Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to help ensure decisions about open access applications prioritise services that connect stations that do not have direct services.

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

Under the current system access decisions are solely for the ORR. We’re supportive of Open Access services where they encourage growth, improve connectivity and provide more choice for passengers. When a new application is received the DfT can submit its views to the ORR via a consultation process and we highlighted the new direct services that formed part of the Wrexham Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR) application when we wrote in support of this application in February 2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the reliability of train operators on the West Coast Mainline.

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

We are starting to see train performance stabilise, following a decade of decline. We are working with the rail industry on a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and keeping trains safely moving during disruptive events.

The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.

Network Rail is undertaking a programme of renewal activity on the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe to improve the performance and reliability of the railway. This section of the route was last upgraded in the 1970s and suffers from performance issues today.

We are also investing in increasing the capacity and capability of the power system at both ends of the West Coast Main Line to improve performance on the route, enable the introduction of new electric services, and support growth.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce journey times on public transport between North Shropshire and London.

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

Department officials continue to work directly with train operators to ensure the best possible service for both passenger and taxpayer.

For passengers travelling from Shropshire and changing to join services to London, Avanti West Coast increased the number of weekday services from 270 in 2024 to 295 from May 2025. Additional services now operate between London and Liverpool, Birmingham, North Wales and Glasgow providing more connections.

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 the number of NHS dentists in North Shropshire.

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

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the North Shropshire constituency, this is the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB.

ICBs have been asked to start making extra urgent dental appointments available from April 2025. The NHS Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin ICB is expected to deliver 7,408 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.

ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. As of 6 June 2025, in England there were 93 dentists in post or appointed to post. A further 230 posts are currently being advertised.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding her Department has provided to improve rail services in (a) North Shropshire and (b) Shropshire in each of the last five years.

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

The Department will review the refreshed Business Case for line speed improvements between Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury when it is completed later this year.

Funding for this scheme would be subject to a satisfactory business case which represents value for money, affordability and strong benefits for the country.

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 25 June 2025 to Question 62692 on Air Ambulance Services: Contracts, if he will take steps to establish which air ambulance organisations hold contracts with NHS organisations in England.

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

National Health Service contracts or agreements for the provision of services locally are made and held at a local level by the relevant NHS body. There are no current plans to change this approach.

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 differing NHS (a) targets and (b) waiting lists in England and Wales on patients living in border communities.

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

The devolution of health is a long-standing policy, and no assessment has been made.

For patients living in border communities, we expect local health care services to work closely to ensure differing targets and waiting lists are managed appropriately and effectively to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

We work closely with partners across the devolved administrations to provide support and share best practice to reduce waiting lists. This includes sharing learning as the National Health Service in England makes progress toward delivering the Government’s ambition of ensuring that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

The Government has now exceeded its pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans, and appointments in England, having delivered 4.2 million additional appointments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for the transition of (a) grant and (b) contract funding from NHS England to his Department; and whether he plans to continue existing levels of such funding for organisations led by (i) disabled people and (ii) patient-led charities.

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

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.

Grants and contracts still held by NHS England at the point of transition will also legally transfer, or novate, to the Department. The ongoing need for these third-party arrangements will be assessed against policy objectives and funding availability, in line with our standard processes. Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to comprehensively evaluate impacts, and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to prevent disruption to live funding streams.

The Department publishes figures for NHS England’s annual expenditure on the purchase of healthcare from the voluntary and not for profit sectors in its Annual report and Accounts, and the figure for 2023/24 was £1.84 billion. Further information is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6761518bd20fc50099e18fab/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-2024-print-ready.pdf

For NHS England to identify just the registered and UK-registered charitable organisations it has grants and contracts with would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total value was of NHS England (a) grants and (b) contracts awarded to UK-registered charitable organisations in each of the last three financial years.

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

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.

Grants and contracts still held by NHS England at the point of transition will also legally transfer, or novate, to the Department. The ongoing need for these third-party arrangements will be assessed against policy objectives and funding availability, in line with our standard processes. Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to comprehensively evaluate impacts, and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to prevent disruption to live funding streams.

The Department publishes figures for NHS England’s annual expenditure on the purchase of healthcare from the voluntary and not for profit sectors in its Annual report and Accounts, and the figure for 2023/24 was £1.84 billion. Further information is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6761518bd20fc50099e18fab/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-2024-print-ready.pdf

For NHS England to identify just the registered and UK-registered charitable organisations it has grants and contracts with would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many registered charitable organisations were in receipt of NHS England (a) grants and (b) contracts in each of the last three financial years.

