Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending eligibility for energy support schemes to residential park home residents who are not connected to the gas grid.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Warm Home Discount provides a £150 rebate off energy bills to eligible low-income households through their electricity supplier. As residential park home residents usually do not have a domestic electricity supplier, they are unable to receive this support. However, residential park home residents can apply for the £150 Charis Park Homes Warm Home Discount Scheme; the 2025/26 scheme will reopen in late August 2025. Following our recent consultation on expanding the Warm Home Discount scheme, the Charis Park Home Discount Scheme will not be changed.

The Government has expanded the Household Support Fund in England for a further year until 31 March 2026 with an extra £742 million in support, with additional funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula. Park home residents struggling with their bills can contact their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support. The current Warm Home Discount scheme Regulations end in March 2026. We will consult on options for the next scheme period in the autumn.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to provide financial support to voluntary blood bike charities undertaking urgent medical transport services for the NHS.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Currently, there are no plans at a national level to provide financial support to voluntary blood bike charities undertaking urgent medical transport services, and NHS Blood and Transplant does not use the service of blood bikes.

Decisions to commission support for local services are taken at an integrated care board and trust level. Hospitals can, on occasion, choose to arrange their own transport for blood using contractors, couriers, or charity volunteers, such as the blood bikes, which currently deliver 2% of the blood products used by hospitals across England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2025 to Question 60968 on Insomnia: Lancashire, what data his Department holds on the number of people who accessed NHS Talking Therapies in relation to chronic insomnia in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire in the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the number if patients referred to NHS Talking Therapies with insomnia in Fylde, and the number of patients referred with insomnia to NHS Talking Therapies in Lancashire, from 2021 to 2025:

Source: Talking Therapies Dataset, NHS England

Notes:

1. data for 2025 is from January to April; and
2. the data has been rounded and suppressed in accordance with standard NHS Talking Therapies suppression rules, which means that values between zero and four are suppressed, represented by an asterisk, and other values are rounded to the nearest five at sub national level.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to (a) restrict and (b) regulate unsolicited doorstep cold calling in residential areas.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Conducted properly, trading from door to door or conducting business in a consumer’s home can be a legitimate form of business, provided traders observe the legislation regulating the practice.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 updates existing protections that prohibit traders from engaging in aggressive or misleading commercial practices, including harassment, high pressure-selling techniques, coercion or undue influence against consumers. Traders are banned from ignoring a request from a consumer to leave or not return to the consumer’s home.

Residents can collectively ask their local Trading Standards services to set up ‘No cold calling zones’, which are designed to prohibit uninvited callers.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help protect people from unsolicited doorstep cold calling.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Conducted properly, trading from door to door or conducting business in a consumer’s home can be a legitimate form of business, provided traders observe the legislation regulating the practice.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 updates existing protections that prohibit traders from engaging in aggressive or misleading commercial practices, including harassment, high pressure-selling techniques, coercion or undue influence against consumers. Traders are banned from ignoring a request from a consumer to leave or not return to the consumer’s home.

Residents can collectively ask their local Trading Standards services to set up ‘No cold calling zones’, which are designed to prohibit uninvited callers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making frontline health and social care workers eligible for the autumn 2025 covid-19 vaccination programme.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026

On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that for autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.

In line with JCVI’s advice, frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) and staff working in care homes for older adults will not be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination under the national programme for autumn 2025. This is following an extensive review by the JCVI of the scientific evidence surrounding the impact of vaccination on the transmission of the virus from HSCWs to patients, protection of HSCWs against symptoms of the disease, and staff sickness absences.

In the current era of high population immunity to COVID-19, additional COVID-19 doses provide very limited, if any, protection against infection and any subsequent onward transmission of infection. For HSCWs, this means that COVID-19 vaccination likely now has only a very limited impact on reducing staff sickness absence. Therefore, the focus of the programme is now on those at greatest risk of serious disease and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.

HSCWs who are otherwise eligible, for example because of their own health conditions, will continue to be offered the vaccine as part of the National Health Service programme.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional (a) neighbourhood police officers, (b) police community support officers and (c) special constables have been recruited since the start of this Parliament.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 additional policing personnel into neighbourhood teams by the end of this parliament, including 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by Spring 2026. All forces have agreed their delivery plans, and force-level recruitment projections are published here: Neighbourhood policing grant allocations and projections: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK..

The number of neighbourhood police personnel as of 31 March 2025 will be published in the Home Office’s upcoming biannual ‘Police Workforce Statistics, England and Wales’ publication. This release will provide a comprehensive overview of force-level workforce composition.

