Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 57372 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what the costs were to his Department of the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As set out by the Secretary of State in his statement on 22 May 2025, the Agreement is at a cost of less than 0.2% of the annual defence budget and secures a base which is vital for UK national security for over a century. It represents good value for UK taxpayers.
A bill to implement the Treaty was introduced by the Government to the House of Commons on 15 July 2025.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that decision making about the return of the BCSSS investment reserve can be made as swiftly as possible.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I met the BCSSS Trustees on 22 April, 11 June and 22 July and confirmed the Government’s commitment to considering their proposals regarding the reserve and the future of the scheme. DESNZ will now engage HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members.
I am aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the share of expenditure on hospital care on his Department's goal for 92 percent of patients to be treated within 18 weeks by 2029.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Elective Reform Plan (ERP) sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to achieve the target that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by 2029. The ERP includes several efforts which will see care delivered differently. This includes addressing the challenges in diagnostic waiting times, providing the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits. We will upgrade the NHS App, so patients can book and rearrange appointments, choose which hospital to be treated at, receive test results, and choose if they want to be seen in person or remotely.
The 10-Year Health Plan set out how we will take that further. At present, roughly 80% of all elective care does not require admitted treatment but takes place in outpatient settings, mostly in hospitals. By 2035, two thirds of this care will take place digitally or in the community closer to home, with patients able to access the best of their local hospital in a much more responsive way, such as via a local neighbourhood health centre or at home via digital channels. This will deliver more timely, efficient, and flexible care, which is better for patients and will mean we reduce the numbers joining the waiting lists in the first place.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to p.98 of the document entitled Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, published on 3 July 2025, if he will list the training requirements identified as (a) irritating staff and (b) adding unnecessary burdens staff's working days.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan set out an action to review the amount of statutory and mandatory training that healthcare professionals are required to undertake. This follows a large national engagement exercise with members of the public and health and care staff. As part of this engagement, members of staff shared their poor experiences of mandatory training, citing that the training can be, repetitive or irrelevant to their role and takes them away from treating patients.
The exact amount of statutory and mandatory training completed varies, depending on which organisation they work for, their role or roles, and the frequency of their movement between organisations, for instance resident doctors rotating between organisations may have to repeat some of the training.
On average, it is estimated that nationally defined statutory and mandatory training takes up to eight hours or one day per person per year, and locally mandated training will add to this. This considerable investment of time must be balanced against the fact that this training is both important, for instance safety training and emergency preparedness training, and often required by law.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 61898 on Railways: Midlands, whether any funding announced in the Spending Review 2025 has been allocated to support Network Rail's work to develop a business case for later phases of the Midlands Rail Hub between Birmingham and destinations in Leicestershire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The first phase of Midlands Rail Hub (‘Western’ scope) would enable additional trains each hour between Birmingham and South Wales and the South West, and on Birmingham’s Cross City Line. This includes extending Chiltern services from Moor Street to Snow Hill station by improving connectivity across the region. The costs and delivery timescales for later phases are subject to further development work and subsequent investment decisions.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on the potential impact of Business Improvement Districts on levels of local business investment.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the important role Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can play in improving the local trading environment and attracting investment to their area. We frequently engage with local authorities and BID membership bodies such as, British BIDs and Association of Town & City Management, to keep informed about the performance of BIDs, including the investment they attract external to the levy.
We are keen for BIDs to continue to be leaders in the regeneration of their area and we encourage BIDs to work in partnership with their local authority to deliver growth in their local area.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of remedial pension savings statements (a) remain outstanding and (b) have been issued.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 22 July 2025, 108,742 remedial pension savings statements have been issued to NHS Pension Scheme members. 34,404 members either have a statement outstanding or require further calculations to determine whether a statement is needed.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 24 February 2025 to Question 28133 NHS Business Services Authority: Workplace Pensions, whether the Pensions regulator has required the NHS Business Services Authority to remedy the (a) errors and (b) delays in NHS pensions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is in regular contact with The Pensions Regulator to report on the delivery of the McCloud remedy. They are following all advice, guidance, and recommendations put forward by the regulator.
The NHSBSA has taken all available steps to bring in external support to boost its statement production capacity. It has also recruited significant numbers of staff and is reprioritising existing staff to support the implementation of the McCloud remedy. The Pensions Regulator is aware of the proactive measures that the NHSBSA is taking to rectify any previous statements where necessary.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the delays in issuing (a) remedial pension savings statements and (b) remedial service statements on patient care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The delays related to remediable service statements should have no direct impact on patient care. The members facing immediate financial consequences from their remedy benefit choice are retired members of the NHS Pension Scheme.
We understand from regular conversations with staff representatives that the highest-earning NHS Pension Scheme members have expressed concerns about predicting the tax consequences of taking on overtime prior to receiving a remedial pension savings statement (RPSS). Whilst no assessment has been made of the potential impact of RPSS delays specifically on patient care, there is no clear evidence from National Health Service payroll data that the annual allowance pension tax regime, to which RPSS’ relate, constrains the activity of the consultant workforce in aggregate. A range of factors may influence personal decisions around intentions to take on extra work, making it difficult to measure the unique impact of tax measures or statement delays.
From 6 April 2023, the standard annual allowance threshold increased from £40,000 to £60,000, giving individuals scope for greater tax-free pension growth. The tapered annual allowance further restricts the amount of tax-free pension saving available to the very wealthiest in society. The taper applies when taxable earnings reach £200,000.
Where NHS Pension Scheme members do incur annual allowance pension tax charges, these do not have to be met in the current tax year. The NHS Pension Scheme offers a Scheme Pays facility through which individuals can ask the scheme to pay the tax on their behalf in exchange for a fair reduction in the generous pension benefits paid at retirement.
The NHS Business Services Authority is continuing work to deliver outstanding statements as quickly as possible, and a process is in place for members to self-identify for a prioritised statement.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he expects the outstanding (a) remedial pension savings statements and (b) remedial service statements to be delivered.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have commissioned the independent Chair of the NHS Pension Scheme Pension Board to lead an urgent and targeted review of the NHS Business Service Authority’s (NHS BSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members. This will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHS BSA’s delivery plan for the remaining statements. A further Written Ministerial Statement will confirm the new timetable once the review has reported.