Written questions by Maguire.

How many health visitors were employed by the NHS in England in each year since 2020.

The number of health visitors working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England is published monthly by NHS England as part of their NHS Workforce Statistics Collection. The data can be found in the link below within the file: NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations - data tables, December 2025, at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/december-2025Within this Excel file, the relevant information can be found in Tab 6, titled Nurses and Health Visitors, Midwives and Support to Doctors, Nurses and Midwives by Staff Group, Care Setting and Level – Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and Headcount.The data includes staff employed by NHS trusts and other core NHS organisations and will therefore exclude staff directly employed by primary care, general practitioner surgeries, local authorities, and other providers such as community interest companies and private providers.Local authorities have been responsible for commissioning health visiting services since 2015. These services may be commissioned from NHS trusts as well as other providers. The Department does not hold staffing information for non-NHS providers.

How many NHS services were outsourced to private contracts in Surrey in each year between 2022 and 2025.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning local National Health Services and contracting with providers, including in Surrey. Information is not routinely collected by the Department on the number of services outsourced to private providers in Surrey.

What percentage of NHS funding was spent on private contacts in each year between 2022 and 2025.

The table attached shows the overview and breakdown of National Health Service spending on non-NHS providers from 2022/23 to 2024/25. The table is taken from the House of Commons Research Briefing on NHS funding and expenditure, using data from the Department’s Care Annual Reports and Accounts, with further information available at the following link:https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00724/SN00724.pdf#

With reference to the Design for Life roadmap, what progress has been made in reducing NHS equipment wastage.

NHS England has been working on reducing waste and its associated carbon since publication of the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy in 2023.NHS England’s Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC) is a mandatory annual data collection for all National Health Service trusts in England that captures waste metrics in waste type tonnages and not specific items of waste. ERIC figures to 2025 show a reduction of 41,000 tonnes of carbon.The latest reporting year, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, which covers the period during which the Design for Life Roadmap was launched, in October 2024, saw a reduction of 10,000 tonnes of carbon from waste.To supplement this work, since publication of the roadmap, the Department has conducted a series of pilots across a range of different medical products and equipment, with most demonstrating waste savings, in carbon terms, from switching to reusable alternatives. The full report can be found on the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare’s website, who were our partner on these pilots, at the following link:https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/activity/reusable-medtech-in-the-nhs-pioneering-sustainable-healthcare/.The Department is building on this work with a dedicated Priority Adoption Working Group, which includes clinical and procurement professionals, to identify the products with the strongest case for safe, immediate transitions to reusables across the NHS, to drive further waste, and cost, savings at scale. NHS England is supporting this work, alongside its own initiatives to reduce the overuse of products and waste. For example, through the Five years of a greener NHS: progress and forward look, the NHS has committed to reduce single-use glove and gown use by 25% by 2030, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/five-years-greener-nhs-progress-forward-look/

What steps his Department is taking to respond to calls from more than 100 organisations for a Good Food Bill to help improve access to healthy and affordable food.

The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and breaking down barriers to opportunity.We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. We are taking decisive action to drive down poverty by ensuring that over half a million disadvantaged children receive the support they need in school to be healthy, get the most out of their education, and enjoy lifelong success. This action will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets.The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Free breakfast clubs remove barriers to opportunity by offering primary school children, no matter their circumstance, a supportive start to the school day.These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.Additionally, we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to add support for the outcomes of their Government Food Strategy.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with global counterparts on alleged human rights abuses in Uganda.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 12 February in response to Question 111609.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of new ETA rules on British dual nationals without a British Passport or Certificate of Entitlement looking to enter the UK.

Dual British citizens travelling to the UK may only evidence their right of abode in the UK with a valid British passport or other passport endorsed with a Certificate of Entitlement to the right of abode. This requirement applies equally to all British citizens, whether or not they hold another nationality. Without this, they are likely to experience delays while permission to travel is verified. We recognise the enforcement of ETAs by carriers is a significant change, and so we have provided additional temporary guidance to carriers on possible alternative documentation and have put in place around the clock support for carriers to prepare for these changes. In line with current practice, on arrival at the UK border, Border Force will still assess a person’s eligibility to enter the UK and conduct additional checks if required.

What steps she is taking to improve travel for dual British Citizens without a British Passport or Certificate of Entitlement looking to enter the UK.

Dual British citizens travelling to the UK may only evidence their right of abode in the UK with a valid British passport or other passport endorsed with a Certificate of Entitlement to the right of abode. This requirement applies equally to all British citizens, whether or not they hold another nationality. Without this, they are likely to experience delays while permission to travel is verified. We recognise the enforcement of ETAs by carriers is a significant change, and so we have provided additional temporary guidance to carriers on possible alternative documentation and have put in place around the clock support for carriers to prepare for these changes. In line with current practice, on arrival at the UK border, Border Force will still assess a person’s eligibility to enter the UK and conduct additional checks if required.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Shared Care Agreements for patients prescribed ADHD medication by an independent sector provider under a) NHS Right to Choose and b) privately funded arrangements.

Shared care within the National Health Service refers to a voluntary arrangement whereby a specialist may transfer responsibility for aspects of a patient’s care, such as prescription of medication, to the patient’s general practitioner (GP). Decisions regarding shared care agreements are made locally, and the General Medical Council has made it clear that GPs are not contractually obliged to enter shared care agreements and may decline requests on clinical or capacity grounds. No specific assessment has been made of the effectiveness of shared care agreements with independent sector providers for patients prescribed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication. NHS England established an ADHD taskforce bringing together people with lived experience with experts from across sectors to better understand the challenges in accessing timely and equitable support. In addition, on 4 December 2025 my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism, which will inform our approach to ensuring appropriate support is in place.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the pausing of Shared Care Agreements for ADHD on patients.