We will publish progress against neighbourhood policing force delivery plans in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to publish force-level recruitment figures for neighbourhood policing roles.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 additional policing personnel into neighbourhood teams by the end of this parliament, including 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by Spring 2026. All forces have agreed their delivery plans, and force-level recruitment projections are published here: Neighbourhood policing grant allocations and projections: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK..

The number of neighbourhood police personnel as of 31 March 2025 will be published in the Home Office’s upcoming biannual ‘Police Workforce Statistics, England and Wales’ publication. This release will provide a comprehensive overview of force-level workforce composition.

We will publish progress against neighbourhood policing force delivery plans in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help improve (i) public confidence and (ii) perceptions of fairness in policing and (b) measure progress on the implementation of the measures set out in the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government’s Safer Streets mission is focused on restoring neighbourhood policing, halving serious violence and rebuilding trust and confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee was developed through close working with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and other policing leads, and we continue to work closely with them to ensure it is delivered across all police forces in England and Wales.

The Home Office has also worked with the College of Policing and the NPCC to develop a performance framework which outlines to forces and the public the performance measures which are being assessed to monitor the progress of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

The framework is attached at the following link Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to improve access to funding for people whose homes require adaptations for health reasons.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government departments more widely on relevant issues.

We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63159 on South Fylde Line, what discussions she has had with local (a) communities and (b) stakeholders on future service improvements on the Lytham to Preston line.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Through the Rail North Partnership (RNP), my Department and Transport for the North widely engage stakeholders across the region. I have asked RNP to contact the Hon. Member about his local line.

Operators must align services with demand, ensuring sustainability and value for money. I urge the Member to work with Lancashire County Council as they carry out consultation of their Local Transport Plan, and whether to prioritise schemes targeting this line for further consideration.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63159 on South Fylde Line, what interim measures she is considering to improve capacity on the Lytham to Preston line before 2030.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Through the Rail North Partnership (RNP), my Department and Transport for the North widely engage stakeholders across the region. I have asked RNP to contact the Hon. Member about his local line.

Operators must align services with demand, ensuring sustainability and value for money. I urge the Member to work with Lancashire County Council as they carry out consultation of their Local Transport Plan, and whether to prioritise schemes targeting this line for further consideration.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of Tofersen across NHS trusts in England; and what steps he is taking to ensure equitable geographic access.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to the drug tofersen for people with SOD1 MND.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025 to Question 63093 on Nurseries: Fylde, what steps her Department took to advertise the opportunity to participate in the programme to schools in Fylde at the last round of allocations; and if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the advertisement process.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To promote the School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024/25, the department published detailed information on GOV.UK and the Education Hub, supported by social media posts. We held two webinars for schools and one for local authorities to explain the programme and answer questions. Additional communications were shared in a variety of ways with local authorities and stakeholders to help cascade information to schools.

The programme received 642 applications, which was more than double the number of available grants. The North West, where Fylde is located, submitted 115 applications (18% of the total), the highest of any region and above its 15% share of primary schools nationally.

The government has committed nearly £370 million to further expand school-based nursery places, with next steps to be announced shortly. Schools in Fylde are encouraged to stay in touch with their local authority about upcoming opportunities to create or expand school-based nursery provision.

The department is reviewing its communications to inform future rounds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2025 to Question 60968 on Insomnia: Lancashire, whether his Department has had discussions with Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board on its insomnia services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No such discussions have taken place. Information on how to access NHS Talking Therapies services is available from general practitioners, National Health Service mental health providers, voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations, and at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2025 to 60968 on Insomnia: Lancashire, what steps his Department is taking to promote awareness of self-referral options to NHS talking therapies for people with insomnia.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No such discussions have taken place. Information on how to access NHS Talking Therapies services is available from general practitioners, National Health Service mental health providers, voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations, and at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have (a) appointed a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead, (b) established an antisocial behaviour action plan and (c) increased patrols in hotspot areas.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Government’s Plan for Change details our commitment to reduce ASB, including that every police force in England and Wales will have a dedicated lead officer by the end of July, who will work with communities to develop a local ASB action plan.

I am pleased to confirm all dedicated ASB lead officers are now in place and will be developing local action plans as soon as possible.

We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support this commitment. Lancashire Constabulary has been allocated £5,090,296 and will deliver an increase of 53 police officers and 30 PCSOs by 31 March 2026.

