Written questions by Pinkerton.

How long-term health system cost efficiency is evaluated when decisions are made to decommission locally delivered health programmes in Surrey.

NHS England has published guidance for National Health Service commissioners on planning service changes, including the decommissioning of services. This includes guidance on clinical evidence and costs.The guidance also incorporates the Government’s four tests: that service change should have support from commissioners; be based on clinical evidence; demonstrate public and patient engagement; and consider patient choice. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/planning-assuring-delivering-service-change-v6-1.pd

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen pathways between (a) school cricket programmes and (b) local community cricket clubs in Surrey Heath constituency.

In June, the Government announced a new PE and School Sport Partnership Network to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. A national network will be developed to build strong partnerships between schools, local clubs and National Governing Bodies to identify and break down barriers to sport for children who are less active. In addition, at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, including for children and young people, and will then set out further plans. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. This includes long term investment to the England and Wales Cricket Board, which receives up to £13.4 million for five years to invest in community cricket initiatives, and into England Netball, which receives up to £26.2 million over five years to invest in Netball. In the Surrey Heath constituency specifically, in the last financial year, 2024-25, Sport England invested £314,995 to improve access to sport and physical activity.

How locally commissioned health services incorporate peer-reviewed clinical outcomes into decisions on (a) service continuation and (b) withdrawal.

NHS England has published guidance for National Health Service commissioners on planning service changes, including the decommissioning of services. This includes guidance on clinical evidence and costs.The guidance also incorporates the Government’s four tests: that service change should have support from commissioners; be based on clinical evidence; demonstrate public and patient engagement; and consider patient choice. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/planning-assuring-delivering-service-change-v6-1.pd

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities with essential repairs in (a) social and (b) council housing in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

All registered providers of social housing are obliged by law to maintain the structure and exterior of their properties, and to keep in repair and proper working order sanitation, water, gas, and electricity installations.All registered providers of social housing are also required to deliver the outcomes of the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. Under the Safety and Quality Standard, landlords must take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and provide an effective and timely repairs service for the homes for which they are responsible.As part of the new consumer regime facilitated by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act, the Regulator has begun carrying out regular inspections of large landlords to seek evidence they are delivering the outcomes of the standards. This has included a number of inspections of local authority registered providers with social housing stock in Surrey, resulting in consumer gradings between C2-C4. Some local authority registered providers in Surrey have only a small number of homes and therefore fall outside of the routine inspection programme.The government has also introduced additional safety legislation to protect tenants from health and safety hazards through the introduction of Awaab’s Law which came into force for damp, mould and all emergency hazards on 27 October 2025.

What guidance his Department provides on changes to locally commissioned health services.

NHS England has published guidance for National Health Service commissioners on planning service changes, including the decommissioning of services. This includes guidance on clinical evidence and costs.The guidance also incorporates the Government’s four tests: that service change should have support from commissioners; be based on clinical evidence; demonstrate public and patient engagement; and consider patient choice. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/planning-assuring-delivering-service-change-v6-1.pd

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to improve (a) parks and (b) recreational facilities in Surrey Heath constituency.

Parks and recreational facilities are an essential part of local social infrastructure. They provide places for social connection, support health and wellbeing and increase community engagement. Responsibility for these spaces lies mainly with local authorities and Government is committed to supporting Local Authorities in helping build stronger, more connected communities. Local authorities work locally to support adults and children to lead more active lives through access to public leisure services, green space, parks and playground spaces. Their public health budgets are used to deliver local physical activity interventions such as the purchasing of playground equipment. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities and that procurement is up to the discretion of Local authorities rather than the Government In addition, the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award sets the national quality standard for parks and green spaces. The scheme aims to meet the needs of the communities they serve and has helped to transform thousands of parks and green spaces across the country. I commend Surrey Heath Borough Council for receiving 5 Green Flag awards to date.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities with repeated vandalism impacting the operation of public facilities in Surrey.

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB, including acts of vandalism and criminal damage. It is for local areas and individual police forces to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances of each case, however to support local areas in dealing with challenges, this Government has committed to delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel, and following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary announced a “Winter of Action” in which police forces across England and Wales, including Surrey, will again partner with local authorities, businesses, and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities safeguard vulnerable residents from (a) misleading and (b) high-pressure contact relating to (i) housing repairs and (ii) inspections.

