Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when guidance on clinical delegation will be published.

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

The regulators of registered healthcare professionals, including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), are independent of the Government, are directly accountable to Parliament, and are responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of their statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.

The GMC has published the guidance ‘Delegation and referral’ while the NMC has published its guidance ‘Delegation and accountability’. Both regulators expect their registrants to follow the appropriate guidance when delegating clinical work.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the 10,910 additional urgent dental appointments allocated to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board have been delivered since April 2025.

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

We have asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.

Appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.

Data on delivery of urgent dental care, including additional delivery, will be published annually as part of the NHS Dental Statistics England Official Statistics series. These statistics are released each August and are the primary source of data on the delivery of NHS dental care.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason he proposes the inclusion of holiday lets within the Energy Performance Certificate regime; and whether sector-specific data, including occupancy patterns, energy consumption profiles, and seasonal variations, has been analysed prior to progressing towards regulation.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

EPCs help owners better understand the energy performance of their buildings and identify opportunities to improve them. We consulted on proposals to regulate short-term rental properties to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) at the point of being let, irrespective of whether the occupier is responsible for energy costs, to provide clarity on existing guidance for when furnished holiday lets require EPCs.

The impact assessment published alongside our consultation (accessible here: Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime: impact assessment) considered the effects of our proposals for short-term and holiday lets. We are analysing responses to the consultation, including from the short-term let sector, and will publish the Government’s response to the consultation in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department will take to ensure high levels of UK content in tidal stream projects.

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

The Government continues to engage with the tidal stream industry to support high levels of UK content in projects, which currently stands at around 80 per cent, including through the Marine Energy Taskforce’s sub group on supply chains.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when draft updated statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions will be published.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government has committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to support pupils with medical conditions effectively and inclusively. The current statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions,’ will be updated to reflect best practice and recent developments.

We intend to consult later this year on revised guidance. This consultation will seek views from schools, parents, health professionals, and other stakeholders on proposals to strengthen how schools meet their duties, including improvements to allergy safety and broader medical condition management.

Our aim is to ensure that every child can access education safely and confidently, regardless of their health needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children's homes that are privately owned and operated.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

As at 31 March 2025, 84% (3,360) of all children’s homes were privately owned and operated.

Ofsted publish annual data on children’s social care in England. This includes data on the number of homes and the different types of social care providers. The latest data is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2025.

The government is taking forward work to reshape the children’s social care placement’s market, including increasing the number of foster carers so that more children can be looked after in family-based environments and encouraging more non-profit, local authority, and social investment backed providers to enter the market.

Found: Q1249 Jayne Kirkham: Good morning and thank you for coming.

Found: Q1249 Jayne Kirkham: Good morning and thank you for coming.

Found: Fenton-Glynn Paulette Hamilton Andrew George Alex McIntyre Joe Robertson Greg Stafford Jayne Kirkham