The Home Office is also providing £66.3millon funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. Lancashire Constabulary will receive £1,713,512 of this funding.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Growth and Skills Levy will be of the same value as the Apprenticeship Levy; and whether that levy will apply to companies paying over £3 million in wages.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government is reforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a Growth and Skills Levy. Alongside existing high-quality apprenticeship routes, this will enable employers in England to invest in a broader range of high-quality training, including foundation apprenticeships and short courses in priority sectors. Skills England, a new national skills organisation, will consult a wide range of partners to ensure that levy-funded training meets the needs of employers, providers, and learners, and delivers good value for money.

These reforms focus on expanding the types of training that employers in England can fund through the Levy. There are no plans to change the way employers pay the UK-wide Apprenticeship Levy. The levy will continue to be paid by all UK employers with an annual pay bill over £3 million, at a rate of 0.5 per cent.

All taxes are kept under review as part of the Government’s tax policy making process.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase safety measures at beaches during (a) summer months and (b) other periods of increased activity.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The provision of lifeguards, beach patrols and safety information is part of the risk assessment undertaken by the local authority or beach owner. In conjunction with other services HM Coastguard provides safety advice and guidance about the coastal environment with the aim to reduce incident numbers, this guidance includes how to call for help in an emergency.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of businesses that have ceased trading in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire each day since 1 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th July is attached.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on tackling county lines gangs in schools.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education to tackle knife crime and the criminal exploitation of children.

Ministers from both Departments met recently for a targeted conversation on tackling child criminal exploitation and county lines.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle county lines gangs operating in Lancashire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the drug gangs that run county lines through violence and exploitation. That is why we are investing more than £43m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.

While the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, West Yorkshire Police and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which affects all forces.

That is why, through the County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with other forces, and we have established a dedicated fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Lancashire Police.

The NCLCC also regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 23-29 June 2025 and resulted in 241 lines closed, as well as 1,965 arrests, 1,179 individuals safe-guarded and 501 weapons seized.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of people engaged in county lines activity.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

According to the NCLCC’s latest Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment, 13,084 individuals were identified by the police as linked to County Lines between April 2023 and March 2024.

These individuals had a variety of roles, including offenders, drug users and victims.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of fiscal policy on levels of food inflation in Fylde constituency since 4 July 2025.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts of the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 March 2025. The OBR does not publish estimates of the impact of policy decisions on levels of food inflation, nor on inflation at a constituency level. The Office for National Statistics publishes food inflation data based on observed price movements at a national level, which is not disaggregated to constituency level.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating in-person appointments for personal independent payment assessments.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is committed to assessing people as quickly as possible to ensure they receive the support they are entitled to in a timely manner.

Where there is sufficient available evidence, assessments are done by paper-based review, without the need for a formal consultation. If an in-person consultation is required this is completed either face-to-face, via telephone or via video call.

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper our intention to increase the number of face-to-face assessments, while preserving alternative health assessment channels to meet the specific needs of people who require them, for example as a reasonable adjustment. We are committed to continuing a multi-channel assessment service approach to meet the obligations of the Equality Act 2010.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will meet with representatives from Unite the Union at BAE Systems Warton to discuss the impact of not purchasing new Typhoon jets for use by the Royal Air Force.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Secretary of State has met with the General Secretary of Unite the Union over the last three months to discuss a range of issues including this.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the number of working days lost to strike action in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In October 2024 the government published impact assessments on the trade union-related measures within the Employment Rights Bill and these are available here: Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on trends in the level of trade union membership in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In October 2024 the government published impact assessments on the trade union-related measures within the Employment Rights Bill and these are available here: Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has plans to expand regional tech clusters in the North West of England; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of locating new innovation hubs in Fylde constituency.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

My department is committed to enabling innovation-led growth throughout the UK.

UKRI invested £903 million in the North West in 2023-24. Funded activity in the region includes the £4.9 million, Lancaster University-led Cyber Focus project, and a project by Lytham-based Helical Technology to improve fault detection on mechanical assembly production lines.

Our new Local Innovation Partnership Fund will grow high potential clusters across the UK. It earmarks at least £30 million for each of the two Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities in the North West. All other places in the region will be eligible to bid into the competition.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the severity modifier introduced by NICE in 2022 on access to new treatments for secondary breast cancer.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its recommendations. The severity modifier was introduced in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make NICE’s methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.

NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. Since the introduction of the severity modifier in December 2022, the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.

Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.

NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase mobile phone signal in barracks.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Strategic Defence Review sets out this Government’s commitment to enhancing the standard of Service Family Accommodation and Single Living Accommodation, which is essential for the morale and retention of Service personnel.

The Ministry of Defence (Defence Digital) has recently signed a new Mobile Device and Airtime Contract with BT. The main service provider under this contract is EE, with the option to use Vodafone as an alternative provider should mobile coverage prove poor with EE.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure bachelors degree courses represent value for money.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Students and the taxpayer rightly expect a good return on their significant investment in higher education (HE). However, the Student Academic Experience Survey report 2025, published this month by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Advance HE, shows that only 37% of students think they are getting ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value for money.