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

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.

Grants and contracts still held by NHS England at the point of transition will also legally transfer, or novate, to the Department. The ongoing need for these third-party arrangements will be assessed against policy objectives and funding availability, in line with our standard processes. Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to comprehensively evaluate impacts, and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to prevent disruption to live funding streams.

The Department publishes figures for NHS England’s annual expenditure on the purchase of healthcare from the voluntary and not for profit sectors in its Annual report and Accounts, and the figure for 2023/24 was £1.84 billion. Further information is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6761518bd20fc50099e18fab/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-2024-print-ready.pdf

For NHS England to identify just the registered and UK-registered charitable organisations it has grants and contracts with would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

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 abolition of NHS England on the (a) operation and (b) funding of charities working in NHS hospital settings.

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

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.

Grants and contracts still held by NHS England at the point of transition will also legally transfer, or novate, to the Department. The ongoing need for these third-party arrangements will be assessed against policy objectives and funding availability, in line with our standard processes. Whilst this transformation takes place, we will ensure that we continue to comprehensively evaluate impacts, and will work collaboratively to put plans in place to prevent disruption to live funding streams.

The Department publishes figures for NHS England’s annual expenditure on the purchase of healthcare from the voluntary and not for profit sectors in its Annual report and Accounts, and the figure for 2023/24 was £1.84 billion. Further information is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6761518bd20fc50099e18fab/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-2024-print-ready.pdf

For NHS England to identify just the registered and UK-registered charitable organisations it has grants and contracts with would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her oral statement of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, what assessment she has made of potential impact of those projects on (a) jobs and (b) journey times in North Shropshire.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Backed by over £92 billion from the Spending Review settlement, the Government is delivering the biggest boost to England’s transport infrastructure in a generation, and unlocking schemes that deliver for the taxpayer and drive growth.

Millions of commuters and businesses will benefit from quicker journeys, as more than fifty road and rail upgrades have been given the green light - including funding for the Midlands Rail Hub as well as the M54 / M6 link road, which will help to cut journey times and connect thousands to key economic hubs across the Midlands and North Shropshire.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to include upgrades to the A483 in North Shropshire in the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3).

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Whilst I cannot commit to upgrades at this stage in the process of setting the next Road Investment Strategy, I can confirm National Highways is investigating a range of options to improve the safety performance of the A483 in North Shropshire which will be considered for possible delivery.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will visit Llynclys Crossroads in North Shropshire constituency to assess the impact of potential design changes on road safety at that junction.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State would be interested to learn more about the particular issues with Llynclys Crossroads, but existing diary commitments mean she is unable to commit to a visit at this stage.

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 ensure that patients who live in England and treated in Wales are impacted by changes to NHS organisation in England.

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

There are special cross-border arrangements for patients who live on the English-Welsh border to ensure that they receive healthcare without confusion or delay and that patient data can be accessed by relevant professionals.

To drive reform of the health and care system, we are creating a new operating model for the health and care system, with a smaller, more agile centre. The changes will allow the national centre to operate very differently to the current arrangements and support delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan. Throughout this work we will retain focus on delivery, patient safety, and on driving reform across the whole of the health and care system.

As part of these wider changes, NHS England has also asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within their structure, with the expectation of achieving a reduction in their running cost allowance.

ICBs have developed their plans in accordance with the guidance set out by the Model ICB Blueprint. NHS England is working with the ICBs to review and implement these plans. These plans should affirm the critical role of the ICBs as strategic commissioner, with their core functions centred in population health management, including understanding local context, developing a long-term strategy, allocating resources, and evaluating impact. ICBs, as strategic commissioners, continue to have the duty to arrange health services that meet the needs of their population and to manage cross-border arrangements.

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 funding provided for local authority adult social care services in the Spending Review 2025.

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

The Government assessed the impact of the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2025. This assessment took account of a range of factors that could affect the delivery of social care services.

The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This includes additional grant funding, growth in other sources of income available to support adult social care, and an increase to the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund, in line with the Department’s Spending Review settlement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on expanding the pharmacy workforce.

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

To support employers in developing their staff and delivering quality National Health Services, NHS England provides a number of fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.

Later this year, we will publish a new workforce plan to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to commission new services from community pharmacy in the context of changes to supervision.

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

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.

Future decisions on service arrangements for community pharmacies beyond 2025/26 are subject to the current Spending Review. As is custom and practice, the Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with colleagues in the Department for Transport on the potential impact of access to public transport on access to healthcare.

