Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during the second reading of the Climate and Nature Bill on 24 January 2025, whether his Department plans to make a statement on the state of climate and nature before summer recess 2026.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government intends to deliver the second Statement on Climate and Nature to Parliament this summer. Like last year's statement, it will provide an honest appraisal of the state of climate and nature in the UK alongside highlighting the action being taken to benefit people now, as well as future generations.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions on care home fee rises for self-funders.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tax policy, including changes to National Insurance contributions, is a matter for HM Treasury and assessments of the wider economic impacts are considered in that context.
The Department of Health and Social Care does not have the power to set or recommend the fees charged by care homes. However, all businesses must comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by using fair and transparent terms in their standard agreements with customers.
This emphasis on transparency is also reflected in Regulation 19 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, which requires providers to give people who use services timely and accurate written information about the cost of their care and treatment.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to protect self-funders from care home fee increases that exceed inflation.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Tax policy, including changes to National Insurance contributions, is a matter for HM Treasury and assessments of the wider economic impacts are considered in that context.
The Department of Health and Social Care does not have the power to set or recommend the fees charged by care homes. However, all businesses must comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by using fair and transparent terms in their standard agreements with customers.
This emphasis on transparency is also reflected in Regulation 19 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, which requires providers to give people who use services timely and accurate written information about the cost of their care and treatment.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the professional indemnity arrangements for GPs and hospital consultants in cases arising from Advice and Guidance interactions under the 2026/27 GP contract regulations.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practitioners (GPs), and other primary care referrers, remain professionally accountable for making appropriate clinical decisions, including referring patients to specialist care when it is in the patient’s best interests. The use of specialist advice requests does not override those responsibilities or place GPs in conflict between contractual and professional obligations. NHS England continues to support clinicians through guidance, pathway design, and local governance arrangements to ensure these arrangements are used safely, proportionately, and in a way that preserves clear clinical accountability.
While advice is being sought or acted on in primary care, the GP remains responsible for the patient’s overall clinical care and risk. The specialist is responsible for the quality and appropriateness of the advice they give, not for ongoing management or follow‑up unless they formally assume responsibility for the patient’s care. Specialists also have clinical responsibility from the point at which a specialist advice request is converted into a referral or if the specialist initiates investigations or treatment directly.
Under this model, requests for specialist advice and referrals are clinically reviewed by a named consultant, with the aim of ensuring patients are directed to the most suitable pathway. Where a local model is already established, or has been agreed between primary and secondary care, that provides timely specialist clinical assessment with clear accountability, this may continue with oversight from a named consultant.
The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. GPs should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement.
This reflects longstanding planned care referral practice and does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks for GPs.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether ministers or officials had reached agreement on core policy positions relating to (a) Individual Support Plans, (b) Education, Health and Care Plan reform, (c) National Inclusion Standards and (d) Specialist Provision Packages prior to the conclusion of analysis of consultation responses.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government's consultation on 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first’ has now closed. During the consultation period, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education was clear that we were consulting across the full set of proposals.
We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals. To ensure these reforms work in practice, we are committed to co-designing them with children, families and professionals, and testing and refining our proposals collaboratively. The Ministerial team and I will continue holding regular meetings with campaigners and disabled children’s organisations to hear a range of views and perspectives on the proposed reforms.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether draft legislation, implementation frameworks or operational delivery models for the proposed SEND reforms had been prepared before the consultation on those reforms closed on 18 May 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government's consultation on 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first’ has now closed. During the consultation period, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education was clear that we were consulting across the full set of proposals.
We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals. To ensure these reforms work in practice, we are committed to co-designing them with children, families and professionals, and testing and refining our proposals collaboratively. The Ministerial team and I will continue holding regular meetings with campaigners and disabled children’s organisations to hear a range of views and perspectives on the proposed reforms.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on public confidence in the consultation process of departmental announcements describing proposed SEND reforms in definitive terms before the consultation had closed.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government's consultation on 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first’ has now closed. During the consultation period, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education was clear that we were consulting across the full set of proposals.
We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals. To ensure these reforms work in practice, we are committed to co-designing them with children, families and professionals, and testing and refining our proposals collaboratively. The Ministerial team and I will continue holding regular meetings with campaigners and disabled children’s organisations to hear a range of views and perspectives on the proposed reforms.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish the evidence, modelling and legal analysis underpinning the Government's position that proposed SEND reforms will strengthen protections for disabled children and young people.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department published a modelling annex, Child’s Rights Impact Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment alongside the consultation.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 patient safety implications of mandating Advice and Guidance as a required step within GP referral pathways under the 2026/27 GP contract regulations.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. General practitioners (GPs) should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement. This reflects longstanding planned care referral practice and does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks for GPs. The Department and NHS England assessed the potential impacts of the changes made regarding A&G as part of the equalities assessments, as part of the policy-development process.
In early 2026, we concluded the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation. This year, we expanded the consultation to engage with wider stakeholders across GPs and patient voice organisations. These were the General Practitioners Committee England, the Royal College of General Practitioners, National Voices, the Institute of General Practice Management, Healthwatch England, NHS Confederation, now the NHS Alliance following its merge with NHS Providers, and the National Association of Primary Care. The feedback we received from stakeholders across the system has been constructive and comprehensive, enabling us to refine proposals and address concerns while developing the final contract package.
The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the previous Advice and Guidance enhanced service funding into core practice funding. Following near universal uptake of the Advice and Guidance Enhanced Service in 2025/26, the focus for 2026/27 is on stability and simplicity. Embedding the specialist advice model within the core contract recognises its role in routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to publish the safety case underpinning the mandated use of Advice and Guidance in referral pathways prior to the laying of the 2026/27 GP contract regulations.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. General practitioners (GPs) should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement. This reflects longstanding planned care referral practice and does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks for GPs. The Department and NHS England assessed the potential impacts of the changes made regarding A&G as part of the equalities assessments, as part of the policy-development process.
In early 2026, we concluded the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation. This year, we expanded the consultation to engage with wider stakeholders across GPs and patient voice organisations. These were the General Practitioners Committee England, the Royal College of General Practitioners, National Voices, the Institute of General Practice Management, Healthwatch England, NHS Confederation, now the NHS Alliance following its merge with NHS Providers, and the National Association of Primary Care. The feedback we received from stakeholders across the system has been constructive and comprehensive, enabling us to refine proposals and address concerns while developing the final contract package.
The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the previous Advice and Guidance enhanced service funding into core practice funding. Following near universal uptake of the Advice and Guidance Enhanced Service in 2025/26, the focus for 2026/27 is on stability and simplicity. Embedding the specialist advice model within the core contract recognises its role in routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.