Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will review the impact of waste disposal charges on the level of illegal dumping in Great Yarmouth.

The Department has no plans to review the impact of waste disposal charges on the level of illegal dumping in Great Yarmouth. Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) play an important role in helping people to dispose of their waste responsibly. Local authorities have responsibility for the operation and management of HWRCs in their area. It is their duty to provide services for residents within their local area to dispose of or recycle their waste responsibly. Local authorities are also responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their areas. They have a range of fly-tipping enforcement powers at their disposal, which we encourage them to make good use of. Powers include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of fly-tipping incidents in Great Yarmouth; and whether additional enforcement funding will be provided.

No assessment of recent trends in the level of fly-tipping incidents in Great Yarmouth has been made. Local authorities are however required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually here. This excludes the majority of private-land and large scale incidents. Great Yarmouth reported the following number of incidents in the last five years: 2019-20 = 14912020-21 = 21462021-22 = 18692022-23 = 11712023-24 = 1153 We are not considering additional funding specifically for fly-tipping enforcement. However, the Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding which will be delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of street cleaning, litter collection and maintenance in Great Yarmouth’s town centre and seafront.

No assessment has been made of the adequacy of street cleaning, litter collection and maintenance in Great Yarmouth’s town centre and seafront. Local councils are responsible for keeping their streets clear of litter and refuse. The role of central Government is to enable and support local action. In the Pride in Place Strategy this Government has committed to bringing forward statutory enforcement guidance on both littering and fly-tipping, modernising the code of practice that outlines the cleaning standards expected of local authorities, and refreshing best practice guidance on the powers available to local authorities to force land and building owners to clean up their premises. We are also targeting some of the more commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes was banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. Plastic drinks bottles and metal drinks containers make up 55% of litter volume. The Deposit Return Scheme will cover plastic and metal drinks containers (like bottles and cans), and the goal is to reduce litter and help keep our streets, rivers, and oceans clean.

What assessment he has made of the level of ambulance handover delays at James Paget Hospital in each of the past three years.

NHS England publishes monthly data on ambulance handovers, including at the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust over the past three years. This information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/ambulance-management-informationIn addition, weekly handover data split by day is also published as part of national winter reporting. This information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/uec-sitrepWe are working closely with the trust and system partners to deliver ongoing, evidence-based improvement to ambulance handovers. Key actions include the Release and Respond Programme since December 2024, which targets long delays and supports rapid handovers, new protocols for managing hospital capacity and safe patient flow, enhanced discharge planning and long length-of-stay reviews, Same Day Emergency Care investment enabling same-day assessment and treatment, and enhanced geriatrician support for early assessment and frailty management.These initiatives are already delivering positive results with the average handover time reducing by 27 minutes in November 2025 compared to November 2024. Furthermore, current four-hour performance for November stands at 73.4%, up 10.3% from last November.

What steps he is taking to ensure that patients in Great Yarmouth receive equal access to NHS services.

As part of the 10-Year Health Plan we are focusing the role of integrated care boards (ICBs) on strategic commissioning to improve population health. NHS England has published the Strategic Commissioning Framework which supports the development of care models that are better matched to local needs, improved access to appropriate services, and a stronger focus on population health and reducing inequalities. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for the Norfolk and Waveney ICB, which covers Great Yarmouth.

Communities and Local Government, whether additional support will be given to coastal councils like Great Yarmouth facing above-average costs for waste and public space maintenance.

The government recognises the significant pressures that councils are facing. This is why, alongside the additional £3.4 billion of grant funding announced at the Spending Review, the government is delivering fair funding reforms to ensure money goes to the places that need it most.On 17 December, the government published the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. The provisional 2026-27 Settlement will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. By the end of the multi-year period, we will have provided a 15.1% cash-terms increase, worth over £11 billion, compared to 2025-26.The government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural and coastal communities. Our updated assessment of need will more effectively capture variations in demand for services within a local authority. We will continue to apply Area Cost Adjustments to account for the different costs faced in delivering services, including in coastal areas.

Whether his Department has direct oversight of financial efficiencies at the James Paget Trust.

The East of England Regional Team has detailed and regular engagement with the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to discuss both their financial position and, more specifically, the delivery of their financial efficiencies. The monthly financial position and progress in delivering efficiencies is a key aspect of the monthly System Financial Review meetings with the trust’s Chief Finance Officer, alongside the integrated care board and other trusts within the local system.As of October 2025, the James Paget University Hospitals Trust is on track to deliver against its agreed efficiency target.

