Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data, analysis, and modelling did the Department use to determine the removal of the remoteness factor from the Area Cost Adjustment, and if the Government will publish or share this evidence with local authorities to demonstrate how the change accurately reflects differences in service delivery costs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. In addition to including a remoteness adjustment in adult social care formulas, we are including a journey times adjustment, which aims to account for the impact of the difference in travel times to provide services on the cost of labour; including updated deprivation data to help ensure that deprivation in rural areas is captured more accurately; and increasing the cap within the home to school transport formula from 20 miles to 50 miles
As set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0, the government believes that accounting for variations in cost between local authorities is important when determining funding allocations through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This ensures that all authorities receive funding which reflects their costs relative to others.
Following the Fair Funding Review consultation, the government has taken the decision to include a remoteness adjustment in the area cost adjustment applied to the adult social care formula, but not to other formulas. This is because the best evidence we have heard indicates that distance from a major market has an impact on the cost of delivering adult social care services.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs were created in the past twelve months through the Support for Maritime Training fund.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are strongly supportive of the Support for Maritime Training fund (SMarT). 680 new cadetships were supported by SMarT in the financial year 2023/24. There are approximately 1500 cadets currently in training.
Statistics for the 2024/25 financial year are expected to be published on 25th February. The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of jobs created through SMarT.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of nationalising the M6 Toll road.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently no discussions underway about nationalising the M6 Toll. The M6 Toll sits outside of the Strategic Road Network managed by National Highways and is owned and operated by private entity Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL).
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the 2031 Census recording previous service in the UK armed forces.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 13th January is attached.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 ensure that patients retain the right to access GP services through non-digital means where digital front door systems have been implemented.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2025 the General Practitioners Committee England agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all general practices (GPs) to offer access to online services throughout core hours, from 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. There is a broad support offer available from NHS England and integrated care boards where practices are struggling to meet this requirement.
The GP Contract requires that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, so those without digital access are not disadvantaged.
We are clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he can provide a summary of patient satisfaction scores for GP surgeries in England for the latest year by (a) those surgeries which have fully implemented the digital front door and (b) those which have not.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey, of September 2025, show that patient satisfaction is on the rise for the first time in a decade. 73% found it easy to contact their general practice (GP), up from 60% last year
The latest GP Patient Survey data was published in July 2025, before the implementation of the contract changes to online access in October 2025. The Health Insight Survey, which also gathers information on patient satisfaction, does not report at the individual practice level. As a result, current patient satisfaction figures do not yet reflect the impact of increased online access.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Adviser (a) has briefed and (b) will brief the Intelligence and Security Committee on the sensitive security implications of the proposed new Chinese super-embassy in London.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government and the National Security Adviser maintain a regular and constructive dialogue with the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) across the full range of national security and intelligence matters
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is next in the Nuclear Firing Chain after the Prime Minister; and under what circumstances is the Prime Ministerial Directive superseded.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As the honourable Member should know and in line with the policy under successive governments, the most sensitive operational details of our continuous at sea deterrent are obviously not disclosed publicly.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had recent discussions with dental schools in the South West on encouraging newly qualified dentists to work in NHS‑providing dental practices in rural communities, such as Torridge.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 10 December, I met with several Members of Parliament from the South West to discuss their proposal to expand the number of Government-funded places provided to Peninsula Dental School. Tackling the geographical disparities in access to National Health Service dentistry is vital, and I welcome efforts which strive to help deliver this ambition.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. We intend this minimum period to be at least three years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments, and better oral health.
Integrated care boards are continuing to recruit dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. The scheme offers a £20,000 recruitment incentive payment to dentists to work in those areas that need them most. The scheme remains a national priority.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to GP surgeries implementing the digital front door to ensure non-digital access routes remain available to patients unable to use online services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2025 the General Practitioners Committee England agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all general practices (GPs) to offer access to online services throughout core hours, from 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. There is a broad support offer available from NHS England and integrated care boards where practices are struggling to meet this requirement.
The GP Contract requires that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, so those without digital access are not disadvantaged.
We are clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP.