Written questions by Roome.

Which Departmental body is responsible for promotion of careers in dentistry; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements for promoting dentistry careers in (a) Devon and (b) other areas.

Strengthening the dental workforce is key to our ambitions. We intend to set out next steps on the dental workforce soon. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.No specific departmental body is responsible for the promotion of dentistry careers however, the responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England. For the North Dorset constituency, this is Dorset ICB.Integrated Care Boards are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. The scheme is designed to encourage relocation to areas with workforce challenges, to attract new workforce to the NHS, and to retain those who might have otherwise moved into private practice.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect the South West Coast Path against storm damage.

The South West Coast Path (SWCP) is a 630 mile National Trail around the SW peninsula. As such it follows open and unprotected coast for much of its length, sections of which due to their geological make up are susceptible to coastal erosion. This has always been the case and will continue to be so. Notwithstanding, Natural England, and Defra, have a statutory duty, emanating from the Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009, to establish a long-distance walking route, the King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP), around the entire English coast. In fulfilling this duty, the line of the SWCP has been largely adopted as ‘part of’ the KCIIIECP and a new legal provision for the path to ‘roll back’ in response to geomorphological events put in place. Going forward this will ensure that the basic right to walk along the coast is not lost in an often dynamic coastal environment. Local authorities lead in planning for and managing coastal erosion. The Environment Agency (EA) has the strategic overview of the management of all sources of flooding and coastal change. To support those managing coastal erosion, in January 2025, the EA published new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping data which provides the most up to date national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk for England.

What assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of regional variations in reducing NHS waiting lists.

The Department and NHS England regularly monitor regional and trust level variation in National Health Service waiting lists to address variation in performance, so patients can expect to receive high quality care in a timely way, wherever they live. We are committed to returning to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of all patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. Our Reforming elective care for patients plan, published in January 2025, sets out how the NHS will reform elective care services equitably across all trusts and regions.As an interim goal, NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance 2025/26 has set the national ambition for 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement in performance. In the Medium-Term Planning Framework, every trust by March 2027 is expected to deliver a minimum of 7% improvement in 18-week performance or a minimum of 65%, whichever is greater.To support this improvement across all trusts, there is a robust performance management process in place. The new NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 ensures that there is public accountability for performance and NHS England national and regional teams work with systems and providers to support improvement. There is a specific process in place to identify, intervene and support the providers whose performance on elective waiting lists is most challenged, led by NHS England national and regional team.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register.

National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for organ donation in the UK and manages the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).NHSBT encourages recording an organ donation decision on the ODR through national campaigns, including case studies from donor families, transplant recipients and patients waiting for a transplant. Where appropriate, NHSBT works with individuals with an established public profile to reach new audiences. NHSBT’s partnerships with the likes of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Association, the passport application process and the NHS App are currently the most effective routes to engaging people to record their decision.NHSBT also partners with NHS organisations, charities, and community groups, such as the National BAME Transplant Alliance and South Asian Heritage Trust, to increase community engagement. This is supported by NHSBT’s Community Grants Programme, which supports over 30 community and faith/beliefs organisations to leverage their specialist knowledge, understanding and footprint in minority ethnic communities. More information on the Programme is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/In February 2026, the Organ Donation Joint Working Group, jointly formed by the Department and NHSBT, published recommendations to increase societal action for organ donation, which included actions to maximise the potential of the ODR and encourage more people to record a clear and informed organ donation decision. NHSBT is working with Government and other partners to implement the recommendations, and a five-year programme is being developed to drive further progress.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2026 to question 111483, what his Department's evidential basis is for the cost estimate of £1-1.5 billion for the rebuild of North Devon District Hospital under Wave 3 of the New Hospital Programme.

A range of factors were considered to produce cost estimates for schemes in the Plan for Implementation, for example, estimated size, cost per square metre, local and geographical factors, and consideration of construction-specific inflation costs. However, as pursuant to the answer on 13 February 2026 to Question 111483, these estimates are for planning purposes only, with final costs subject to the approval of a Full Business Case.