Value for money is also about ensuring graduates contribute to the economy and society through the skills they acquire, and we know from the September 2024 report from Skills England, ‘Driving Growth and Widening Opportunities’, that many of England’s businesses are dependent on graduate skills. Yet the latest release of the Graduate Labour Market Statistics shows that only 67.9% of working age graduates are in high skilled employment.

This government is determined to change this and to ensure that our HE system delivers value for money. Sir David Behan’s Independent Review of the Office for Students (OfS) recommended that the OfS refocus its work on four key priorities: the quality of HE, the financial sustainability of HE providers, acting in the student interest, and protecting how public money is spent. The government has accepted the Review’s recommendations and will continue to work with the OfS to hold providers to account for the quality of students’ experiences and the outcomes they achieve.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies on maintaining the defibrillator network.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not maintain the automated external defibrillator (AED) network.

The Circuit is the independently operated national AED database, developed by a partnership of the British Heart Foundation, the National Health Service, the Resuscitation Council UK, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives. The Circuit provides a national database of where defibrillators can be found so that ambulance services can quickly identify the nearest defibrillator. There are now over 100,000 defibrillators in the United Kingdom registered on The Circuit.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps with the Secretary of State for Defence to improve mobile signal at military sites.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government wants to ensure that all areas of the UK benefit from reliable and high-quality mobile connectivity. This includes wanting those who serve, live or work at our military sites being able to access the same mobile services that others are able to. There are a number of considerations to consider, however, including access and deployment of digital infrastructure on or near key military sites. The Member may wish to attend the next Telecoms MP surgery I host, where he can set out any specific concerns.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025, to Question 62738 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, how the public can report suspected asylum seekers and irregular migrants working in the gig economy.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

We encourage members of the public to report suspected immigration crime and location where they believe illegal working is taking place They can report this to the Home Office directly by visiting:

https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime.

The public can also call any of the following numbers to report an immigration crime or illegal working anonymously.

Immigration Enforcement hotline
0300 123 7000

Crimestoppers
www.crimestoppers-uk.org
0800 555111

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025, to Question 62738 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, whether spot checks are carried out in suspected hot spots of illegal migrants working in the gig economy.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

All enforcement activity is intelligence-led, to ensure the most efficient and productive use of resources.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department takes fingerprints from people arriving into the UK illegally.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 18 June to Question 58584.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received representations from GP practices on workload for non-primary care blood tests.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We understand the pressures that general practices (GPs) are facing, which is why we are investing an additional £889 million into GPs, to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, in 2025/26. The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) has recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we are accepting the DDRB’s pay recommendation, and we will provide a 4% uplift to the pay elements of the GP Contract on a consolidated basis, on top of the provisional 2.8% uplift already provided, to bring it up to 4%. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

The Red Tape Challenge, launched by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England’s Chief Executive Officer, will also aim to address challenges seen by services between primary and secondary care interface. This work and investment will support the move from the hospital to the community, one of the three fundamental shifts set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Local enhanced services, such as blood tests, are negotiated and agreed locally, and are commissioned by integrated care boards to fit the needs of the local population. GPs can choose whether or not they would like to participate in directly providing these services. These services can vary in scope and funding across the country.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are supporting one of the Government’s top priorities for health, to shift care from the hospital to the community. CDCs offer local populations a wide range of diagnostic tests, including phlebotomy, closer to home and allow for greater choice on where and how they are undertaken, whilst also reducing pressure on the system. We will deliver additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones, as well as increasing the number of CDCs offering services 12 hours per day, seven days a week.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse for (a) Universal Credit and (b) Personal Independence Payment for non-British citizens in the (i) last 12 months and (ii) last five years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of GP surgeries in Lancashire no longer conducting (a) hospital and (b) specialist-requested blood tests on patients.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We understand the pressures that general practices (GPs) are facing, which is why we are investing an additional £889 million into GPs, to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, in 2025/26. The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) has recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we are accepting the DDRB’s pay recommendation, and we will provide a 4% uplift to the pay elements of the GP Contract on a consolidated basis, on top of the provisional 2.8% uplift already provided, to bring it up to 4%. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

