Written questions by Evans.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Changes to the GP contract in 2026/27, updated on 4 March 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of removing the cap on online requests that can be submitted during core hours on (a) patient safety and (b) GP workload.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of removing the caps on online requests on patient safety and general practice (GP) workload. Data on online consultation submissions is collected, monitored, and published.This is because there is no change to clinical responsibility, triage processes, or same‑day requirements for clinically urgent care as a result of this clarification. Practices retain flexibility over how requests are prioritised and responded to, including the use of triage models and appropriate response times for non‑urgent requests. Evidence from practices shows that spreading demand more evenly across the day can support smoother workflows and reduce pressure on telephone access, rather than increasing overall workload.The clarification on online access is being implemented alongside wider GP Contract changes for 2026/27, including £485 million in additional core funding and reforms intended to support practice capacity.

What his planned timetable is for publishing operational guidance for the use of Advice and Guidance in the context of the GP contract 2026/27.

As part of the usual annual cycle, NHS England will refresh the operational delivery framework to ensure it remains aligned with the updated contractual requirements. The GP Contract changes for 2026/27 are underpinned by regulations, which will be laid before Parliament in the usual way, alongside an explanatory memorandum. Framework updates will happen in line with, or prior to, regulations coming into force. NHS England will continue to ensure that operational delivery frameworks remain clear, robust, and supportive as the use of Advice and Guidance expands.

If he will ask NHS England to set out the definition of ‘clinically urgent’ for patients who need to be dealt with on the same day in the context of the the GP contract 2026/27.

As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, we are amending the core contract to explicitly require that requests identified as clinically urgent must be dealt with on the same day. It is for practices to use their clinical judgement to determine which requests are clinically urgent.

Whether Advice and Guidance will be mandatory for GPs to use in the context of the GP contract 2026/27.

As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, we are embedding the current Advice and Guidance (A&G) enhanced service funding within core practice funding. Practices will be required to use A&G prior to or in place of a planned care referral, where clinically appropriate, and to follow locally agreed referral pathways.A&G has shown clear value in supporting timely specialist input, reducing unnecessary referrals, and ensuring patients receive timely care in the most appropriate setting.Between April 2025 and December 2025, A&G has avoided 1.3 million patients being added to waiting lists.

With reference to the GP contract 2026/27, whether every non-cancer referral will need to go through Advice and Guidance.

As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, we are embedding the current Advice and Guidance (A&G) enhanced service funding within core practice funding. Practices will be required to use A&G prior to or in place of a planned care referral, where clinically appropriate, and to follow locally agreed referral pathways.A&G has shown clear value in supporting timely specialist input, reducing unnecessary referrals, and ensuring patients receive timely care in the most appropriate setting.Between April 2025 and December 2025, A&G has avoided 1.3 million patients being added to waiting lists.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Changes to the GP contract in 2026/27, updated on 4 March 2025, whether the money to fund the practice-level GP reimbursement scheme will be new funding.

Following feedback from the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation, we are introducing a practice-level general practice reimbursement scheme using £292 million of repurposed funding from the current Capacity and Access Payment. This funding will be available to practices to hire additional general practitioners (GPs) or to fund additional sessions with existing GPs to improve access in GPs. This aims to strengthen capacity, access, and improve patient satisfaction, whilst also addressing GP unemployment and underemployment. This is good value for the taxpayer and guarantees the money is spent on GPs.

What his planned timetable is for informing children’s hospices of their individual allocations from recent funding announcements.

Children and young people’s hospices have been informed of their allocations for 2026/27 by NHS England. Communications regarding future allocations, for 2027/28 and 2028/29, will be sent once the 2026/27 process is complete.

Whether all hospice services are required to be commissioned.

The majority of hospices are charitable, independent organisations and, therefore, the Government does not collect or keep data on hospice bed capacity nationally. There are no current plans to make a formal assessment of the adequacy of hospice bed capacity.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning core and specialist palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. As part of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of hospice bed capacity and how this is tracked nationally.

The majority of hospices are charitable, independent organisations and, therefore, the Government does not collect or keep data on hospice bed capacity nationally. There are no current plans to make a formal assessment of the adequacy of hospice bed capacity.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning core and specialist palliative care services to meet the reasonable needs of their population, which can include hospice services available within the ICB catchment. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification.The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality. As part of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandating Advice and Guidance requests on the legal and accountability frameworks for clinicians.

Changes introduced as part of the 2025/26 GP Contract consultation included the introduction of the Enhanced Service for Advice and Guidance (A&G). This built upon existing use of A&G pathways by general practice over previous years, which helped to ensure patients received care at the right place and the right time. The Department and NHS England are embedding A&G into the core GP Contract for 2026/27. This removes the need for annual sign‑up and treats A&G as routine clinical practice with predictable, recurrent funding.The use of A&G does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks, and supportive guidance is available to help signpost these responsibilities. Clinical decisions remain with appropriately qualified professionals under established regulatory and local governance arrangements, and NHS England continues to ensure these frameworks remain clear and robust as the use of A&G expands, including through job planning guidance that supports clinicians to manage this activity safely and appropriately.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidelines on generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. They represent best practice, and healthcare professionals are expected to take them fully into account in the care and treatment of their patients. NICE keeps its guidance under active surveillance and decisions on whether published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by the NICE Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. There are currently no plans to update the guideline on generalised anxiety and panic disorder.

