Written questions by Chope.

With reference to his Department's of 3 June 2025, what options his Department is considering for (a) reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme reform and (b) the situation of those (i) injured or (ii) bereaved as a result of Covid-19 vaccines.

The Government recognises how difficult it is for those individuals who have sadly experienced harm following vaccination. Ministers are considering several options covering both potential reforms to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, and the situation of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination.

With reference to the letter of 16 May 2025 from NHS England to ICBs on referrals for elective surgery, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the rate of referrals for elective surgery on waiting times for NHS operations in Dorset.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of reducing the rate of referrals for elective surgery on waiting times for operations in Dorset.Actions to ensure care is delivered in the most appropriate clinical setting, to reduce unnecessary demand on elective care, are set out in the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, which also details all the reform efforts needed to deliver our commitment that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029.The Government has set out expectations that integrated care boards (ICBs) should focus on strategic commissioning, by planning services that meet the needs of local populations. In this regard, NHS England’s letter of 16 May 2025 calls on ICBs to implement strategies to reduce unwarranted demand for all elective care, including surgery. By reducing unnecessary appointments and tests, these interventions will free up clinical time and resources for patients who do require elective surgery and other forms of elective care, and will reduce the time these patients wait for their care.

If he will make a comparative estimate of the number of people who underwent NHS elective care in Dorset in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial years; and how many people were forecast to undergo elective care in the 2025-26 financial year (i) with and (ii) without elective Care demand management.

In the financial year 2023/24, there were 17,411,620 completed Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) pathways in the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board. In the financial year 2024/25, there were 18,116,099 completed pathways. Please note that patients may be on more than one RTT pathway. These figures exclude non-consultant led care, and the subsequent care or monitoring that occurs after a patient has had their first definitive treatment. Forecasts of those who will undergo elective care in 2025/26, with and without elective care demand management, are not available.

If she will meet with the hon. Member for Christchurch to discuss the Bank of England (Inflation Targets) Bill.

I would be happy to meet with the Honourable Member for Christchurch to discuss the private members bill he introduced on Bank of England (Inflation Targets) as the Chancellor’s parliamentary deputy on economic issues. My office will contact the Honourable Member in due course to arrange a meeting.

Whether her Department plans to (a) sell or (b) transfer the site of Parkfield school in Hurn when it closes in July; and whether the premises will be retained for educational use.

The freehold site is currently owned by the Reach South Academy Trust, and this will be transferred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, on termination of the funding agreement, when the school closes permanently.The department will always aim to recover assets and identify alternative educational or other public sector uses for sites in such circumstances. It is only when this is not possible that we retain the option to sell the site for a commercial return. All options are currently being explored.

How many full-time equivalent (a) GPs and (b) other clinical practitioners were employed at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Brunch Surgery, (iv) Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery on (A) 1 June 2024 and (B) 14 May 2025.

Figures are provided in the tables below on full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) and other clinical practitioners employed at the practices for which the Department holds data. We have provided the most recent data available, which captures staff employed on 31 March 2025, and compared this to 31 March 2024.Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.The following table shows the number of FTE GP doctors and other clinical staff in the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Burton Brunch Surgery, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery, as of 31 March 2025:Practice nameGP doctorsOther clinical staffHighcliffe Medical Centre9.911.4Christchurch Medical Practice10.221.7Stour Surgery4.77.1The Grove Medical Centre11.116.2 In addition, the following table shows the number of FTE GP doctors and other clinical staff in the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Burton Brunch Surgery, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery, as of 31 March 2024:Practice nameGP doctorsOther clinical staffHighcliffe Medical Centre8.711.4Christchurch Medical Practice10.723.0Stour Surgery4.97.1The Grove Medical Centre1217.3Notes:the data does not include estimates for practices that did not provide fully valid staff records; andFTE refers to the proportion of full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. 1 would indicate they work a full set of hours, 37.5 hours, and 0.5 that they worked half that time. For GPs in training grade contracts, 1 FTE is equal to 40 hours, and in this table these FTEs have been converted to the standard Workforce Minimum Data Set measure of 1 FTE equalling 37.5 hours, for consistency.

How much was spent on GP services by Dorset Integrated Care Board in Christchurch in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-2024 and (c) 2024-25; and what the budget is for 2025-2026.

In 2022/23, total National Health Service payments to general practices in the Christchurch constituency, including COVID-19 and primary care network payments, were £17,452,214, including any deductions for Pensions, Levies and Prescription Charge Income. Data for the years after 2022/23 has not been published yet.

What information his Department holds on the number of new patients registered at (a) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (b) Christchurch Medical Centre, (c) Burton Brunch Surgery, (d) The Stour Surgery and (e) The Grove Surgery in the (i) 2023-24 and (ii) 2024-25 financial years; and how much was paid to each practice for those additional patients.

Changes in the number of registered patients reflects both new registrations as well as existing patients being taken off a practice’s list, such as where they have moved practice or have died. As a result, it is not possible to identify the number of new registrations from the published data, and it is not possible to determine the additional funding practices have received from new registrations. Practices receive global sum payments based on their registered patient list, which are weighted using the Carr-Hill formula. This takes into consideration factors such as the age and sex of patients, and additional pressures generated by factors such as geographical location and patient turnover.

How many patients were registered at (a) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (b) Christchurch Medical Centre, (c) Burton Brunch Surgery, (d) Stour Surgery and (e) The Grove Surgery on (i) 1 June 2024 and (ii) 14 May 2025.

The data below shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2025, as this is the most recent available data, and as of 31 March 2024, to align with the most recent data.Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017 and was subsequently closed in October 2024. The following table shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2025: Practice nameTotal patientsHighcliffe Medical Centre15,308Christchurch Medical Practice16,303Stour Surgery10,684The Grove Medical Centre12,978 In addition, the following table shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2024: Practice nameTotal patientsHighcliffe Medical Centre15,153Christchurch Medical Practice16,938Stour Surgery10,399The Grove Medical Centre13,016

What information his Department holds on the number of (a) face-to-face and (b) other GP appointments conducted at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Branch Surgery (iv) The Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery in (A) 2022-23, (B) 2023-24 and (C) 2024-25.

A table showing the number of face-to-face and other general practice appointments conducted for the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery is attached. Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, which (a) charities and (b) organisations have received funding from the Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund.

The department has not yet awarded funding to any charities or other organisations via the Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund. The deadline for submitting applications to the fund is 18 May. Funding will be awarded in July 2025. Further information can be found in the fund’s prospectus, published on gov.uk here.

Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with the organisers of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on requiring targeted hygiene protocols.

DCMS officials are in regular contact with the Glasgow 2026 Organising Company (OC).The OC has confirmed it is developing health and medical plans for the Games as part of ongoing event planning, in line with statutory regulations. It has engaged with medical providers and public health agencies and is establishing a Medical and Public Health Working Group to develop this work with partners.

When the next meeting of the Cleaning Industry Liaison Forum will take place.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently undergoing a transition to improve how it works and delivers outcomes. As part of this, it is temporarily reducing the number of its external meetings, whilst continuing to deliver on its priorities. The date of the next meeting of the Cleaning Industry Liaison has not yet been set.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many complaints OFWAT has received about the increase in water and sewerage rates since 1 March 2025; and to how many complainants have substantive responses been given.

Ofwat has received 359 customer contacts since 1 March 2025 regarding the increase in water and sewerage rates. 25 of these have received a substantive response. An additional 453 contacts have been received since 21 March 2025 which are being reviewed to determine if they relate to increases in water and sewerage rates. Due to the current large amount of customer queries there has been significant delays in providing substantive responses to them. Customers are very important to Ofwat, and Ofwat recognises the need to improve its response rate, that is why it continues to work to improve its capacity and processing time and will process outstanding queries as quickly as possible. Customers are of the utmost importance to this government. The Independent Water Commission, launched by UK and Welsh governments in October 2024, aims to build consensus for a resilient and innovative water sector that ultimately serves both customers and the environment. The Commission will report to the UK and Welsh governments by the end of June 2025.

If he will make it his policy to take British Steel into temporary public ownership (a) before the remaining blast furnaces are closed down and (b) until the future of virgin steel production in the UK is assured.

Our priority is respecting workers, safeguarding jobs, and retaining steelmaking. We have been clear that the best way forward is for British Steel to continue as a commercially run business with private investment and Government acting in support. We call upon British Steel to accept our generous offer of financial support, and the associated conditions. However, no options are off the table. The Government remains resolute in our desire to secure a long-term future for the Scunthorpe steelworks, retaining steel pro-duction and putting an end to the years of uncertainty.

With reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Christchurch of 25 March 2025, Official Report, column 773, whether he has received an update from the Dorset Integrated Care Board about the Burton Branch Surgery application.

The NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board (ICB) has received applications to open a branch surgery in the Village of Burton, near Christchurch in Dorset. Applications are currently going through the ICB governance process, which is expected to conclude following the ICB Prevention, Equity and Outcomes Committee on 23 April.Following a local practice closure in August 2024, the ICB is assessing capacity in the area, which remains good. Access to general practice (GP) services for local residents remains very good, with a choice of five practices in the Christchurch area that are all accepting new patients and growing their lists. The NHS Dorset ICB is engaging with local partners, other GP practices, and the Wessex Local Medical Committees to ensure views are collated while going through our governance processes.

If he will remove tariffs on the import of motor vehicles from the United States.

On 3 April, the government launched a Request for Input from businesses to help inform our response to US tariffs. We remain committed to discussions with the US on a wider economic deal that works for both the UK and the US. But nothing is off the table; this government will do what is necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.

How many patients at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon died from hospital acquired pneumonia in (a) December 2024, (b) January 2025 and (c) February 2025.

10 patients died from hospital acquired pneumonia at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon in December 2024. Figures for January 2025 and February 2025 cannot be provided until May 2025.

Whether the Government pays the RNLI in connection with Channel crossings by asylum seekers.

Any safety of life at sea operations related to attempts to cross the Channel by migrants in small boats are directed and coordinated by HM Coastguard. The Home Office does not provide funding to RNLI but does provide maritime assets and reconnaissance capabilities where necessary for any Coastguard-directed operations.

Whether it is her Department's policy to fund the cost of driving lessons for (a) asylum seekers and (b) other immigrants.

No.