The Red Tape Challenge, launched by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England’s Chief Executive Officer, will also aim to address challenges seen by services between primary and secondary care interface. This work and investment will support the move from the hospital to the community, one of the three fundamental shifts set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Local enhanced services, such as blood tests, are negotiated and agreed locally, and are commissioned by integrated care boards to fit the needs of the local population. GPs can choose whether or not they would like to participate in directly providing these services. These services can vary in scope and funding across the country.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are supporting one of the Government’s top priorities for health, to shift care from the hospital to the community. CDCs offer local populations a wide range of diagnostic tests, including phlebotomy, closer to home and allow for greater choice on where and how they are undertaken, whilst also reducing pressure on the system. We will deliver additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones, as well as increasing the number of CDCs offering services 12 hours per day, seven days a week.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England provides funding to GP practices to carry out blood tests requested by (a) hospitals and (b) specialists.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We understand the pressures that general practices (GPs) are facing, which is why we are investing an additional £889 million into GPs, to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, in 2025/26. The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) has recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we are accepting the DDRB’s pay recommendation, and we will provide a 4% uplift to the pay elements of the GP Contract on a consolidated basis, on top of the provisional 2.8% uplift already provided, to bring it up to 4%. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

The Red Tape Challenge, launched by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England’s Chief Executive Officer, will also aim to address challenges seen by services between primary and secondary care interface. This work and investment will support the move from the hospital to the community, one of the three fundamental shifts set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Local enhanced services, such as blood tests, are negotiated and agreed locally, and are commissioned by integrated care boards to fit the needs of the local population. GPs can choose whether or not they would like to participate in directly providing these services. These services can vary in scope and funding across the country.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) are supporting one of the Government’s top priorities for health, to shift care from the hospital to the community. CDCs offer local populations a wide range of diagnostic tests, including phlebotomy, closer to home and allow for greater choice on where and how they are undertaken, whilst also reducing pressure on the system. We will deliver additional CDC capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones, as well as increasing the number of CDCs offering services 12 hours per day, seven days a week.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on recording the (a) DNA and (b) fingerprints of migrants who arrive in the UK illegally.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

As per the practice under successive governments, the Home Office collects biometric data, in the form of facial images and fingerprints, from all people who enter the UK illegally where they are aged over five, for the purpose of verifying identity and evaluating risk to public safety.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49682 on Deportation, what estimate she has made of the number of those 24,000 people that entered the UK illegally.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

More detailed published data on returns activity is published in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on the number of foreign national offender returns from the UK can be found in Ret_D03 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’ and enforced and voluntary returns of small boat arrivals can be found in Ret_06 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data goes up to March 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish details of the Growth and Skills levy for businesses.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.

From August 2025, the department will be introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. These flexibilities will help more people learn new, high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country.

From April 2026, the department will also be introducing short courses in areas such as digital, artificial intelligence and engineering as part of the growth and skills offer.

The department will set out more detail on the growth and skills offer in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an estimate of the cost of introducing a not for EU labelling scheme for agri-food businesses in Fylde constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has published an impact assessment which sets out the likely costs to businesses. Due to the scope of products that need to be labelled from 1 July, and uncertainty as to the extent to which these products may be removed from sale in Northern Ireland and hence the scale of any requirement in Great Britain, it includes a ‘range’ for the potential cost to businesses.

As is set out in the Impact Assessment, the indicative cost to business of applying ‘not for EU’ labelling to a subset of product lines is significantly less than the whole scope and will vary depending on the product. We made the decision to introduce a targeted power, as opposed to a mandatory requirement for all goods, in order to prevent some of these costs to businesses.

Moreover, the non-monetised benefits - particularly safeguarding food security in Northern Ireland - will be a crucial part of maintaining a strong economy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department funds educational programmes on coastal conservation for schools visiting beaches.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not fund specific educational programmes on coastal conservation, but free resources on coastal topics are provided by Oak National Academy. Bodies such as the Geographical Association and Royal Geographical Society, and others with an interest in coastal conservation, also provide resources.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to publish a publicly accessible register of biodiversity net gain credit schemes with information on (a) location, (b) pricing and (c) habitat type to support market functionality and planning decisions.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Statutory credits are a last resort way of achieving BNG. They are different from biodiversity units, which are sold in the offsite market. If developers buy statutory credits, this is because it is not possible to restore habitats on-site or units are not available for purchase in the offsite market.

Defra does not intend to maintain a register of schemes in receipt of income from the sale of statutory credits; however the department is required to publish an annual report detailing income received from the sale of Statutory Biodiversity Credits, how that income was spent and (if applicable) the projected biodiversity value of the measures funded by that expenditure. The first annual report is publicly available on gov.uk.

Demand for Statutory Biodiversity Credits has been low, suggesting that the offsite units market is working as intended.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide training opportunities for people to upskill in the use of artificial intelligence.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​Through our Industrial Strategy, published in June 2025, this government will ensure the skills system and employment support align with strategic economic priorities, including the needs of priority sectors and transformative opportunities like artificial intelligence (AI).

