Written questions by Stephenson.

With reference to his Department's press notice entitled GP surgery refurbs to enable over 8 million more appointments, published on 6 May 2025, if he will publish a list of the 1000 GP surgeries receiving upgrades.

On 6 May 2025, we announced which primary care schemes are in line to receive funding from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund. A full list of the schemes being prioritised for funding this year can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-care-utilisation-and-modernisation-fund-2025-to-2026

What the average amount of capital funding provided by his Department was for each new hospital built in the last five years.

Specific national capital funding is allocated by the Department for the building of new hospitals through the New Hospital Programme (NHP).The capital funding provided to build a new hospital varies significantly between each individual hospital. Hospitals are built based on local requirements and vary in the scope of services that they provide and their size.For the hospitals built as part of the NHP in the last five years, the average amount of capital funding provided by the Department was approximately £270 million per hospital. This average includes a significant range.In addition to funding delivered through the NHP, in the last five years national capital funding has been provided for several other estates and upgrade schemes outside the scope of the NHP, some of which have delivered major new facilities, but which fall short of the definition of a new hospital.As set out in the published NHP Plan for Implementation, the cost estimates for the new hospital schemes in Waves 1, 2, and 3 are expected to be higher. We are backing this plan with investment which will increase to up to £15 billion over each consecutive five-year wave, averaging approximately £3 billion a year.

What discussions he has had with Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the level of (a) capital and (b) revenue funding required to maintain (i) Bedford and (ii) Luton and Dunstable hospitals in the next fifteen years.

The Estates Returns Information Collection survey collects data from National Health Service trusts on the quality of their estate annually, including backlog maintenance, and the projected cost of bringing all buildings into acceptable condition. The latest backlog maintenance figures, including for Bedford and Luton and Dunstable hospitals, are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24The Government is committed to improving our hospital estate, and that is why my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that £30 billion in capital funding will be invested over five years in the day-to-day maintenance and repair of the NHS estate, with over £5 billion specifically allocated to address the most critical building repairs.At a local level, individual NHS organisations are responsible for maintaining their estates within their capital and revenue budgets, as set out in NHS Planning Guidance.

Whether an impact assessment was carried out on the abolition of NHS England.

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, and to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilitiesIt is only right that with such significant reform, we commit to carefully assessing and understanding the potential impacts, as is due process. These ongoing assessments will inform our programme as appropriate.The Government is committed to transparency and will consider how best to ensure that the public and parliamentarians are informed of the outcomes.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the role that place-making in new towns could play in reducing demand pressures on the social care workforce.

Ministers have regular discussions with Cabinet Office colleagues about a variety of issues, including, but not limited to, place-making in new towns.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes commissioning a diverse range of care and support services that enable people to access quality care. They also have responsibility to meet social care needs, and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.The Government recognises the scale of reforms needed to make the adult social care sector attractive, to support sustainable workforce growth, and improve the retention of the domestic workforce. This is why we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector, so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work they do.The Department has launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission forms a key part of the Government’s Plan for Change, recognising the importance of adult social care in its own right, as well as its role in supporting the National Health Service.

Whether he has made an estimate of the capital funding required to address maintenance backlogs at (a) Bedford and (b) Luton & Dunstable hospitals.

The Estates Returns Information Collection survey collects data from National Health Service trusts on the quality of their estate annually, including backlog maintenance, and the projected cost of bringing all buildings into acceptable condition. The latest backlog maintenance figures, including for Bedford and Luton and Dunstable hospitals, are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/summary-page-and-dataset-for-eric-2023-24The Government is committed to improving our hospital estate, and that is why my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that £30 billion in capital funding will be invested over five years in the day-to-day maintenance and repair of the NHS estate, with over £5 billion specifically allocated to address the most critical building repairs.At a local level, individual NHS organisations are responsible for maintaining their estates within their capital and revenue budgets, as set out in NHS Planning Guidance.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's plans for English Devolution on levels of housebuilding.

