Written questions by Stephenson.

Whether her Department undertakes checks on whether holders of work visas are paying (a) Income Tax and (b) National Insurance.

HMRC have interpreted ‘checks’ in this instance as ‘compliance checks’ on taxpayers with tax and National Insurance owed in the UK. HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance and focuses its resources where tax is most at risk of not being paid. This approach may result in compliance checks on holders of work visas. Decisions on which taxpayers should be subject to a compliance check are based on HMRC’s understanding of compliance risk in the tax system, which is supported by data and intelligence sources including banking data and credit card sales, business databases, international exchanges of information and reported wrongdoing, as well as assessments of the tax gap, economic and social trends, operational insight and risk monitoring.

What data her Department holds on the proportion of student visa holders who progress to graduation.

The department does not hold data on what proportion of student visa holders progress to graduation, however, data on non-UK domicile entrants is collected by the Office for Students (OfS).The OfS publish data on the completion rates of entrants. For full-time first degree non-UK domicile entrants from 2016/17 to 2019/20, 89.9% completed their courses within 4 years 15 days of entry to higher education. This data is published annually and the latest available data was published in August 2025 at : https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/student-outcomes-data-dashboard/data-dashboard/.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a Post Office branch in Flitwick.

The Government does not intervene in decisions regarding the location of Post Office branches, as this remains an operational matter for Post Office Limited. However, the Government-set Access Criteria ensure that, regardless of changes to the network, postal services remain within local reach for all citizens. These criteria require that 99% of the UK population must be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet, and 90% must be within one mile. The post office network continues to meet and exceed Government-set Access Criteria at a national level.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission of (a) district council and (b) county council boundaries in two tier areas since 4 July 2024.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England typically starts 25 reviews a year. With each review taking approximately 15 months to complete, around 50 can be in progress at any time.In February 2025, following the issuing of a statutory invitation to submit unitary proposals to all two-tier authorities, the Commission took the decision to pause all live reviews in those areas.In the period between July 2024 and February 2025, 23 reviews of district councils were in progress. Based on the average cost per stage of a review of a district council, the Commission estimates that it spent up to £368,000 on these reviews during this period.Additionally, six county council reviews were completed as planned within this timeframe. Based on the average cost per stage of a review of a county council, the Commission estimates that it spent up to £137,000 on these reviews during this period.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of housing costs on the recruitment of health staff, in the context of his plans for a Neighbourhood Health Service.

We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, that will mean the service will look different in rural communities, coastal towns or deprived inner cities.

How many face-to-face GP appointments were there in each of the past three years.

In the past three years, the number of face-to-face GP appointments were as follows:12 months to August 2023: 100.1 million appointments12 months to August 2024: 101.2 million appointments12 months to August 2025: 99 million appointmentsThese appointments do not include COVID-19 vaccinations, and a small number of Primary Care Network appointments that could not be allocated to an integrated care board have been excluded.

How new GP surgeries will be set up under his 10 Year Health Plan.

Our aim of establishing a Neighbourhood Health Centre (NHC) in every community, open at least 12 hours a day and 6 days a week, and with services that are fully data and digitally enabled, will revitalise access to general practice.To establish NHCs, we will use public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, maximising value for money and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most. Integrated care boards will be key as strategic commissioners in identifying where NHCs are required and defining their requirements in the context of other supporting infrastructure in the local area.We are investing an additional £102 million of capital funding to upgrade existing general practice premises this year. Further details about how we will deliver NHCs and continue to invest in general practice will be confirmed in due course.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Millions more appointments as more than 2,000 extra GPs recruited, published on 24 July 2025, how many of those GPs are working in Bedfordshire.

As of 31 August 2025, 48 newly qualified GPs have been recruited through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme since October 2024 in NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board.

Whether he has made an assessment of the reasons for the difficulties in the recruitment of health staff in rural areas, in the context of his plans for a Neighbourhood Health Service.

We have found that people tend to settle and practice in areas where they train, as identified on page 209 of the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2021 – Health in Coastal Communities, which is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60f98750e90e0703bbd94a41/cmo-annual_report-2021-health-in-coastal-communities-accessible.pdfA central part of the 10-Year Health Plan is our workforce and how we ensure that we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the National Health Service needs to care for patients across our communities, including rural and coastal areas.

With reference to the policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of new neighbourhood GP providers on patient choice.

The ambition for our Neighbourhood Health Service is to rebalance our health and care system so that it fits around people’s lives, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach and giving people more power and choice over the care that they receive.Neighbourhood Health Services will bring together teams of professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, and health visitors, closer to people’s home, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community.This Government will bring back the family doctor for those who would benefit from seeing the same clinician regularly, for example, those living with chronic illness. In doing so, we will improve continuity of care, which is associated with better health outcomes and fewer accident and emergency department attendances. We will make sure the future of general practice is sustainable by training thousands more general practitioners and delivering a modern booking system.

With reference to the policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of restoring the village GP.

The Government is committed to bringing back the family doctor for patients who would likely benefit from seeing the same clinician regularly. In doing so, we will improve continuity of care, which is associated with better health outcomes and fewer Accident and Emergency attendances.Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a general practitioner. We will end the 8am scramble for appointments, train more doctors and guarantee consultations within 24 hours for those who need one. These measures will help practices offer both continuity where it’s needed and timely access for all patients.We will give integrated care boards as commissioners the power to determine what is best for their local population and will not gatekeep specific arrangements. We will work with the profession to ensure the benefits of at scale working and continuity are combined effectively.

