Written questions by Twigg.

Communities and Local Government, How many housing development applications refused by local authorities have had decisions subsequently been overturned by planning inspectors in each year since 2015.

The table below shows housing development applications refused by local planning authorities and subsequently overturned on appeal, as well as total housing development appeal decisions made by the Planning Inspectorate between the years 2015 and 2025: YearTotal overturnedHousing development decisions20151,9776,79320162,6219,06320172,1927,92820182,0187,25620192,0918,62520201,4666,61820211,4435,93320221,3925,49220231,4805,84720241,5616,35320251,2434,532

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to make any changes to the existing bespoke distribution method for the Recovery Grant.

The local government finance settlement for 2024 to 2025 introduced the Recovery Grant, worth £600 million. This was distributed to places with greater need and demand for services (using deprivation as a proxy), and which are least able to fund their own services locally. The grant laid the foundations for funding reform, ahead of our commitment to bringing forward the Fair Funding Review 2.0 from 2026-27. We consulted on the Fair Funding Review 2.0 over the summer, and we will confirm final details of our proposals through a comprehensive policy statement later in the autumn, followed by a consultation for the provisional local government finance settlement, as usual, later in the year.

When he plans to respond to Question 78005 on Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash, tabled on 10 October 2025 by the hon. Member for Widnes and Halewood.

A response has been issued here.

How many businesses were (a) fined and (b) prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants each year since 2015.

In 2015, 2206 civil penalties were issued for illegal working. Information on illegal working civil penalty statistics has been published since 2016 as part of the Home Office Immigration Transparency Data and can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68a3015732d2c63f8693437d/immigration-enforcement-data-apr-jun-2025.ods on tab CP02.The data reflects the total number of penalties issued, rather than the number of businesses affected, as fines have been imposed on both sole traders and limited companies.The below table provides the number of convictions for employing illegal workers since 2015. Prosecution is targeted at the most persistent offenders. YearIndividuals convicted for employing illegal workers20154201682017420241Total17

Was China officially designated as a threat to national security by the UK Government when (a) the alleged offences of Christopher Berry and Chris Cash for spying for China took place and (b) when the CPS made a decision to prosecute.

The policy of the previous Government during the periods in question was set out in the Integrated Review (March 2021) and the Integrated Review Refresh (March 2023). The previous Government described China as an “epoch defining and systemic challenge”.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61488 on Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Radiology, what the requirement for radiographers is at Warrington and Halton University Hospitals Trust.

Decisions about staffing levels are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their workforce planning and recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place with the right skills mix, to deliver safe and effective care. The Department does not hold data on the planned radiographer workforce at the Warrington and Halton University Hospitals Trust.

How many GP vacancies there were in GP practices' in the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB as of 1 June 2025.

The data requested is not held centrally. The Government is committed to increasing the general practice workforce. By cutting red tape and investing more into the National Health Service, we have recruited over 1,700 general practitioners into general practice to deliver more appointments since October.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58934 on Armed Forces: Vacancies, what the ranks of the unfilled posts are; and how long they have been unfilled.

The UK has one of the highest post fill rates in NATO. As of 1 April 2025, the UK’s post allocation was 1,053, of which 82 were unfilled. While 8% of our posts were gapped in April 2025, this was predominantly for a period of less than 10 months. The majority of gaps were at OF-3, OF-4, and OR-6 level, which corresponds to the most in demand ranks of the personnel we provide. The full data for this period is as follows: Ranks (and corresponding Army rank)Number of gaps per rankOF-2 (Captain)8OF-3 (Major)15OF-4 (Lieutenant Col)15OF-5 (Colonel)1OR-2 (Private)1OR-3 (Lance Corporal)2OR-4 (Corporal)10OR-6 (Sergeant)17OR-7 (Staff Sergeant)8OR-8 (Warrant Officer Class 2)2OR-9 (Warrant Officer Class 1)1 Gapped period 0-10 months3511-20 months1020-30 months431-40 months541-50 months850-60 months360+ months15 80

How many consultant posts are vacant in the each of the acute hospital trusts in the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB.

The Department does not hold information on the number of consultant vacancies at hospitals in the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board. NHS England publishes regular high-level statistics on vacancies across National Health Service trusts, which are available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey

How many radiographers will be trained in each year until 2030.

Later this year, we will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and will ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.

How many radiographers have been in post at Warrington and Halton University Hospitals Trust in each year since 2015.

The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) diagnostic radiographers employed by the Warrington and Halton University Hospitals Trust in each year since 2015:DateFTE diagnostic radiographersMarch 201585March 201682March 201783March 201877March 201980March 202083March 202192March 202288March 202378March 202482March 202592Source: NHS Workforce Statistics, NHS England, available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/february-2025The trust has not employed therapeutic radiographers for the dates shown.

How many asylum seekers who have previously reached a another safe country before arriving in the UK have had their applications (a) approved and (b) rejected in each year since 2015.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Available data on third country refusals, where the claimant is believed to have reached a safe third country prior to claiming in the UK, is published in table Asy_D02 of the asylum detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to the year ending March 2025.

How many military posts allocated for British Armed Forces personnel within NATO remain unfilled as of 1 April 2025.

The UK is one of the largest contributors of personnel to NATO, underlining our commitment to deterrence and defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area, with personnel deployed in over twenty-one countries. The UK consistently has one of the highest post fill rates in NATO. As of 1 April 2025, the UK’s post allocation was 1,053, of which 8% were unfilled. This is due to new long-lead posts recently being included in data, as well as normal churn.

What recent estimate he has made of the expected change in cost for Defence Nuclear Enterprise until 2033.

As stated in an update to the Public Accounts Committee in December 2023, the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) forecast an equipment plan spend of £117.8 billion over the period 2023-33. Over the same period to 2033, the current forecast for DNE equipment plan spend has increased by about £10 billion.

How many and what proportion of serving personnel in the (a) Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF were recruited from countries outside the UK in each year since 2015; and from which countries.

The attached tables provide the intake into the Regular Armed Forces by Service and the Brigade of Gurkhas by nationality, and as percentage of overall intake in each year between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2024. Commonwealth citizens have been grouped together as numbers from individual Commonwealth countries can be very small.

What the total Reserve Service Day Budget is for the (a) Army, (b) Maritime and (c) Air Force in financial year 2025-26.

Reserves enable our Armed Forces to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, by providing the scale, skills, agility and connection to society needed, in a cost-effective way. As the Minister for Veterans and People, I have commissioned an internal review in Defence to ensure that we are making the most of the unique contribution our Reserve Forces offer. The review will examine the Reserves landscape and will include some aspects of their terms and conditions of Service. There is no baseline allocation of Reserve Service Days (RSD) for Army Reservists; individual Army Reserve RSD consumption varies between zero and 120 days, with an average of around 30 days. For the Maritime Reserve, the minimum annual training commitment is generally 24 RSD, split between the delivery of operational capability output and support activity. For Royal Air Force Reserve, the minimum annual RSD is 27 days, though the average is 30 days. Funds are allocated appropriately to deliver strategic objectives. In advance of the conclusions of the Strategic Defence Review and the review I have commissioned it would be inappropriate to anticipate future budgetary allocations.

What the baseline allocation of reserve services days will be for reservists in the (a) Army Reserve, (b) Maritime Reserve and (c) RAF Reserve in the 2025-26 financial year.

Reserves enable our Armed Forces to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, by providing the scale, skills, agility and connection to society needed, in a cost-effective way. As the Minister for Veterans and People, I have commissioned an internal review in Defence to ensure that we are making the most of the unique contribution our Reserve Forces offer. The review will examine the Reserves landscape and will include some aspects of their terms and conditions of Service. There is no baseline allocation of Reserve Service Days (RSD) for Army Reservists; individual Army Reserve RSD consumption varies between zero and 120 days, with an average of around 30 days. For the Maritime Reserve, the minimum annual training commitment is generally 24 RSD, split between the delivery of operational capability output and support activity. For Royal Air Force Reserve, the minimum annual RSD is 27 days, though the average is 30 days. Funds are allocated appropriately to deliver strategic objectives. In advance of the conclusions of the Strategic Defence Review and the review I have commissioned it would be inappropriate to anticipate future budgetary allocations.

Whether the Reserve Service Day budget for (a) the army, (b) maritime and (c) the RAF will be subject to in year savings measures for the financial year 2025-26.

Reserves enable our Armed Forces to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, by providing the scale, skills, agility and connection to society needed, in a cost-effective way. As the Minister for Veterans and People, I have commissioned an internal review in Defence to ensure that we are making the most of the unique contribution our Reserve Forces offer. The review will examine the Reserves landscape and will include some aspects of their terms and conditions of Service. There is no baseline allocation of Reserve Service Days (RSD) for Army Reservists; individual Army Reserve RSD consumption varies between zero and 120 days, with an average of around 30 days. For the Maritime Reserve, the minimum annual training commitment is generally 24 RSD, split between the delivery of operational capability output and support activity. For Royal Air Force Reserve, the minimum annual RSD is 27 days, though the average is 30 days. Funds are allocated appropriately to deliver strategic objectives. In advance of the conclusions of the Strategic Defence Review and the review I have commissioned it would be inappropriate to anticipate future budgetary allocations.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 37538 on Army: Recruitment, if he will provide numbers by category for each year listed.

It is taking time to interrogate the data and therefore it has not been possible to provide the answer in the time available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as practical and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on increasing the number of medical reservists joining the Armed Forces.

People working in the National Health Service have many transferable skills that can be of great benefit to the Armed Forces reserve, whether they be clinicians, such as doctors and nurses, or staff working in leadership or management roles. There have been no recent ministerial discussions on this issue. However, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Defence are working with NHS Employers to ensure that NHS organisations are supportive and flexible when it comes to people joining the Armed Forces reserve, and to enable individuals to train and deploy when needed.