As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Strategic Authorities will play a central role in the government's long term strategy for delivering housebuilding across England. All Strategic Authorities will be empowered to develop Spatial Development Strategies. These strategies, which identify strategic growth locations and the infrastructure needed to facilitate housing growth, will align housing with infrastructure, prioritise social and affordable housing. We will also grant Mayors powers to intervene in strategic planning applications to support large-scale housing developments, and to raise a Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy to fund the infrastructure required to unlock housing. Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will receive funding for local priorities through the integrated settlement, and be held to account for local delivery through an outcomes framework.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport supporting the delivery of transport infrastructure through the planning system.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. My Department continues to work closely with the Department for Transport on matters relating to transport infrastructure and planning, as appropriate.

Whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of change in demand for at home social care since 2019.

The number of local authority-funded social care users in community care settings has risen by approximately 5% between 2019/20 and 2023/24, according to a 2024 National Health Service publication produced in conjunction with the Department. However, this publication only includes those care users who are funded by their local authority, and does not include those who may fund their own care.The Department utilises projections of the future demand for care, including community care, published by the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre at the London School of Economics. These projections inform decisions about funding requirements made at fiscal events such as the Local Government Finance Settlement and the Spending Review.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled AI doctors’ assistant to speed up appointments a ‘gamechanger’, published on 27 April 2025, what steps he is taking to ensure quality control safeguards.

NHS England is committed to supporting and enabling the safe deployment and adoption of new technology for the National Health Service. The adoption of ambient voice technology (AVT) solutions holds transformative potential for any care setting. Their adoption, when used safely and securely, is to be encouraged to improve both the quality of patient care and operational efficiency. NHS England has published guidance on how digital technologies should be approved for use in the NHS, covering key areas such as implementation, information governance, data, security, privacy, and controls. Additional national guidance explains how AVT solutions should be selected, deployed, and scaled. These standards are required for any AVT solution to be considered safe, effective, and eligible for NHS adoption. There are strict safeguards in place throughout the NHS to protect data. All providers of services which handle patient data must protect that data in line with UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and every health organisation is required to appoint a Caldicott Guardian to advise on the protection of people’s health and care data, and to ensure it is used properly. This includes where artificial intelligence (AI) is used in relation to patient records. To mitigate the likelihood and severity of any potential harm to individuals arising from the use of data in AI, the Information Commissioners Office has developed detailed AI guidance which provides information on data protection, including Data Protection Impact Assessments and UK GDPR. It has also produced an AI toolkit to support organisations auditing the compliance of their AI-based technologies. NHS bodies are expected to make use of this guidance and toolkit, including those using AVTs.

How much capital funding will be provided for maintenance at (a) Bedford and (b) Luton & Dunstable hospitals as part of spending commitments made in the Autumn Budget 2024.

In 2025/26, the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been provided with £10.5 million from the Estates Safety Fund to address critical infrastructure and safety risks. Of this, £9.3 million will go to Bedford Hospital and £1.2 million will go to Luton and Dunstable Hospital.This funding is in addition to the £62 million of operational capital, including Primary Care Business as Usual Capital, provisionally allocated to the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board in 2025/26 for addressing local priorities, including investment in maintenance and repairs at Bedford and Luton and Dunstable hospitals.Specific allocations and funding beyond the current financial year are subject to further planning.

If he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of people who entered the UK on a social care work visa in each of the past ten years who are (a) still in the UK and (b) still working in social care.

In February 2022, care workers became eligible for the Health and Care Visa and were added to the Shortage Occupation List. Senior care workers were added to the list of eligible occupations for the Health and Care Visa in January 2021, therefore, we are not able to provide data on this visa route prior to this time. Published data on entry clearance visa grants for the "Caring Personal Services" occupation code (613) illustrates the broad trend in international recruitment into adult social care in recent years. This shows that 37,091 Health and Care Worker visas were granted to main applicants under the Caring Personal Services category in 2022. Volumes peaked in 2023, with 107,772 grants, before falling to 9,539 in 2024. This data does not include in-country visa grants. The Department does not hold data that directly links visa status to ongoing employment in adult social care or residence in the United Kingdom over time. As such, it is not possible to estimate the number or proportion of individuals who entered the UK on a social care work visa and who are still in the UK or working in the social care sector. Individuals may cease working in the sector for a variety of reasons, for example to return to their country of origin or to switch to another immigration route.