If he will set out how the role of multi-neighbourhood providers will differ from that of ICBs, in the context of the 10 Year Health Plan.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) will act primarily as strategic commissioners of services to their local populations and will not be providing services directly to the public. They will be working to ensure the best possible care is delivered through commissioned providers with a focus on long-term strategic planning.The multi-neighbourhood providers will be a voluntary provider arrangement for the delivery of coordinated services across a place or multiple neighbourhoods (populations of around 250,000), acting as a link between local general practice services and ICBs and trusts.

If he will make an estimate of the difference in saving between (a) a clustered ICB and (b) an ICB merger, in the context of ICB re-organisation in the East of England.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) should engage with all other organisations within their integrated care partnership, including with local authorities, to ensure they are involved where there are boundary changes.Clustering ICBs remain separate organisations and so must necessarily continue to duplicate some activities, which is unwieldy. Mergers allow those inefficiencies to be removed and brings stability for leaders, staff, and partners. It is not possible to estimate the difference in savings between clusters and mergers because these may vary in footprints, in starting points, and in transition arrangements.When NHS England decides on ICB mergers, it must take into account its wider duties, including duties relating to value for money and equalities. These will be considered in decision making, but NHS England is not required to publish impact assessments.

Whether his Department considered intervening in the closure of Electric Glass Fiber UK, in the context of previous interventions in British Steel.

The closure of Electric Glass Fiber UK in June 2025 and the loss of 250 jobs was a great disappointment. In the lead up to the final decision to close, HMG was significantly involved at ministerial and official level to broker a deal between EGF UK’s parent company, Nippon Electric Glass, to facilitate a sale with a few interested parties, those interactions were constructive but ultimately the parent company took the decision to close. This was not the outcome we would have wished to have seen, ultimately it was a business decision.

With reference to page 139 of his Department's 10 Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025, whether bridging loan capabilities will be permitted in order to allow the provision of new GP surgeries prior to the receipt of Section 106 funding.

The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to determine how developer contributions from new housing developments can be better used towards local health services and infrastructure.The primary care estate is a complex mix of general practice (GP) private ownership, third-party ownership and lease arrangements with approximately half of GP premises owned by general practitioners. The bridging loan capabilities referenced in the 10-Year Health Plan are based on powers that my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has to provide financing to NHS trusts and foundation trusts and thus are not permitted to GP surgeries directly. We advise those schemes looking to utilise section 106 to work with their integrated care board (ICB), which can provide information on eligibility for bridging loan capabilities or alternatives to support delivery of health infrastructure in the area.ICBs are responsible for commissioning, including planning, securing, and monitoring, GP services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient medical services, including GP services, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Public First report entitled From risk to resilience - the case for flood-resilient communities, economy and growth, published in March 2025.

This Government is investing at least a record £10.5 billion until 2036 – the largest flood programme in history which is projected to benefit nearly 900,000 properties. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to long-term funding as recommended by the Public First report. Also, in line with the report’s recommendations, the Government is exploring setting a long-term multi-decade target for flood risk management and has announced a new flood funding policy that will make it quicker and easier to deliver the right flood defences in the right places by simplifying our funding rules. The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use Government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of Government investment go further. We will also invest at least £300 million in natural flood management over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme.

What engagement he has had with local authorities in Bedfordshire on plans for ICB re-organisation in the East of England.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) should engage with all other organisations within their integrated care partnership, including with local authorities, to ensure they are involved where there are boundary changes.Clustering ICBs remain separate organisations and so must necessarily continue to duplicate some activities, which is unwieldy. Mergers allow those inefficiencies to be removed and brings stability for leaders, staff, and partners. It is not possible to estimate the difference in savings between clusters and mergers because these may vary in footprints, in starting points, and in transition arrangements.When NHS England decides on ICB mergers, it must take into account its wider duties, including duties relating to value for money and equalities. These will be considered in decision making, but NHS England is not required to publish impact assessments.

If he will publish an impact assessment on the proposed creation of a Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Hertfordshire ICB.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) should engage with all other organisations within their integrated care partnership, including with local authorities, to ensure they are involved where there are boundary changes.Clustering ICBs remain separate organisations and so must necessarily continue to duplicate some activities, which is unwieldy. Mergers allow those inefficiencies to be removed and brings stability for leaders, staff, and partners. It is not possible to estimate the difference in savings between clusters and mergers because these may vary in footprints, in starting points, and in transition arrangements.When NHS England decides on ICB mergers, it must take into account its wider duties, including duties relating to value for money and equalities. These will be considered in decision making, but NHS England is not required to publish impact assessments.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 44048 on Environmental Delivery Plans, whether measures that require permanent maintenance will be funded from the initial levy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44048 on 24 April 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61248 on Green Belt: Maps, if he will list the local authorities that have received funding.

The government has provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas. Eligible local authorities submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) form requesting a share of this funding. The EOIs were reviewed, and funding has been awarded. Further details, along with a list of successful local authorities, can be found on gov.uk here.