Written questions by Morgan.

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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

With reference to the announcement on railway stations awarded Access for All accessibility funding, published on 24 May 2024, what her planned timeline is for the completion of Access for All construction at Whitchurch Railway Station.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This included Whitchurch railway station in Shropshire. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders during the summer.

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.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of potholes in North Shropshire constituency.

Shropshire Council, as a local highway authority, has been allocated the following highway maintenance funding since 2015: YearHighways Maintenance funding for Shropshire Council2015/16£16,498,0002016/17£16,160,0002017/18£18,756,2502018/19£20,588,0002019//20£16,948,3962020/21£30,253,0002021/22£20,599,0002022/23£20,599,0002023/24£26,880,0002024/25£23,218,0002025/26£33,680,000 The Government has already provided an additional £500 million increase for local highway maintenance this financial year. As a result of this increase, Shropshire Council will receive up to £9.1 million more in additional funding. Building on this, at the spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will be providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

How much funding her Department has provided to Shropshire Council to fill potholes in each year since 2015.

Shropshire Council, as a local highway authority, has been allocated the following highway maintenance funding since 2015: YearHighways Maintenance funding for Shropshire Council2015/16£16,498,0002016/17£16,160,0002017/18£18,756,2502018/19£20,588,0002019//20£16,948,3962020/21£30,253,0002021/22£20,599,0002022/23£20,599,0002023/24£26,880,0002024/25£23,218,0002025/26£33,680,000 The Government has already provided an additional £500 million increase for local highway maintenance this financial year. As a result of this increase, Shropshire Council will receive up to £9.1 million more in additional funding. Building on this, at the spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will be providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

How many serious vehicle accidents have resulted from potholes 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.

Whether he has made an assessment of the financial viability of providers of community equipment.

The Department is aware of concerns raised by community equipment suppliers. NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare.Local authorities and local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will consider the resources available to them. At the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over both the last financial year and this year. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 have now been set through phase 2 of the Spending Review. This includes £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms than 2023/24 for the NHS, and the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with local authorities on the adequacy of the enforcement of safeguarding in relation to the placement of families in temporary accommodation with single homeless adults.

Local authorities must ensure that temporary accommodation is suitable for the needs of the household and should keep the suitability of accommodation under review. The Homelessness Code of Guidance sets out what local authorities must consider when determining whether accommodation is suitable, which you can find on gov.uk here. When accommodation with shared facilities is used to house children, local authorities must consider safeguarding risks.MHCLG’s dedicated team of homelessness advisers have regular discussions with local authorities as they discharge their homelessness duties in line with legislation.

What discussions he has had with providers of community equipment on the financial resilience of those providers.

The Department is aware of concerns raised by community equipment suppliers. NHS England has published planning guidance setting out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding National Health Service providers in the next financial year, which takes account of a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare. The NHS Payment Scheme is equally applicable to NHS and non-NHS providers of secondary healthcare.Local authorities and local NHS procuring authorities, whether integrated care boards or NHS providers, are responsible for discussing and agreeing contracts with community equipment providers, which will consider the resources available to them. At the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over both the last financial year and this year. Departmental budgets beyond 2025/26 have now been set through phase 2 of the Spending Review. This includes £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms than 2023/24 for the NHS, and the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.