How much (i) James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and (ii) Norfolk and Waveney Community Health and Care NHS Trust spent on external consultants in each of the last three financial years.

The following table shows the amount spent by James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Norfolk and Waveney Community Health and Care NHS Trust for the last three financial years: 2022/232023/242024/25James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust£360,455£181,287£154,043Norfolk and Waveney Community Health and Care NHS Trust£45,467£1,684£19,752 The information is published in their annual report and accounts on their websites, where further detail is available.

What assessment he has made of the impact of staff parking charges on recruitment and morale at James Paget Hospital.

No assessment has been made of the impact of staff parking charges on recruitment and morale at James Paget Hospital.The health and wellbeing of National Health Service staff is a top priority, and all NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.All NHS hospitals in England are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. The guidance makes clear that where hospital car parking charges exist, they should be reasonable for the area.In addition, free hospital car parking is already in place for ‘in-need’ groups, and this includes NHS staff working overnight.

Whether he plans to provide additional funding to (i) James Paget Hospital and (ii) Northgate Hospital to help support (a) local residents and (b) its seasonal tourist population.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning and funding the care delivered by healthcare providers, including the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. The amount of funding received by each provider is based on the NHS Payment Scheme, which is a set of rules, prices, and guidance that determine how the providers of National Health Service funded healthcare are paid for the services they deliver.NHS England is responsible for determining the allocation of financial resources to ICBs. The process of setting funding allocations is informed by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, an independent committee that provides advice to NHS England on setting the target formula which impacts how allocations are distributed over time according to factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas.NHS England produces a technical guide to allocation formulae, with the 2025/26 edition available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PRN01601-technical-guide-to-allocation-formulae-and-convergence-for-2025-to-2026-revenue-allocations.pdfThe edition covering 2026/27 to 2028/29 allocations will be published in due course.The NHS also has an operational pressures escalation levels (OPEL) framework which provides a standardised approach to support an effective, integrated, and coordinated response to acute trust operational pressures. This includes actions locally, regionally, and nationally that support the depressurising of services and ensure patient safety. Further information about the OPEL framework is published by NHS England, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/integrated-opel-framework-2024-to-2026/#escalation-and-actions-in-response-to-operational-risks-and-pressures

What steps he is taking to ensure that coastal hospitals such as the James Paget receive adequate NHS capital and revenue funding.

We remain committed to delivering all schemes within the New Hospital Programme, including James Paget, which will continue through the Spending Review 2025. The programme is funded for five-year waves of investment, averaging around £3 billion a year from 2030.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning and funding the care delivered by healthcare providers, including the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The amount of funding received by each provider is based on the NHS Payment Scheme, which is a set of rules, prices, and guidance that determine how the providers of National Health Service-funded healthcare are paid for the services they deliver.NHS England is responsible for determining the allocation of financial resources to ICBs. The process of setting funding allocations is informed by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, an independent committee that provides advice to NHS England on setting the target formula which impacts how allocations are distributed over time according to factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas. There are a range of adjustments made in the core ICB allocations formula that account for the fact that the cost of providing health care may vary between rural and urban areas.ICB allocations for 2025/26 were published on 30 January 2025 and allocations for 2026/27 to 2027/28 were published on 17 November. These are available at the following links respectively:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2025-26/https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2026-27-to-2027-28/The Norfolk and Waveney ICB, which currently covers the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, received an uplift to its recurrent core services allocation of 3.85% in 2025/26.Following announced mergers due to take effect from 1 April 2026, a new NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB will cover James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from 2026/27. The new ICB will see its recurrent core services allocation uplifted by 3.05% in 2026/27 and 3.29% in 2027/28.Budget 2025 confirmed a rise in the Department’s capital budgets to £15.2 billion by the end of the Spending Review period. This includes over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26, with a further £16.9 billion to be allocated to ICBs and providers over the following four years. James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been allocated £46.8 million in operational funding for the period 2026/27 to 2029/30.

What steps she is taking to prevent the concentration of high-need migrant cohorts in deprived coastal communities such as Great Yarmouth.

The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are reviewed regularly with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).

What estimate she has made of the number of irregular migrants currently residing in Great Yarmouth and the resource implications for local authorities.

The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are reviewed regularly with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).

