Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in managing the increasing volume of utility roadworks in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department supports local authorities in several ways, including via updates to statutory guidance, supporting the roll-out of lane rental schemes and improving our Street Manager digital service which all authorities and utility companies use to plan, co-ordinate and manage works. The Government has also announced that we are cracking down on utility companies, doubling fines and applying charges for works that overrun at weekends.

Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to support effective collaboration between hon. Members of Parliament and county councils in the context of local government reorganisation in Surrey.

On 5th February I wrote to all councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries, including Surrey, to formally invite them to submit unitary proposals. In this invitation, we set out that we expect local leaders to engage their Members of Parliament, and to ensure there is wide engagement with local partners and stakeholders, residents, workforce and their representatives, and businesses on a proposal. We are committed to updating Parliament on the progress of local government reorganisation.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce sexual assault incidents in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling rape and sexual offences is a key part of our mission to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). To meet this ambition, we will deliver a cross-government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy, which we are aiming to publish this summer.We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that the right powers are available for them to tackle sexual crimes, bring perpetrators to justice and manage sex offenders.In addition, we are investing £13.1m for a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to transform the police response across England and Wales and help deliver our commitment for strengthened specialist VAWG training, ensuring consistent protection for victims and that perpetrators are relentlessly pursued.We have also made several commitments to transform the criminal justice response to sexual offences. This includes rolling out, later this year, free, independent legal advisers for victims of adult rape to help uphold their legal rights, and fast-tracking rape cases.

What discussions she has had with police forces on improving (a) public guidance and (b) awareness around (i) garage security and (ii) burglary prevention in Surrey.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities.In 2024/25, the Home Office funded the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI) to provide a burglary prevention course for police officers to improve understanding about home security. The course helps inform the advice and guidance police forces across England and Wales provide to members of the public.More broadly, the Government is delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be 13,000 additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles by the end of the Parliament, with each neighbourhood having named, contactable officers dealing with local issues by July of this year.As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing. Surrey Police will receive up to £328.3 million in funding in 2025-26, an increase of up to £19.7 million when compared to the 2024-5 police settlement equating to a 6.4% cash increase.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of (a) adult and (b) child dental care in Surrey Heath constituency.

Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available from the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324The data for the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board, which includes the Surrey Heath constituency, shows that 39% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 24 months up to June 2024, compared to 40% in England, and that 55% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months up to June 2024, compared to 56% in England.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of care for Parkinson in Surrey Heath constituency.

The integrated care boards (ICBs) in England are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population, including for Parkinson’s disease. The Government expects ICBs to take account of the relevant guidelines and best practice in designing their local services.Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with Parkinson’s can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England, which provide access to neurological multidisciplinary teams to ensure that patients with Parkinson’s can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.There are also national initiatives to support service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. This includes the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the Neurology Transformation Programme. NHS England is updating its Specialised Neurology service specification, which includes Parkinson’s disease. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, which provide specialised care.We acknowledge the significant neurology workforce challenges across the country, including a need for more neurologists and specialist nurses. We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service and improve care for people with long-term conditions, and a central and core part of the plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to make it more accessible, proactive, and tailored for patients.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing research investment into Parkinson’s disease in Surrey.

The Government’s responsibility for delivering Parkinson’s disease research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.Whilst no assessment has been made of the potential merits of increasing research investment into Parkinson’s disease in Surrey, the Government is continuing to invest in Parkinson’s disease research. For example, the UK Dementia Research Institute, primarily funded by the Government, is partnering with Parkinson’s UK to establish a new £10 million research centre dedicated to better understanding the causes of Parkinson’s and finding new treatments.The NIHR welcomes high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson's disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using injunctions to protect asylum accommodation.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent unauthorised activity around asylum accommodation sites in Surrey.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to staff in asylum accommodation who experience harassment in Surrey.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What recent discussions her Department has had with police forces on safeguarding asylum accommodation in Surrey.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the public safety risk around asylum hotels.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that healthcare services can (a) recruit and (b) retain occupational therapists in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of radiographers in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that healthcare services can (a) recruit and (b) retain physiotherapists in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that healthcare services can (a) recruit and (b) retain speech therapists in Surrey Heath constituency.

Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place and with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. These staff include allied health professionals such as radiographers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce knife crime in Surrey Heath constituency.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.We have already taken radical action to get dangerous knives off Britain’s streets, including implementing a ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and zombie-style machetes, and introducing new legislation to ban ninja swords which will come into effect from 1 August.We have also announced “Ronan’s Law” following an independent review into online knife sales by Commander Stephen Clayman, which sets out a range of measures including strengthened age verification and delivery checks and a requirement on retailers to report bulk sales to the police.With measures in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, we are increasing the penalties for illegal sales of knives, creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intention to commit unlawful violence and are giving the police a new power to seize knives when they believe they are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.The Young Futures Programme is another key part of the Safer Streets Mission and the Government’s ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade. Under this programme the Government will intervene earlier to ensure children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.In Surrey, the government has allocated £1m for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Hotspot Action Fund in 2025-2026 to deliver high visibility patrolling and problem-oriented policing tactics in the areas with the highest densities of knife crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (‘hotspots’).

What steps he is taking to help improve access to care need s assessments for (a) deaf and (b) blind people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that deaf and blind people can access needs assessments. Under the Equality Act (2010), local authorities must also make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duty to undertake needs assessments. Needs assessments for deaf and blind people will form part of the CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, the CQC will report on how local authorities work with deaf and blind people when there is something important to highlight, such as something being done well, innovative practice, or an area for improvement. The CQC is assessing all 153 local authorities in England. So far, the CQC has published over twenty assessments, including an assessment for Surrey County Council, with further information available at the following link:https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports/surrey-1124By identifying local authorities’ strengths and areas for improvement, CQC assessments facilitate the sharing of good practice and help us to target support where it is most needed. These steps will help to improve access to needs assessments for everyone who needs it, including deaf and blind people.

Whether she plans to publish the DVSA's findings from the call for evidence on the experience of booking and managing car driving tests.

On the 18 December 2024, a call for evidence was launched, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have been analysing the responses to this and have been working to develop proposals to improve the rules to make sure learner drivers can book their driving test easily and efficiently. This will lead to public consultation on the proposed improved rules, with potential future legislative changes. On the 23 April, the Secretary of State announced that this consultation has been fast-tracked and will launch in May 2025.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of hospital access to medical equipment in the Surrey Heath constituency.

Individual National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts are responsible and accountable for their own purchasing decisions, which will include medical equipment. NHS organisations are independent commercial entities, and it is for an NHS procuring authority to satisfy itself on how best to obtain quality and value for money through its procurement activity. Local NHS organisations have access to a wide range of procurement routes, but the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to help NHS bodies make informed choices about the products and the route through which they are bought. These include NHS Supply Chain, a national body which is responsible for procuring and delivering most consumables, medical equipment and other supplies into the NHS. NHS Supply Chain was set up to leverage the collective buying power of the NHS to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured quality products at the best value.