Written questions by Evans.

In relation to the Neighbourhood Health Framework's aim to have 25% of GP referrals diverted back to GPs via amendments to advice and guidance by 2027 for 10 high volume specialties, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the total number of referrals that is likely to be and (b) the increase in time and resources required in general practice to support diverted patients.

As set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework, National Health Service providers of Referral to Treatment consultant-led care are expected to prioritise Advice and Guidance (A&G) across at least ten specialties where it will have the greatest overall benefit. The ten specialties are selected locally at provider-level. General practice should be involved in discussions to decide on which are the most appropriate and we expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to support the use of A&G through their strategic commissioning for 2026/27. We do not centrally hold information regarding which specialties providers have selected. Regarding the 25% aim, the National Director for Primary Care and Community Services made clear there is no national target. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/letter-specialist-advice-elective-single-point-of-access/ The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the £82 million of funding from the previous A&G enhanced service, into core practice funding. Embedding A&G in the core contract recognises it as routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways. A general practitioner’s (GP’s) clinical decision to refer remains unchanged and GPs should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interest.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 110068, when the reprioritisation exercise is due to complete.

The reprioritisation exercise is ongoing. In the meantime, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is currently focused on delivering Remediable Pension Savings Statements (RPSS) for members in scope of the McCloud remedy, with about 21,000 cases still pending.Pension Savings Statements (PSS) for the 2024/25 tax year have been issued for cases that could be handled automatically which resulted in roughly 14,000 successful statements.The NHSBSA is providing the Pensions Regulator with monthly updates on the provision of RPSS’ and PSS’ due to the delays. The NHSBSA also holds regular meetings with the Pensions Regulator on McCloud remedy progress.If a member requires an urgent PSS they can contact the NHSBSA directly via the member helpline.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 122861 on Business Rates, Gyms and Leisure Centres, whether she hold discussions with the leisure centre and gym sector on the impact of business rate costs on levels of service provision to promote health and wellbeing in communities.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to gyms and leisure facilities, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and play an important role within communities. We regularly engage with the leisure sector on a broad range of issues, including the impact of business rates. DCMS engaged extensively with HM Treasury in the run up to the Autumn Budget 2025 and provided evidence to HM Treasury on the anticipated impact to the sport and leisure sector. The Government has announced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in their business rates bills because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down, next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

What recent discussions the UK Neuro Forum has had on (a) care pathways, (b) treatment options and (c) access to drugs for patients with motor neurone disease.

The UK Neuro Forum brings key stakeholders together to share learnings across the system and to discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including motor neurone disease (MND).At the second meeting of the UK Neuro Forum on 10 September 2025, one of the key areas of discussion was cross-border care. The forum met again most recently on 18 March and discussed workforce challenges.

In relation to the Medium Term Planning Framework published by NHS England in October 2025, which 10 specialities each ICB has identified as the most effective for the use of Advice and Guidance.

As set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework, National Health Service providers of Referral to Treatment consultant-led care are expected to prioritise Advice and Guidance (A&G) across at least ten specialties where it will have the greatest overall benefit. The ten specialties are selected locally at provider-level. General practice should be involved in discussions to decide on which are the most appropriate and we expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to support the use of A&G through their strategic commissioning for 2026/27. We do not centrally hold information regarding which specialties providers have selected. Regarding the 25% aim, the National Director for Primary Care and Community Services made clear there is no national target. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/letter-specialist-advice-elective-single-point-of-access/ The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the £82 million of funding from the previous A&G enhanced service, into core practice funding. Embedding A&G in the core contract recognises it as routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways. A general practitioner’s (GP’s) clinical decision to refer remains unchanged and GPs should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interest.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 118875 on Hospices: Children, if he will publish the amount that each children and young people's hospice will receive in the 2026-27 financial year.

Children and young people’s hospices will receive at least £26 million, adjusted for inflation, in revenue funding for 2026/27. NHS England has recently communicated the details of this funding allocation and dissemination to 35 individual children and young people’s hospices, and their respective integrated care boards, although the Department is not yet in a position to share those individual allocations publicly.Communication regarding future allocations, in 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.Additionally, we have supported the hospice sector in England with a £125 million capital funding boost for adult, and children and young people’s, hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105219 on Small Businesses: Business Rates, what recent discussions she has had with small businesses on the Government's work to develop a redesigned transitional relief scheme and a supporting small business scheme.

The Government regularly engages with a range of businesses and their representative bodies across different sectors to discuss business rates.The Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills following the revaluation. This includes a redesigned Transitional Relief scheme and an expanded Supporting Small Business scheme. As a result of these measures, most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.

With reference to the report by the Motor Insurance Taskforce Final Report, published on 10 December 2025, what steps she is planning to take to monitor the outcomes from the work by the Financial Conduct Authority in encouraging social media companies to prevent fraudulent content from appearing on their platforms.

The cross-government taskforce’s final report highlights the wider range of areas in which government is taking action; including taking steps to address vehicle theft and the cost of repairs. The government will continue to deliver against the actions set out in this report. The FCA will continue to call for more action to be taken by social media companies to prevent fraudulent content from appearing on their platforms. Where the FCA identifies unlawful content, including ghost broking, ad-spoofing and material posted by finfluencers, it will seek to get the content removed and work with other partner agencies, including law enforcement, working to combat these activities.The taskforce encourages the motor insurance industry to work closely with vehicle manufacturers to review the vehicle risk rating system.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that the motor insurance industry is working closely with vehicle manufacturers to review the vehicle risk rating system.

The cross-government taskforce’s final report highlights the wider range of areas in which government is taking action; including taking steps to address vehicle theft and the cost of repairs. The government will continue to deliver against the actions set out in this report. The FCA will continue to call for more action to be taken by social media companies to prevent fraudulent content from appearing on their platforms. Where the FCA identifies unlawful content, including ghost broking, ad-spoofing and material posted by finfluencers, it will seek to get the content removed and work with other partner agencies, including law enforcement, working to combat these activities.The taskforce encourages the motor insurance industry to work closely with vehicle manufacturers to review the vehicle risk rating system.

What her planned timetable is for the consultation on the introduction of new battery health measures for electric vehicles.

On 13 April 2026, the Department launched a public consultation on updating the minimum emission standards for new road vehicles to Euro 7. As part of these proposals, manufacturers would be required to fit electric vehicles with accurate, accessible and comparable battery health monitors. The consultation will remain open until 25 May 2026. The Government is seeking views on these proposals through that consultation. No final decisions have been taken, and the timetable for introducing any new battery health measures will be determined following careful consideration of the responses received.

Pursuant to WPQ 122859 answered on 31 March 2026, on Business Rates. Gyms and Leisure Centres, whether she hold discussions with the leisure centre and gym sector on the impact of business rates on the financial sustainability of the sector.

HM Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with representatives from across the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, including gyms and leisure centres, to understand the impact of business rates on the sector’s financial sustainability.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 121856 on VAT Fraud, what steps she is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the (a) additional controls to strengthen systems and (b) the work of the Fraud Prevention Centre to tackle levels of cases of organised criminals accessing VAT accounts using customers' registration details and fraudulently claiming VAT refunds.

Work to tackle fraud in claiming VAT refunds is carried out by a range of compliance, counter fraud and operational teams across HMRC. Controls introduced to tackle fraudulent VAT refunds include new reporting routes for customers, strengthened incident management processes, and the deployment of technical enhancements. The improvements in identification and response to VAT repayment fraud are monitored through the reduction in attempts to fraudulently access customer accounts (based on specific criminal methods) and submit fraudulent repayment requests.The developing Fraud Prevention Centre works collaboratively with specialist teams across the department, including the Risk & Intelligence Service, which leads on detection of VAT repayment fraud, and the Fraud Investigation Service, which leads on criminal and civil investigations. Together this supports HMRC in assessing criminal success rates are reducing, whether VAT fraud controls remain effective, and informs the continued development of the Centre’s capability, tooling and specialist fraud expertise during 2026/27.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the hen harrier taskforce on trends in the level of crimes against hen harriers on grouse moors.

Defra is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) and is providing £530,000 for the Unit this year. In 2024, the NWCU launched the Hen Harrier Task Force (HTF) – a partnership designed to help tackle the illegal persecution of hen harriers. Through the HTF, more efficient working between partners expedites the coordination of effective enforcement response. The HTF represents a pivotal shift in combating wildlife crime, using innovative technology such as tracking drones and detection dogs to overcome logistical challenges and enhance evidence collection in remote areas. There is an ongoing review of the HTF which is expected to report to Defra later this year. It will include an overview of confirmed crimes and their locations as well as successes and recommendations for the future.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of the overnight visitor levy on GDP generated by tourism in (a) the UK and (b) the Midlands.

