Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to help ensure that imported eggs and egg products are safe for consumption in the context of the recent salmonella outbreak.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 10 September in response to Question 26962.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the water management grant of up to £15 million, within the drought support package.

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

The Government recognises the significant challenges that drought conditions can pose for farmers and growers. As part of the drought support package announced on 14 August 2026, up to £15 million has been made available to support on-farm reservoir construction.

The proposed level of funding has been informed by evaluation evidence from the previous two rounds of the Water Management Grant, where applications are expected to result in around £12.5 million of grant expenditure in total. Given the previous government were unable to spend the full budget allocated to the previous rounds of the Water Management Grant, we won’t repeat that failure and as such will continue to monitor delivery and demand to ensure the grant supports practical investments that strengthen water security and farm resilience to climate change.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the contribution of Maternity and Neonatal Independent Senior Advocates (MNISAs).

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

An independent evaluation of the Maternity and Neonatal Independent Senior Advocates pilot delivered across 16 integrated care boards was conducted from October 2024 to June 2025 by the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Rapid Service Evaluation Team. It found clear value, including ensuring that families’ concerns contribute to service improvement. It also identified uncertainty regarding scale, delivery model, and cost-effectiveness of the service, alongside the need for better integration in existing maternity and neonatal systems.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is chairing the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce to develop a national action plan to reform maternity and neonatal services. It will consider improvements to investigations and reviews, ensuring families get the support they need during these difficult times.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the level of need for additional hospice funding.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to set out a sustainable long-term commissioning model for the hospice sector.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the need for short-term revenue to support hospices, while long-term solutions are developed and put in place.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of having a civic centre in every market town.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Government recognises that too many neighbourhoods, including in market towns, have been let down by broken promises of renewal, resulting in the loss of valued community assets and the decline of local high streets.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the merits of having a civic centre in every market town. However, through our wider work to regenerate town centres and strengthen communities, we are supporting places to invest in the civic and community assets that best meet local needs. Our Pride in Place programme is empowering local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood. Supported by up to £5.8 billion in funding for 284 places across the country, Neighbourhood Boards are working with residents to deliver improvements that improve public spaces and create thriving communities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her department is taking to support farmers in addressing workforce shortages.

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

Defra recognises that its vital farms have the workforce they need to harvest their great British produce and grow their businesses. We set out in the Farming Roadmap that to build clear skills pathways for a modern farming sector we are working across government, including Skills England, industry and with training providers, to strengthen professional routes into and through the sector, providing accessible pathways for people to enter, progress and build long term careers in agriculture that reflect the sector’s diverse and evolving needs.

We have just confirmed the 2027 Seasonal Worker visa allocations for the horticulture and poultry so businesses can plan the year ahead with confidence and are working on Sector Growth Plans for these sectors to explore how our growers can be more profitable, productive and grow whilst also working within key government policy parameters, including migration policy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of workforce shortages in the agricultural sector on UK food security.

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

Defra recognises the importance of the workforce to food security. The Government’s Good Food Cycle publication references the importance of attracting talent and developing a skilled workforce to our nation and food security. The Farming Roadmap also makes clear the link between a strong, skilled and confident workforce in driving rural economic growth and strengthening Britain’s food security, whilst also committing to the Seasonal Worker visa route for the horticulture and poultry sectors until at least 2030. Addressing workforce recruitment and retention will be central to the Sector Growth Plans we have underway with sector experts.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure there are sufficient teaching support staff, including teaching assistants and technicians, to effectively support SEND provision in North Shropshire constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Headteachers are responsible for recruitment and deployment in their schools, as they are best placed to understand the specific needs of their pupils and make staffing decisions accordingly.

In Shropshire, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) school support staff increased slightly from 2,537 in 2024/25 to 2,553 in 2025/26. This includes an increase in FTE teaching assistant numbers from 1,470 in 2024/25 to 1,517 in 2025/26. There has also been a slight decrease in FTE technicians from 48 in 2024/25 to 45 in 2025/26.

The government is committed to ensuring that school support staff are recognised and rewarded for the crucial work they do. That is why we are establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body to negotiate new statutory minimum levels for pay and conditions and advise on training and career progression for school support staff in England.

We are investing in schools to deliver the changes to support mainstream inclusion. From 2026 to 2027 we will provide £1.6 billion for the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for schools, colleges and early years settings to deliver an improved inclusion offer, as well as £1.8 billion for Experts at Hand.

The department is also investing £200 million in a new special educational needs and disabilities training offer to upskill school, college and nursery staff, including teaching assistants.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made on the level of teaching staff retention in North Shropshire; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of teaching staff in that area on schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Teacher numbers in the Shropshire local authority increased slightly year on year. The department’s latest data reported that there were 2,137 teachers in 2025/26 compared to 2,131 in 2024/25.

Nationally, we have achieved over 71% of our 6,500 additional teachers target. There are 4,654 more teachers in 2025/26 compared with 2024/25, including 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools and 1,646 more teachers in further education.

The latest School Workforce Census also reported the lowest leaver rate (8.5%) outside the pandemic and a record number of teachers (17,740) returning to the classroom.

By September 2027, school teachers will have seen an increase in their pay of 17% since this government took power, and we are taking action to tackle poor pupil behaviour, reduce high workload and improve wellbeing to encourage even more teachers to stay in the profession.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of timely housing adaptations on unpaid carers.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

By supporting people to live more independently, home adaptations can reduce the extent of informal care that people require. This can have a positive impact on unpaid carers through improving their health and wellbeing, and reducing the amount of time they spend caring.

Political donations and campaign finance regulation

Support for hospices

Publication of Legal Advice on Local Government Reorganisation