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

Ministers regularly engage with Cabinet colleagues on a variety of issues, including, but not limited to, areas impacting access to healthcare. As set out in the Plan for Change, by March 2029 we will deliver the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment. The Government is clear that reforming elective care must be done equitably and inclusively for all adults, children, and young people.

It is important that patients do not miss or cancel hospital appointments due to a lack of affordable and/or accessible transport options in their area. This is why the Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, committed to reviewing existing national health inequalities improvement initiatives, to develop them and increase their uptake. Specifically, the plan committed to reviewing local patient transport services and improving the signposting to, and accessibility of them for patients, to make it easier for vulnerable groups to travel to, and access appointments.

This includes improving the accessibility, awareness, and efficiency of the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, with a focus on reducing health inequalities and improving the patient experience.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will conduct a child rights impact assessment of the proposed merger of NHS England and his Department.

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

The Government is completely focused on delivery during this period of change, including taking forward our Health Mission and putting in place measures to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

It is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, including those to children, as is due process. These ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.

The Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure that the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 65118 on Railways: North Shropshire, whether her Department plans to provide any additional funding to improve railway services to (a) North Shropshire and (b) Shropshire.

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

Following the Spending Review both the Chancellor and Secretary Of State have committed to the transformative Midlands Rail Hub programme, which will upgrade connectivity, reliability and provide capacity for hundreds of extra trains per day into Birmingham, including benefits to those stopping at Shrewsbury and Gobowen. Funding was also confirmed to support feasibility studies for works to improve accessibility for all passengers at 50 stations including at Whitchurch in Shropshire.

Later this year the Department will review the case for line speed improvements between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury when the business case is completed. Any funding would be subject to a satisfactory business case which represents value for money, affordability and strong benefits for the country.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the announcement on railway stations awarded Access for All accessibility funding, published on 24 May 2024, what her planned timeline is for the completion of Access for All construction at Whitchurch Railway Station.

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

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This included Whitchurch railway station in Shropshire. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders during the summer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of the bodies that will be abolished as part of the NHS 10 Year Plan.

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

The following organisations will be closed or their functions transferred as part of the 10-Year Health Plan:

• NHS England;
• Health Services Safety Investigations Body;
• National Guardian;
• Healthwatch England;
• local Healthwatch organisations; and
• Commissioning Support Units.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS 10 Year Plan, where the 85 mental health crisis centres will be located; and what criteria he is using for determining their location.

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

The announced expansion of crisis assessment centres, also referred to as mental health emergency departments, builds on a number of early implementer sites that have been established in recent years by local health systems to provide a dedicated therapeutic alternative to emergency departments for individuals in a mental health crisis.

Locations for the new centres are being identified through a capital allocation process, involving expressions of interest from integrated care boards and regionally and nationally coordinated assessments of local need, existing provision, and system readiness.

The new centres will typically serve multiple emergency departments and will be accessible via NHS 111, ambulance conveyance, walk-in, or referral pathways.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs his Department intends to recruit over the course of the NHS 10 Year Plan.

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

The upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it. We will train thousands more general practitioners (GPs) in the coming years, and through the course of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will increase the proportion of staff we train for community and primary care roles, as outlined in chapter 7.

Our work has already begun. Between October 2024 and July 2025, we recruited 1,900 extra GPs in primary care networks through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. Separately, as of May 2025, 37,833 full time equivalent GPs are currently employed by practices, which is a 1.9% increase, or an increase by 691 GPs, compared to May 2024.

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 estimate of the potential impact of mutual recognition schemes on the average time taken to recruit dentists from overseas.

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

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry. As an independent regulator, it is for the GDC to determine the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to the dental register.

Changes to the GDC’s legislation made in 2023 gave it greater flexibility to expand the registration routes for international applicants and improve its international registration processes, including additional flexibility in how it operates the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) and the ability to recognise overseas dentistry diplomas. New rules for the ORE made by the GDC under these reforms came into effect in March 2024.

I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place and its ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. However, I recognise that there remains a considerable waiting list for candidates to sit the exam. I met with the GDC earlier in July 2025 and have asked it to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the ORE waiting list and will be regularly meeting with it to monitor progress with this plan.

The GDC is currently consulting on its 2026-28 Corporate Strategy in which it has stated it will develop a comprehensive and accessible framework for registering overseas-qualified dental professionals, considering routes to registration in a holistic way. We will continue to encourage the GDC to make full use of the flexibilities that the 2023 legislation introduced when developing this framework.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps with the General Dental Council to improve the registration process for dentists who qualified outside the UK.

