Written questions by Morello.

What information his Department holds on the average waiting time to see a GP in West Dorset constituency, in the latest period for which data is available.

West Dorset sits within the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB). In March 2025, 39.2% of appointments in the ICB took place on the same day as booking, and 73.4% took place within two weeks of booking. Nationally, 44.2% of appointments took place on the same day as booking, and 82.1% took place within two weeks of booking.There are a number of factors which can influence the timing of appointments, and patients may wish to book routine or follow-up appointments further in advance.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that funding provided through NHS dental contracts is adequate for meeting the costs of providing care in rural areas.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.The NHS in England invests £3 billion into dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets.NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has now been published and sets out the funding available to ICBs. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority. Dental budgets are ringfenced and NHS England reserves the right to direct unused resources, if contractors are unable to deliver on NHS dental commitments.In July 2022, the first substantial changes to the NHS dental contract, since the 2006 Dental System Reforms, were made. These changes included allowing the best performing practices to see more patients where commissioners have given agreement, with up to 10% extra activity. Furthermore, the minimum value for a Unit of Dental Activity was uplifted to £28 from April 2024, benefitting 876 contracts.

Whether his Department plans to review the Units of Dental Activity system.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.The NHS in England invests £3 billion into dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets.NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has now been published and sets out the funding available to ICBs. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority. Dental budgets are ringfenced and NHS England reserves the right to direct unused resources, if contractors are unable to deliver on NHS dental commitments.In July 2022, the first substantial changes to the NHS dental contract, since the 2006 Dental System Reforms, were made. These changes included allowing the best performing practices to see more patients where commissioners have given agreement, with up to 10% extra activity. Furthermore, the minimum value for a Unit of Dental Activity was uplifted to £28 from April 2024, benefitting 876 contracts.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the NHS dentistry funding model in ensuring access to dental care in West Dorset.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.The NHS in England invests £3 billion into dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets.NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has now been published and sets out the funding available to ICBs. Planning guidance also confirms that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority. Dental budgets are ringfenced and NHS England reserves the right to direct unused resources, if contractors are unable to deliver on NHS dental commitments.In July 2022, the first substantial changes to the NHS dental contract, since the 2006 Dental System Reforms, were made. These changes included allowing the best performing practices to see more patients where commissioners have given agreement, with up to 10% extra activity. Furthermore, the minimum value for a Unit of Dental Activity was uplifted to £28 from April 2024, benefitting 876 contracts.

What steps he is taking with Dorset Integrated Care Board to recruit more GPs in West Dorset constituency.

Last year, the Department added general practitioners (GPs) to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), and provided an extra £82 million in funding, meaning that GPs could be recruited more quickly by primary care networks (PCNs).Between 1 October 2024 and 28 February 2025, 1,503 fully qualified GPs have been recruited through the ARRS, including in West Dorset.The Government has committed to training thousands more GPs. NHS Dorset has established a joint task force with the Dorset GP Education Centre to increase the number of training placements for GP’s training in Dorset, with West Dorset identified as an opportunity for growth.

Whether his Department is providing (a) training and (b) technical assistance to help Ukrainian forces (i) operate and (ii) maintain drone technologies.

The UK is co-leading the Drone Capability Coalition (DCC) with Latvia, which will increase the quality and quantity of drones provided to Ukraine, including through a recent order of 30,000 drones. Nationally, in the 2024-25 financial year, the UK delivered drones worth over £325 million to Ukraine, which included collaboration between UK and Ukrainian drone companies. The UK works closely with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to ensure that they can effectively operate the drones provided, including through providing training and technical assistance. It should also be noted that Ukrainian drone capability is world leading so this partnership offers significant opportunity for UK capability.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential impact of the classification of ancillary spaces as separate dwellings for council tax purposes on costs for owners of listed buildings.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is the organisation responsible for determining the council tax band of all domestic properties. In doing this they will make an assessment of whether a property consists of one dwelling or multiple dwellings. They will make this decision based on legislation and case law. The government does not have any plans to change this approach. Where part of a property is liable as a separate dwelling, it will be liable for the standard rate of council tax for that band set by local authorities in the area. The council tax system does contain a number of discounts and exemptions to reflect different types of annexes. The government’s guidance on how annexes are treated for council tax purposes can be found here.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued on the classification of (a) annexes and (b) sculleries in listed buildings for council tax purposes.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is the organisation responsible for determining the council tax band of all domestic properties. In doing this they will make an assessment of whether a property consists of one dwelling or multiple dwellings. They will make this decision based on legislation and case law. The government does not have any plans to change this approach. Where part of a property is liable as a separate dwelling, it will be liable for the standard rate of council tax for that band set by local authorities in the area. The council tax system does contain a number of discounts and exemptions to reflect different types of annexes. The government’s guidance on how annexes are treated for council tax purposes can be found here.

What steps his Department is taking to support the (a) development and (b) deployment of drone technologies by Ukraine.

The UK is co-leading the Drone Capability Coalition (DCC) with Latvia, which will increase the quality and quantity of drones provided to Ukraine, including through a recent order of 30,000 drones. Nationally, in the 2024-25 financial year, the UK delivered drones worth over £325 million to Ukraine, which included collaboration between UK and Ukrainian drone companies. This includes the co-development of drone technologies, for example; radios, alternative navigation methods, electronic warfare resistant GPS antennas.

