Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Office for National Statistics to produce deprivation statistics at output area level.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced recently that the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 will be published on Thursday 30th October 2025. This has been confirmed on GOV.UK As part of this, the Department is working to enhance and update its measures of deprivation in line with recommendations from its 2022 user consultation - Indices Futures: Updating the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD) - consultation - GOV.UK. This includes assessing the feasibility and provision of data at Output Area (OA) level.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of public sector headcount on the financial sustainability of public sector pension schemes.

The Government’s central measure of the affordability of public service pensions is long-term public service pension spending as a share of GDP. Public sector headcount is considered in several ways within this measure, using the OBR’s long-term assumptions on the size of the public sector workforce.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Planning (Flooding) Bill on the risk of flooding in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is a priority for Government. That is why the Government is making a record £10.5 billion investment, delivering the largest flood and coastal investment programme in history. Flood risk management is a devolved matter.

How many civil servants are employed on Level 7 apprenticeships.

As of 31 December 2024, there were 1,635 Level 7 apprentices across the Civil Service. This government remains committed to apprenticeships as one pathway to break down barriers to opportunity.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Government’s house building programme on the value of assets in the Public Sector Net Financial Liabilities.

Net Financial Debt, otherwise known as Public Sector Net Financial Liabilities, recognises the value of financial assets that are expected to make a future return, such as loans. Houses are non-financial assets and so their value is not captured in this fiscal metric. Through the Spending Review, the government provided the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.

If she will make an estimate of the (a) number and (b) proportion of dependent visa holders who are paying (i) Income Tax and (ii) National Insurance.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data on the immigration status of taxpayers.

If she will make an estimate of the amount of (a) Income Tax and (b) National Insurance contributions paid by holders of dependent visas in the 2024-25 financial year.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data on the immigration status of taxpayers.

Whether his Department withholds state pension payments to people convicted of illegal working.

Anyone convicted of a criminal offence and serving a custodial sentence in the UK is not eligible to receive State Pension payments during their imprisonment. People not in prison but convicted of illegal working, would not be making National Insurance contributions during any period of illegal working, which would be required to build entitlement for the State Pension.

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/.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.