Shared care within the National Health Service refers to a voluntary arrangement whereby a specialist may transfer responsibility for aspects of a patient’s care, such as prescription of medication, to the patient’s general practitioner (GP). Decisions regarding shared care agreements are made locally, and the General Medical Council has made it clear that GPs are not contractually obliged to enter shared care agreements and may decline requests on clinical or capacity grounds. No specific assessment has been made of the effectiveness of shared care agreements with independent sector providers for patients prescribed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication. NHS England established an ADHD taskforce bringing together people with lived experience with experts from across sectors to better understand the challenges in accessing timely and equitable support. In addition, on 4 December 2025 my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism, which will inform our approach to ensuring appropriate support is in place.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities with effective local plans for housing.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 November 2025 (HCWS1104).

Communities and Local Government, how many people in Epsom and Ewell constituency have been impacted by incorrect CIL charges.

My Department does not hold the data in question. I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 105228 on 21 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to engage with local authorities on incorrect CIL charges.

My Department does not hold the data in question. I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 105228 on 21 January 2026.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita in managing the recruitment process for army reservists.

Applications to join the Army Reserve have reached their highest level in five years, with more than 5,000 active candidates currently in the pipeline. However, further work is required to strengthen the progression of applicants into trained Reservists. Improving this progression rate is a priority and continues to be the subject of detailed engagement between the Army Reserve and Capita. Regular engagement is undertaken between the Department and Capita and all parties remain committed to identifying, agreeing, and implementing measures that will deliver sustained and measurable improvements across the Reserve recruiting pipeline. Additional enhancements are anticipated during Recruiting Year 2026-27, ahead of the establishment of the Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) in 2027-28.

What discussions he has had with Capita on their management of the recruitment process for army reservists.

Applications to join the Army Reserve have reached their highest level in five years, with more than 5,000 active candidates currently in the pipeline. However, further work is required to strengthen the progression of applicants into trained Reservists. Improving this progression rate is a priority and continues to be the subject of detailed engagement between the Army Reserve and Capita. Regular engagement is undertaken between the Department and Capita and all parties remain committed to identifying, agreeing, and implementing measures that will deliver sustained and measurable improvements across the Reserve recruiting pipeline. Additional enhancements are anticipated during Recruiting Year 2026-27, ahead of the establishment of the Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) in 2027-28.

With reference to the GP Contract 2026/27, how many more GPs are needed to fulfil the contract obligation that patients deemed clinically urgent must be dealt with on the same day.

As a result of actions taken by the Government, we have the highest number of fully qualified general practitioners (GPs) since 2015. As of 31 December, there are also over 43,000 full time equivalent direct patient care staff working in GPs. We are investing £485 million in GPs in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on the £1.1 billion boost in investment in 2025/26. Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level GP reimbursement scheme which ringfences and repurposes £292 million of funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional GPs or fund additional sessions from existing GPs to support clinical same day urgent access in GPs. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment. As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, we are increasing the flexibility of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) by removing the restriction that ARRS funding can only be used for recently qualified GPs, increasing the maximum reimbursement amount for GP roles to reflect experience, and enabling primary care networks to recruit a broader range of ARRS roles, where agreed with the commissioner. We are not defining “clinically urgent” from the centre. GP staff are trained and experienced in recognising which patients need to be seen quickly.

If her Department will implement a successor scheme to the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant upon its expiry.

As announced in February 2025, the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant will close at either the end of financial year 2025/26 or when current funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.Since 1990, annual greenhouse gas emissions from mopeds and motorcycles have declined from 0.7MTCO2e to 0.5 MTCO2e in 2024, accounting for 0.4% of domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.The Government continues to promote access to clean mobility, including by investing £7.5 billion to support industry and drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the forthcoming expiry of the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant on the availability of cleaner mobility.

As announced in February 2025, the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant will close at either the end of financial year 2025/26 or when current funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.Since 1990, annual greenhouse gas emissions from mopeds and motorcycles have declined from 0.7MTCO2e to 0.5 MTCO2e in 2024, accounting for 0.4% of domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.The Government continues to promote access to clean mobility, including by investing £7.5 billion to support industry and drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of pollution levels of L-Category vehicles in the context of the expiry of the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant.

As announced in February 2025, the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant will close at either the end of financial year 2025/26 or when current funds are exhausted, whichever comes first.Since 1990, annual greenhouse gas emissions from mopeds and motorcycles have declined from 0.7MTCO2e to 0.5 MTCO2e in 2024, accounting for 0.4% of domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.The Government continues to promote access to clean mobility, including by investing £7.5 billion to support industry and drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles.

With reference to the GP Contract 2026/27, what cost benefit analysis his Department conducted in relation to the bonus GP practices in England will be paid to prescribe patients weight loss drugs.

The 2026/27 GP Contract introduces new incentives through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) for general practitioners to prescribe weight loss drugs. At this stage, the Department has not made quantified estimates of net costs to the National Health Service over one-, five- or ten-year periods specifically attributable to these QOF indicators. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal considered the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of tirzepatide at a population level, and the QOF changes are intended to support appropriate implementation of that guidance. QOF is an established lever for supporting the roll out of evidence-based care in general practice. Data gathered through QOF this year will be used to understand the impact of the new QOF obesity indicators on patient pathways and service use, and this evidence may inform future assessment of costs and benefits over time.