Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps his Department is taking to support hospitals affected by RAAC in the South East.

We are committed to removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from the National Health Service estate as a priority.The NHS has been surveying hospital sites to identify the presence of RAAC since 2019. Once the presence of RAAC is confirmed at a hospital site, the trust joins NHS England’s national RAAC programme, which has delivered mitigation, safety, and eradication works across all hospital sites with confirmed RAAC to keep facilities safe and open, and is working to remove RAAC fully from the NHS estate. There are nine hospital sites in the South East currently in the NHS RAAC programme, and one hospital site in the South East, specifically Medway Maritime Hospital, has completely eradicated RAAC.We confirmed £440 million specifically for RAAC mitigation and eradication in 2025/26 as part of NHS capital guidance. National RAAC funding is allocated annually based on NHS trust plans and delivery progress, and funds mitigation works at the seven hospitals built wholly or primarily from RAAC.We are working at pace to ensure that the seven hospitals built wholly or primarily from RAAC in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) will be replaced as quickly as possible, including Frimley Park Hospital in the South East, to protect patient and staff safety. Construction for all RAAC replacement schemes is planned to commence and substantially deliver between 2025 and 2030 as part of Wave 1 of the NHP.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the expansion of Heathrow Airport on levels of air pollution in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Institution of Fire Engineers as a regulatory body for fire engineers.

Currently, the fire engineering profession is undefined and not regulated in law. The Grenfell Tower Inquiry report makes a number of recommendations in respect of fire engineering sector including the recommendation that the profession be recognised and protected by law and that an independent body be established to regulate the profession, define the standards required for membership, maintain a register of members and regulate their conduct.Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Report, the Department is reviewing the findings and recommendations in relation to the fire engineering sector. No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Institution of Fire Engineers as a regulatory body for fire engineers.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a central governance board to regulate the issuance of EWS1 forms for residential buildings.

EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement, and the Department does not intend to regulate their issuance. The use of EWS1s is a commercial decision by lenders and subject to their individual lending criteria.The absence of a correctly completed EWS1 should not be a blocker to mortgage lending, where a leaseholder can provide alternative evidence of the safety of their building or that the building is in a remediation scheme or that the leaseholder qualifies for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.We are working closely with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK Finance and the lending industry to ensure the market continues to function for leaseholders in properties with building safety issues, and those looking to purchase properties with building safety issues.Leaseholders should contact the building owner or person responsible for fire safety if they have concerns about the fire safety of their building.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that residents are protected from incorrectly completed EWS1 forms when trying to (a) sell, (b) remortgage and (c) purchase properties in residential buildings.

EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement, and the Department does not intend to regulate their issuance. The use of EWS1s is a commercial decision by lenders and subject to their individual lending criteria.The absence of a correctly completed EWS1 should not be a blocker to mortgage lending, where a leaseholder can provide alternative evidence of the safety of their building or that the building is in a remediation scheme or that the leaseholder qualifies for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.We are working closely with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK Finance and the lending industry to ensure the market continues to function for leaseholders in properties with building safety issues, and those looking to purchase properties with building safety issues.Leaseholders should contact the building owner or person responsible for fire safety if they have concerns about the fire safety of their building.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) recruiting new driving instructors and (b) opening new test centres in the Surrey Heath constituency.

On the 18 December, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK. As part of driving test centres (DTC) that serve the Surrey Heath constituency, Guildford DTC and Farnborough DTC form a recruitment cluster that newer driving examiners (DE) move between. As part of recent recruitment, two new DEs were recruited last year at Guildford DTC. DVSA has also made offers to two more potential new entrants from its most recent recruitment campaign and is currently planning for the next campaign beginning later this year. The DVSA is committed to providing its customers with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient. It currently has no plans for any additional driving test centres.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that hospice care providers can (a) recruit and (b) retain skilled nurses in Surrey Heath constituency.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing National Health Services. As independent organisations, charitable hospices are responsible for their own recruitment and employment terms.The NHS has been facing chronic workforce shortages for years, and we have to be honest that bringing in the staff we need will take time. We understand that this will also impact the voluntary sector, including hospices, like those in the Surrey Heath area.We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time. The Government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it, including at the end of life.We will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.

What steps he has taken to support minority groups serving in the armed forces in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Ministry of Defence’s work to improve diversity and inclusion within the Armed Forces is conducted holistically and is not targeted within specific constituencies. In a competitive age, our advantage derives from the talent and skills of our people, and our Armed Forces are at their best when they are diverse. Defence is dedicated to recruiting and retaining the best talent, drawn from the broadest diversity of thought, skills, and background, to safeguard the security, stability and prosperity of our nation and better represent the nation we serve. We are committed to making the step changes required to create a more inclusive environment, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our Defence outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better defend and represent the nation we serve. The Armed Forces continue to work hard to broaden the diversity of our workforce through actively engaging with our employees to drive an inclusive culture at work, attract the best talent and better reflect the society we serve. We do not tolerate abuse, bullying or discrimination of any kind and encourage any personnel who believe they have experienced or witnessed unacceptable behaviour to report it.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of installing solar panels on the roofs of (a) car parks, (b) warehouses (c) and council-owned buildings in Surrey.

The Government will assess the potential to drive the construction of solar canopies on outdoor carparks over a certain size through a call for evidence this year. New standards will be introduced this year which will amend the energy efficiency standards in the Building Regulations in England. This will ensure all new homes and buildings, including warehouses and council-owned buildings, in England are zero-carbon ready. Further details about how the Government will increase the deployment of solar panels will be set out in the forthcoming Solar Roadmap.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle academic dishonesty arising from the use of generative AI in higher education.

Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, diversity of provision, course content, teaching and assessment. As such, they are responsible for designing their own policies regarding the use of artificial intelligence and for taking steps to prevent academic misconduct, as set out in the Office for Students’ regulatory framework.Academic integrity is crucial to protecting the reputation of the UK’s world-class higher education sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of environmental contamination caused by sewage discharges by water companies in Surrey Heath constituency.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. For Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025 – 2030, Thames Water will invest £784 million to reduce the use of storm overflows including in and around the Surrey Heath constituency. Additional improvement actions also include increasing treatment capacity at sewage works, providing storage for high flows, reducing flows entering the system and provision of treatment for storm overflows which are separate from the main treatment route. There have been significant pollution incidents at Camberley and Chobham Sewage Treatment Works in the last few years and these are still subject to Environment Agency investigations. We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the EA will not hesitate to hold companies to account. The Environment Agency has also undertaken recent inspections of Sewage Treatment Works, including at Camberley, Lightwater and Chobham.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the training provided to mainstream school teachers for inclusive teaching practices towards pupils with special educational needs in Surrey Heath constituency.

From September 2025 the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) will set out a minimum entitlement to training for new teachers and must be used by providers of Initial Teacher Training and those delivering provider-led early career training to create their curricula. The department’s review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) when supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The content includes, for example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs, and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils. The department tested this approach with SEND educational experts with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children, particularly those with SEND. The department recognises that continuous improvement is essential and have recently committed to a full review of the Early Career Teacher Entitlement in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for ECTs. This review will focus on the support we provide new teachers in teaching pupils with SEND. Ofsted inspect all teacher training that leads to qualified teacher status, as well as department-funded lead providers of training for ECTs. Their inspections give an independent, external evaluation of a provider’s effectiveness and, where appropriate, highlight areas for improvement. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). The NPQ must be completed within three years of taking up a SENCO post. The new NPQ will play a key role improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training. The £12 million Universal Services programme also helps the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively. The programme offers online training, professional development groups, bespoke school and college improvement projects, sector-led research, autism awareness training and an embedded focus on preparation for adulthood, including employer-led webinars for college staff.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help foster collaboration between (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities to align their energy efficiency targets in the construction of new residential properties.

The government intends to introduce future standards later this year through Building Regulations. These will raise the minimum energy efficiency of all new homes, including social housing. Homes built to the new standards will have very good building fabric and be fitted with low carbon heating technology.It is for local authorities and housing associations to determine whether energy efficiency targets beyond Building Regulations are appropriate for their areas and then to work together to achieve them.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of incentives to landlords to improve the energy efficiency of residential properties.

Current regulations require privately rented homes in England and Wales are to meet a minimum standard of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band E, unless a valid exemption applies. Government will shortly consult on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. Support is currently available to landlords and tenants to improve rental properties. An eligibility tool is available on our ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page that will help people find the support available to them via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme. There is also a zero-rate of VAT until March 2027 on energy saving measures, such as insulation and low-carbon heating.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding to improve (a) services and (b) research for individuals affected by neurological conditions.

There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP). The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across the country. The report highlighted differences in how services are delivered, and provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally. In addition, the NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home. The NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home. The NTP has developed an online, interactive adult neurology dashboard to support systems to understand their local neurology landscape and benchmark against other ICBs. It sets out key metrics and visualisations for neurology services locally, providing information about the scope and quality of local neurology services, using existing whole population, whole pathway data. Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with neurological conditions can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of care that patients may receive from 27 neurology centres across England. Within specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including neurological nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs. The Department delivers research into neurological conditions via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the financial year 2023/24, the NIHR spent £72.9 million on research into neurological conditions across research projects, programmes, and infrastructure. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological conditions. The amount of funding for research into neurological conditions is determined by the number and quality of research applications received. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing the energy efficiency of rental properties on carbon emissions in Surrey.

Delivering the Warm Homes Plan is central to the clean energy mission. Targeting decarbonisation of heat in buildings, including the rental sector, will account for around 75% of reduction in all building emissions as well as reducing demand. Government will shortly consult on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will be accompanied with the Department’s assessment of the potential emissions savings of consultation proposals.

What assessment she has made of the fire service's preparedness to effectively (a) manage and (b) respond to forest fires in Surrey.

Fire and Rescue Services are operationally independent in England. Each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire) through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), while having regard to the views of other key local responders. In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector. Landowners and land managers are also encouraged by DEFRA to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads and restore their peatland to make them more resilient to the risk of wildfire.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of hydrogen-hybrid vehicles on achieving the UK's net-zero emissions targets.

Hybrid powertrains in vehicles, including hydrogen-based hybrids, are a transitional technology that could support the decarbonisation of UK transport in certain cases. The Government is currently consulting on the role of hybrid cars in the transition to net zero, with a focus on 2030-2035.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of the use of hydrogen for heating.

As set out last December, the Government will assess the latest evidence on costs, benefits and feasibility before consulting on the role of hydrogen in home heating later this year.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of integrating hybrid-fuelled boilers with (a) electric air-source heat pumps and (b) smart technology to help decarbonise residential properties.

Hybrid heat pumps, a heating system comprised of a fossil fuel boiler and a heat pump, have the potential to play an important role in heat decarbonisation over the coming years. The Government will continue to consider their potential and is consulting further through the ‘Raising product standards for space heating’ consultation, which is open until 25 March 2025. The previous Government consulted in April 2024 on a proposal to require smart functionality for electric heating appliances with high flexibility potential and to extend this to hybrid heat pumps. A response to that consultation will be published in due course.