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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available to local environmental groups undertaking citizen science river testing.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) recognises the value of citizen science data, and the additional insight it can provide to complement its monitoring and assessment work.

With Spending Review funding, the EA is collaborating with citizen science groups in observing and measuring the environment. The data that is captured complements the EA’s own monitoring efforts and further increases understanding of water quality.

This collaboration is already creating strong relationships with citizen science groups, and improving data integration. The recently published Technical Advisory Framework guides best practice in citizen science monitoring which can be found on the Environment Agency Water Hub. To get involved with citizen science including river testing it encourages all interested communities to contact their local catchment partnership - details on how to do this can be found in the Technical Advisory Framework.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to review standing charges on electricity bills for households on prepayment meters.

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

The Government knows that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue.

Ofgem have been considering how to ensure that consumers have a range of choices, including tariffs with no standing charges, available, including for prepayment meter customers. Ofgem launched a consultation on proposals to introduce zero standing charge tariffs which closed on 20 March. Ofgem will issue a response to this consultation in due course.

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 4 April 2024 to Question 19410 on General Practitioners: Labour Turnover, what estimate he has made of the number of GPs on ICB funded training schemes which are equivalent to the (a) General Practice Fellowship and (b) Supporting Mentors schemes.

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

Data on integrated care board (ICB) funded training schemes, their equivalent to the General Practice Fellowship scheme and the Supporting Mentors scheme, or the numbers of staff benefitting from these schemes is not held centrally.

While NHS England provides funding, through ICB allocations and the Primary Care Transformation Fund, to develop general practice services and teams, ICBs have the autonomy and flexibility to make decisions that serve the best interests of local people and communities.

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 impact of Integrated Care Board funding levels on GP recruitment and retention in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

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

We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs for 2025/26, bringing total spending on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion. This is the largest uplift to GP funding since the beginning of the five-year framework, and means we are reversing recent trends by allocating a rising share of National Health Service resources to GPs.

Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots have been combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of patient-facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

In the Epsom and Ewell constituency, as of 31 May 2025, there were 67.8 full time equivalent doctors in GPs, and since October 2024, 1,900 GPs have been recruited via the ARRS nationally.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to extend the full disregard of military compensation payments applied in Universal Credit to the assessment of Pension Credit.

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

The receipt of War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards is already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit (UC).

The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and Income Support – which are being replaced by UC – as well as in Pension Credit. Armed Forces Independence Payments are also fully disregarded in these benefits and can allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

By default, the first £10 of a War Pension or AFCS award is also disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them if they so wish.

Additionally, War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016.

The treatment of military compensation payments contrasts with other schemes with a disablement element. For example, the Firefighters Compensation Scheme and the Police Pension Scheme have no income disregards applied at all, as any disablement elements form part of their occupational pension and so these are taken fully into account.

The treatment of military compensation payments also contrasts with Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit where there is no weekly disregard.

The £10 weekly disregard for War Pension or AFCS awards in legacy income-related benefits was introduced in recognition of the sacrifices made by service personnel in active service for the country.

There are no plans to change the ways in which War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with means tested benefits.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of different approaches to the treatment of military compensation payments across welfare benefits means tests on claimants.

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

The receipt of War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards is already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit (UC).

The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and Income Support – which are being replaced by UC – as well as in Pension Credit. Armed Forces Independence Payments are also fully disregarded in these benefits and can allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

By default, the first £10 of a War Pension or AFCS award is also disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them if they so wish.

Additionally, War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016.

The treatment of military compensation payments contrasts with other schemes with a disablement element. For example, the Firefighters Compensation Scheme and the Police Pension Scheme have no income disregards applied at all, as any disablement elements form part of their occupational pension and so these are taken fully into account.

The treatment of military compensation payments also contrasts with Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit where there is no weekly disregard.

The £10 weekly disregard for War Pension or AFCS awards in legacy income-related benefits was introduced in recognition of the sacrifices made by service personnel in active service for the country.

There are no plans to change the ways in which War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with means tested benefits.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the disregard of (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments is limited to £10 per week when calculating Pension Credit awards.

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

The receipt of War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards is already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit (UC).

The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and Income Support – which are being replaced by UC – as well as in Pension Credit. Armed Forces Independence Payments are also fully disregarded in these benefits and can allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

By default, the first £10 of a War Pension or AFCS award is also disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them if they so wish.

Additionally, War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016.

The treatment of military compensation payments contrasts with other schemes with a disablement element. For example, the Firefighters Compensation Scheme and the Police Pension Scheme have no income disregards applied at all, as any disablement elements form part of their occupational pension and so these are taken fully into account.

The treatment of military compensation payments also contrasts with Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit where there is no weekly disregard.

The £10 weekly disregard for War Pension or AFCS awards in legacy income-related benefits was introduced in recognition of the sacrifices made by service personnel in active service for the country.

There are no plans to change the ways in which War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with means tested benefits.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of neighbourhood police officers in Surrey.

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

Neighbourhood policing is the bedrock of the British policing model. Every community deserves visible, pro-active and accessible neighbourhood policing with officers tackling the issues that matter to them.

£200m has been made available to police forces in England and Wales in 2025/26 to fund additional policing personnel into neighbourhood teams. By the end of this parliament there will be 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 26.

In 2025/26 Surrey Police has been allocated £2,582,672 and has a delivery plan which sets out a projected growth of 25 newly recruited officers and 15 newly recruited special constables.

Full details of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant allocations and projections for 2025/26 can be found here: Neighbourhood policing grant allocations and projections: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether increases to police spending will be funded through (a) general taxation and (b) council tax.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As set out in the Spending Review 2025 document, published 11 June 2025, the Phase 2 settlement provides an average 1.7% real terms increase per year in police spending power. Over the SR period, police spending power is projected to increase by an average 2.3% per year in real terms.

Police core spending power reflects a mix of central government funding and local taxation through the police precept. This 2.3% projection is therefore premised on the police being funded through increases to both. The government will set out spending plans for police forces in England and Wales, including the final precept level and core government funding, at the annual police funding settlement in the usual way.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of dismantling Pressurized Water Reactor nuclear reactors on redundant submarines at (a) Devonport and (b) Rosyth dockyards; and what recent discussions the Defence Nuclear Enterprises has had with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on decommissioning those nuclear reactors.

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

It is not possible to provide an assured cost estimate to dismantle the Pressurised Water Reactors on the decommissioned submarines at Devonport and Rosyth. Once the demonstrator submarine, SWIFTSURE, has achieved full dismantling in 2026 the Department will have a better understanding of cost estimates for the submarine dismantling process, subject to future commercial negotiations.

The Defence Nuclear Enterprise continues to work closely with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to ensure collaboration on submarine disposal.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of how close Iran is to making nuclear weapons; and what discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts on this.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is carefully monitoring the current situation in Iran, and continues to work closely with our allies. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) published its report on national security issues relating to Iran on 10 July 2025 which includes information on Iran’s Nuclear programme https://isc.independent.gov.uk/publications/. As is usual, the Government will also provide a full response to the ISC's report in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to return the frequency of South Western Railway trains in Surrey back to pre-Covid levels following renationalisation.

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

Passenger demand has not yet grown back to pre-Covid levels. However, the Department and South Western Railway (SWR) are in regular discussion regarding service provision, which aim to balance the needs of both passenger and taxpayer. Following the introduction of the Class 701 Arterio fleet which will significantly increase capacity, there will be an opportunity to look at the South Western timetable.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to speed up the rollout of South Western Railway Arterio trains in Surrey following renationalisation.

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

The new Managing Director, Lawrence Bowman, has been tasked with drawing up a plan to introduce the new Class 701 Arterio fleet. South Western Railway (SWR) has accelerated the Arterio rollout with five additional units introduced since the transfer to public ownership (12 units in total) compared to only one additional unit being introduced in the six months prior to transfer. The Department is working with SWR to ensure the remaining fleet are introduced as soon as possible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce delays in adult social care assessments for hospital discharge.

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

The Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26, published by NHS England, has set a priority that hospitals should tackle the delays in patients waiting to be discharged. The plan asks systems to set local performance targets by discharge pathway and eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours in all settings.