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

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry. As an independent regulator, it is for the GDC to determine the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to the dental register.

Changes to the GDC’s legislation made in 2023 gave it greater flexibility to expand the registration routes for international applicants and improve its international registration processes, including additional flexibility in how it operates the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) and the ability to recognise overseas dentistry diplomas. New rules for the ORE made by the GDC under these reforms came into effect in March 2024.

I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place and its ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. However, I recognise that there remains a considerable waiting list for candidates to sit the exam. I met with the GDC earlier in July 2025 and have asked it to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the ORE waiting list and will be regularly meeting with it to monitor progress with this plan.

The GDC is currently consulting on its 2026-28 Corporate Strategy in which it has stated it will develop a comprehensive and accessible framework for registering overseas-qualified dental professionals, considering routes to registration in a holistic way. We will continue to encourage the GDC to make full use of the flexibilities that the 2023 legislation introduced when developing this framework.

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 reforming the Overseas Registration Exam for dentists.

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

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry. As an independent regulator, it is for the GDC to determine the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to the dental register.

Changes to the GDC’s legislation made in 2023 gave it greater flexibility to expand the registration routes for international applicants and improve its international registration processes, including additional flexibility in how it operates the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) and the ability to recognise overseas dentistry diplomas. New rules for the ORE made by the GDC under these reforms came into effect in March 2024.

I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place and its ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. However, I recognise that there remains a considerable waiting list for candidates to sit the exam. I met with the GDC earlier in July 2025 and have asked it to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the ORE waiting list and will be regularly meeting with it to monitor progress with this plan.

The GDC is currently consulting on its 2026-28 Corporate Strategy in which it has stated it will develop a comprehensive and accessible framework for registering overseas-qualified dental professionals, considering routes to registration in a holistic way. We will continue to encourage the GDC to make full use of the flexibilities that the 2023 legislation introduced when developing this framework.

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 capacity of the NHS to contribute to the provisions for Multi Agency Child Protection Teams in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

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

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced in Parliament on 17 December, will protect children at risk of abuse, by stopping vulnerable children from falling through the cracks in services. The bill will place a duty on local safeguarding partners to establish multi-agency child protection teams (MACPTs), aimed at strengthening the multi-agency child protection response to all types of harm. These teams will have a minimum membership, nominated by safeguarding partners, of a social worker, a police officer, a registered health practitioner, and a person with experience of education.

MACPTs have been embedded in 10 local areas through the Families First for Children Pathfinders programme. Based on the learning from these pathfinders, the teams are being rolled out nationally through the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, launched in April 2025. The FFP programme guide enables flexibility in the composition of MACPTs, which are designed according to local need.

NHS England is supporting and learning from the nine integrated care boards (ICBs) currently working with the Families First for Children Pathfinders programme, which includes MACPTs. The national safeguarding leads are collaborating with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to profile how ICBs might implement MACPTs alongside local statutory partners, using Section 75 collaborative funding arrangements in order to optimise the Spending Review budget for the national rollout of the Families First Partnership programme and MACPTs.

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 ensure that NHS providers remain accountable for discharging their statutory safeguarding duties for children following the closure of NHS England.

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

The Department and NHS England’s safeguarding officials already work as one team to ensure that ministerial decisions are informed by policy and clinical expertise, considering the distinct yet integrated layers of child safeguarding functions. Through the upcoming transformation of NHS England and its integration with the Department, we will ensure health services continue to deliver core services and statutory safeguarding duties.

NHS England remains committed to supporting integrated, collaborative safeguarding arrangements that reflect statutory duties and local context. NHS England is actively engaging with safeguarding professionals across the system, including those in local government, integrated care boards (ICBs), and provider organisations, to ensure that safeguarding functions are not compromised amidst the upcoming changes. The frameworks and protocols outlining the expectations and accountability for safeguarding across National Health Service funded care continue to apply, with health services remaining accountable for safeguarding.

The statutory safeguarding duties for children are imbedded in the NHS Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework, and NHS England is working with all NHS providers and ICBs to ensure these statutory safeguarding functions are protected through the Model ICB programme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for the roll-out of (a) fampridine and (b) other new drugs in each year of this Parliament.