The government’s commitment to realising the benefits of AI was also illustrated in January, when we agreed to take forward all 50 recommendations from Matt Clifford’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.

New short courses in areas such as digital, AI, and engineering will be introduced in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, to support Industrial Strategy sectors like Creative Industries and Advanced Manufacturing from April 2026.

From January 2027, the department will launch the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, enabling individuals to learn, upskill and retrain across their working lives. The first modular courses for approval will support progression into Industrial Strategy priority sectors.

The government recently announced a joint commitment with leading technology companies to provide 7.5 million workers with essential AI skills by 2030, around 20% of the UK workforce. Companies such as Google, Microsoft and Accenture have committed to making high quality training materials widely available to workers in businesses, large and small, across the country free of charge over the next five years.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the change in average household energy bills in (a) England and (b) Fylde since July 2024.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem publishes historical price cap amounts, including broken down by region: Energy price cap (default tariff) levels | Ofgem. The data is not available at constituency level.

The main reason for the increases to the price cap since 2022 is an increase in wholesale energy costs which are influenced by international fossil fuel markets which we cannot control. This is why our Clean Power 2030 Mission is so vital. The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued to the public on rights of access to (a) coastal paths and (b) beaches.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

a) Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way and may issue information locally on these. Defra provides information on National Trails including the King Charles III England Coast Path, including which stretches are open to the public. This information can be found on gov.uk.

b) Access to beaches can vary depending on who owns the land and how it is managed. Many beaches are open to the public, but some may have restrictions.

The Countryside Code also provides guidance for both visitors and landowners when accessing the countryside.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of miles of public beaches that were inaccessible due to (a) private ownership and (b) development on 7 July 2025.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not hold information on the number of miles of public beaches that were inaccessible due to (a) private ownership and (b) development on 7 July 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support people who were ineligible for government financial support measures during the Covid pandemic.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Decisions on eligibility for Covid-19 financial support were taken by the previous government.

The previous Government provided support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The support was based on two principles: a) targeting support at those who needed it most; and b) guarding against error, fraud, and abuse, whilst reaching as many individuals as possible. Those ineligible for the schemes may have been eligible for other elements of financial support provided by the previous Government.

The current Government is working to improve living standards for everyone across the country. We are taking immediate action to support individuals, such as committing to no increases in employee National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT as we want to keep taxes low for working people. Driving growth is the Government’s number one mission, which will help individuals by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the cleanliness of beaches in Lancashire.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Responsibility for keeping beaches clear of litter and refuse rests with the landowner or the local council in the case of amenity beaches. The Code of practice on litter and refuse sets out the cleaning standards expected on amenity beaches.

Councils have enforcement powers to deter littering including the ability to issue fixed penalty notices (on-the-spot fines) of up to £500. They can also ban items like disposable barbecues from their beaches.

We welcome all beach litter collection efforts, such as the Marine Conservation Society’s Great British Beach Clean including in Lancashire this week. The UK Government funds the Marine Conservation Society to record litter from sections of our coast which helps us monitor the levels and trends of plastic pollution across several years. This data is used in combination with other monitoring data to inform our decisions about how to tackle marine litter.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for ambulances in the Lancashire Ambulance Service area.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes monthly official statistics for ambulance service performance. Lancashire is served by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS). The following table shows the most recent average response times for the NWAS, in hours, minutes, and seconds, broken down by category:

Source: Ambulance Management Information dataset, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-management-information/

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage more students to study languages in schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The study of languages is compulsory under the national curriculum at key stages 2 and 3 for all maintained schools, and will become compulsory in academies, subject to the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The most important factor in encouraging students to continue studying languages beyond key stage 3 is the quality of teaching. The government continues to fund the National Consortium for Languages Education, which is developing a new model of language support for schools and online continuing professional development for teachers that will support high quality language teaching. This programme is designed to have national reach, ensuring that all schools can benefit regardless of their location.

To further support languages education, the department is offering a £26,000 tax-free bursary for trainee language teachers starting courses in 2025, or alternatively, a £28,000 tax-free scholarship for those training to teach French, German, or Spanish. Additionally, Oak National Academy is developing modern foreign languages lesson resources for key stages 2 to 4, to be fully released by autumn 2025, helping teachers deliver high quality lessons and reduce planning time.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) securing and (b) verifying Biodiversity Net Gain credits on small and medium-sized developers.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Statutory credits are a last resort way of achieving biodiversity net gain (BNG). They are different from biodiversity units, which are sold in the offsite market. If developers buy statutory credits, this is because it is not possible to restore habitats on-site or units are not available for purchase in the offsite market.

