Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure accurate NHS public messaging on prostate cancer awareness is circulated in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing prostate cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive.NHS England partners with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people through projects in the heart of their communities, to help raise awareness of prostate cancer, including in Surrey Heath. Cancer Alliances have also been undertaking action to alert at risk groups about prostate cancer, and this is determined at a local level and therefore will vary depending on local needs and priorities.In January 2025, NHS England re-launched its ‘abdominal and urological symptoms of cancer’ phase of the Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, including symptoms of prostate cancer.In the Surrey Heath constituency, the Department holds information for two trusts. In 2024, the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust recorded that a total of 2,337 prostate cancer patients commenced a first or subsequent treatment, 583 of which were a first treatment. In 2024, the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust recorded that a total of 614 prostate cancer patients commenced a first or subsequent treatment, 549 of which were a first treatment.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the proposed qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain for (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other NHS workers in Surrey Heath constituency.

Within the new settlement rules, individuals will have the opportunity to reduce their qualifying period based on contributions to the UK economy and society. We will be consulting on those new rules later this year.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that children and young people in inpatient mental health settings have access to (a) regular and (b) unrestricted contact with their families in Surrey Heath constituency.

The new service model for children and young people’s inpatient mental health services, including those in the Surrey Health area, sets out that visiting hours should be flexible to meet the needs of the child and their family or carer. Each mental health inpatient unit should also develop appropriate environments to support family visits, including designated family rooms and families or carers should have access to provision for overnight stays to enable them to be near or with their child where appropriate.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased weekend flight operations at Farnborough Airport on the (a) wellbeing and (b) quality of life of people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Assessment of the potential impact of Farnborough Airport’s increased weekend flight operations is a matter for Rushmoor Borough Council as the local planning authority responsible for considering the airport’s planning application.

Whether her Department plans to review the public safety zone around Farnborough Airport in the context of the proposed increase in flight numbers.

The size of public safety zones at aerodromes is based off the annual commercial air traffic movements. This can extend to 1,500 metres from landing thresholds for those airports with 45,000 or more movements, which includes Farnborough airport. While overall policy is set by the department, administration is via the Civil Aviation Authority and implementation via local planning authorities. There are no current plans to review this approach.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools in managing persistent complaints referred to external bodies without being resolved through schools internal procedures in Surrey Heath constituency.

The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.

What assessment she has made of the link between business rates and town centre economic activity in Surrey Heath constituency.

High streets are focal points of economic and social activity. They are a point of local pride and reflect the unique character of communities. As the business rates burden falls more heavily on property-intensive sectors, the Government wants to ensure that the business rates burden is permanently rebalanced, supporting high street and town centre businesses such as those in Surrey Heath.That is why the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025/26. As such, the Government has prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and frozen the small business multiplier.The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that data on (a) aircraft noise and (b) emissions from Farnborough Airport is (i) publicly available and (ii) independently verified.

The availability and independent verification of aircraft noise data from Farnborough Airport is a matter for Rushmoor Borough Council. Farnborough Airport Company Limited has published information through their Annual report and Roadmap to Net Zero 2030 document on the environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions, of the airport and other parts of the company. These documents discuss the company’s adherence to a range of legal requirements concerning the environment. DfT has not verified the information within the reports.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing biodiversity net gain requirements on (a) local wildlife habitats and (b) environmental resilience in Surrey.

The Government has recently consulted on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium, and brownfield development. The consultation closed on 24 July, and responses received are being considered. A full Government response will be published in due course. Biodiversity net gain requirements will continue to be assessed and approved by local planning authorities before commencement of the developments in their areas, including those in Surrey.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools in managing reputational issues from (a) repeated and (b) unsubstantiated complaints in Surrey Heath constituency.

The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating guidance for (a) schools and (b) inspectorates on handling complaints that are escalated without first being considered under published complaints policies.

The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.

If her Department will take steps to recognise the (a) work and (b) contributions of staff in special educational needs schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that reviews to biodiversity net gain requirements for small housing developments maintain (a) local democratic oversight and (b) environmental protection standards in Surrey.

