Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report from Together for Short Lives entitled Overstretched and underfunded: The state of children’s hospice funding in 2025, if he will review the disparity in per person funding from integrated care boards for (a) children and (b) young people in hospice care.

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

We want a society where every child receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations.

The Together for Short Lives report, Overstretched and underfunded: The state of children’s hospice funding in 2025, highlights variation in the ‘per person’ funding of charitable children’s hospices but does not take into account funding spent via National Health Services, which also supports children with palliative care and end of life care needs. In England, while the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including children’s hospices, also play in providing support to children, and their loved ones, at the end of life.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant. We will confirm funding for 2026/27 in line with usual processes and timelines for Government finances.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10 Year Health Plan.

The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.

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 14 July 2025 to Question 64429 on Hospices: Children, what his planned timetable is for confirming funding arrangements for children's hospices for 2026/27.

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

We want a society where every child receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations.

The Together for Short Lives report, Overstretched and underfunded: The state of children’s hospice funding in 2025, highlights variation in the ‘per person’ funding of charitable children’s hospices but does not take into account funding spent via National Health Services, which also supports children with palliative care and end of life care needs. In England, while the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including children’s hospices, also play in providing support to children, and their loved ones, at the end of life.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant. We will confirm funding for 2026/27 in line with usual processes and timelines for Government finances.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10 Year Health Plan.

The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will adopt the recommendations of the report by Together for Short Lives entitled Overstretched and underfunded: The state of children’s hospice funding in 2025.

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

We want a society where every child receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations.

The Together for Short Lives report, Overstretched and underfunded: The state of children’s hospice funding in 2025, highlights variation in the ‘per person’ funding of charitable children’s hospices but does not take into account funding spent via National Health Services, which also supports children with palliative care and end of life care needs. In England, while the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by NHS staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including children’s hospices, also play in providing support to children, and their loved ones, at the end of life.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant. We will confirm funding for 2026/27 in line with usual processes and timelines for Government finances.

I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10 Year Health Plan.

The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduces variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 for ensuring that (a) district and (b) parish councils provide allotments in response to public demand.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908, local authorities have a duty to provide allotments if there is sufficient demand. The responsibility for the running, management, and organisation of these allotments also falls on the local authority. A local authority, when faced with sufficient demand, must acquire suitable land, freehold or leasehold by agreement or, if necessary, by compulsion. At present, we have made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Act to ensure demand is met by district and parish councils.

We are content with effectiveness of the clearly defined legal process to protect allotments as outlined under the Allotments Act 1925. The National Allotment Society stated that the eight approvals quoted in parliament from July 2024 to July 2025 represented a slight decrease in allotment disposals in recent years, and that it had not challenged any of the applications as they had all met the legal threshold with either low take-up of plots or alternative allotment space provided elsewhere.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Allotment Act 1925 for protecting allotments from being sold by local authorities.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Under the Small Holdings and Allotment Act 1908, local authorities have a duty to provide allotments if there is sufficient demand. The responsibility for the running, management, and organisation of these allotments also falls on the local authority. A local authority, when faced with sufficient demand, must acquire suitable land, freehold or leasehold by agreement or, if necessary, by compulsion. At present, we have made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Act to ensure demand is met by district and parish councils.

We are content with effectiveness of the clearly defined legal process to protect allotments as outlined under the Allotments Act 1925. The National Allotment Society stated that the eight approvals quoted in parliament from July 2024 to July 2025 represented a slight decrease in allotment disposals in recent years, and that it had not challenged any of the applications as they had all met the legal threshold with either low take-up of plots or alternative allotment space provided elsewhere.

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 availability of Designated Prescribing Practitioners for all foundation pharmacists starting their training in 2025.

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

Every foundation trainee pharmacist that has graduated against the 2021 standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists will require a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP), a healthcare professional with independent prescribing rights, for example, a doctor, pharmacist, or nurse, during their foundation training period to support the supervision and assessment of prescribing activities.

Under the terms of the Foundation Trainee Pharmacists National Recruitment Scheme, training providers are required to ensure that the trainee will have access to a DPP. Providers are also required to submit details of the DPP to NHS England once the trainee pharmacist commences in post. Trainee pharmacists in England start their foundation training in the 2025/26 year in two windows: 14 July 2025 to 4 August 2025, summer; and 20 October 2025 to 10 November 2025, autumn.

To support the development of DPP capacity, NHS England continues to engage with training providers and invest in training for independent prescribers. From September 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers on the day of their registration, which will expand future availability of healthcare professionals who are qualified to become a DPP.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published 3 July 2025, how the planned multi-neighbourhood providers covering large geographical areas will improve local continuity of healthcare.

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

The 10 Year Health Plan sets out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service that moves care closer to home. The Neighbourhood Health Service will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and only in a hospital if necessary.

We will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s home, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, and more, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community and improve local continuity of healthcare. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that meets the needs of local populations.