For 2025/26, £9 billion is available through the Better Care Fund to provide services, including those which help reduce delayed discharges. All health and wellbeing boards are required to set goals to reduce discharge delays, which will be used to monitor performance and drive accountability throughout 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help mitigate the environmental impacts of AI data centres in relation to the target of Net Zero by 2050.

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

The Government’s forecasts for data centre demand to 2030 are consistent with its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The Government expects to be able to meet this demand through its plans to increase renewable power capacity, other low carbon generation and flexible and dispatchable power.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce legally binding targets for the reduction of untreated sewage discharges into chalk streams.

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

Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan targets improvements at 75% of high-priority sites, including chalk streams. This ensures that they are prioritised for improvement from the £11 billion investment to upgrade nearly 3,000 storm overflows across the country.

The Plan, alongside the Water (Special Measures) Act, strengthens enforcement by giving regulators greater powers to hold polluters accountable. This marks the biggest boost in enforcement in a decade, helping protect these iconic British habitats for future generations.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending existing provisions for mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education under the Children and Social Work Act 2017 to ensure everyone under the age of 18 can access (a) guidance and (b) support.

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

Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.

As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.

Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.

The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered making relationships, sex and health education mandatory in (a) sixth form colleges and (b) other further education institutions.

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

Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.

As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.

Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.

The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has set a target number of days by which individual applications to the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme need to have been assessed by.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

Due to the unique nature of each application, and the need to assess each on a case-by-case basis, the Ministry of Defence is unable to set a target number of days by which individual applications to the LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme need to have been assessed.

The assessment process is complex, and processing times will vary based on the specific circumstances of each Veteran’s application. This work must be conducted thoroughly to ensure fair and accurate outcomes for applicants and the responsible management of public funds.

We have been prioritising payment to the elderly and those with serious health conditions to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the Scheme going live to these prioritised groups.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who migrate from income-related Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit are not affected by reductions in Council Tax Support.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Councils are required to provide a Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) scheme to support low-income households. Support for working age households, including the treatment of benefits, is designed by councils in consultation with their residents, taking into account the needs and circumstances of their local communities. Each year, councils must consider whether to revise or replace their scheme. For pension age households, councils administer a centrally prescribed LCTS scheme, which is reviewed annually.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has agreed a timeline by which the UK will be able to access the Security Action for Europe fund; and whether a proportion of contracts available to the UK has been agreed.

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

The UK and the EU have set out our joint ambition to swiftly explore the potential for enhanced cooperation under the SAFE instrument. The specific terms of UK participation will be subject to discussions on a bilateral agreement; we do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of any such negotiations.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children eligible for free school meals who are not currently receiving them in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

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

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

The department publishes data on FSM eligibility and the number of eligible pupils taking a free school meal on school census day in the annual 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics' accredited official statistics. These statistics can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.

Fauja Singh

50th anniversary of the Leatherhead Swans Club

Greyhound racing

Funding and support for SEND

Provision of trained Family Liaison Officers

Food waste

Green House Climate Club campaign

Joe's Day campaign

Statutory consultees for sustainable development

Carers and social care reform

Steve Willis Training Centre

Protection of survivors of domestic abuse under the Hague Convention

Dose of Nature

UK-based medical charities in Palestine

FareShare Sussex and Surrey

Repair Cafés

Access to care and support for people living with arthritis

Recognition of Wiltshire schools achieving the Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark

Reform of the special educational needs and disabilities system

Remembering PC Ian Minett

Richmond Surgery in Fleet

Small businesses in North Cornwall

Support for people with dyscalculia

Bath and North East Somerset Community Wellbeing Hub

Access to mental health support for children and young people

100 years of RAF Odiham

Funding and role of community pharmacies

Cool hubs

Longlevens Mixed Ability Rugby Team champions

Recognition of Craig McMurrough’s contribution to ovarian cancer awareness and healthcare fundraising

Companion bus passes for the disabled

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: _NC9 Dr Danny Chambers Zöe Franklin Jess Brown-Fuller Helen Morgan Alison Bennett Helen Maguire

Found: _NC9 Dr Danny Chambers Zöe Franklin Jess Brown-Fuller Helen Morgan Alison Bennett Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire

Found: Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane Olly Glover Martin Wrigley Tessa Munt Helen Maguire