What steps he is taking to reduce reoffending rates among prolific offenders in Great Yarmouth town centre.

In November 2024, the Home Office introduced Respect Orders to give police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres. As well as prison sentences of up to two years, criminal courts will be able to issue unlimited fines and community orders, such as unpaid work, and curfews as punishment for breaching a Respect Order. For those who persistently break the law, we are building 14,000 new prison places to make sure they are removed from the streets. Whilst in prison they will be expected to take part in education or learn new skills to make them more useful contributors to society after release. The Probation Service's first priority is to protect the public. Anyone released from prison is subject to strict licence conditions, including exclusion zones where appropriate. If found to have breached these conditions they can be returned to prison. The Probation Service puts in place services aimed at reducing re-offending by supporting the needs of people on probation in Great Yarmouth. These include providing support in obtaining and maintaining suitable accommodation, help with drug and alcohol dependency issues, assistance with personal wellbeing needs and a holistic service addressing all needs for women.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of GPs in Great Yarmouth constituency.

As of 31 October 2025, there were 66 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice (GP) in the Great Yarmouth Constituency. The median number of FTE doctors per 10,000 registered patients was 5.5, compared to the England median of 5.6.Since October 2024 we have funded primary care networks with an additional £160 million to recruit recently qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. Over 2,600 individual GPs have now been recruited, preventing them from graduating into unemployment. This was a measure to respond to feedback from the profession and to help solve an immediate issue of GP unemployment.We have committed to training thousands more GPs across the country which will increase capacity and take the pressure off those currently working in the system.

If he will provide funding to help increase staffing levels at (a) James Paget University Hospital and (b) Northgate Hospital.

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.Funding provided to NHS trusts, including James Paget University Hospital and Northgate Hospital, is not ringfenced for specific items such as staffing levels. Hospitals receive funding allocations which they can use at their discretion, based on local priorities.The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

What discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of Norfolk on levels of organised criminal activity in Great Yarmouth.

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) and ensuring that law enforcement has the resources it needs to do so effectively. Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs), which are collaborations between multiple police forces, play a vital role in supporting forces and partners to address SOC threats. Norfolk Constabulary form part of the Eastern Region ROCU.Significant investment has been made in strengthening ROCUs. Between April 2021 and March 2023, Chief Constables, PCCs and Mayors allocated 725 additional officers to ROCUs. With continued Home Office support, ROCUs have grown further, with 2,209 officers in place as of April 2025—an increase of over 60% since March 2021. These officers are tackling a range of SOC threats, helping to reduce crime and keep communities safe.Additionally, Clear, Hold, Build (CHB) is a place-based, three phased operational framework, designed by the Home Office which aims to reduce the Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) threat and crime levels in high-harm local areas and build sustained community resilience which prevents this harm returning.There are currently 65 CHB sites operational in England and Wales, across 42 police forces.Ultimately, operational decisions, including how resources are allocated to reduce levels of organised crime, are matters for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), and Mayors with PCC functions, based on their local knowledge and experience.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the number of NHS dentists currently working in Great Yarmouth constituency on patients' access to urgent care.

We are determined to rebuild NHS dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from April 2025.These appointments are available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These appointments are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.ICBs are also recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.We are committed to reforming the dental sector and we will deliver fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on shorter term improvements to the NHS dental contract on 16 December 2025. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest needs first while incentivising urgent care and complex treatments.

What information his Department holds on the number of children in Great Yarmouth constituency that were unable to access an NHS dental appointment in the last 12 months.

Data is not held on the number of children in the Great Yarmouth constituency that were unable to access a National Health Service dental appointment in the last 12 months.The data for the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, which includes the Great Yarmouth constituency, shows that 55% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months up to June 2025, compared to 57% in England. This year, resources have also been provided to Norfolk County Council to support 5,605 children through the national supervised toothbrushing programme.On 16 December, we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on interim improvements to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments, and will reduce clinically unnecessary check-ups. More information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms

If his Department will provide emergency funding to areas with the most severe dental shortages, including Great Yarmouth.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas such as Great Yarmouth.In 2024/25, the Government invested around £3.7 billion on primary care dentistry. We want to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Great Yarmouth constituency, this is the NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB.We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments across the country, with appointments more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on shorter term improvements to the NHS dental contract on 16 December 2025. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with the greatest needs first while incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms/outcome/government-response-to-consultation-on-nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms