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund which will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 GP practices across England and will help deliver more appointments each year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of dementia-specific training provided to primary care staff. \p Stephen Kinnock: We want all health and care staff to have received the appropriate training to provide high quality care to people with dementia. Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.

The required training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework, which is available at the following link:

https://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/info-hub/dementia-2015-updated-2018/

There are a variety of resources available on the NHS England E-learning for Health platform, including a programme on dementia care, designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce

Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.

We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Catherine West:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve children's access to orthodontic treatment in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: National Health Service orthodontic treatment is free for people under the age of 18 years old with a clear health need for treatment. Adult patients, and patients under the age of 18 years old who do not qualify for NHS orthodontic treatment, may choose to pay for private orthodontic treatment. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/orthodontics/#:~:text=Taking%20care%20of%20your%20teeth,of%20your%20teeth%20and%20gums

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry and orthodontic services, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency, this is the North Central London ICB.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of removing the relevant target from the NHS Operational Planning Guidance 2025-6 on the dementia diagnosis rate. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Darzi Investigation found that there are too many targets set for the National Health Service, which made it hard for local systems to prioritise their actions or to be held properly accountable.

Our aim is to give more power to local systems and let them decide how they use local funding to best meet the needs of their local population.

NHS Planning Guidance is not an exhaustive list of everything the NHS does, and the absence of a target does not mean it is not an area of focus. We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%.

We will deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect NHS priorities to provide the best possible care and support.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-06)

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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to increase funding for (a) respite care and (b) community-based support for unpaid carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need.

The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, which can include respite support for carers.

To help local authorities fulfil their duties, including to unpaid carers, the 2025 Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.