What progress his department has made on the Pillar 1 recommendations of the Defence Housing Strategy.

Rapid improvements have been made on the Pillar 1 recommendations of the Defence Housing Strategy - A Generational Renewal. We have transformed 1,000 of the worst homes ahead of schedule in time for Christmas, with hundreds more military properties to be upgraded by Spring 2026.We have modernised outdated policies and streamlined processes, giving families greater freedoms to make improvements to their homes. We have streamlined the process for those who wish to run businesses from home and removing the need to seek permission to have a pet at home.We’ve delivered named housing officers, photos and floorplans and a new online repairs service – promises made to families previously, but only now delivered. Service Family satisfaction with their Defence Homes is rising and now at the highest level since 2021.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) the Programme Team of New Hospital Programme has adequate levels of staff and (b) staffing vacancies do not delay the implementation of that programme.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) is a major Government programme and recognises the need to recruit, develop, and retain people with the specialist skills necessary to deliver the programme’s objectives. We recognise that having the right level of staff is integral to delivering the programme.The NHP remains committed to increasing its in-house resource and the programme continues to recruit into priority posts, ensuring delivery remains on track. The programme has appointed the Health Delivery Partnership, which has strengthened the capacity of the programme, giving flexibility to move teams around where expertise is required.

If his Department will conduct a detailed assessment of the progress of individual schemes delivered under the New Hospital Programme.

Progress is continually monitored through regular reporting both within the New Hospital Programme (NHP) and into the Department, as is usual for major Government programmes. Furthermore, at each of the business case stages for main schemes, assessments are undertaken to assess deliverability. The NHP continues to work with individual trusts on the management of their schemes to make progress against the dates set out in the NHP Plan for Implementation.

What operational savings his Department has identified from the Royal Liverpool University Hospital that may be applicable to schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) continues to learn lessons from early schemes that were delivered through the programme, including the Royal Liverpool Hospital (RLH) scheme. Lessons are embedded into the standardised approach of the NHP, Hospital 2.0, to ensure we provide health infrastructure that is fit for the future. The RLH scheme was designed without the assistance of our standardised approach, Hospital 2.0. We have learnt from the initial challenges that the scheme faced upon opening, specifically the workforce adjusting to the 100% single rooms. We have factored this into our standardised approach, ensuring that in future, digitisation and the use of technology can mitigate and support the workforce in new models of care. The programme continues to collect data, including on workforce, to inform our standardised approach. RLH have also reported their most improved survey results since moving into their new facility and a significant reduction in hospital acquired infections.

If his Department will publish the detailed scoring of MCDA analysis conducted under the New Hospital Programme Review for individual schemes once those schemes have been completed.

As set out in our New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool was used to support decision making and prioritisation of schemes, including the development of funding options.The Department has no plans to release the detailed scoring as the published NHP Plan for Implementation provides a comprehensive explanation of how the MCDA tool was used in the NHP review and the outcome of this decision making is evident in the waves individual schemes have been put into.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the capacity within the construction industry to build schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme on schedule.

Through the New Hospital Programme’s commercial strategy and Hospital 2.0 Alliance we are increasing the capacity in the construction industry to support the construction of new hospital schemes.The programme is providing a clear and stable pipeline of construction projects, with opportunities for concurrent builds, and strengthening domestic and international appetite to engage with the programme.The Hospital 2.0 Alliance will provide a commercial environment that protects the supply chain from adverse levels of risk, provides more consistent and predictable returns on projects, and rewards performance with profit.

Whether operational savings secured from hospitals built to Hospital 2.0 standard under the New Hospital Programme: Plan for Implementation will be redirected to support the increased maintenance costs of hospital projects delayed under Wave 2 and Wave 3 of the New Hospital Programme Review.

