Written questions by Bloore.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of local variation in access to and quality of palliative and end of life care.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.This further clarified in the recently published Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium Term Planning Guidance, which makes clear the expectation that ICBs should understand current and projected service utilisation and costs, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025. NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

What proportion of the additional funding for the NHS announced on 11 June 2025 will be allocated to NHS dentistry.

NHS England has now published the Medium Term Planning Framework and allocations for 2026/27 to 2027/28. Further information on the Medium Term Planning Framework and the allocations is available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2026-27-to-2027-28/National Health Service organisations are now in the process of developing their operational plans that will detail how they will meet the standards set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.A separate schedule will be issued setting out the ringfence for dental services, including 2026/27 to 2028/29 integrated care board pharmacy optometry and dental allocations.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of people smugglers.

People smuggling is a deplorable transnational crime, and anyone involved in this dangerous trade will face the full force of the law. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is nearing Royal Assent and will give law enforcement agencies the toughest powers yet to take down criminal smuggling gangsThe Bill will introduce new offences to help tackle offending, such as criminalising the creation of material advertising unlawful immigration services online, the endangerment offence, and the power to seize electronic devices. It will also implement interim Serious Crime Prevention Orders to disrupt and deter organised crime, including people smuggling.Due to the cross-border nature of these crimes, international collaboration remains essential to disrupt criminal supply chains and networks. This Government is working hard to fix the borders crisis, which is why we agreed a landmark deal with France, where we have returned migrants, as well as increasing international cooperation with Germany and other countries. In line with this, the CPS has increased cooperation with international partners to improve information sharing and evidence gathering for prosecutions.

How many registered food banks were created between 2010 and 2024.

The Department does not hold official statistics on the number of registered food banks created between 2010 and 2024. Food banks are independent organisations, often run by charities, faith groups, or community organisations, and are not regulated or registered centrally by the Government. We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food support landscape. To further support struggling households, we are providing £742 million to extend the House-hold Support Fund (HSF) in England until 31 March 2026, enabling local authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. Starting from 1 April 2026, we have announced a further £842 million a year (£1 billion including Barnett consequential) to reform crisis support with the new Crisis and Resilience Fund, supporting our wider mission to reduce child poverty by reducing dependence on food parcels, preventing homelessness and making sure people can access urgent support when they need it.

What the value is of outstanding (a) loans and (b) debts liable to the UK from lower-income countries.

The value of outstanding debt from Low Income Countries to the UK is approximately £2.1bn as of August 2024.This data is publicly available in the ‘Report on outstanding debt owed by other countries to His Majesty’s Government in 2024’, published on gov.uk in December 2024. Low Income Countries are defined in this response using the Development Assistance Committee list of Least Developed Countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

How many police front counters were closed between 2010 and 2024.

The Home Office does not collect data on the number of police front counters in use across all police forces, nor on closures.Decisions regarding the management of the police estate, including public access counters at police stations, is a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (or equivalents). They are best placed to make these decisions based on their knowledge of local need, experience, and in line with their existing budget.A key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission is focused on restoring neighbourhood policing, and rebuilding trust and confidence in policing, The commitments set out in the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee are now making a considerable difference to the service communities receive from their neighbourhood policing teams. We have also provided £200 million in Financial Year 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of the Parliament. This increase in neighbourhood policing, alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, will strengthen the connections between the police and the communities they serve.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the personal data of UK citizens held by UK companies but stored on US-based servers is protected from access under (a) the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 and (b) other US legislation; and whether he plans to take steps to increase data sovereignty protections.

Under UK data protection laws, UK organisations must ensure personal data is appropriately protected when transferred internationally. The UK has an adequacy decision for certain transfers to the US, which assessed US government access laws and practices. Where adequacy cannot be relied upon, organisations must use alternative safeguards, such as contractual clauses.The UK believes complex issues like data security and digital governance are best addressed through transparent, inclusive multi-stakeholder engagement. The UK remains committed to working with international partners via recognised global mechanisms to promote shared understanding and responsible behaviours, while supporting UK-based data-driven businesses to innovate and grow.