Statutory Biodiversity Credits are sold by Defra to ensure developers can meet their BNG obligation in the few instances where suitable units are not available from the market. Defra can review and amend credit prices. Low volumes of Statutory Biodiversity Credits sales suggest that the private market for units is functioning as intended with good availability of a range of habitat types across England.

Biodiversity Units differ in their availability and pricing. Defra is monitoring the availability and pricing of BNG units.

Defra’s consultation on BNG regulations and implementation in January 2022 sought views on the impact of implementing BNG on small and medium-sized developers. Results from the consultation suggested that these developers should remain in scope of the BNG policy but with a simplified process.

The department is currently holding a consultation seeking views on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanisms exist for (a) developers and (b) local planning authorities to appeal the (i) availability and (ii) cost of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain credits in cases where viable alternatives are limited.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Statutory credits are a last resort way of achieving biodiversity net gain (BNG). They are different from biodiversity units, which are sold in the offsite market. If developers buy statutory credits, this is because it is not possible to restore habitats on-site or units are not available for purchase in the offsite market.

Statutory Biodiversity Credits are sold by Defra to ensure developers can meet their BNG obligation in the few instances where suitable units are not available from the market. Defra can review and amend credit prices. Low volumes of Statutory Biodiversity Credits sales suggest that the private market for units is functioning as intended with good availability of a range of habitat types across England.

Biodiversity Units differ in their availability and pricing. Defra is monitoring the availability and pricing of BNG units.

Defra’s consultation on BNG regulations and implementation in January 2022 sought views on the impact of implementing BNG on small and medium-sized developers. Results from the consultation suggested that these developers should remain in scope of the BNG policy but with a simplified process.

The department is currently holding a consultation seeking views on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of trends in regional differences in the (a) availability and (b) pricing of Biodiversity Net Gain credits.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Statutory credits are a last resort way of achieving biodiversity net gain (BNG). They are different from biodiversity units, which are sold in the offsite market. If developers buy statutory credits, this is because it is not possible to restore habitats on-site or units are not available for purchase in the offsite market.

Statutory Biodiversity Credits are sold by Defra to ensure developers can meet their BNG obligation in the few instances where suitable units are not available from the market. Defra can review and amend credit prices. Low volumes of Statutory Biodiversity Credits sales suggest that the private market for units is functioning as intended with good availability of a range of habitat types across England.

Biodiversity Units differ in their availability and pricing. Defra is monitoring the availability and pricing of BNG units.

Defra’s consultation on BNG regulations and implementation in January 2022 sought views on the impact of implementing BNG on small and medium-sized developers. Results from the consultation suggested that these developers should remain in scope of the BNG policy but with a simplified process.

The department is currently holding a consultation seeking views on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce violence against women and girls in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. We are going further than ever before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy later this year.

In May 2025, we announced a £19.9m investment to provide vital support to victims of VAWG and increase awareness to prevent these horrific crimes. This includes over £6 million for national helplines supporting victims of domestic abuse, 'honour'-based abuse, revenge porn and stalking, and £2.5m on prevention and early intervention.

Specifically in Lancashire, we have allocated £442,000 to Lancashire PCC for perpetrator funding. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support to meet that need.

Lancashire PCC currently receives funding from the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund. Using this funding, they deliver the Drive Project, which works with high-risk, serial domestic abuse perpetrators who are deemed to cause the most harm, in a few local authority areas.

At the national level, we have embedded domestic abuse specialists and dedicated domestic abuse teams in the first five 999 control rooms under Raneem’s Law, launched the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts and announced a new package of measures to tackle spiking, including committing to introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and piloting new spiking training for bar staff.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a range of legislative measures to improve the response to sex offender management and stalking. Under the Bill, the police will be given new powers to issue a notice prohibiting registered sex offenders who pose a risk from changing their name without prior authorisation. Other measures include requiring registered sex offenders to provide advance notice before entering premises where children are present, and improving the management of stalkers. This includes statutory guidance for the police in releasing identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims as part of the “right to know”.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of mental health conditions among young people in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of young people in Fylde and across Lancashire.

Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more early interventions, and getting waiting lists down so young people can have the best possible start in life. We will fulfil our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 staff across child and adult mental health services by the end of this Parliament, and 6,700 of these extra workers have been recruited since July 2024.

We also want to intervene much earlier to support better outcomes for children and young people. That is why the 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by expanding mental health support teams in schools to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30 and by embedding mental health support in the new Young Futures hubs, to ensure there is no 'wrong front door' for people seeking help. At the end of March 2025, 55% of pupils and learners in Lancashire were covered by a mental health support team.