Multi-neighbourhood providers will facilitate the development of neighbourhood teams, improving access for local populations and supporting the continuity of care for patients in a Neighbourhood Health Service. These providers will cover populations of approximately 250,000 people, to unlock the advantages and efficiencies possible from greater scale, working across all general practices and small neighbourhood providers in their footprint. The introduction of the Single Patient Record will support this way of working, giving neighbourhood clinicians secure access to a patient’s medical records to ensure seamless care across services.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the police of (a) kennelling and (b) court fees for dogs subject to seized dog cases.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not hold data on the total cost to the police of kennelling or of court fees for dogs subject to seized dog cases. This information may be collected by individual police forces.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the underspend in the additional roles reimbursement scheme has been reallocated.

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

The table attached provides a funding and spending summary for the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, from 2019/20 to 2024/25.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the underspend was in the additional roles reimbursement scheme in each year since it was launched.

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

The table attached provides a funding and spending summary for the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, from 2019/20 to 2024/25.

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 60209 on Carers, on how many occasions there has been a cross-Government meeting since July 2024.

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

Unpaid carers play a vital role and can access support from adult and children’s social care and the National Health Service, as well as through benefits, employers, schools, colleges, and universities. However, we know that too often systems are disjointed, difficult to navigate, and don’t appropriately identify and communicate with carers.

The Government is determined to work together to provide carers of all ages with the recognition and support they deserve.

Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education have convened twice this year to discuss support for unpaid carers and consider opportunities to provide further recognition and support. These are early meetings of a group exploring further ways in which carers can be supported, and as such it does not have a statutory remit.

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 60209 on Carers, what the outcomes were of the cross-Government meeting.

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

Unpaid carers play a vital role and can access support from adult and children’s social care and the National Health Service, as well as through benefits, employers, schools, colleges, and universities. However, we know that too often systems are disjointed, difficult to navigate, and don’t appropriately identify and communicate with carers.

The Government is determined to work together to provide carers of all ages with the recognition and support they deserve.

Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education have convened twice this year to discuss support for unpaid carers and consider opportunities to provide further recognition and support. These are early meetings of a group exploring further ways in which carers can be supported, and as such it does not have a statutory remit.

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 60209 on Carers, who attends the cross-Government meetings.

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

Unpaid carers play a vital role and can access support from adult and children’s social care and the National Health Service, as well as through benefits, employers, schools, colleges, and universities. However, we know that too often systems are disjointed, difficult to navigate, and don’t appropriately identify and communicate with carers.

The Government is determined to work together to provide carers of all ages with the recognition and support they deserve.

Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education have convened twice this year to discuss support for unpaid carers and consider opportunities to provide further recognition and support. These are early meetings of a group exploring further ways in which carers can be supported, and as such it does not have a statutory remit.

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 60209 on Carers, whether the cross-Government meeting has a statutory remit.

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

Unpaid carers play a vital role and can access support from adult and children’s social care and the National Health Service, as well as through benefits, employers, schools, colleges, and universities. However, we know that too often systems are disjointed, difficult to navigate, and don’t appropriately identify and communicate with carers.

The Government is determined to work together to provide carers of all ages with the recognition and support they deserve.

Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education have convened twice this year to discuss support for unpaid carers and consider opportunities to provide further recognition and support. These are early meetings of a group exploring further ways in which carers can be supported, and as such it does not have a statutory remit.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of his policies on the ability of farmers to diversify their income streams to support their farming business.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Agricultural permitted development rights were amended in April 2024 to expand the range of uses agricultural buildings and land within their curtilage can be used for under a ‘flexible commercial use’, incentivising development by providing certainty and removing the time and money needed to submit a planning application. As the Secretary of State announced earlier this year, we will ensure these permitted development rights work for farms to support all farmers to innovate and diversify their businesses. In June, we held three roundtables with agriculture stakeholders to discuss planning issues in depth. Government is consulting on national policies for decision making later this year to make the planning policy framework clearer and more accessible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of VAT on independent school fees on the ability on non-affluent families to afford private school education.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

HM Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees. This is a comprehensive assessment of the VAT policy, including impacts on individuals and families and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when Ministers in her Department last met representatives of the independent school sector to discuss issues facing that sector.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The last meeting was held on 22 July 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that Councils have effective supply chains in place to enable them to provide a weekly food waste collection service to all households by 31 March 2026.

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

We are aware of concerns about delivery timelines and pressure on supply chains for vehicles and containers. We are engaging with key stakeholders across the sector and welcome input to help us understand the challenges and ensure successful delivery.

Defra is working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) to scope interventions to address bottlenecks in supply chains. For instance, WRAP recently published procurement guidance for food waste: Weekly food waste implementation supplementary procurement guidance | WRAP.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the sustainable bioethnol production sector.

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

Government has been in negotiations with the bioethanol sector to understand what support could be delivered to ensure its long-term sustainable future.

The Department for Transport confirmed their intention to consult on amendments to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, including options for increased targets. DfT also confirmed plans to convene an expert working group to explore whether ethanol blending in petrol can be increased beyond the current E10 blend.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of local government reorganisation in Leicestershire on local service provision.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local Government Reorganisation creates a huge opportunity to establish modern, responsive public services for citizens.

We have asked all councils to tell us how their proposals for unitarisation will improve service provision, and to ensure high standards are maintained during the transition

Found: public bill committee The Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary for Health and Social Care, Dr Luke Evans