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 Car-Hill formula for funding to GPs in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle.

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

There has been no assessment made of the adequacy of the Carr-Hill formula for funding to general practices (GPs) in Camborne, Redruth, and Hayle.

Plans to review this funding formula may be revisited in future. However, any changes would need careful planning to ensure they do not threaten stability or cause financial uncertainty for practices.

We are committed to ensuring that primary medical services receive appropriate support and resources. We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of shared ground loops qualifying as an Innovative Measure under point 6 of eligibility requirements in the Energy Company Obligation 4 Scheme.

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

There is provision within the rules of ECO4 for shared ground loops to be delivered. Following the government consultation on mid-scheme changes to ECO4 and GBIS, legislation will be updated to specify that shared ground loop systems can be considered for Innovation Measures under ECO4. Amendments to legislation are expected to take effect later this year.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to extend the Energy Intensive Industries support scheme.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The British Industry Supercharger was launched in 2024 and provides support to Energy Intensive Industries to bring electricity costs for those strategically important UK industries closer in line with other major economies so that they remain competitive on the world stage. The measures save eligible businesses on average around £24 – £31 per MWh on their electricity costs. The British Industry Supercharger will be reviewed regularly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve services for women with eating disorders.

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

Too many women with eating disorders are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality support when they need it.

The Department continues to work closely with NHS England to ensure that people with an eating disorder get the care and treatment they need.

NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder service capacity, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood, and reduce lengths of stay in urgent and emergency care.

Funding for eating-disorder services has increased each year, from £46.7 million in 2017/18 to a planned spend of £101 million in 2024/25.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of adults with eating disorders that are waiting for treatment from community mental health services; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times.

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

NHS England recently published data on adult community mental health waiting times, which includes adult community eating disorder services. Services are working throughout 2024/25 to improve the data quality for these metrics, to be more accurate from 2025/26.

At the end of January 2025, 206,603 referrals to community mental health services for adults and older adults with serious mental illness were waiting for a second contact. The median waiting time was 93 days, and the 90th percentile was 263 days.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services.

We are working with NHS England to consider options to deliver this commitment alongside the refresh of the Long Term Workforce Plan. This will focus on the three shifts to deliver our 10 Year Plan: moving care from hospitals to care in communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it.

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 potential merits of improving (a) the funding of and (b) support for NHS dentistry services in rural areas.

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

The National Health Service in England invests £3 billion in dentistry every year. NHS planning guidance is now published for 2025/26 and confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in rural areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the Camborne and Redruth constituency, this is the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has for the provision of further information on the additional premium provided to claimants for the planned Universal Credit health element for the most severe, life-long health conditions.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We will ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected. We will also ensure this group face no future reassessment. We will set out further information on this in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of (a) ticket office closures and (b) staffing reductions at rural railways stations on passengers.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We expect all train operating companies to use reasonable endeavours to meet their obligations for regulated staffed ticket office opening hours under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA).

If train operating companies wish to make changes to regulated opening hours of ticket offices, they should follow the process in the TSA. The ‘Secretary of State for Transport's Ticketing and Settlement Agreement ticket office guidance’ sets out the approach which the Secretary of State will normally take in deciding how to exercise her role under the TSA in relation to ticket office opening hours.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to consult with stakeholders on the potential (a) duration and (b) level of support available in relation to her Department's proposals for unemployment insurance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are consulting on plans for a new “Unemployment Insurance” as part of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. As part of this, we are running a number of accessible virtual and face-to-face events on the Green Paper to hear from stakeholders, including disabled people and their representative organisations, directly. More information on these events and registration are available on the official consultation page on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to use the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to accelerate the roll out of Ground Source Heat Pumps and Shared Ground loops.

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

The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund provides grant funding for social housing landlords to improve the energy performance of their properties.

Ground Source Heat Pumps and Shared Ground Loops are both eligible measures under the scheme. They are supported by both the ‘On-Gas-Grid Low Carbon Heating Incentive Offer’ and the ‘Off-Gas-Grid Low Carbon Heating Cost Cap Uplift’, which provide funding to support installations of low carbon heating technologies.

All measures installed under the scheme must be lodged onto the TrustMark Retrofit Portal, adhere to requirements within Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2035, and be installed by an appropriately certified PAS or Microgeneration Certification Scheme installer which is TrustMark registered.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to promote training opportunities for (a) mineral processing, (b) metallurgical skills and (c) other critical minerals skills.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Camborne and Redruth to the answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 30538.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to make an assessment of international comparisons of support provided to (a) minerals, (b) metals and (c) processing companies through the (i) planning and (ii) permitting process.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) actively monitors support provided to companies operating across the critical minerals supply chain in comparable countries, including planning and permitting processes.

In the forthcoming Critical Minerals Strategy, DBT will outline further details of the Government’s approach to supporting the UK’s domestic mining, processing and recycling industries, and developing the UK’s competitive advantage.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of securing the imports of critical minerals in (a) semi-manufactured materials and (b) raw materials.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK's economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. Building on the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre’s updated criticality assessment, government will work hand in hand with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. This new, targeted Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure our supply chains for the long term and drive forward the green industries of the future.

As part of the ongoing engagement, the government will engage with stakeholders to gather expertise and insights to shape our approach to securing critical minerals.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled UK Critical Mineral Strategy, last updated on 13 March 2024, what recent estimate he has made of the value of critical mineral exports.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In 2024, the UK exported an estimated £10 billion worth of critical minerals. This figure was calculated using HMRC trade statistics, and the definition of “critical minerals” comes from internationally comparable HS trade codes published by the US Geological Survey. This figure does not include the many downstream products that are produced using critical minerals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment between trends in levels of people hospitalised due to eating disorders in (a) England and (b) other European nations in 2024.

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

There are no plans to make a comparative assessment between trends in levels of people hospitalised due to eating disorders in England and other European nations in 2024.

NHS England has commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver a national all-age eating disorders audit. This aims to drive improvement in the identification and appropriate management of eating disorders and the quality and consistency of services for all ages in England. This will help ensure that services across the country are safe, effective, patient centred, timely, efficient, and equitable.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS 10-year health plan for England will include dentistry services.

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

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. All three shifts are relevant to improving dental health in all parts of the country, and we expect dentistry services to benefit from the plan

Delivering better joint working between services, and more preventative action like supervised toothbrushing programmes will all help people improve their dental health and access the dental services they need closer to home.