In relation to the GP contract 2026/27, how his Department plans to support hospitals in dealing with the increased caseloads generated by mandating Advice and Guidance.

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is a clinical collaboration tool that supports timely specialist input and helps patients receive care in the right setting, enabling best use of clinical time.The GP Contract 2026/27 sets out that practices will be required to use A&G prior to, or in place of, a planned care referral where clinically appropriate. It also sets out the expectation for practices to follow locally agreed referral pathways, including single point of access (SPoA) models once introduced. Similarly, our Medium-term Planning Framework, published in October 2026, introduced plans to support increased A&G by moving to an elective SPoA model. All appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, will be directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help reduce unnecessary appointments, making the best use of clinical time. The Medium-Term Planning Framework set the aim for all referrals to go via a SPoA for at least 10 specialties determined at provider level by October 2026, which provides flexibility for local teams to deliver where there is the most potential for the model to be effective, including ensuring timely responses.Integrated care boards are expected to support the introduction of expanded A&G and SPoA through their strategic commissioning for 2026/27. National Health Service trusts will continue to be funded to deliver A&G through a fixed payment negotiated locally to ensure predictable and sufficient funding to cover increased A&G use. NHS England will continue to work with systems to monitor performance, share good practice, and support timely responses, including through job planning guidance that supports clinicians to manage A&G safely and appropriately.

In relation to the GP contract 2026/27, what framework he has put in place to help ensure that hospitals respond to Advice and Guidance requests in a timely manner.

Advice and Guidance (A&G) is a clinical collaboration tool that supports timely specialist input and helps patients receive care in the right setting, enabling best use of clinical time.The GP Contract 2026/27 sets out that practices will be required to use A&G prior to, or in place of, a planned care referral where clinically appropriate. It also sets out the expectation for practices to follow locally agreed referral pathways, including single point of access (SPoA) models once introduced. Similarly, our Medium-term Planning Framework, published in October 2026, introduced plans to support increased A&G by moving to an elective SPoA model. All appropriate referrals and requests, other than those for urgent suspected cancer, will be directed through a single ‘front door’ to support triage to the most appropriate next step or outcome for the patient. This will help reduce unnecessary appointments, making the best use of clinical time. The Medium-Term Planning Framework set the aim for all referrals to go via a SPoA for at least 10 specialties determined at provider level by October 2026, which provides flexibility for local teams to deliver where there is the most potential for the model to be effective, including ensuring timely responses.Integrated care boards are expected to support the introduction of expanded A&G and SPoA through their strategic commissioning for 2026/27. National Health Service trusts will continue to be funded to deliver A&G through a fixed payment negotiated locally to ensure predictable and sufficient funding to cover increased A&G use. NHS England will continue to work with systems to monitor performance, share good practice, and support timely responses, including through job planning guidance that supports clinicians to manage A&G safely and appropriately.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions the Flood Resilience Taskforce has had with local fire and rescue services on responding to major flooding incidents.

The Floods Resilience Taskforce brings together representatives from national, regional and local government, devolved Governments and the emergency services including the National Fire Chiefs Council and the Fire Brigades Union who are standing members. Local Resilience Forums are also represented, with membership rotating between different areas and they provide a perspective from local areas, including from Fire and Rescue Services. In February 2025, the Floods Resilience Taskforce considered the response to autumn and winter flooding including the work of the Fire and Rescue Services. The Taskforce plans to meet in March 2026 to discuss the most recent autumn and winter flooding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 113322 on Driving Disqualification, if she can list the reasons for exceptional hardship that were cited by the drivers with 12 or more penalty points who have retained current entitlement to drive.

The Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) do not hold information on the reasons put forward in exceptional hardship applications. Decisions on whether exceptional hardship has been established, and the grounds advanced in support of such applications, are matters for the courts. DVLA’s role is to update and maintain the driver record using information provided by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, and it does not receive or hold the underlying reasons cited to the court.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 113322 on Driving Disqualification, if she will hold discussions with local police forces on drivers who can retain their entitlement to drive after accruing 12 or more penalty points.

Where a driving licence holder has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, a court can exercise its discretion and decide not to disqualify them. Courts may allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship. These decisions are for the courts, not the Department for Transport or the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which update and maintain the driver record using information provided by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. The Department has no plans to hold discussions with local police forces about court decisions on whether an individual is disqualified under the ‘totting up’ provisions.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer for 15 December 97962 on Park Home Sales, if he will list the representative bodies he has met to discuss the commission on receipt of a park home sale in the last year.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 113661 on 2 March 2026.

Whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential implications for her policies of the report by the IFS entitled Annual report on education spending in England: 2025–26, published in January 2026.

The department and HM Treasury discuss matters relating to school funding on an ongoing basis. These conversations are supported by government analysis relating to school funding, some of which is in the public domain.

What recent discussions she has had with [a] Cabinet colleagues and [b] external bodies on the freezing of the repayment threshold for student loans.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and departmental officials regularly engage with Cabinet colleagues and external bodies on a range of matters, including higher education (HE) finance and funding.We are determined that the HE funding system should deliver for students, for our economy, and for universities. The government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure that it delivers good value for both students and taxpayers.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the difference in approach in Wales towards freezing Part 2 Student Loan repayment thresholds on equalities in England.

Education is a devolved matter, and therefore it is a matter for the devolved administrations to decide how they wish to develop their higher education systems. It is for the Welsh government to develop their own equalities impact assessment for borrowers in Wales.