Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of housing asylum seekers in military bases on his Department’s policies to build more houses on disused public land.

The government is committed to close all asylum hotels, and to achieve this the Home Office is looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites to reduce the impact on communities. These efforts will not compromise general housing delivery. Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites will be made on a site-by site basis, and the Home Office will continue to work closely with local authorities and in compliance with published policy.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 73359 on Visas: Migrant Workers, on how many occasions her Department received such a notification by visa type since 4 July 2024; and how many and what proportion of those notifications resulted in a migrant (a) leaving the UK, (b) transferring to a new visa type and (c) being subsequently sponsored by a new employer.

The information requested is not available from published statistics and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What proportion of visa holders her Department holds a UK residential address for.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.People applying for UK visas may provide a UK residential address on their application but large proportions of visa holders coming to the UK on a short-term basis such as a visitor will not be resident in the UK.

How many student visas have been issued to people studying at each university in the 2025-26 academic year.

The Home Office does not publish information on how many student visas have been issued to people studying at each university. The Home Office does publish data on sponsored study visas by course level in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visas issued are published in table ‘Edu_D02’ of the ‘sponsored study visas by course level dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2018 up to the end of March 2025. Please note the data does not show the academic year the visa was granted for, or whether the visa was issued to study at a university. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

If he will make an estimate of the number of visas which have expired without (a) renewal, (b) transfer to another visa type and (c) acquiring indefinite leave to remain in each of the past five years.

The Home Office publishes immigration statistics on a quarterly basis in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The relevant data for this request could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of being able to view the risk of major conditions on people with poor mental health.

The 10-Year Health Plan includes a commitment to begin implementing integrated risk scores that bring together polygenic risk scores (PRS) and other non-biological risk factors. NHS England, in partnership with Our Future Health and clinical experts, will carry out a service evaluation, considering a number of factors including clinical impact and the impact on individuals of the implementation of PRS, beginning with a targeted number of major conditions.

What steps he plans to take with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to help ensure that rural communities with poor (a) broadband and (b) mobile signal can access digital NHS services from home.

Digital health should be seen as part of a multi-channel offering that meets the needs and preferences of users. Digital services must be designed to alleviate healthcare inequalities rather than exacerbate them. Our goal is to ensure that reducing healthcare inequalities and improving digital inclusion have due focus in wider inclusive user design and delivery for all digital health products and services. Digital health tools should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.We continue to work with partners, including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), to reduce digital barriers and support those at risk of digital exclusion.The National Health Service Digital Inclusion Framework supports delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan by providing a structured approach to tackling digital barriers across connectivity, skills, confidence, and accessibility. It ensures digital transformation is inclusive and aligned with the Plan’s ambition to personalise care, reduce inequalities, and create a health system that works for everyone.Integrated care systems (ICSs) have also been asked, through NHS priorities and operational planning guidance for financial year 2025/26, to implement the NHS Digital Inclusion Framework and identify local populations most at risk of exclusion, including those affected by poor connectivity.

Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of local authorities have a five year housing land supply.

The National Planning Policy Frameworks sets out that local authorities should identify and update annually a five-year housing land supply (5YHLS) of deliverable housing sites (with appropriate buffer) for decision making. This should be calculated against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies, or against their local housing need where the strategic policies are more than five years old.While the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) may be aware of an authority’s 5YHLS position at the time of a specific appeal, this position is not static. It may change over time due to annual updates or as a result of subsequent planning appeal decisions. As such, my Department does not collect live data on the 5YHLS status of individual local planning authorities.

Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of local authorities have a five year housing land supply based on current delivery given the Government's housing targets.

The National Planning Policy Frameworks sets out that local authorities should identify and update annually a five-year housing land supply (5YHLS) of deliverable housing sites (with appropriate buffer) for decision making. This should be calculated against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies, or against their local housing need where the strategic policies are more than five years old.While the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) may be aware of an authority’s 5YHLS position at the time of a specific appeal, this position is not static. It may change over time due to annual updates or as a result of subsequent planning appeal decisions. As such, my Department does not collect live data on the 5YHLS status of individual local planning authorities.

With reference to page 36 of the policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, what his definition is of community, in this context.

The Government is committed to delivering a Neighbourhood Health Service that brings care closer to communities, ensuring that care happens as locally as it can, digitally by default, in a person’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and only in hospital if necessary.The 10-Year Health Plan set out our aim to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community that will be a ‘one stop shop’ for patient care and the place from which multi-disciplinary teams operate.In this context, ‘community’ refers to the local place where people live and receive care and support, encompassing the networks of health, care, and voluntary services that exist around individuals, families, and neighbourhoods.Care in the community will be supported through multidisciplinary neighbourhood teams and neighbourhood health centres.Neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of health and care services on people’s doorsteps, joining up the National Health Service and local authority and voluntary services.

With reference to page 15 of the policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential merits of co-locating Job Centre services within Neighbourhood Health Centres.

