Written questions by Morgan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of maintaining the Dover Bastion Point facility in each year since it was first in public use.

The information requested is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of renting the Dover Bastion Point facility in each year since it was first in public use.

The information requested is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase the level of funding provided to Dover Port Health Authority to carry out pro-active vehicle spot checks.

Defra is providing £3.1 million to Dover Port Health Authority for the financial year 2025/26, in addition to investing over £9 million since 2022.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of levels of resourcing for Border Force on food security.

Border Force’s resources are continually assessed to balance all pressures. Resources are deployed dynamically through intelligence and data to intervene any potential threats. Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of checks for illegally imported meat at the Port of Dover.

Defra is working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities, to ensure that operations around illegal meat imports are as efficient as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of vehicles checked for illegally imported meat entering through the Port of Dover.

We are working with the Home Office and Border Force to ensure that operations around illegal meat imports are as efficient as possible and have invested significantly in additional operational capacity at the port of Dover (£3.1 million planned this financial year in addition to £9 million since 2022).

What steps his Department is taking to increase uptake of biochar as a carbon capture method.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recognises the potential benefits of biochar and has been taking steps to address evidence gaps through research, funding five biochar projects in the Greenhouse Gas Removals Innovation Competition, and the CO2RE Demonstrators Programme biochar project. The Government is exploring barriers to commercialisation and deployment at scale, including how further evidence can be generated on permanence, environmental impacts and the potential benefits in a UK context. The Government has announced an Independent Review to consider how Greenhouse Gas Removals, such as biochar, can assist the UK in meeting our net zero targets.

What steps she is taking to support the roll-out of demand responsive transport in Shropshire.

The government believes demand responsive transport (DRT) has an important role to play in ensuring communities can access transport services in areas where more traditional, regular stopping services may not be viable. Shropshire Council has been allocated over £9.2 million of funding since 2023 to improve their bus services. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. Shropshire have used some of this funding to support an expansion of their Connect On-Demand DRT service in July 2024 and January 2025.We are also developing DRT Best Practice Guidance, which will share learnings from existing DRT schemes to support local authorities to set up similar schemes.

What steps he is taking to improve access to respite care for unpaid carers in North Shropshire constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support they need. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.The Better Care Fund includes funding that can be used for carer support, including short breaks and respite services. Local areas determine how the money is best used to support carers, depending on local need and with reference to their statutory responsibilities.

What steps she is taking to ensure young people living with special educational needs in North Shropshire can access the support they require.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Following the last Ofsted inspection, departmental officials have been working with Shropshire Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. A SEND Advisor was appointed to support and work alongside Shropshire Council and the local area partnership. Shropshire is also gaining valuable insights and learning across the SEND and alternative provision system through engagement in the Change Programme. A clear strategic vision and strength of partnership continues to drive improvement and access to support, though there is more work to be done.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of dental care professionals who will no longer be eligible for visa sponsorship following the immigration rule changes due to come into force on 22 July 2025.

On 12 May, the Government published its Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, and the first set of immigration rules giving effect to the policies in the White Paper was published on 1 July, including raising the skills threshold to RQF 6. At present dentists remain an eligible occupation as that occupation is skilled to RQF 6.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the removal of dental care professions from the list of eligible occupations under the Skilled Worker visa.

On 12 May, the Government published its Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, and the first set of immigration rules giving effect to the policies in the White Paper was published on 1 July, including raising the skills threshold to RQF 6. At present dentists remain an eligible occupation as that occupation is skilled to RQF 6.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on the effectiveness of NHS dental services of removing occupational codes (a) 3213 and (b) 6113 from the Skilled Worker visa eligibility list from 22 July 2025.

On 12 May, the Government published its Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, and the first set of immigration rules giving effect to the policies in the White Paper was published on 1 July, including raising the skills threshold to RQF 6. At present dentists remain an eligible occupation as that occupation is skilled to RQF 6.

Whether she plans to include dental care professionals in the Temporary Shortage List.

On 12 May, the Government published its Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, and the first set of immigration rules giving effect to the policies in the White Paper was published on 1 July, including raising the skills threshold to RQF 6. At present dentists remain an eligible occupation as that occupation is skilled to RQF 6.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 61929 on Integrated Care Boards: Redundancy, whether he is providing new funding to integrated care boards to cover the cost of redundancies.

The Department continues to work with NHS England to manage all financial risk, including the best way to manage cost pressures arising from any redundancy schemes once realised.

When he expects the next Learning from Lives and Deaths report to be published.

The Learning from Lives and Deaths reports are a crucial source of evidence which help to identify the key improvements needed to tackle health disparities and prevent the avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people. We are committed to publishing the latest report soon after Parliament returns, alongside a Written Ministerial Statement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 61959 on Dentistry: Recruitment, how many (a) recruited dentists and (b) dental posts are being advertised per region in England.

Data on Golden Hellos will be published by the end of August 2025. Once a publication date has been confirmed, this will be announced on the NHS England website.

What steps she is taking to ensure that Shropshire Council has the resources to provide timely access to education, health and care plans.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The government confirmed a substantial increase in high needs funding in 2025/26, this includes almost £1 billion which is intended to help local authorities in meeting the costs associated with supporting those children and young people with education, health and care plans. A further £740 million has been made available for councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools, paving the way for significant, long-term reform.The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024/2025. For Shropshire Council, the final Settlement represents an increase in Core Spending Power of up to 3.8%, making available a total of up to £353.2 million in 2025/26.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 65118 on Railways: North Shropshire, whether her Department plans to provide any additional funding to improve railway services to (a) North Shropshire and (b) Shropshire.

Following the Spending Review both the Chancellor and Secretary Of State have committed to the transformative Midlands Rail Hub programme, which will upgrade connectivity, reliability and provide capacity for hundreds of extra trains per day into Birmingham, including benefits to those stopping at Shrewsbury and Gobowen. Funding was also confirmed to support feasibility studies for works to improve accessibility for all passengers at 50 stations including at Whitchurch in Shropshire. Later this year the Department will review the case for line speed improvements between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury when the business case is completed. Any funding would be subject to a satisfactory business case which represents value for money, affordability and strong benefits for the country.

How many serious vehicle accidents caused by potholes have resulted in a driver or passenger death in (a) North Shropshire constituency and (b) Shropshire in each year since 2020.

Statistics on reported road injury collisions in Great Britain are published based on data reported by police via the data collection known as STATS19. Within STATS19, reporting police officers can assign up to 6 factors which they believe may have contributed to the collision, including ‘poor or defective road surface’. Contributory factors are assigned based on the opinions of the reporting officer at the scene or within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed investigation. The number of serious collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” are given in the table below:YearNorth Shropshire (constituency)Shropshire202000202102202223202311 There were no drivers or passengers killed in collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” between 2020 to 2023.