Whether he plans to increase the level of funding available for new GP premises in (a) rural areas and (b) West Dorset constituency.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future and recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects. We recently announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund to deliver upgrades this financial year to more than a thousand general practice (GP) surgeries across England.At the local level, the Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for deciding how the NHS budget for its area, including the West Dorset constituency, is spent and for allocating funding according to local priorities, such as new GP surgeries.The Dorset ICB has been provisionally allocated the following amounts from capital programmes and operational capital for 2025/26:£34.3 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery Fund;£9.2 million from our Estates Safety Fund;£1.4 million from our Primary Care Utilisation Fund; and£78.9 million in operational capital funding.

What guidance his Department has issued to integrated care boards on maintaining access to dental services in underserved communities.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry and receive an annual allocation of funding to secure services to meet the needs of their population.NHS England supports ICBs with their local commissioning responsibilities for primary dental services with the provision of nationally agreed policies and procedures. NHS England has also published guidance to support commissioners to take advantage of the opportunities offered to commission further and additional services through flexible commissioning, which enables the responsible commissioner to tailor services to meet local population oral health needs. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/opportunities-for-flexible-commissioning-in-primary-care-dentistry-a-framework-for-commissioners/We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in rural and coastal areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. As of 10 April 2025, in England, there are 53 dentists in post with a further 44 dentists who have been recruited but are yet to start in post. Another 256 posts are currently advertised.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP patient-to-practice ratios in (a) rural constituencies and (b) West Dorset constituency.

As of 31 March 2025, the median number of patients per practice was 7,447 in the West Dorset constituency. This compares to 8,812 nationally. Data on general practice patient to practice ratios in rural constituencies is not held.This government is determined to work with the NHS to fix the front door of our health service and ensure everyone can access GP services. The Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund was announced during the 2024 spending review and provides new capital funding of £102 million in 2025 to 2026 to support improvements in the primary care estate. The fund aims to enhance the use of existing infrastructure, create additional capacity for the GP and practice workforce, and enable additional patient appointments.

What assessment he has made of the potential contribution of overseas recruitment in helping to tackle NHS dental workforce shortages.

National Health Service dentistry has always valued the vital contribution made by internationally trained staff in delivering high quality dental care. At the same time, we are committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join the NHS. The Government plans to expand access to NHS dental care by recruiting new dentists to the areas that need them, and with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments.We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions, a central part of which will be our workforce. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.We have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the Overseas Registration Exam that the General Dental Council (GDC) has put in place. The GDC is working to put new ORE provider contracts in place in 2025 which will increase the flexibility and availability of the exam, further expanding capacity.To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of transitioning water companies to (a) public benefit and (b) community interest company models.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, including different water company ownership models, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence. The Commission is expected to publish its recommendations later in the summer. The Commission is also looking at the broader strategic planning framework in England and Wales to support more integrated planning and coordination between different sectors. On regional governance, the Commission is considering options for an authority working at a national, regional or catchment level to support better and more coordinated planning on water.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of re-establishing regional water authorities on (a) service delivery and (b) accountability.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, including different water company ownership models, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence. The Commission is expected to publish its recommendations later in the summer. The Commission is also looking at the broader strategic planning framework in England and Wales to support more integrated planning and coordination between different sectors. On regional governance, the Commission is considering options for an authority working at a national, regional or catchment level to support better and more coordinated planning on water.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the viability of municipal ownership models for water services.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, including different water company ownership models, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence. The Commission is expected to publish its recommendations later in the summer. The Commission is also looking at the broader strategic planning framework in England and Wales to support more integrated planning and coordination between different sectors. On regional governance, the Commission is considering options for an authority working at a national, regional or catchment level to support better and more coordinated planning on water.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of state ownership of water infrastructure assets in the South West.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, including different water company ownership models, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence. The Commission is expected to publish its recommendations later in the summer. The Commission is also looking at the broader strategic planning framework in England and Wales to support more integrated planning and coordination between different sectors. On regional governance, the Commission is considering options for an authority working at a national, regional or catchment level to support better and more coordinated planning on water.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting a not-for-profit model for water companies in England.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, including different water company ownership models, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence. The Commission is expected to publish its recommendations later in the summer. The Commission is also looking at the broader strategic planning framework in England and Wales to support more integrated planning and coordination between different sectors. On regional governance, the Commission is considering options for an authority working at a national, regional or catchment level to support better and more coordinated planning on water.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered the potential (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of returning water companies to public ownership.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, including different water company ownership models, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence. The Commission is expected to publish its recommendations later in the summer. The Commission is also looking at the broader strategic planning framework in England and Wales to support more integrated planning and coordination between different sectors. On regional governance, the Commission is considering options for an authority working at a national, regional or catchment level to support better and more coordinated planning on water.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of dental school capacity on long-term access to NHS dentistry.

We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.To achieve these aims, we will work with partners such as the General Dental Council to explore the creation of new dental schools as necessary in currently under-served parts of the country, as well as with the Office for Students, which has statutory responsibility for allocating Government funded dental school places.We have also launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of Government’s five long-term missions, a central part of which will be our workforce. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.