Written questions by Anderson.

How many veterans will be impacted by proposed changes to (a) Universal Credit and (b) Personal Independence Payment.

No such assessment has been made. However, as we develop proposals further, we are carefully considering the potential impacts, including on veterans and their families, as part of our broader response to the Green Paper consultation. We would encourage organisations supporting and representing veterans, such as the Royal British Legion, the Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA), and many others, to contribute their views on how best to support wounded, injured, and sick veterans.

Media and Sport, what funding her Department has allocated to grassroots sports clubs in Ashfield constituency in the last 12 months.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from high-quality sport facilities, which offer the chance to be physically active.The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports and health club facilities through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions. Details of the funded projects are available on Sport England’s website here.The constituency of Ashfield also received a total of £1,849,232 of investment via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25. Details of the funded projects are available on Gov.uk here.

If he will bring forward legislative proposals to require British trained (a) doctors and (b) nurses to give a minimum of five years’ service to the NHS before working abroad.

The Government has no current plans to introduce tie-ins for doctors and nurses working in the National Health Service. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review.Later this year, we will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, to treat patients on time again. We will 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.

What the average waiting time is for ambulances in the East Midlands Ambulance Service area.

The following table shows the latest East Midlands Ambulance Service response times by ambulance incident category:CategoryMay 2025Category 1 mean response time00:08:33Category 1 90th centile response time00:15:04Category 2 mean response time00:31:26Category 2 90th centile response time01:02:27Category 3 mean response time01:52:10Category 3 90th centile response time04:15:28Category 4 mean response time02:14:03Category 4 90th centile response time05:27:31Source: NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators 2025/26Notes:the latest data available is for May 2025; andthe data format is hours: minutes: seconds.

Whether her Department holds data on the number of bus services (a) delayed and (b) cancelled across Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years.

The Department does not hold data on the number of services (a) delayed and (b) cancelled for Ashfield constituency. The Department publishes average bus punctuality rates on the percentage of non-frequent bus services running on time and the average waiting time for frequent services on GOV.UK. This data is not available at constituency level, but is available for Nottinghamshire, the upper-tier local authority Ashfield constituency is part of. More granular (daily, route-level etc.) punctuality data is provided through the Analyse Bus Open Data Service (ABODS). ABODS enables DfT, local transport authorities, and bus operators to view detailed performance metrics, including line-level, stop-level, and individual journey punctuality, as well as on-time, early, and late arrival patterns based on GPS data from buses.

What steps her Department is taking to improve public transport services outside of major cities.

We are committed to funding all local areas to deliver their local transport priorities. We are providing £2.3 billion over the spending review period through the Local Transport Grant for local transport improvements outside of London and the largest city regions. We will invest around £900 million each year over the SR period to maintain and improve vital bus services and ensure buses are accessible and affordable for all – building on the £955 million we are providing to local authorities and bus operators in 25/26 to support and improve bus services in England outside London, including areas outside of city regions. £616 million was announced for Active Travel England to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. £24 billion capital funding was announced to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding will allow National Highways and Local Authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England's road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys. Rail services, including those outside of major cities, are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to (a) optician and (b) eye health provision in Ashfield constituency.

Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing the health needs of their population and for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet them.Free National Health Service sight tests are widely available across the country, from any optical practice with a contract to provide NHS sight testing services. We are not aware of patients facing undue delay in accessing these services.

How many people who have had their asylum application rejected are still living in the UK.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum-related returns in Ret_04 and Ret_05 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. The latest data is up to March 2025.

What proportion of roads in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England are deemed to be in poor condition.

In the financial year ending March 2024, the percentage of Local A roads and motorways in Nottinghamshire where maintenance should have been considered was 3%, B and C roads was 4%, and unclassified roads was 35%. For the same period, in England, the percentage of Local A roads and motorways where maintenance should have been considered was 4%, B and C roads was 7%, and unclassified roads was 17%. The Department does not hold information of the condition of roads for Ashfield constituency.

What steps she is taking to reduce rates of reoffending for antisocial behaviour.

As part of the Safer Streets Mission, the Government is committed to improving confidence in policing and the local response to crime, including anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour can be characterised by a range of different offence types, and we are responding in ways that are tough on crime whilst also supporting offenders to turn their backs on their offending behaviour.We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes accommodation, employment and substance misuse treatment services. Depending on the specific risks and needs of the offender, a range of accredited programmes, designed to address offending behaviour, are also available.We are also making sure that punishment is tough. To do this, we will impose new unpaid work orders to ensure offenders pay back to society. For the most problematic and persistent community offenders, Integrated Offender Management reduces reoffending through intensive joint police-probation supervision and access to pathways and services that address underlying criminogenic needs. We will also expand the availability of Intensive Supervision Courts to address the causes of their offending behaviour.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57342 on Robin Hood Line: Standards, what proportion of trains on the Robin Hood Line arrived (a) on time and (b) within three minutes in each of the last six months.

The proportion of Robin Hood Line services in each rail period (4 weeks) from 8 December 2024 to 24 May 2025, (a) that arrived at their destination on time was: 50.7%; 54.9%; 60.4%, 59.8%; 57.8% and 60.5% and (b) trains that arrived at their destination within 3 minutes was 74.9%, 80.1%, 83.8%, 84.8%, 82.1%, 84.4%.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57342 on Robin Hood Line: Standards, how many rail replacement buses were used on the Robin Hood Line in the last six months.