If he will make it his policy to publish the (a) recoveries, (b) write‑offs and (c) associated costs for each supplier of PPE as part of his investigation into PPE procurement.

The Department has already committed to the Public Accounts Committee that it will report to Parliament on the COVID-19 personal protective equipment contract dissolution outcomes once work is completed.Outcomes and details of individual cases are expected to be published wherever possible so long as any such release of information does not breach commercial interests, harm public finances, or exacerbate legal sensitivities.

What discussions she has had with British Transport Police on its decision to not investigate bike thefts outside stations in cases where the bicycle has been left for more than two hours.

Ensuring the railway remains safe for passengers and staff, and creating a hostile environment for criminals on the network is a priority for both the Department for Transport and the British Transport Police (BTP). Decisions on the use of resource and deployment of officers across the railway are for the BTP, as an operationally independent police service.I would like to reassure you that the BTP have not taken the decision to stop investigating bike theft that cannot be narrowed to a two-hour window, which was reported in the media. The BTP’s screening policy, introduced in August 2024, takes into account factors including the possible time window an incident could have taken place in, but also the availability of witnesses and CCTV, the realistic prospect of a successful outcome, and a range of other factors. In some instances this may mean that an investigation is not progressed, but there is no blanket ruling and each case is judged on its own merits.

If he will take steps to provide support for rural households to switch renewable liquid heating fuels in the Warm Homes Plan.

For most off-grid properties, decarbonising heat will involve installing a heat pump. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants offer £7,500 for heat pumps, and £5,000 for biomass boilers in specific rural cases. The government recognises that renewable liquid fuels (RLFs) could play a role in heating. We expect sustainable biomass, a limited resource, to be prioritised where there are fewer alternatives to decarbonisation. RLFs are also more expensive to use than other heating solutions. The government continues to review evidence on the affordability and availability of sustainable feedstocks for RLFs.

What the cost to the public purse was of (a) asylum hotel and (b) community accommodation in each year between 2010 and 2024.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Whether his Department plans to support GPs (a) with professional training and (b) to update their clinical knowledge on the less survivable cancers.

All registered doctors in the United Kingdom are expected to meet the professional standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC). In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation, which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice.General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. The RCGP provides several resources on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and care for GPs, relevant for the primary care setting.We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, the biggest increase in over a decade. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is bigger than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole, demonstrating our commitment to shifting resources to the community.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the powers of employment tribunals to seize and destroy lists of blacklisted workers.

As part of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Department for Business and Trade intends to publish a consultation on blacklisting protections in due course. The consultation will cover, amongst other things, the powers of employment tribunals in regard to lists of blacklisted workers. The government will carefully consider responses to the consultation before outlining next steps.

How many people were impacted by the cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s IT systems on 23 April 2025; what categories of (a) personal and (b) sensitive data were (i) accessed and (ii) taken; and what security measures were in place to protect the data of Legal Aid applicants prior to the breach.

To ensure we reached as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice as swiftly as possible at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK.The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage, which contains information on how to protect against the impacts of a data breach. If it is identified that a specific individual is at risk, action will be taken to try to contact them.The published statement referred to above sets out information about who may have been impacted and the categories of data exfiltrated. It remains the case that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the data accessed has been published.The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of long term underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.The Legal Aid Agency is complying with all legal and regulatory requirements arising from the cyber-attack. The current priority is the restoration of services and the prevention of future attacks. Once we can be assured that our legal aid services are operating properly and handling people’s data in a safe way, there will need to be a stocktake and an effort to learn lessons.It is too early to comment on what remedial actions, if any, may be appropriate for impacted individuals, whether clients or providers.

Whether the Legal Aid Agency informed the Information Commissioner’s Office of the April 2025 data breach within the required statutory timescale; what investigations have been launched by her Department or the ICO into the breach; and whether her Department plans to commission an independent review into the handling of the cyber-attack and the subsequent response by the Legal Aid Agency.