Our aim is to have a Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that provides easier, more convenient access to a full range of health and care services on people’s doorsteps, bringing together National Health Service, local authority, and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations.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, and we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need, for example to consider the merits of co-locating Job Centre services within Neighbourhood Health Centres. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, this will mean services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities.The rollout of Neighbourhood Health Centres will be progressive over this Parliament, with early sites focused on the areas of greatest need.Furthermore, the Government is committed to supporting more individuals into employment. On 9 October, the Department for Work Pensions confirmed Connect to Work funding of over £1 billion across England and Wales over the next five years, which will support 300,000 disabled people and people with health conditions and/or other complex barriers to employment to find and remain in work.There is a range of existing Department for Work Pensions employment support depending on individual needs, including local level provision for disabled people and disadvantaged groups. This includes employment advisors in Talking Therapies, increased Work Coach Support in Job Centres, and Access to Work grants, among others.

If he will make an estimate of the number of GPs per head of population in Bedfordshire by 2035, in the context of the 10 Year Health Plan.

Each general practice (GP) is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no NHS England recommendation for how many patients a GP should have assigned, or the ratio of GPs or other practice staff to patients. The demands each patient places on their GP are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only GPs but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade to treat patients on time again.

If she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of visa holders who were granted a visa who did not have basic proficiency in English on entry in each of the last five years.

No such estimate has been made of the number of visa holders who did not have basic proficiency in English on entry.

If he will make an estimate of the number of face-to-face GP appointments in 2025/26.

This Government has committed to guarantee a face-to-face appointment for all those who want one. The National Health Service is clear that general practices must provide face-to-face appointments, alongside remote consultations, and patients’ input into consultation type should be sought and their preferences for face-to-face care respected unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary. Since appointment types, whether face-to-face or remote, in any given year, including 2025/26, are determined based on patient preferences and clinical need, it is not possible to produce a reliable estimate for the number of face-to-face appointments for 2025/26.

With reference to the 10-Year Health Plan, what safeguards will be put in place to prevent hostile actors from accessing genomic data held by the NHS.

All organisations that have access to National Health Service patient data and systems must use the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to provide assurance on an annual basis that they are practising good data security and that personal information is handled correctly. In September 2025, we introduced the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) to aligned DSPTs in order to raise DSPT requirements for genomics organisations as suggested by the Department. The CAF is the National Cyber Security Centre’s framework and focuses on outcomes and principles to guide good decision-making, and the CAF-aligned DSPT return is supported by an independent audit to the mandated framework.National cyber teams are tackling the changing cyber risk head-on through their ambitious Cyber Improvement Programme, expanding protection and services to better protect the health and care system, backed up with over £338 million of investment since 2017.Patients who are offered whole genome sequencing through the NHS can consent to having their genomic data stored in the National Genomic Research Library (NGRL) which is run by Genomics England. Data stored in the NGRL is de-identified and access to it is carefully controlled, including through an independent Access Review Committee, which ensures that only approved individuals from approved institutions have access to the data. Approved researchers can only access the data within a Secure Research Environment for health research purposes and are not allowed to extract data from the library.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people whose visa expired since 4 July 2025 who have not (a) renewed their visa and (b) left the UK; and how many and what proportion of those people have been detained for overstaying their visa.

Removals of those with no right to be here have risen significantly under this government, with over 35,000 people removed - 13% more than the same period 12 months prior. Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 10,191 were asylum related returns. This is an increase of 28% compared to the same period 12 months prior.The Home Office only detains individuals when there is a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable timeframe. As set out in legislation, an individual becomes liable to removal from the UK if "the person requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom but does not have it". The Home Office does not routinely categorise immigration offenders by the manner in which they became irregular, and a breakdown of those who have been detained after overstaying a visa could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

With reference to page 36 of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025, how the cost of operating Neighbourhood Health Centres will be shared amongst (a) local government, (b) the voluntary sector and (c) the NHS.

As set out on page 36 of the 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of health and care services on people’s doorsteps, joining up National Health Service, local authority, and voluntary services as a one-stop shop.Rollout of the neighbourhood health centres will be progressive over this Parliament, with early sites focused on areas of greatest need.We are developing a National Framework for Neighbourhood Health Plans and Model Neighbourhood to provide greater clarity and consistency for systems in developing and scaling neighbourhood health.This will provide a shared reference point to help shape and inform locally led approaches to neighbourhood health, which may include cost sharing amongst the systems and organisations involved in operating neighbourhood health centres.

Whether he plans to allow patients to access NHS dental care through the NHS App.

The Government currently has no plans to enable patients to access NHS dental care through the NHS App. However, NHS England routinely seeks opportunities to expand the functionality of the NHS App, and progress on including dental bookings in the functionality will depend on digital readiness and wider service commissioning provisions.

If he will make an estimate of the cost to (a) the NHS and (b) the public purse of the resident doctor strikes in 2025.

The five-day resident doctor strike in July 2025 had an estimated cost to the National Health Service of approximately £240 million and this was a starting estimate for the planned November strike. The costs were lower than in July 2024 as a result of lower turnout. We continue to update estimates as new data becomes available, in line with receiving business as usual financial data from NHS systems. The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and will work with partners to ensure safe care for patients continues to be available and emergency services continue to operate.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will publish a list of (a) new settlements and (b) urban extensions planned to contain more than 5,000 homes which have been commenced since 2000; and if her Department will indicate whether a GP surgery has been delivered within the development area.

The information requested is not held centrally.