My Department launched a call for evidence with the Ministry of Justice on 4 December to hear from tenants, landlords, legal professionals and claims management companies about their experiences of housing disrepair claims. It can be found on gov.uk here.The exercise will allow us to gather evidence on how the current process works, including the roles of companies and solicitors in these cases. We want to understand what doesn't work or is unclear so that we can make sure the process is as effective as possible.The call for evidence will be open for 12 weeks and close on 12 February 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of long-term empty social housing units in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The number of empty social sector homes in England as of 31 March 2025 can be derived from published statistics for vacant dwellings owned by local authorities and private registered providers of social housing. For local authorities, this data comes from Section E of the Local Authority Housing Statistics data returns, which can be found on gov.uk here. These include units vacant for more than six months as reported by local authority landlords. Note that not all empty social homes are available to let. The full time series, which can be found on gov.uk here, contains vacant dwellings information collected since 1989–90. It will be updated to include the 2024-25 return in January/February 2026. For Private Registered Providers, the Regulator of Social Housing collects and publishes the required information in the Private Registered Providers Data Release, which can be found on gov.uk here. Vacant unit data at local authority level is only collected from PRPs owning 1,000 or more social housing units. This dataset does not show how long units have been vacant; instead, it categorises them as temporarily or permanently unavailable. It is therefore not possible to distinguish between short-term and long-term empty homes. Additionally, PRP data is limited to vacant self-contained General Needs units only.Information is not collected at constituency level.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of withdrawing local early-intervention health services on demand for secondary care in Surrey.

The commissioning of local National Health Services is a matter for local integrated care boards (ICBs) working together with providers and other stakeholders. Neither the NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB nor the NHS Frimley ICB are aware of the withdrawal of early intervention services in Surrey.

Media and Sport, what guidance her Department provides on protections available to charity trustees who raise concerns about potential wrongdoing within a charity.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales publishes guidance for charities on a range of subjects, including reporting serious wrongdoing at a charity as a worker or volunteer. While volunteers, including charity trustees, do not have the same statutory whistleblowing protections as workers, the Charity Commission treats whistleblowing disclosures by volunteers and trustees in the same way as disclosures by workers.

Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to review whistleblowing protections for individuals involved in the governance of charities.

We recognise that whistleblowing can play an important role in holding charities to account. Charity workers have protections the same as a worker in any sector and are also able to make disclosures to the Charity Commission about their charity. While volunteers, including charity trustees, do not have the same statutory whistleblowing protections as workers, the Department considers the current protections for those who make whistleblowing disclosures, regardless of their status, to be appropriate. The Charity Commission treats whistleblowing disclosures by volunteers and trustees in the same way as disclosures by workers. The Department has no plans to review whistleblowing protections for volunteers or others involved in the governance of charities.

What plans her Department has to further consult stakeholders on potential changes to the firearms licensing system.

The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of protections against retaliation for individuals who make whistleblowing disclosures within charities.

We recognise that whistleblowing can play an important role in holding charities to account. Charity workers have protections the same as a worker in any sector and are also able to make disclosures to the Charity Commission about their charity. While volunteers, including charity trustees, do not have the same statutory whistleblowing protections as workers, the Department considers the current protections for those who make whistleblowing disclosures, regardless of their status, to be appropriate. The Charity Commission treats whistleblowing disclosures by volunteers and trustees in the same way as disclosures by workers. The Department has no plans to review whistleblowing protections for volunteers or others involved in the governance of charities.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on (a) rural and (b) semi-rural economies of merging (i) shotgun and (ii) rifle licensing systems.

The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.

Whether her Department has modelled the potential impact on levels of employment of stricter conditions on shotgun certificate holders.

The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to shotgun licensing on (a) rural hotels, (b) pubs and (c) tourism businesses reliant on shooting activity.

The Government is committed to undertaking a public consultation on whether to strengthen the controls on shotguns, including possible closer alignment with the controls on other firearms. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year. Once the consultation is launched, we would welcome views from all interested parties, including from those who live and work in rural communities and shotgun holders.We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will provide an assessment of the impact of any changes we bring forward, including to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the transport system supports economic growth in Surrey Heath constituency.

My officials hold regular meetings with Surrey County Council to discuss transport in Surrey. We will shortly announce the regional allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. We have informed Surrey County Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £38.19 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.

What steps he is taking to improve (a) job security and (b) employment conditions for general practice nurses in Surrey Heath constituency.

As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is up to general practices (GPs) how they distribute pay and benefits to GP nurses and to determine their own staffing arrangements.GP contractual arrangements do not place any specific obligations on GPs with regard to GP nurse terms and conditions.The GP workforce is developed with the support of the Frimley ICB Primary Care Training hub. The hub commissions training supported placements for trainees and adoption of primary care network learning environments, in line with the NHS People Promise and interprofessional conferences.We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle littering in Surrey Heath constituency.

Local councils are responsible for tackling litter in their area. 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.