To ensure we reached as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice as swiftly as possible at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK.The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage, which contains information on how to protect against the impacts of a data breach. If it is identified that a specific individual is at risk, action will be taken to try to contact them.The published statement referred to above sets out information about who may have been impacted and the categories of data exfiltrated. It remains the case that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the data accessed has been published.The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of long term underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.The Legal Aid Agency is complying with all legal and regulatory requirements arising from the cyber-attack. The current priority is the restoration of services and the prevention of future attacks. Once we can be assured that our legal aid services are operating properly and handling people’s data in a safe way, there will need to be a stocktake and an effort to learn lessons.It is too early to comment on what remedial actions, if any, may be appropriate for impacted individuals, whether clients or providers.

What steps her Department and the Legal Aid Agency have taken to notify individuals whose personal data was compromised in the April 2025 cyber-attack; whether the Legal Aid Agency has notified affected people directly; and what criteria are being used by the Legal Aid Agency to determine which people are contacted following the breach.

To ensure we reached as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice as swiftly as possible at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK.The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage, which contains information on how to protect against the impacts of a data breach. If it is identified that a specific individual is at risk, action will be taken to try to contact them.The published statement referred to above sets out information about who may have been impacted and the categories of data exfiltrated. It remains the case that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the data accessed has been published.The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of long term underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.The Legal Aid Agency is complying with all legal and regulatory requirements arising from the cyber-attack. The current priority is the restoration of services and the prevention of future attacks. Once we can be assured that our legal aid services are operating properly and handling people’s data in a safe way, there will need to be a stocktake and an effort to learn lessons.It is too early to comment on what remedial actions, if any, may be appropriate for impacted individuals, whether clients or providers.

What support is being provided by (a) the Legal Aid Agency and (b) her Department to people whose data was compromised in the April 2025 cyber-attack; and whether those affected have been offered access to (i) credit monitoring, (ii) identity protection services and (iii) any other assistance.

To ensure we reached as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice as swiftly as possible at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK.The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage, which contains information on how to protect against the impacts of a data breach. If it is identified that a specific individual is at risk, action will be taken to try to contact them.The published statement referred to above sets out information about who may have been impacted and the categories of data exfiltrated. It remains the case that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the data accessed has been published.The recent data breach is the result of serious criminal activity, but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of long term underinvestment under the last Conservative Government. By contrast, since taking power this Government has prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.The Legal Aid Agency is complying with all legal and regulatory requirements arising from the cyber-attack. The current priority is the restoration of services and the prevention of future attacks. Once we can be assured that our legal aid services are operating properly and handling people’s data in a safe way, there will need to be a stocktake and an effort to learn lessons.It is too early to comment on what remedial actions, if any, may be appropriate for impacted individuals, whether clients or providers.

What the total expenditure of NHS England on agency staff was in each of the last three years; and what plans his Department has to reduce the use of agency employees.

Agency spend of National Health Service trusts in England in each of the last three years is shown in the table below and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/financial-performance-reportsYear Expenditure (£bn)2022/233.462023/243.022024/252.07 Agency spend is already going down and fell by nearly £1 billion in 2024/25.The NHS 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance sets an expectation that trusts should reduce their temporary staffing spend by a minimum of 30% over the financial year and reduce bank spend by 10%. The accompanying Revenue finance and contracting guidance for 2025/26 sets the ambition of eliminating agency spend entirely in the coming years and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/revenue-finance-and-contracting-guidance-for-2025-26/In June, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chief Executive of NHS England wrote to trusts and integrated care boards emphasising the message in the guidance to reduce spend. The letter states that if sufficient progress is not made the Government will consider what further action it can take to reduce spend.

How many people with a diagnosis of dementia have needed to sell their home to pay for care costs in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held by the Department.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department holds information on the number of independent UK veterinary practices that offer out-of-hours emergency care.

Defra does not hold data on the number of independent UK veterinary practices that offer out-of-hours emergency care.