The Government is investing £30 billion over five years, from 2025/26 to 2029/30, in the day-to-day maintenance and repair of the National Health Service estate.It is for trusts and integrated care boards to manage operational budgets, as the New Hospital Programme does not redistribute operational savings.As set out in the Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Plan, we are also providing a further five years of funding certainty for NHS estates maintenance, providing the confidence needed for long-term investment decisions and estates strategy.

What steps his Department has taken to help ensure the timely implementation of Wave 0, Wave 1 and Wave 2 hospital schemes planned under the New Hospital Programme impacting Wave 3 schemes.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation sets out a credible plan, timeline, and budget, that will see all schemes in the programme delivered. We are focussing on the delivery of Wave 1 schemes, including the seven hospitals predominantly built with reinforced aerated autoclaved concrete. Through the NHP’s standardised approach, Hospital 2.0, we will build hospitals more quickly and cost-effectively. The programme will continually monitor progress against the plan to tailor support for schemes at different stages of readiness, including ongoing engagement to help navigate planning, progress enabling works and designs, and prepare for key approvals through business case process.

With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled New Hospital Programme; Plan for Implementation, published on 20 January 2025, what the evidential basis is for the estimated cost for the rebuild of North Devon District Hospital.

The cost estimates in the New Hospital Programme (NHP) Plan for Implementation are for planning purposes, and the total cost of each scheme is subject to the approval of its Full Business Case, as is standard for major infrastructure projects.The North Devon District Hospital is part of Wave 3 of the NHP and is not due to commence construction until 2035 to 2038.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her department is taking to strengthen flood resiliency around major transport routes in the South West.

Delivering on the Plan for Change, this Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, helping to avoid disruption to transport and other infrastructure damage, as well as continuing to protect communities from the devastating impacts of climate change. As published in the Flood and coastal erosion risk management (Section 18) report – in 24/25 – Wessex, and Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly received a combined £173 million, better protecting 4,036 properties across these regions. The final list of schemes to benefit in 2026/27 is due to be published on GOV.UK in March 2026.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of battery-electric trains for passenger rail lines.

The Government recognises the potential for battery-electric trains to reduce the long-term operating costs of the railway, to improve the service it provides for passengers and to meet our environmental obligations. We have committed to develop a long-term rolling stock and infrastructure strategy, the first in thirty years, which will place the needs of passengers at its heart and will pursue modern standards of carbon-friendly traction, passenger comfort and accessibility. As we develop this strategy, we will carefully consider the opportunity presented by battery-electric trains, and the associated infrastructure requirements.

What steps he is taking to publish a detailed breakdown of the Ministry of Defence's financial losses due to fraud and economic crime.

The Department has historically used academic models to identify potential fraud risk exposure, if no action were taken. We are working to produce more accurate estimates based on improved understanding of our fraud risk across significant areas of spend.

What steps he is taking to give a single senior official authority over different parts of the Ministry of Defence responsible for combating financial losses due to fraud.

The Head of Fraud Defence acts on behalf of the Department where the Ministry of Defence is potentially the victim of economic loss.The fraud transformation plan we are working up will deliver more integrated ways of working, with clearer accountability across the Department, leveraging the changes under Defence Reform.

What steps he is taking to set a department-wide strategy to bring down the Ministry of Defence's financial losses due to fraud and economic crime.

The Department will incorporate an organisation-level shared objective on tackling fraud in the next Defence Counter Fraud Strategy.

What steps he is taking to (a) reduce losses of public funding to fraud during defence procurement and (b) increase the amount of funding recovered from those losses.

The Department has robust financial and commercial controls governing procurement, including single source regulations as set out in the Defence Reform Act 2014. In addition, we have introduced Initial Fraud Impact Assessments for major Defence programmes to identify, assess and mitigate fraud risks from the outset. The Department has increased recoveries through the use of data analytics technology, leading to the prevention and recovery of £6.4 million last financial year 2024/25. We are continuing to expand our use of AI to support the prevention, detection and recovery of losses from fraud and error.