Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason ferries serving Scottish islands are exempted from the UK ETS scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 provide funding for the treatment of (a) Hallux valgus and (b) Hallux rigidus in Hampshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the funding and provision of treatment for hallux valgus and hallux rigidus in Hampshire are made locally by the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB), which is responsible for assessing the health needs of its population and commissioning services accordingly. This includes determining local clinical pathways, access criteria, and the availability of both surgical and non‑surgical interventions, based on the best available clinical evidence and local priorities.
NHS England does not provide condition‑specific national funding for these procedures. Instead, the ICB receives a general allocation to meet the healthcare needs of its local population. Within this, the ICB is expected to ensure that patients with foot and ankle conditions can access appropriate assessment, conservative management, and referral for surgery where clinically necessary.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the UK ETS to maritime operators on ticket prices on ferries travelling between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of Local Authorities contracting funeral services where those services fall outside of a Local Authority's obligations under Section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are independent of central government. My department has made no estimate of the number of the number of local authorities contracting funeral services outside of their obligations.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to promote the use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine (LAIB) in i) sentencing decisions in cases involving opioid abuse ii) prison-release pathways in Hampshire.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Treatment and clinical prescribing decisions are the responsibility of services commissioned by NHS in prisons and local authority service providers in the community.
Responsibility for continuity of care for prison leavers, including access to medications and clinical care rests with prison drug and alcohol treatment providers liaising with community treatment providers.
The promotion of one medicine over another is strictly regulated in England and Wales.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of putting the agent of change principle on a statutory footing on i) the speed of the planning process ii) the number of grassroots music venues iii) new housing starts iv) urban development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The agent of change policy is given effect through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which makes clear that where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development in its vicinity, the applicant (or ‘agent of change’) should be required to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed.
The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes a proposed update to the agent of change policy which sets out in more detail the types of matters which should be considered. These include early engagement with existing uses to identify potential impacts; the use of planning conditions to secure agreed mitigation measures; and the need to consider both current and permitted levels of activity to reduce the risk of conflict.
The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he will provide guidance to developers on the role of the agent of change principle in pre-application engagement.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The agent of change policy is given effect through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which makes clear that where the operation of an existing business or community facility could have a significant adverse effect on new development in its vicinity, the applicant (or ‘agent of change’) should be required to provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed.
The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes a proposed update to the agent of change policy which sets out in more detail the types of matters which should be considered. These include early engagement with existing uses to identify potential impacts; the use of planning conditions to secure agreed mitigation measures; and the need to consider both current and permitted levels of activity to reduce the risk of conflict.
The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to include a reference to noise levels in part 4 of the updated National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies and decisions should prevent new and existing development from contributing to, being put at unacceptable risk from, or being adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of noise pollution.
The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including a new chapter (17) on Pollution, Public Protection and Security. This sets out that development proposals should not result in levels of noise exposure which would have a significant observed adverse effect. This is defined as the level of noise exposure above which significant adverse effects on health and quality of life occur.
The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the role of the Ombudsman following the decision not to implement the recommendations of the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024; and when his Department will publish the action plan set out in his oral statement of 29 January 2026.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
I met with the Ombudsman on 25 February. Work has restarted on the Action Plan, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what conversations he has had with the Department of Health and Social Care about the Human Tissue Authority’s role in regulating the care of corpses throughout the death pathway including in funeral homes.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is considering the full range of options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased, particularly in the context of a full response to the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report which will be provided by summer 2026.
Our consideration has included discussions about a potential role for a relevant partner organisation such as the Human Tissue Authority.