The impacts of the overnight visitor levy will be determined by local decisions. It will be up to Mayors and local leaders to decide whether to implement a levy, subject to a local consultation on specific proposals. Visitor levies are common in Europe and the rest of the world. All other G7 countries already have some form of tourism or overnight accommodation levy in place. Evidence from other countries suggests that modest levies have a limited impact on visitor numbers, jobs, GDP, and tourism competitiveness.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 116254 on Driving Tests, how many full-time equivalent driving instructors were practising in (a) Hinckley and Bosworth constituency and (b) Leicestershire in January 2026 compared to April 2025.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not employ approved driving instructors. The table below shows how many full-time equivalent driving examiners who conduct tests at test centres in Hinckley and Bosworth and Leicestershire in January 2026 compared to April 2025. April 2025January 2026LocationFull time equivalent DEsFull time equivalent DEsLeicester Cannock St10.8613.86Leicester Wigston12.3912.50Loughborough3.803.54Hinkley2.623 The DVSA will continue to assess the recruitment needs of all test centres, including those in Leicestershire and the East Midlands and will continue to launch further recruitment campaigns to address demand.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the overnight visitor levy on the number of tourism jobs in (a) the UK and (b) the Midlands.

The impacts of the overnight visitor levy will be determined by local decisions. It will be up to Mayors and local leaders to decide whether to implement a levy, subject to a local consultation on specific proposals. Visitor levies are common in Europe and the rest of the world. All other G7 countries already have some form of tourism or overnight accommodation levy in place. Evidence from other countries suggests that modest levies have a limited impact on visitor numbers, jobs, GDP, and tourism competitiveness.

Pursuant to the Answer on 18 March 2026 to Question 119476, how much and what proportion of funding for the practice‑level general practice reimbursement scheme is repurposed funding.

The £292 million of funding for the practice-level general practice (GP) reimbursement scheme is all repurposed funding from the previous primary care network level Capacity and Access Payment (CAP) scheme.The 2025/26 contract ringfenced £292 million of funding for CAP to support network-level activities to support access, for example supporting primary care network wide digital triage and telephony and providing additional clinical capacity.In response to feedback during the 2026/27 consultation that increasing GP numbers is the single most important factor in improving access sustainably, we are introducing a practice‑level GP reimbursement scheme funded by repurposing the £292 million previously allocated to CAP. This change will give practices greater flexibility to recruit additional GPs or to fund additional sessions from existing GPs, supporting access in a way that reflects local circumstances.We have recruited over 3,000 GPs, preventing them from graduating into unemployment, and increasing clinical capacity. As of January 2026, over 2,000 are actively in post. This is double the 1,000 target we set.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with stakeholders on the effect of grouse shooting on (a) environmental land management and (b) the rural community.

There have been no recent discussions with stakeholders on this issue.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 116254 on Driving Tests, whether he will assess the potential impact of the driving examiner group recruitment campaign in (a) Leicestershire and (b) the East Midlands.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not employ approved driving instructors. The table below shows how many full-time equivalent driving examiners who conduct tests at test centres in Hinckley and Bosworth and Leicestershire in January 2026 compared to April 2025. April 2025January 2026LocationFull time equivalent DEsFull time equivalent DEsLeicester Cannock St10.8613.86Leicester Wigston12.3912.50Loughborough3.803.54Hinkley2.623 The DVSA will continue to assess the recruitment needs of all test centres, including those in Leicestershire and the East Midlands and will continue to launch further recruitment campaigns to address demand.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the overnight visitor levy on the UK's tourism competitiveness compared with other countries.

The impacts of the overnight visitor levy will be determined by local decisions. It will be up to Mayors and local leaders to decide whether to implement a levy, subject to a local consultation on specific proposals. Visitor levies are common in Europe and the rest of the world. All other G7 countries already have some form of tourism or overnight accommodation levy in place. Evidence from other countries suggests that modest levies have a limited impact on visitor numbers, jobs, GDP, and tourism competitiveness.