With reference to the UKHSA's guidance entitled Epidemiological evidence review in the UK and EU, following implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive, published on 9 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of that guidance; and what role his Department played in (a) drafting the guidance and (b) reviewing the draft guidance.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is consulted by the Environment Agency (EA) on environmental permit applications to operate municipal waste incinerators (MWIs), in their role as regulator in England. UKHSA reviews the latest scientific evidence on the health impacts of emissions from MWIs. The overall evidence analysed by UKHSA does not suggest an association between exposure to emissions from modern well-run incinerators and adverse physical health effects.UKHSA reviewed epidemiological studies in European countries with measured physical human health outcomes which were published after implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive in 2000. This criterion ensured that the studies considered in the review were applicable to United Kingdom MWIs and considered health effects from the emissions from the incineration process only. UKHSA will continue to review its advice as new evidence on the health effects of incinerators is published in peer-reviewed journals.The Department of Health and Social Care has noted the guidance which has been provided to relevant departments and their agencies. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs leads on waste management policy and the legislation relating to MWI, and the EA regulate MWI under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, which are available at the following link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1154/contentsUKHSA responds to consultations on environmental permits received from the EA.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing funding to Natural England’s programme to designate or expand National Landscapes on employment.

Natural England (NE) has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations. Given the pressures on public finances, Defra has had to make difficult decisions about funding. It was not affordable to continue Defra funding to NE to continue the new National Landscapes designations programme in 25/26. As such, NE have made the decision to stop work on some of the planned programme. Other elements of the programme, including the Surrey Hills boundary review and potential new National Landscape in the Yorkshire Wolds, are being maintained and progressed as the work was further advanced.

What assessment her Department has made of the barriers to direct retail investment in shares by UK citizens; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of those barriers on economic growth.

The government is committed to supporting retail participation in UK capital markets to ensure consumers can benefit from the long-term financial security that investing in shares can provide. The government ran a Call for Evidence as part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and welcomed views on how to improve consumer engagement with investing. The Strategy will be published at Mansion House on 15 July.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System on economic growth; and when she expects the regulatory framework to be finalised.

I refer the Member to the answer given to his question in PQ UIN 57791 on 12 June 2025.

If she will make an estimate of how many non-domiciled residents have left the country in each month since July 2024.

Official Statistics around non-domiciled taxpayers in the UK [1] will be published in July 2025 and will contain information about taxpayers who claim non-domiciled status in the UK for the tax year 2023-24.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk

With reference to the press release entitled PM: North will no longer be held to ransom by broken transport system, published on 28 March 2025, how these projects will be funded.

Spending Review 2025 set transport budgets for day‑to‑day spending until 2028‑29, and until 2029‑30 for capital investment.This included funding for our city regions receiving the final year of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS 2026-27) as well as £15.6bn (2027-28 to 2031-32) for the elected Mayors of some of our largest city regions via the Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlement, supporting them to invest in their local transport priorities.In addition, the North will receive £3.5bn for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) to drive forward delivery at pace. This will improve connectivity across the North between Manchester and York, electrifying the entire route, increasing reliability, slashing delays and cancellations and reducing journey times. For instance, the journey time for commuters travelling between Manchester and Leeds will fall from 55 to 41 minutes.

If she will make an estimate of the (a) decile, (b) upper quartile, (c) lower quartile and (d) median annual income of pensioners with a net worth of £1 million or above.

The Department does not collect data on individuals’ net worth.

What steps her Department plans to take to reduce regulations on financial service businesses.

In the March Regulation Action Plan, the government committed to cutting the administrative costs of regulation for business by 25% by the end of the Parliament. This will take a whole-of-government approach to establish a baseline for the administrative costs of regulation and deliver an ambitious programme of reforms that remove or streamline administrative processes. The Action Plan also announced that it will consolidate the Payments Systems Regulator into the Financial Conduct Authority, to provide a more streamlined approach to regulation for businesses. It also confirmed that the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are taking steps to review and streamline reporting requirements for financial services firms. The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, part of the Industrial Strategy, will set out the government’s next steps to ensure that the UK’s financial services regulatory environment is proportionate, predictable and internationally competitive. This will be published on 15 July .