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 in a NICE appraisal, usually within three months of final guidance. Information about the amount of funding the NHS plans to provide for the roll-out of new drugs is not available. Commissioners within NHS England receive funding each year to commission services for their population, which includes funding for new and established medicines. Fampridine, however, has not been recommended by NICE, so is not available for routine NHS use within England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 110 of the document entitled Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS, whether his Department has made an estimate of how many fewer staff there will be in the NHS by 2035 than projected by the 2023 Long Term Workforce Plan.

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

This assessment will be made through the 10-Year Workforce Plan which will consider what the 10-Year Health Plan, which set out a new service model for the National Health Service, means for the workforce. Through the workforce plan we will ensure we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.

Over summer and autumn 2025, we will work with systems and partners to consider future workforce and will publish the 10-Year Workforce Plan later this year.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of potholes in North Shropshire constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Shropshire Council, as a local highway authority, has been allocated the following highway maintenance funding since 2015:

The Government has already provided an additional £500 million increase for local highway maintenance this financial year. As a result of this increase, Shropshire Council will receive up to £9.1 million more in additional funding.

Building on this, at the spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will be providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department has provided to Shropshire Council to fill potholes in each year since 2015.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Shropshire Council, as a local highway authority, has been allocated the following highway maintenance funding since 2015:

The Government has already provided an additional £500 million increase for local highway maintenance this financial year. As a result of this increase, Shropshire Council will receive up to £9.1 million more in additional funding.

Building on this, at the spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will be providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many serious vehicle accidents caused by potholes have resulted in a driver or passenger death in (a) North Shropshire constituency and (b) Shropshire in each year since 2020.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Statistics on reported road injury collisions in Great Britain are published based on data reported by police via the data collection known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, reporting police officers can assign up to 6 factors which they believe may have contributed to the collision, including ‘poor or defective road surface’. Contributory factors are assigned based on the opinions of the reporting officer at the scene or within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed investigation.

The number of serious collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” are given in the table below:

There were no drivers or passengers killed in collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” between 2020 to 2023.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many serious vehicle accidents have resulted from potholes in (a) North Shropshire constituency and (b) Shropshire in each year since 2020.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Statistics on reported road injury collisions in Great Britain are published based on data reported by police via the data collection known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, reporting police officers can assign up to 6 factors which they believe may have contributed to the collision, including ‘poor or defective road surface’. Contributory factors are assigned based on the opinions of the reporting officer at the scene or within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed investigation.

The number of serious collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” are given in the table below:

There were no drivers or passengers killed in collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” between 2020 to 2023.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with providers of community equipment on the financial resilience of those providers.

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

The Department is aware of concerns raised by community equipment suppliers. NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare.

Local authorities and local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will consider the resources available to them. At the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over both the last financial year and this year. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 have now been set through phase 2 of the Spending Review. This includes £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms than 2023/24 for the NHS, and the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the financial viability of providers of community equipment.

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

The Department is aware of concerns raised by community equipment suppliers. NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare.

Local authorities and local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will consider the resources available to them. At the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over both the last financial year and this year. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 have now been set through phase 2 of the Spending Review. This includes £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms than 2023/24 for the NHS, and the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.

Carers and social care reform

Funding and support for SEND

Government policy on the Hillsborough Law

Cool hubs

Jibraan Chaudhary Sepsis Research Foundation and chemotherapy-associated sepsis

Reform of the special educational needs and disabilities system

Funding and role of community pharmacies

Access to mental health support for children and young people

Post Offices in rural areas

Investment in General Practice

Access to dentistry

Found: proposal was included in the Private Members' Bill, the Bus Services Bill, recently introduced by Helen Morgan

Found: REPORT STAGE Friday 18 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: REPORT STAGE Wednesday 16 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Found: REPORT STAGE Tuesday 15 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: _NC3 Zöe Franklin Dr Danny Chambers Jess Brown-Fuller Helen Morgan Alison Bennett .

Found: _NC3 Zöe Franklin Dr Danny Chambers Jess Brown-Fuller Helen Morgan Alison Bennett .

Found: REPORT STAGE Friday 11 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan Siân Berry Anna Sabine Jess

Found: REPORT STAGE Wednesday 9 July 2025 2 _NC2 Tom Gordon Vikki Slade Caroline Voaden Liz Jarvis Helen Morgan

Digital Communities APPG
Tuesday 15th July 2025

Found: Authority Page | 16 Annex Evidence sessions Session One – Tuesday 14 January Panel Helen Morgan

Maternity APPG
Thursday 10th July 2025

Found: North East Derbyshire), Laura Kyrke-Smith MP (Aylesbury), Amanda Martin MP (Portsmouth North), Helen Morgan