Written questions by Coghlan.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of further regulation of funds by (a) developers and (b) building owners for leaseholders.

The government intends to act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.This includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable.Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement published on Thursday 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 April to Question 4096, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Financial Conduct Authority’s response to the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner's final report, published on 11 March 2025 stating that compensatory payment to the customers of Safe Hands Plans Limited will not be offered.

I refer the honorable member to my response to UIN 40961.

If he will meet the honourable Member for Dorking and Horley to discuss his proposed amendment to the Mental Health Bill.

I would be happy to meet with the Hon. Member to discuss his proposed amendment to the Mental Health Bill. My Private Office will be in touch with him shortly to make the arrangements.

What steps her Department has taken to reduce waiting times for Access to Work applications.

Demand for the Access to Work Scheme has been growing. In 2023-2024, 67,720 people were approved for Access to Work provision. This is around a 32% increase compared to the previous year. Alongside this, there is a significant delay in processing Access to Work applications. As of February 2025, there were 62,000 applications outstanding. We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work. We have streamlined delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. We will also consider further changes within the existing policy framework to reduce waiting times. In March 2025, the department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which consults on the future of Access to Work. The backlog, coupled with significant increases in expenditure in recent years requires us to consider how resources should be best directed to ensure the service is sustainable.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing face-to-face Personal Independence Payment assessments.

Since July 2024, there has been no change in policy regarding assessing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims remotely. We remain committed to enabling a multi-channel assessment approach, but as announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we will be carrying out more face-to-face assessments. As part of the Functional Assessment Service (FAS) process, the feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance, for all cases. Where a paper-based review is not possible the claimant will be invited to an assessment. Before an invitation to an assessment is sent, consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. Other claimants who can undertake any assessment type will be allocated to the next available appointment; however, this can be changed if the claimant informs us that a reasonable adjustment is appropriate in their circumstances. The department audits FAS suppliers to ensure that the correct PIP assessment channel type has been selected for the claimant. This provides assurance that claimants are routed to the most appropriate assessment type.

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.

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.

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.

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.