Written questions by Coghlan.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of resolving NHS employment disputes early.

The Department has not made this specific assessment. National Health Service employment disputes arising at a local level are for employers to manage and resolve locally. At a national level, the Government has prioritised improving industrial relations following the General Election in July 2024. The deal we agreed with resident doctors in England, negotiated within four weeks of being in Government, brought an end to their prolonged strikes and we will continue to work with resident doctors to improve their working lives and keep them in the NHS.Our ambition remains to reset the relationship between the Government and all NHS staff, and we want to work collaboratively with trade unions to address concerns and foster a productive and positive relationship with the NHS workforce.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Pension Credit applications.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) published on 22nd July 2024 DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The next publication of the ARA will include claims processed in the financial year 2024 to 2025 and is due for publication in the summer.The Department is working hard to meet its published timeliness standard of processing claims and reduce Pension Credit processing times, DWP deployed over 500 additional people. As a result, the Department is clearing more cases. The latest Pension Credit published statistics show DWP cleared 211,600 Pension Credit claims from 29 July 2024 to 9 February 2025, representing an 87% increase in clearance compared to 112,900 cleared Pension Credit claims for the comparable 2023/24 period (31 July 2023 to 11 February 2024). Subsequently, our latest published statistics up to February 2025 show outstanding volumes have reduced Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK. Escalation arrangements are also in place for cases where individuals are identified as being vulnerable or in immediate hardship.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of gathering data on time taken between immigration appeals tribunal decisions and the receipt of resulting deportation notices to appellants.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of independent pharmacy closures on (a) local GP capacity, (b) hospital capacity, (c) the healthcare needs of the local community and (d) local pharmacists in need of employment.

The impact of any specific pharmacy closure will differ depending on the remaining access to health services in the area. We monitor access carefully and in general, access to pharmacies in England continues to be good, with 80% of people able to reach a pharmacy within a 20 minute-walk and twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. We continue to support those in areas where there are fewer pharmacies through the Pharmacy Access Scheme. Additionally, in rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the nearly 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients and deliver other services remotely.Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served, and must keep these assessments under review in the interim. Integrated care boards must give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications to open new pharmacies in their areas.

If she will make an assessment of the accuracy of the education, health and care plan issuance process.

An education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment ensures that a child or young person’s needs are assessed in a co-ordinated manner across education, health and social care services. Under this assessment process the local authority must seek information and advice from a range of partners, including the child or young person and their parents, their school or college, where applicable, relevant health and social care partners, an educational psychologist and any other relevant professionals. The EHC needs assessment must identify the child or young person’s special educational needs together with any relevant health or social care needs. If an EHC needs assessment determines that it is necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person, the local authority must prepare an EHC plan. Following the assessment, if the local authority decides not to issue an EHC plan, or if the child’s parent or, from the age of 16, the young person themselves disagrees with the description of needs, such as the educational provision set out in the plan or the educational institution named in it, they are able to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). Latest data from the department shows that 5.1% of children and young people who underwent an EHC needs assessment during the 2023 calendar year were not issued a plan. In addition, 1,048 appeals were heard by the First-tier Tribunal in the 2023 calendar year regarding a decision on whether to issue a plan.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expensing intellectual property transactions.

The UK’s Intangible Fixed Asset (IFA) regime offers generous and internationally competitive relief for acquired intangible assets like trademarks and licences. In addition, UK businesses can benefit from the biggest tax treaty network in the OECD – which make the UK an attractive jurisdiction for holding IFAs. The government committed to maintain the regime’s current competitive approach in the Corporation Tax Roadmap.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) increase the capacity of and (b) reduce delays in medical examiner services.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Medical examiner offices are staffed at a trust level and arrangements at each office should reflect local health priorities and the needs of communities. NHS England has published guidance which outlines principles for medical examiner offices and advice on how to provide flexible and sustainable cover during busy periodsEarly data since the introduction of the reforms indicated the median time taken to register a death appeared to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days prior to Christmas. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year; the average has subsequently decreased.The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It is important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something the Department will continue to monitor with NHS England.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of GP positions in the UK.

We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play and are determined to address the issues they face by shifting the focus of the National Health Service beyond hospitals and into the community.The Government committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs. My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has confirmed that recently qualified GPs who are employed via the ARRS will continue to be supported through the scheme in 2025/26.We have also announced an £889 million uplift to the GP contract in 2025/26, which will support practices to increase capacity. Changes to the GP contract in 2025/26, including ARRS adjustments and other important reforms, will be confirmed following consultation with the GP Committee of the British Medical Association before April 2025.The data requested on the number of unemployed and underemployed qualified GPs is not held centrally.

What information his Department holds on the number of qualified GPs who are (a) unemployed and (b) underemployed.

We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play and are determined to address the issues they face by shifting the focus of the National Health Service beyond hospitals and into the community.The Government committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs. My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has confirmed that recently qualified GPs who are employed via the ARRS will continue to be supported through the scheme in 2025/26.We have also announced an £889 million uplift to the GP contract in 2025/26, which will support practices to increase capacity. Changes to the GP contract in 2025/26, including ARRS adjustments and other important reforms, will be confirmed following consultation with the GP Committee of the British Medical Association before April 2025.The data requested on the number of unemployed and underemployed qualified GPs is not held centrally.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's document entitled Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, published on 12 December 2024, whether the new planning reforms require private infrastructure providers to submit business plans for strategic Community Infrastructure Levies that align with local plans.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December does not require that private infrastructure providers submit business plans for strategic Community Infrastructure Levies that align with local plans.The Framework states that, to ensure faster delivery of public service infrastructure, local planning authorities should work proactively and positively with promoters, delivery partners and statutory bodies to plan for required facilities and resolve key planning issues before applications are submitted.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of encouraging Community Infrastructure Levy contributions in place of S106 Agreements under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for new developments through upcoming planning reforms.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is not intended to make individual planning applications acceptable in planning terms.As a result, some site-specific impact mitigation may still be necessary for a development to be granted planning permission.Some of these needs may be provided for through the levy but others may not, particularly if they are very local in their impact.There is still a legitimate role for development specific planning obligations, even where the levy is charged, to enable a local planning authority to be confident that the specific consequences of a particular development can be mitigated.The government is committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.

What her planned timeline is for the (a) announcement and (b) implementation of the post-2025 phase of the Pay As You Go rail rollout.

PAYG contactless pilots have been announced in both Manchester and the West Midlands, expanding PAYG to more than 90 additional rail stations, which are due to be launched in 2026. Further details on any wider expansion of PAYG with contactless in the South East will be announced in due course.

What her planned timetable is for the rollout of the 2025 Pay As You Go rail scheme for stations which did not receive contactless ticketing on 2 February 2025.

Pay As You Go (PAYG) contactless ticketing launched at 47 further stations in the South East on 2 February, joining 6 stations on the Chiltern railways line that went live in June last year. We recently announced that PAYG with contactless would be extended to a further 49 stations in 2025. Further details on any wider expansion of PAYG will be announced in due course.

How many stations will be announced in the 2026 phase of the Pay As You Go rail rollout.

PAYG contactless pilots have been announced in both Manchester and the West Midlands, expanding PAYG to more than 90 additional rail stations, which are due to be launched in 2026. Further details on any wider expansion of PAYG with contactless in the South East will be announced in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of including a rail station’s distance from London as a deciding factor in compiling the list of stations for the Pay As You Go rail rollout.

We want to expand ticketing innovations such as PayAsYouGo (PAYG) where possible. We will be considering a number of factors to determine stations which could be included in the future phases of PAYG with contactless rollout.

If she will take steps to implement contactless ticketing at Dorking Deepdene station.

We have committed to expanding Pay As You Go (PAYG) contactless ticketing to further stations in the South East and recently announced that PAYG with contactless would be extended to a further 49 stations in 2025, including stations that are within the Dorking area; Dorking (Main), Box Hill and Westhumble, Reigate, and Leatherhead. Further details on any wider expansion of PAYG will be announced in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what checks and balances there will be on directly-elected Mayors when strategic authorities are implemented.

There is an existing system of accountability and scrutiny arrangements for Mayoral Combined Authorities and Mayoral Combined County Authorities to ensure that public spending is achieving value for money.The government is committed to strengthening the accountability and scrutiny arrangements that will enable central government, Mayors, and Combined Authorities to shift gear into a new mode of genuine partnership. The English Devolution White Paper set out how the government plans to go further.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of recent parliamentary constituency boundary changes with proposed local government reorganisation.

Local government boundaries are not directly related to Parliamentary constituency boundaries. Local government boundary changes may be considered when undertaking a future Parliamentary constituency boundary review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to local authorities for SEND transport for the 2025-26 financial year.

Most central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the local government finance settlement administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing as demand for critical services rises.The government has announced £1.3 billion of new grant funding for the 2025/26 financial year to help local government deliver core services. Together with local income from council tax and business rates, this will provide a real terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2%.The government is committed to reforming local government funding, using the best available evidence to direct funding to where it is most needed. We will deliver these reforms in partnership with local government.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that there is sufficient local representation in the new unitary authorities.

I wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and to neighbouring small unitaries on 5th February to formally invite unitary proposals, with interim plans to be provided on or before 21 March 2025. The interim plans should include a view as to the councillors’ numbers that will ensure both effective democratic representation for all parts of the area and also effective governance and decision-making arrangements which will balance the unique needs of your cities, towns, rural and coastal areas, in line with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England guidance. These letters are published at Local government reorganisation: invitation to local authorities in two-tier areas - GOV.UK