Written questions by Stephenson.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 3035 to Question 26149, if his Department will give direction to integrated care boards to provide new GP surgeries where GP to patient ratios are not keeping track with population growth.

The Primary Care Utilisation & Modernisation Fund was announced during the 2024 Spending Review and provides new capital funding of £102 million to support improvements in the primary care estate.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 should be assigned to a practice or individual general practitioner, or any set ratio of GP doctors or other practice staff to patients. Practices and commissioners consider how all staff can respond to their communities’ health needs, through both GP doctors and the range of health professionals in GP teams who work in practices and primary care networks.The National Health Service has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including general practice, in each local area, with funding and commissioning reflecting population growth and demographic changes. As commissioners of primary care, integrated care boards (ICBs) are best placed to understand the needs of the local population, and we expect them to act if services are not meeting the reasonable needs of their patients. ICBs may consider that setting up a new practice can be patients’ interest, for example where current practices are unlikely to be able to absorb increasing demand and where Care Quality Commission inspections indicate that the quality of services is inadequate.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26149, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the performance of ICBs in addressing gaps in service.

It is for integrated care boards (ICBs) to ensure there is sufficient access to local services, which would include making assessments of gaps in provision. ICBs are responsible for planning and commissioning services which meet the healthcare needs of their local population and have a duty to produce a joint forward plan outlining how this will be achieved.Under the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended by the Health and Care Act 2022, NHS England is required to assess the performance of each ICB and publish a summary of the outcomes of its assessments. This is available on the NHS England website for 2023/24.NHS England’s assessment process involves an assessment of the ICB’s capacity and capability to deliver its legal responsibility for arranging healthcare, including primary care services for which NHS England has delegated this responsibility to ICBs. The NHS Oversight Framework sets out NHS England’s overall approach to ICB oversight and support. NHS England is planning to update this framework, along with its operating model, to support ICBs to deliver neighbourhood health.

If she will make an estimate of the median income for pensioners in the 2024-25 financial year.

The Pensioners’ Incomes statistics contains estimates of the levels, sources and distribution of pensioners’ incomes. This is published by the department annually. The latest data covers financial year ending 2023. In financial year ending 2023, it is estimated that the median net income for all pensioner units was £424 per week before housing costs, and £387 per week after housing costs. This information is available in Table 2.1 of the Pensioners' Incomes: financial years ending 1995 to 2023 tables, which can be found here: Pensioners' Incomes: financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK Pensioners’ Incomes data is derived from the Family Resources Survey and covers private households in the United Kingdom. A pensioner unit can be a single pensioner over State Pension age, a pensioner couple where one member is over State Pension age, or a pensioner couple where both members are over State Pension age.

What assessment she has made of the potential contribution of Cranfield to his plans to double the size of the economy of the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor.

The Chancellor has recently announced the government’s commitment to unlock growth in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and the high potential sectors within it, as part of the government’s Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth.The Oxford-Cambridge region is home to world leading universities, and globally renowned science and technology firms. But its true potential is being held back and we need to go further to address the key barriers to growth across this region to deliver benefits for the whole country. This could, according to industry experts, boost the UK economy by £78 billion, catalysing the growth of UK science and technology. Any approach to growth should build on the assets already represented in the corridor, such as Cranfield University’s existing aerospace strengths.As champion for the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, Lord Vallance will look across the region, including Cranfield, to identify key opportunities for growth.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25798 on Listed Buildings: Energy, if he will request data on listed buildings from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to enable an assessment to be made.

We are working on our ambitious Warm Homes Plan, to transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps. Whilst we are not currently seeking additional data specifically on listed buildings, we have commissioned a package of research to collect data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes. Historic England also provide advice on retrofit and energy efficiency in historic buildings, including guidance on installing heat pumps and heating systems that is relevant to listed properties off the gas grid.

Pursuant to the Answer to Written Question 25789 on Tax Yields: British Nationals Abroad, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) changes Capital Gains Tax and (b) the Autumn Budget on the number of wealthy taxpayers domiciled in the UK before they were announced.

The Government assessed the impacts of all Budget measures across all levels of income. This includes the impact upon wealthy taxpayers domiciled in the UK. These impacts, grouped together cumulatively, are published online here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/672156834da1c0d41942a8c9/Impact_on_households.pdf In determining the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) costings, which were signed off by the OBR, a range of potential behavioural responses were analysed. CGT is paid by fewer than 1% of adults every year, and the Budget changes to CGT will primarily affect people selling financial assets beyond the ISA allowance. The UK’s CGT rates remain internationally competitive. The Government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for all Budget measures, and the TIIN for CGT can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-rates-of-capital-gains-tax/1cf25453-5b0c-4e7b-9165-65cf117e0af0

If he will make an estimate of the potential impact of increases to employers’ National Insurance on employment in the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor.

Prior to the Government’s recent announcement on the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the employer NICs changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.We have protected small businesses from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, meaning that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs next year, and more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.We are considering ways to drive business growth and build on our world-leading strengths in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of paragraph 59 of the Impact Assessment for the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order (Amendment) 2025, dated 13 January 2025.

The Impact Assessment for the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order (Amendment) 2025 considered a range of economic costs and benefits of the proposed changes, of which the indirect impact on the exchequer was one. However, this was considered alongside the estimated benefits, including the estimated revenue generated from the changes, as set out in paragraph 68.The overall impact of these changes, if made in subsequent Regulations, is uncertain, and a range of impacts has been presented. However, in the central case, the Impact Assessment estimates a positive Net Present Social Value of £203.5 million over the five year period, were fees theoretically to be raised from current levels to the proposed maxima as set out in paragraph 85.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether funds given to the proposed national Nature Restoration Fund will be allocated to the county where the development they are offsetting takes place.

