Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline for for the proposed Fens Reservoir is for the (a) submission of a development consent order application to the Planning Inspectorate, (b) final decision on the development consent order application, (c) construction work to start on site, (d) construction work to finish on site, and (e) for the reservoir to be operational.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Anglian Water is responsible for the development of the Fens reservoir. Proposals will be consulted on and will follow the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure. A traffic and transport assessment is currently underway and further information will be shared with communities as part of the next phase of consultation this Autumn.
Anglian Water will submit the application for a Development Consent Order in 2027. The determination of the application by the Secretary of State is expected in 2028/29 and should Development Consent be granted, construction of the reservoir will start in 2029/30.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to issue further guidance to the NHS organisations on ending the recruitment of dedicated equality, diversity and inclusion staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service organisations should be working to address inequalities, in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for all patients, as well as tackling the abuse and discrimination that some NHS staff face in the workplace. Local NHS leaders are best placed to take an evidence-based approach to how they approach this challenge and resource this work.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the expected in-year cost of redundancy payments in (a) DHSC and (b) NHS England is in (i) 2025-26, (ii) 2026-27 and (iii) 2027-28.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Detailed plans are being formulated by a joint Department and NHS England programme team. The remit of work includes formulation of the relevant costs. Further detail on the costs and funding mechanisms will be provided as this work develops.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who do not meet the criteria to reside were inpatients in (a) Hinchingbrooke Hospital, (b) Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn and (c) Peterborough City Hospital on 21 April 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of patients with no criteria to reside as of 21 April 2025, in Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, and Peterborough City Hospital:
Hospital | Numbers of patients with no criteria to reside |
Hinchingbrooke Hospital | 35 |
Peterborough City Hospital | 47 |
Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn | 49 |
No criteria to reside refers to patients who are medically fit for discharge but are still in hospital. These delays can be caused by a range of issues including hospital processes, delays in arranging ongoing support, a lack of care capacity, and wellbeing concerns.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for motor neurone disease research in 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering motor neurone disease research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation. Since the start of 2022/23, the Government has allocated £47.8 million to motor neurone disease research.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including motor neurone disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on motor neurone disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the impact of providing a one per cent increase in pay to all NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts in the 2025-26 financial year on (a) total costs, (b) pension contributions, (c) National Insurance contributions and (d) spillover costs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the total cost of uplifting the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scales by one percent in 2025/26, as well as the costs of employer pension contributions (EPC), employer National Insurance contributions (ENIC), and spillover elements from that total:
Full cost to the Department, including spillovers | EPC | ENIC | Spillover costs |
£950,000,000 | £110,000,000 | £80,000,000 | £240,000,000 |
These estimates represent the gross cost per one percent uplift payable from National Health Service funding for AfC staff only. The exact cost will vary depending on the workforce size and composition, and these estimates are based on current assumptions. ENIC costs include the cost of the 2025/26 increase in ENIC rates. EPC and ENIC costs relate to the substantive workforce only. Spillover costs allow for full system costs, including EPCs and ENICs, beyond the substantive workforce.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what date he expects the NHS to have a virtual ward capacity of 40 beds per 100,000 people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS England 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance asks systems to improve access to urgent care services, including virtual ward, also known as hospital at home, services.
No national population target has been set centrally for 2025/26 and it is for local systems to take decision on how best to increase capacity and utilisation as part of the range of urgent care services that can be accessed locally. Progress has continued to be made, with 12,825 virtual ward beds open in March 2025 compared to 11,856 in March 2024.
The Government is committed to transforming the National Health Service from analogue to digital, and this shift will be central to our 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to help improve the career progression of (a) nurses from Agenda for Change Band Five to Band Six and (b) other nurses in the context of plans not to introduce a separate pay spine for nursing.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Evidence submitted through the separate nurse pay spine call for evidence highlighted that career progression issues relating to the pay system do not uniquely impact nurses.
We have therefore accepted several recommendations from workstreams committed to in the 2023 Agenda for Change (AfC) pay deal, which focus on ensuring all AfC staff are in the correct pay band, as well as specific measures to improve career progression for nurses. We have also committed to providing the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to address issues with the pay structure.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what national formula will be applied in calculating national distribution of the debt from county councils that are disbanded; and by what date that will be published.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 5 February 2025 I formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. It is the responsibility of councils to manage their budgets, and it is standard for councils to borrow and to hold debt, which they will do in the normal course of business. Local government re-organisation does not change this.
As set out in the invitation, the default position is that assets and liabilities remain locally managed by councils. In general, as with previous restructures, there is no proposal for council debt to be addressed centrally or written off as part of reorganisation. For areas where there are exceptional circumstances where there has been failure linked to capital practices, proposals should reflect the extent to which the implications of this can be managed locally, including as part of efficiencies possible through reorganisation.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 5 February 2025, HCWS417 on the Flood Investment Announcement, whether he plans to provide additional support to local authorities impacted by increases to Internal Drainage Board special levies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The government supports the important work internal drainage boards (IDBs) do in managing water and flood risk, benefiting communities, businesses and the environment.
The government announced as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, that it will provide £5 million in funding for the local authorities most impacted by IDB levies.
On 31st March 2025 the government also announced an additional £16 million boost to the IDB Fund to support greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities. The Fund has increased from £75 million to £91 million to provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets and this will help reduce future cost increases. Defra has also committed to work with the IDB sector and MHCLG to review IDBs’ current funding and costs.