Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Surrey County Council on promoting foster caring in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities to recruit more foster carers and committed an additional £15 million in the budget. This funding is to start work to ensure every local authority has access to a hub and to embed the existing regional fostering recruitment and retention hubs, covering over 60% of local authorities in England. The hubs will transform the way people who are interested in fostering are supported and rollout of the Mockingbird programme, which offers peer-support to foster carers and the children in their care. Surrey County Council is part of the Fostering South East recruitment hub which officially launched in 2024, bringing together 20 local authorities.
The department is also funding Fosterlink, a support service for local authority fostering services not in the regional programme. This identifies areas for improvement and creates a national network to share best practice.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve fire service workforce resilience in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government acknowledges the vital contributions made by fire and rescue services. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed are a matter for each Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) as the employer, based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.
Fire and rescue reform priorities continue to be shaped through regular engagement with sector leaders via the Ministerial Advisory Group on Fire and Rescue Reform (MAGFRR) and other key forums. Established by the Government, MAGFRR provides a strategic platform for addressing policy challenges and supporting the modernisation of fire and rescue services.
The Government remains committed to working collaboratively with all sector partners to deliver meaningful change and ensure services are equipped to keep the public safe.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of potential economic merits of linking UK and the EU Emissions Trading Schemes.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Linking is expected to bring significant economic benefits. It would create a larger, stable carbon market, support British businesses through removing trade barriers, support UK renewable rollout and lower electricity costs.
Linking is expected to facilitate a mutual UK-EU CBAM exemption, removing a major barrier to trade and lowering costs for UK firms. Linking is also expected to support new green industries in the UK and enable cross-border CO2 storage.
UK Government analysis was published on 19th May 2025 and is available at Gov.uk
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of rejoining the EU's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Through our regular engagement with the aviation industry, we are aware of the operational implications following the loss of access to the EU’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.
The Department continues to work with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, which is leading the Government’s business case on a future Satellite Based Augmentation System, to ensure that the aviation requirements are understood and considered as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to safeguard the welfare of (a) pigs and (b) piglets on farms in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All pigs are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation, and potential breaches of the law are taken very seriously. Any allegations of poor animal welfare are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. The local authority, as an appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards are in place to prevent children and young people from being placed in inappropriate mental health settings, including (a) adult wards and (b) facilities located far from home.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All placements must be clinically appropriate, proportionate to any risk presented, and local ownership and involvement must be maintained from a clinical and commissioning perspective. Where possible, a placing team should look to neighbouring geographical areas when considering placements to minimise distance from home and ensure that local involvement is facilitated more easily and effectively.
NHS England is developing a new model for specialised children and young people’s mental health services, supported by a new service specification and quality standards. This model will support the delivery of specialised services in the community and within children and young people’s mental health inpatient settings. This will aim to ensure children and young people are treated in the least restrictive, age-appropriate environments, as close to home as possible.
£75 million has been set aside in the NHS Capital Guidance for 2025/26 to reduce inappropriate out of area placements in adult, and children and young people’s services, including in acute care, Psychiatric Intensive Care Units, rehabilitation wards, and secure services. Integrated care boards will receive allocations from this funding pot based on credible, cost-effective, high-impact plans to reduce inappropriate out of area placements.
The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published on 24 October, sets targets for integrated care boards to eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements by 2028/29
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing funding for research into treatments for Huntington’s disease in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
In January 2024, the NIHR invested £6 million over three years into two Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Units to conduct research that informs policymaking in the Department and its health system partners. The units’ work programmes span multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington’s disease.
As well as funding research itself, the NIHR invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, collectively forming the NIHR infrastructure.
For example, research supported by the NIHR’s UCLH Biomedical Research Centre and Research Delivery Network has shown that AMT-130 gene therapy led to a 75% slowing in disease progression after 36 months in people with Huntington’s disease who also demonstrated slower motor and cognitive function degeneration, offering long-awaited hope to individuals and families impacted by the disease..
The NIHR continues to welcome high-quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Huntington’s disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the accuracy of vehicle registration data held by the DVLA.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest available data shows more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s record. Of the remainder, around six per cent are in the motor trade where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
The DVLA works to reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed through a combination of enforcement, collaboration and education. The DVLA works with more than 80 local authorities and police forces to identify and act on vehicles which do not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also deploys Automatic Number Plate Recognition vehicles to detect unlicensed or unregistered vehicles and sends reminders as well as promoting easier payment options to encourage people to license their vehicle on time.
There are long-standing legislative requirements in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of vehicle registration plate data held by the DVLA.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest available data shows more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s record. Of the remainder, around six per cent are in the motor trade where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
The DVLA works to reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed through a combination of enforcement, collaboration and education. The DVLA works with more than 80 local authorities and police forces to identify and act on vehicles which do not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also deploys Automatic Number Plate Recognition vehicles to detect unlicensed or unregistered vehicles and sends reminders as well as promoting easier payment options to encourage people to license their vehicle on time.
There are long-standing legislative requirements in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of implementing the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement with the EU on (a) the economy and (b) economic growth in (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) England.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information requested is available in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Methodology Note: Assessing the long-run growth impact of a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement. This is available here
This analysis found that UK GDP is estimated to increase by up to 0.14% in the long run (compared to the baseline of no SPS agreement). This increase is equivalent of up to £5.1 billion per year when compared to projected UK GDP levels in 2040.
The Government is committed to representing devolved Government interests in the EU negotiations so that there are benefits for the whole of the UK.