Helen Whately Portrait

Helen Whately

Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent

First elected: 7th May 2015

Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

(since October 2022)

Health and Social Care Committee
25th Oct 2022 - 8th Nov 2022
Public Accounts Committee
30th Nov 2021 - 17th Oct 2022
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
16th Sep 2021 - 7th Jul 2022
Finance (No.2) Bill
8th Dec 2021 - 11th Jan 2022
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Feb 2020 - 16th Sep 2021
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
10th Sep 2019 - 13th Feb 2020
Draft Domestic Abuse Bill (Joint)
27th Feb 2019 - 6th Nov 2019
Deputy Chair, Conservative Party
17th Apr 2019 - 10th Sep 2019
Vice-Chair, Conservative Party
27th Jul 2018 - 17th Apr 2019
Health and Social Care Committee
8th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Helen Whately has voted in 822 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

30 Mar 2022 - Health and Care Bill - View Vote Context
Helen Whately voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 72 Conservative Aye votes vs 175 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 215 Noes - 188
View All Helen Whately Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Human Rights)
(32 debate interactions)
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(25 debate interactions)
Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour)
Shadow Minister (Women's Health and Mental Health)
(20 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(639 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(132 debate contributions)
Department for Business and Trade
(8 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Finance Act 2022
(5,089 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Helen Whately's debates

Faversham and Mid Kent Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

The Government should reduce the cost of fuel through a reduction of 40% in fuel duty and VAT for 2 years. This can effectively offset the rise in fuel prices since 2020.

We ask Government to significantly increase targeted research funding for motor neurone disease (MND).

A new investment of £50m over 5 years could kickstart a pioneering MND Research Institute.

This would lead to better, faster and more definitive research outcomes and hope for those with MND.

I would like the government to review and increase the pay for healthcare workers to recognise the work that they do.

To revoke the Immigration Health Surcharge increases for overseas NHS staff. The latest budget shows an increase of £220 a year for an overseas worker to live and work in the UK, at a time when the NHS, and UK economy, relies heavily on them.

We would like the government to support and regard social care: financially, publicly and systematically on an equal par as NHS. We would like parliament to debate how to support social care during COVID-19 and beyond so that it automatically has the same access to operational and financial support.

Give NHS workers who are EU and other Nationals automatic UK citizenship if they stay and risk their own lives looking after the British people during the COVID crisis.


Latest EDMs signed by Helen Whately

Helen Whately has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Helen Whately, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Helen Whately has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Helen Whately has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

2 Bills introduced by Helen Whately


The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require employers to offer flexible working in employment contracts and to advertise vacancies as suitable for flexible working unless certain conditions are met; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 16th July 2019
(Read Debate)

The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to make provision about the accessibility of air travel for people with disabilities; to establish requirements about parking at airports for people with disabilities; to require airports and airlines to report steps taken to improve accessibility; to require a named person to be responsible for air passengers with disabilities; to make provision about the design and adaptation of aircraft to meet the needs of passengers with disabilities; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 24th July 2018
(Read Debate)

Latest 7 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that residents of park homes can benefit from the Government's energy support measures.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for St Albans on 20th June 2022 to Question 18990.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to support households that are reliant on domestic heating oil in the event of further rises in energy costs in winter 2022.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the noble Lord Allen of Kensington on 5 July 2022 to Question HL1128.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase access to primary care services for people in Faversham and Mid Kent constituency.

We have committed to recruit an additional 26,000 primary care staff in Primary Care Networks. In Kent and Medway, more than 400 additional roles staff have been recruited, including pharmacy technicians, first contact physios and mental health practitioners.

NHS England is working with local partners to attract general practitioners (GPs) to the area and encouraging trainees to undertake placements in Kent. In Kent and Medway, 19 GP trainees are being funded through the Targeted Enhancement Recruitment Scheme. Kent Medical School has 100 medical students hosted in Kent and Medway general practices. NHS England is procuring new mandatory dental services, based on the current areas of greatest need in Kent.

19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of NHS dentist appointments available for people in Faversham and Mid Kent constituency.

In 2019, a review of mandatory dental services in Kent identified Faversham as an area of significant need. Following this review, National Health Service dental contracts were agreed with five new dental practices with an overall increase of 19 whole-time equivalent dentists.

NHS England is currently preparing to procure further mandatory dental services in Kent, based on the current areas of greatest need. This will be aligned to the review being undertaken by NHS England and the South East Region Consultant in Dental Public Health.

Since July 2022, NHS England has asked practices to deliver 100% of contracted units of dental activity to safely improve access for patients, including in Faversham and Mid Kent.

The Department and NHS England have recently announced improvements to the NHS dental system to increase access, target patients with higher oral health needs and make NHS dentistry a more attractive place to work for dentists and their teams, including in Kent.

19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to increase community benefits for people living near (a) large scale solar plants and (b) other nationally significant infrastructure projects.

In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Secretary of State for Energy committed to consult on community benefit options for the network infrastructure we need to meet net zero targets. This will ensure that communities that host network infrastructure are recognised for their vital role in ensuring a cheaper, cleaner and self-sufficient energy supply in Britain. Any new community benefit options will not replace community engagement with developments through the existing planning and consultation processes.

Local communities will continue to be able to have their say on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and the benefits they can deliver for their local area, including: environmental enhancements; job schemes; energy discounts; and investment in local infrastructure, such as faster broadband, electric vehicle charging points or energy efficiency measures. Applicants are required to set out in their Statement of Community Consultation how they propose to consult those living in the vicinity of the land. When deciding whether to accept an application for a Development Consent Order, the Planning Inspectorate (on behalf of the relevant Sectary of State) must have regard to this consultation report. Where applications are accepted for examination, members of local communities can also make written representations on the proposed infrastructure, often also providing oral evidence at hearings.

Marcus Jones
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to ensure that new housing in rural areas comes with necessary improvements to local infrastructure.

The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities, including those in rural locations. Where infrastructure is required as a result of new development, local planning authorities can require contributions from developers towards that infrastructure. Contributions can be sought through Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

To create a more efficient, effective and transparent system, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proposes a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime and CIL charge.

The Bill will require local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies. These will set out a strategy for delivering local infrastructure through spending Levy proceeds. They will create a more transparent process for local people on how funds will be spent and what infrastructure will be delivered to support development. It will be for local councils to decide which infrastructure projects they spend the proceeds on.

The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.

Marcus Jones
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
19th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing housing density for the purposes of reducing the requirement to build new homes on greenfield sites.

This Government strongly encourages the efficient and effective use of land. Our National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) already sets out that planning policies and decisions should promote an effective use of land and make as much use as possible of previously-developed land in meeting the need for homes and other uses, while safeguarding and improving the environment, and ensuring safe and healthy living conditions.

The NPPF sets out that local plans should establish density standards for city and town centres which seek a significant uplift in density in those areas. Furthermore the NPPF is clear that where there is a shortage of land for meeting housing needs, it is especially important that planning policies and decisions avoid homes being built at low densities and that developments make optimal use of the potential of each site.

We have introduced a number of measures to support increased density including new permitted development rights to allow more buildings to be extended upwards to create new homes, and to make it easier for existing buildings to be converted to residential use. This will further support residential densification while avoiding the need to build on other types of land.

We are also bringing forward further reforms to support density through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, including a duty for local authorities to produce design codes to help shape the design of their area, giving greater certainty to communities and developers. In addition ‘Street Votes’ will incentivise communities to consider the potential for development and support a gentle increase in densities through well-designed and locally supported proposals.

Marcus Jones
Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)