Between 8 December 2024 and 24 May 2025, 87 rail replacement buses were used on the Robin Hood Line. 48 buses were for pre-planned engineering work which took place on 28 of the days, and 39 buses were used due to emergency or on the day disruptions on 21 days.

What proportion of trains arrived (a) on time and (b) within three minutes in the last six months.

The rail industry uses four-weekly rail periods rather than calendar months for reporting performance figures. The average punctuality over the most recent six rail periods, based on arrivals at all recorded station stops, and covering all operators in Great Britain between 8 December 2024 and 24 May 2025 is as follows: On Time: 68.3%Within 3 minutes: 85.9%.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57342 on Robin Hood Line: Standards, how many of the 11% of late trains on the Robin Hood Line in that period were cancelled.

Between 1 April and 26 April 2025, 89 per cent of all services for all stations on the Robin Hood Line arrived within three minutes of their schedule arrival time, 11 per cent arrived later than three minutes. Cancellations are measured separately as the train has not departed all stations, in the same time frame. 2.34 per cent of Robin Hood Line services were cancelled.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will ensure that hon. Members are able to debate a divisible motion on the agreement with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands.

Parliamentary business will be arranged in the usual way.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of air quality levels in Ashfield constituency.

Local authorities review and assess air quality in their areas and publish an annual report on their actions to improve local air quality including local monitoring data which is assessed by Defra. In their most recent report, the Council indicated they were monitoring NO2 levels at 25 locations and recorded continued reductions in concentrations in recent years. Ashfield District Council have no declared Air Quality Management Areas due to having recorded no exceedances of the Air Quality Objectives set by Defra.

What steps she is taking to help reduce rail fares.

We are overhauling the fares system to make it easier for passengers to trust that they are buying the right ticket and getting the best fare. We need to balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers as we reform fares and deliver Great British Railways, ensuring everyone gets a fair deal. This year's fares increase of 4.6 per cent was the lowest increase in three years and will help to support the Government’s long-term plans to achieve financial sustainability of the railway. Our rail sale, celebrating the 200th anniversary of passenger train in this country, saw passengers travelling with up to 50 per cent discounts on their fares from 17 January to 31 March, accounting for just over 1 million discounted trips, bringing in £9.23 million in gross sales.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve management of flood risk in high-risk areas of Ashfield constituency.

Ashfield constituency suffered flooding to 58 properties in Storm Babet, October 2023 and to six properties in Storm Henk, January 2024. Much of the flooding risk in Ashfield is from ‘ordinary watercourses’ or surface water run-off, both of which are the responsibility of Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs). Ashfield LLFA Nottinghamshire County Council can be contacted on flood.team@nottscc.gov.uk. The LLFA published Section 19 investigation reports following the 2023/24 winter storms. These reports cover areas in Ashfield such as Pleasley, Kirkby in Ashfield, and Sutton in Ashfield, and can be accessed on the council’s website: : The Council's role | Nottinghamshire County Council The Environment Agency contributed to the Section 19 investigations where relevant, for example in Pleasley, where we have a role in incident response, issuing flood warnings and supporting recovery efforts: 26. Appendix Y. Pleasley S19 Storm Babet Oct 2023 The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for managing flood risk from the River Meden that flows through Pleasley and a small stretch of the River Erewash headwaters.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of AI on undergraduate degree integrity.

There are huge opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) as it becomes more sophisticated, particularly through generative AI, and the department knows higher education (HE) and the industries they work with are at the forefront of this. There will be many benefits, and we are already seeing these, but there are also challenges in how the HE sector incorporates AI, particularly for teaching, learning and assessment.The Quality Assurance Agency has been exploring the implications of AI, particularly in relation to academic integrity and published a briefing for its members in February 2024 focusing on the challenges. The briefing was underpinned by insights from HE sector leaders.The experience and expertise of the sector is contributing to the department’s evidence base for how generative AI is used in education. In January 2024, the department published research entitled ‘Generative AI in education: Educator and expert views’, containing insights from interviews with teachers and experts in HE and the education technology industry. The full research paper is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65b8cd41b5cb6e000d8bb74e/DfE_GenAI_in_education_-_Educator_and_expert_views_report.pdf.The Office for Students set out its approach to the use of AI in HE in a recent blog post entitled ‘Embracing innovation in higher education: our approach to artificial intelligence’. The full blog post is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/blog/embracing-innovation-in-higher-education-our-approach-to-artificial-intelligence/.

How many households in Ashfield constituency are outside the recommended minimum distance from a defibrillator.

The Department does not maintain a register of automated external defibrillators (AEDs); this information is held on The Circuit, an independently operated database. Therefore, the Department does not hold the data requested.The Government is committed to improving access to AEDs in public spaces and to reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED Fund, launched in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.Applications to the fund were allocated where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.There are now over 100,000 defibrillators in the United Kingdom registered on The Circuit. There has been an increase of 30,000 since September 2023. 58.6% of the over 100,000 defibrillators are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.