Additionally, we are continuing to provide top-up funding of £7 million to 24 existing early support hubs, including hubs in Chorley and Blackburn, to expand their services and to take part in an ongoing evaluation of these services in 2025/26. This funding will enable the supported hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken with relevant authorities to help increase the safety of bus drivers in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government have introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which focuses on delivering safe, more reliable bus networks. The Bill sets requirements for mandatory training on how to recognise and respond appropriately to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour, on buses for staff, including drivers and those who deal directly with the travelling public or with issues related to the travelling public.

Provisions in the Bus Services (No.2) Bill would also give all local transport authorities (LTAs) the power to make bus byelaws, which can be enforced by local authority officers on vehicles and at bus stations and stops. This, combined with targeted enforcement should lead to safer networks. Transport Safety Officers or Transport Safety and Enforcement Officers are also already operating in some areas.

All LTAs in England are required to publish Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) with information on how they intend to improve services in their area. LTAs have been informed that BSIPs should include plans on how LTAs and local bus operators will work together to ensure that bus services are safe and perceived to be safe by all. This may include measures such as appropriate passenger safety training for bus drivers to deal with emergency situations on or off the bus and encouraging bus operators to liaise with local police and other stakeholders to address safety concerns.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pancreatic cancer specialist nurses are employed in the NHS in England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold information on the number of full time equivalent pancreatic cancer specialist nurses employed in the National Health Service in England.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council does not require any specific post-registration education programme to be undertaken in order for a registered nurse to become a pancreatic cancer specialist nurse. Employers develop specialist roles to meet community and service need locally.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was the cost to the public purse of assessing Hamas' appeal against proscription.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

No assessment of those costs has yet been carried out.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 65159 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, how many reports of suspected (a) asylum seekers and (b) irregular migrants working in the gig economy have resulted in enforcement action in each of the last three years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Hon Member will be aware the that Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill contains new measures requiring companies operating in the gig economy to carry out employment checks on all individuals working for them, further strengthening our controls against illegal working, and it is a matter of regret that the Hon Member and his colleagues voted against those measures at the third reading of the Bill on 12 May 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 65159 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, whether gig economy platforms are required to report suspected illegal working; and what action is taken against platforms that fail to do so.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Hon Member will be aware the that Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill contains new measures requiring companies operating in the gig economy to carry out employment checks on all individuals working for them, further strengthening our controls against illegal working, and it is a matter of regret that the Hon Member and his colleagues voted against those measures at the third reading of the Bill on 12 May 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue guidance on whether gig economy platforms are required to report suspected illegal working.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Hon Member will be aware the that Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill contains new measures requiring companies operating in the gig economy to carry out employment checks on all individuals working for them, further strengthening our controls against illegal working, and it is a matter of regret that the Hon Member and his colleagues voted against those measures at the third reading of the Bill on 12 May 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58584 on Undocumented Migrants: Biometrics, for how long is biometric data retained when it is collected from individuals who have entered the UK unlawfully.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

In most cases the Home Office usually retains biometrics (facial image and fingerprints) taken from foreign nationals, including people who have entered the UK unlawfully, for a period of up to 15 years, but may do so for longer in certain circumstances.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 65158 on Undocumented Migrants: Fingerprints, what procedures are followed if biometric data cannot be collected at the time of encounter due to (a) age and (b) other limitations.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Where biometric data cannot be collected at the time of encounter, the Biometric Enrolment: Policy Guidance – GOV.UK sets out the procedures that should be followed. Children under five are not required to provide fingerprints, though facial photographs should be taken. In cases involving individuals who are medically or physically unable to provide biometric data, the reason is recorded, and collection is deferred until the individual is able to comply except in circumstances where fingerprints can never be enrolled.

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Found: Rankin Bob Blackman Nick Timothy Rupert Lowe Lewis Cocking Wendy Morton Lee Anderson Mr Andrew Snowden

Found: Rankin Bob Blackman Nick Timothy Rupert Lowe Lewis Cocking Wendy Morton Lee Anderson Mr Andrew Snowden

Found: Williamson John Lamont Jack Rankin Bob Blackman Nick Timothy Rupert Lowe Lewis Cocking Mr Andrew Snowden

Found: Williamson John Lamont Jack Rankin Bob Blackman Nick Timothy Rupert Lowe Lewis Cocking Mr Andrew Snowden

Found: into Nicola Bulley’s disappearance on behalf of Lancashire PCC In 2023, Lancashire’s PCC, Andrew Snowden