Written questions by Abrahams.

How much did each of the 42 Independent Care Boards and NHS England spend on NHS patient care outsourced to non-NHS entities, excluding other public sector bodies, in each of the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Information on healthcare spend with non-National Health Service bodies is provided in the Department’s annual report and accounts for 2024/25, which is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69412aa329501ea90654a4ba/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-2025-web-accessible-corrected.pdfThe spend is broken down by independent sector, voluntary sector, local authorities, devolved administrations, and other group bodies.The attached table provides the independent and voluntary sector totals by integrated care board and NHS England. The other categories are public bodies so out of scope of the requested information.

If he will publish spending data for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 on approved non-NHS entities providing NHS patient care as part of the Insourced Services framework.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

If he will publish departmental spending data for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 on (a) non-NHS entities part of the NHS Workforce Alliance; (b) providing consultancy and advice; (c) providing advice on managing agency supply; and (d) providing data analysis.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of wave power to the UK's renewable energy mix; and what steps his department is taking to support its deployment.

The Carbon Trust estimates the UK’s total wave resource to be around 230 TWh/year, with an exploitable resource of 40–50 TWh/year. However, wave energy is not yet commercially viable. The Government monitors progress closely and supports innovation through research funding programmes operated by UK Research and Innovation. As set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, emerging technologies may have a role to play in the longer term, subject to cost reduction, performance improvement and demonstrated scalability.

If she will publish (a) the the consultation timetable on the Eton Star Oldham free school and (b) the expected date for the publication of its findings.

Mainstream free school projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria focusing on assessing the need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer and whether they would risk negatively impacting other local schools or colleges.As part of one of the largest city regions outside London, Oldham benefits from a large pool of potential learners. Well developed transport links will allow the school to attract learners from across a broad geographical area.Conditions attached to the school will ensure both Eton and Star work with local schools and colleges to ensure the new school sits coherently within the existing local offer, with a focus on improving GCSE outcomes and progression rates into post-16 provision across the local area, as well as into top universities.The responsibility for undertaking a Section 10 consultation prior to the school opening sits with the Academy Trust. The Secretary of State will take the findings into account when considering whether to enter into a funding agreement.

If she will publish (a) the analysis identifying the need for additional 16 to 19 places in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham and (b) the impact assessment on existing providers that was used to support the approval of the Eton Star Oldham free school.

Mainstream free school projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria focusing on assessing the need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer and whether they would risk negatively impacting other local schools or colleges.As part of one of the largest city regions outside London, Oldham benefits from a large pool of potential learners. Well developed transport links will allow the school to attract learners from across a broad geographical area.Conditions attached to the school will ensure both Eton and Star work with local schools and colleges to ensure the new school sits coherently within the existing local offer, with a focus on improving GCSE outcomes and progression rates into post-16 provision across the local area, as well as into top universities.The responsibility for undertaking a Section 10 consultation prior to the school opening sits with the Academy Trust. The Secretary of State will take the findings into account when considering whether to enter into a funding agreement.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing transitional arrangements for current applicants when changing the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of regional variations in the level of public transport provision on (a) the number of people who rely on cars and (b) levels of rural poverty.

The Government knows how important reliable public transport services are in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services across the country. We also know that local bus services can be a lifeline in rural areas and can be the only means for communities to stay connected. The Government is taking ambitious steps to improve local bus services across the country, including introducing the Bus Services Act 2025 which puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England. We also recently confirmed long-term investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities. LABG allocations have been calculated using a fair and transparent approach that considers population size, levels of deprivation, the extent of existing bus services, and rurality. Greater Manchester Combined Authority will be allocated £133.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29. This is in addition to the £46.8 million they are already receiving under the LABG this financial year. The Department for Transport has developed and published a Connectivity Tool to measure people’s ability to get where they want and need to go, using walking, cycling and public transport to reach jobs, shops, schools, healthcare and other essential services in any location in England and Wales. The Connectivity Tool combines transport and land use data to generate a national measure of connectivity and provides new insights to those developing new transport schemes or planning for growth to more easily understand how new transport infrastructure can impact an area’s connectivity. As announced in the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, the Government will also develop a transport poverty tool, which will aim to capture where poor transport connectivity and affordability limits people’s access to employment and essential services.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that schools have an active travel plan to increase the number of children who walk or cycle to school (including those who walk the last half-mile).

The Education Act 1996 places a duty on local authorities to promote sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in their area. Sustainable travel in this context is that which improves the physical wellbeing of users, the environmental wellbeing of the area, or both.On 12 December, Active Travel England announced £626 million of funding for local authorities from 2026/27 to 2029/30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes. This will enable more children to walk and cycle to school. It is in addition to almost £300 million funding for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26 announced in February. This includes £30 million to provide Bikeability cycle training to children and £8.5 million for Cycling UK, Living Streets and Modeshift to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling initiatives in schools and communities. The Modeshift STARS Education scheme supports schools and local authorities to develop and monitor school travel plans.

What proportion of the target for additional renewable energy will be met by the erection of 1800 hectares of solar panels on vertical surfaces.

We are not aware of any project in development that plans to install large numbers of solar panels on vertical surfaces. However, we are looking to increase deployment of all types of solar, including through applications such as plug-in solar which can be installed on the walls of buildings.Plug-in solar can provide opportunities for households to adopt solar more cheaply. Currently, UK regulations do not allow plug-in solar to be used in the UK, but the government has commenced a safety study with the aim of unlocking opportunities for its deployment over the next few years.

If she will provide updated guidance to police forces on the enforcement of speed limits, in the context of the number of deaths caused by drivers exceeding the speed limit.

Excess speed remains a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads. Anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face sanction.Current National Police Chiefs’ Council National Guidance on Speeding Enforcement advocates proportionality in applying the law and discretion to take account of the individual circumstances of each speeding offence and take the action they consider appropriate.Enforcement measures range from informal advice, the offer of a speed awareness course or fixed penalty, and where speeding results in a fatality to court prosecution.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of enclosing motorway systems in noise barriers on the suitability of land for housebuilding.

My Department has no current plans to make such an assessment. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by preventing new and existing development from contributing to, being put at unacceptable risk from, or being adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of noise pollution. Planning policies and decisions should avoid noise giving rise to significant adverse impacts on health and the quality of life. It is up to individual local planning authorities to determine what contributions should be sought to assist in mitigating the impact of unacceptable development to make it acceptable in planning terms.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring developers to ensure that the area of vegetation in developments is at least equal to the area of the site of (a) greenfield, (b) brownfield and (c) open space deficiency sites.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space and should make sufficient provision for and maintain and enhance networks of green infrastructure, which includes areas of vegetation. Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework helps to define what good green infrastructure ‘looks like’ for local planners, developers, and communities. The Green Infrastructure Framework includes a standard on accessible greenspace which sets criteria on size, proximity and quality. The government is currently consulting on changes to the NPPF, including a new requirement for local plans to set out standards for green infrastructure, drawing upon Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Standards. These include a standard on accessible greenspace which sets criteria on size, proximity, and quality. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and leaders of local authorities, to increase tram services in towns and cities.

Government recognises the valuable role that tramways and mass transit networks can play as part of a truly integrated transport system, in the right circumstances, in our cities. Responsibility for mass transit systems (including tramways) is devolved in England, where each local authority owns and is responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of its own system. The Department works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of strategic projects which include mass transit proposals, such as those being explored by the Cambridge Growth Company. This partnership helps ensure transport and housing priorities are considered together to support sustainable development. Government has confirmed £15.6 billion in funding through Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for our largest city regions to deliver their local transport priorities, which may include mass transit.

What discussions she has had with The Pensions Regulator on strengthening its Code of Practice to require large companies running trust-based pension schemes to establish and maintain an internal audit capability.

DWP officials work closely with the Pension Regulator on all its Codes of Practice to ensure they remain fit for purpose in a changing pensions landscape. In addition, both the Pensions Regulator and my officials have met with the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors to listen to their considerations about pensions schemes and internal audit.

What steps she plans to take to help improve living standards.

The Government has set out a Plan for Change, outlining our ambitious yet achievable milestones, including raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom to ensure working people have more money in their pockets.Specific actions already taken by the Government include: increasing to the National Living Wage from April 2025; extension of the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales in 2025-26; and introduction of a new Fair Repayment Rate from April 2025 to cap debt repayments made through Universal Credit.

What steps she plans to take to ensure that the requirements of children with special educational needs and disabilities are included in the child poverty strategy.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to achieve and thrive.On 23 October 2024 the government published ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’. This report sets out how the government will develop the strategy, including an engagement plan, which will harness all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this Parliament as part of an ambitious ten-year Strategy. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.As part of the Taskforce’s engagement plan, a new forum of parents and carers living across the UK will be set up to ensure the experiences of children in poverty, including disabled children and those with special educational needs, are included. They will feed directly into the Strategy.