Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
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 help increase funding for clean energy in the North West.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is directly investing into the North-West, funding key initiatives such as the Hynet CCUS cluster, projects in our Hydrogen Allocation Rounds, the Green Heat Network Fund and Local Growth Fund.
Great British Energy has funded solar panels at 19 NHS trusts and 3 schools in the region as well as launching the Great British Energy Community Fund, and the National Wealth Fund has recently launched a £500m collaboration with Greater Manchester Combined Authority supporting key growth projects.
These investments will continue to unlock further investment into clean energy in the region.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many rapes were tried in the youth court last year and in each of the preceding three years; and of those, for each year, (a) how many resulted in a guilty verdict, (b) how many were sentenced in the youth court and (c) how many were referred to the Crown Court for sentencing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes magistrates’ court data on prosecutions and resulting outcomes for rape offences by age of the defendant. This can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Although youth courts are not separately identifiable, the published statistics can be filtered to identify cases where the defendant was under the age of 18.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether all HMRC forms are available in paper form on request.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HMRC remains committed to its digital‑first strategy. As part of this, it is delivering a programme to move at least 75% of communications currently issued by paper to digital channels in the current spending review period.
However, HMRC recognises that not all customers will choose to engage digitally on every occasion. Providing viable alternatives, that may in some cases be through paper forms, is a key part of the digital-first strategy.
HMRC will keep the provision of those alternatives under review on an ongoing basis to reflect customer need and customer feedback.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making all HMRC forms available (a) online and (b) in paper form.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HMRC remains committed to its digital‑first strategy. As part of this, it is delivering a programme to move at least 75% of communications currently issued by paper to digital channels in the current spending review period.
However, HMRC recognises that not all customers will choose to engage digitally on every occasion. Providing viable alternatives, that may in some cases be through paper forms, is a key part of the digital-first strategy.
HMRC will keep the provision of those alternatives under review on an ongoing basis to reflect customer need and customer feedback.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the 10-Year Workplace Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan imminently.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
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 increase the number of medical training places in Cheshire and Merseyside.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government committed in the 10-Year Health Plan to create 1,000 new specialty training posts over the next three years with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. Further information on which specialties and regions will receive these places and when will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of potholes on rural road safety.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2024 (the latest year for which figures are available), an estimated 4% of reported personal injury road collisions on rural roads in Great Britain were assigned a contributory road safety factor of ‘poor or defective road surface or deposits on road’. This is based on factors assigned by a reporting police officer based on information available at the scene or within a short time of the collision.
The Department keeps road safety under continual review and recognises that the condition of the road surface is an important factor in maintaining safe rural roads. Local highway authorities are responsible for the maintenance of their roads and for assessing and managing risks, including those arising from potholes, based on local conditions and evidence.
The Government recognises that historic underinvestment has made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads in the way they would want to. The Government has therefore confirmed a record £7.3 billion for local highways maintenance over the next four years.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve the availability of domestic abuse services in semi-rural areas.
Answered by Jess Phillips
Every victim of violence against women and girls (VAWG), whether in a city or a rural village, should be able to access the help they need. In the 'Freedom from Violence and Abuse’ Strategy, we committed to developing a new cross-government statement on the commissioning of VAWG services. This statement aims to strengthen the quality of commissioning from local commissioners, and it will support local areas to tailor their provision to their local communities, including rural victims.
Last year (2025/26), the Home Office invested over £6m into specialist helplines to support victims of VAWG and we are expanding our investment into the VAWG helplines this financial year. The helplines are accessible across England and Wales and provide advice and support to victims and assist in signposting and referrals to appropriate local services.
Last year, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) commenced a call for evidence across a network of rural stakeholders to inform our understanding of the availability of support services and effective practice to provide support in rural areas. This research will help to confront the disparities in the provision and inform our future work to address the disparities of provision.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the General Dental Council on reducing the waiting time for fitness to practice cases to be heard.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
The Department has regular discussions with the General Dental Council (GDC) on regulatory matters. While the GDC is an independent regulator responsible for managing its fitness to practise processes, the Government expects the GDC to take steps to improve the efficiency and timeliness of case handling.
The GDC recently published its strategy, Trusted and effective: A strategy for dental regulation 2026-2028, which sets out its vision and objectives, and the work it will do to achieve them. One of those objectives is to improve fitness to practise, maximising patient safety and reducing unintended impacts. The published strategy is available at the following link:
In parallel, the Department is progressing wider, longer-term reforms to the regulatory frameworks of the healthcare professional regulators. These will enable them to be more responsive to changes in the health and care workforce and give them the flexibility to modernise their fitness to practise processes whilst maintaining public protection.
Asked by: Sarah Russell (Labour - Congleton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Home Office's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the immigration system on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has published impact assessments alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which implement proposals set out in the White Paper, Restoring control over the immigration system. These impact assessments set out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The impact assessments are published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy
The forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.