The details of how the Nature Restoration Fund will operate are being worked through in preparation for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Our working paper on development and nature recovery was published last December. This noted that in addressing environmental impacts from development more strategically, and at an appropriate geographic scale, we also needed to recognise the importance of protecting local communities’ access to nature and green space.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26149 on General Practitioners, if he will list the 200 GP surgeries being funded.

The Primary Care Utilisation & Modernisation Fund was announced during the 2024 Spending Review and provides new capital funding of £102 million to support improvements in the primary care estate. We currently do not have a list of practices that will receive this funding; however, we anticipate the scheme will support approximately 200 practices. Funding is being indicatively allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) on a weighted population basis as part of the national allocations planning process. The Department and NHS England are working with ICBs to prioritise high-impact projects where investment can unlock significant productivity gains and additional usable space from existing buildings. Until this process is complete, we do not have a list of the approximately 200 practices which will be receiving this funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24303 on Pensioners: Winter Fuel Payment, if she will make an estimate of the number of those pensioners who are on the basic state pension.

At May 2024, there were 3.5m pensioners with a basic State Pension income above £218.15: the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG) threshold for single pensioners. (Source: Stat-Xplore) However, some pensioners with a basic State Pension income below the SMG will also have incomes from other sources, such as a private pension, which takes their total income above this threshold.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on recent trends in economic growth.

My department has published a set of Impact Assessments that provide a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis includes consideration of impacts on economic growth. This analysis is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts, including on economic growth, given the current stage of policy development. We expect that the majority of reforms will take effect no earlier than 2026. We plan to refine our analysis as policy development continues, working closely with external experts, businesses and trade unions.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the winter fuel payment on recent trends in the level of economic growth.

It is not possible to attribute changes in consumer spending or economic growth to any changes to Winter Fuel Payments. It is not possible to disentangle these from other much larger factors that could affect economic growth or consumption.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent increases in the cost of Electronic Travel Authorisations on future trends in economic growth over the next five years.

The published Impact Assessment supporting the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order provides provisional estimates of economic impacts from increasing ETA fees from current levels to the proposed fee maxima: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/9/pdfs/ukia_20250009_en.pdf

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on trends in the level of employment in the hospitality sector in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 forecast, which considers the impact of all the Budget measures, expects the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029. The Autumn Budget 2024 introduced measures that benefit the hospitality sector. Cutting alcohol duty on qualifying draught products represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical strength pint. On business rates, for 2025-26, the government will provide a 40 per cent discount to Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business and has frozen the small business multiplier. This will save the average pub, with a rateable value (RV) of £16,800, over £3,300 in 2025. From 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties with an RV below £500,000 .

If he will make an assessment of the potential causes of the increase in the number of over-65s being hospitalised in November and December (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

NHS England publishes information on admissions by age group, including for those aged 65 years old and over. The proportion of admissions has remained relatively stable between the years at approximately 4%. There is a long-term growth trend overall in the number of hospital admissions. The following table shows the number of admitted hospital attendances for people aged 65 years old and over, and the proportion of total admitted attendances for people aged 65 years old and over, in England, in November and December 2023 and in November and December 2024:MonthAdmitted hospital attendances for people aged 65 years old and over, EnglandProportion of total admitted attendances for people aged 65 years old and over, EnglandNovember 2023141,50045%December 2023154,66547%November 2024160,63043%December 2024154,99545%Source: NHS England, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2024-25/Notes:this data is provided as a percentage of total admissions, therefore, the figures have been calculated from these percentages and rounded to the nearest whole number; andthe data publication is released monthly, with December 2024 being the most recent publication, and therefore the December figures are provisional and are subject to revisions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 on Question 25795 on Agriculture and Business: Inheritance Tax, how many of the 2,000 estates will contain woodlands.

Woodlands may be eligible for certain inheritance tax reliefs and exemptions, depending on the type of woodland and its purpose. Guidance is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/woodland-owners-tax-guidance. It is estimated that a total of around 2,000 estates will pay more inheritance tax in 2026-27 following the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. The previous answer outlined that around half of those estates are expected to only hold shares designated as not listed on recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. While estates include supporting documentation about the type of assets on which they claim these reliefs when submitting their claims, only the value of eligible assets is digitally captured in a format available for further analysis. As such, this level of detail is not available from historic claims to estimate how many future estates might contain woodland.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22408 on East West Rail Line: Construction, if she will make an estimate of costs for financial year 2025-26.

An update on costs for the East-West Rail project will be released at a future statutory consultation.

If her Department has made an estimate of the cost to the East-West Railway Company Limited of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions.

East West Railway Company has not yet completed a detailed analysis.

With reference to the East West Railway Company Limited consultation document Connecting people, building communities, published in November 2024, and pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22408 on East West Rail Line: Construction, whether the estimate provided in that Answer is based on (a) the Existing stations option or (b) the Consolidated stations option for Connection Stage 3 on the Marston Vale Line.

The capital cost estimate for East West Rail includes costs for relocating stations on the Marston Vale Line, should this option be chosen. This is subject to the outcome of the consultation and decisions have not yet been on taken on this.