The Government has recently consulted on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium, and brownfield development. The consultation closed on 24 July, and responses received are being considered. A full Government response will be published in due course. Biodiversity net gain requirements will continue to be assessed and approved by local planning authorities before commencement of the developments in their areas, including those in Surrey.

Whether he plans to increase the availability of community-based mental health support in order to reduce the level of reliance on inpatient care for children and young people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Our ambition is to avoid unnecessary admissions to children and young people’s mental health inpatient services and provide care close to home in the least restrictive environments. NHS England’s new model for specialised children and young people’s mental health services will support the delivery of specialised services in the community by establishing and expanding local services such as day services, intensive community outreach and hospital at home services that will provide timely assessment, reduce lengths of inpatient stay and wrap care around the family to achieve timely discharge.

What safeguards are in place to prevent children and young people from being placed in inappropriate mental health settings, including (a) adult wards and (b) facilities located far from home.

All placements must be clinically appropriate, proportionate to any risk presented, and local ownership and involvement must be maintained from a clinical and commissioning perspective. Where possible, a placing team should look to neighbouring geographical areas when considering placements to minimise distance from home and ensure that local involvement is facilitated more easily and effectively. NHS England is developing a new model for specialised children and young people’s mental health services, supported by a new service specification and quality standards. This model will support the delivery of specialised services in the community and within children and young people’s mental health inpatient settings. This will aim to ensure children and young people are treated in the least restrictive, age-appropriate environments, as close to home as possible. £75 million has been set aside in the NHS Capital Guidance for 2025/26 to reduce inappropriate out of area placements in adult, and children and young people’s services, including in acute care, Psychiatric Intensive Care Units, rehabilitation wards, and secure services. Integrated care boards will receive allocations from this funding pot based on credible, cost-effective, high-impact plans to reduce inappropriate out of area placements. The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published on 24 October, sets targets for integrated care boards to eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements by 2028/29

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of repeated external investigations on staff (a) wellbeing and (b) retention in small special educational needs schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

Across mainstream and special schools, the department is committed to improving the wellbeing and mental health of school staff and creating a supportive culture in schools and colleges. That is why we encourage all schools and colleges to sign the education staff wellbeing charter which sets out shared commitments to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff in schools and colleges. The charter can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.Recruiting and retaining excellent teachers and leaders will support the government to transform the education system so that all young people get the skills, care and opportunities they deserve. Full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in special schools and pupil referral units in Surrey increased by 21 (3.6%) in 2024.

What discussions her Department has had with Surrey County Council on the disruption caused by Heavy Goods Vehicles in busy (a) village and (b) town centres in the Surrey Heath constituency.

My Department has not discussed this matter with Surrey County Council. Management of traffic, including HGVs, on local roads is the responsibility of the local highway authority. They have a range of measures available to them to manage inappropriate use of roads by HGVs, such as weight restrictions and signing strategies. It is for them to determine what measures are appropriate for individual situations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with Thames Water on (a) planned infrastructure upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities and (b) ensuring sufficient capacity to accommodate (i) existing and (ii) proposed housing developments in Surrey Heath constituency.

Defra’s Water Delivery Taskforce is working to ensure the timely delivery of the water and wastewater capacity required for growth. It is doing so, in part, through oversight and assurance of large infrastructure delivery, including that delivered by Thames Water. The Environment Agency (EA) has engaged with Surrey Heath Borough Council (SHBC) throughout their Local Plan preparation process. The Local Plan examination began on 16 September, and the EA is expecting to make verbal representations to the Planning Inspector.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) timely and (b) adequate disability payments to blind people in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment in a timely manner and always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant. Personal Independence Payments (PIP) provide support to disabled people, and those with long-term health conditions, including blindness, to help them live independent lives.

Whether his Department has an assessment of the potential impact proposed EU Mobility Scheme on (a) economic growth and (b) attracting talent to the UK workforce.

We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped as well as time-limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters are subject to discussion. We cannot give a running commentary of ongoing negotiations.