Written questions by Harding.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continuity of UNRWA's operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israeli legislation means United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faces a cliff edge in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza. We remain opposed to the legislation, and unequivocally reject attempts to undermine or degrade UNRWA. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. It is also of huge concern that implementation will come just 10 days after the ceasefire began. The Foreign Secretary raised this on 13 January with Foreign Minister Sa'ar, during his visit to the region. I also met with UNRWA leadership and reiterated UK support. I reiterated our position at a UN Security Council session on 20 January. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also raised this with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs on 23 January.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of routine monitoring of infant head circumference after 8 weeks of age as a diagnostic tool for early identification of hydrocephalus.

It is vitally important that babies are diagnosed as early as possible so treatment can be provided. Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends measuring the head circumference of babies in the first week, at appr...

What proportion of infants with hydrocephalus initially present symptoms after 8 weeks of age.

It is vitally important that babies are diagnosed as early as possible so treatment can be provided. Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends measuring the head circumference of babies in the first week, at appr...

What steps he is taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes in winter 2024-25.

We have announced a target to deliver 300,000 home upgrades this year, as we know that too many families are living in poor quality housing and paying over the odds to heat their homes. The Warm Homes Plan will be critical to ending the scourge of energy ...

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 13669 on Rivers: Sewage, which six sewage treatment works in the River Mole catchment have been inspected by the Environment Agen

The Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that the six Wastewater Treatment works (WwTW) inspected in the River Mole Catchment in the current financial year, referenced in the response to PQ 13669 on Rivers: Sewage, are as follows: Burstow WwTWCrawley WwT...

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of community pharmacy closures on (a) local health provision and (b) patient outcomes in (i) England and (ii) Surrey.

Since 2019, there have been a total of 39 pharmacy closures in Surrey, and four in the Esher and Walton Constituency. In Surrey, this has broken down as: seven closures in 2019; six in 2020; four in 2021; two in 2022; and 15 in 2023, with a further five h...

How many community pharmacies have closed in (a) Surrey and (b) Esher and Walton constituency in each year since 2019.

Since 2019, there have been a total of 39 pharmacy closures in Surrey, and four in the Esher and Walton Constituency. In Surrey, this has broken down as: seven closures in 2019; six in 2020; four in 2021; two in 2022; and 15 in 2023, with a further five h...

What formula her Department is using to calculate Special Educational Needs and Disability high needs funding allocations for local authorities next year.

The high needs national funding formula will be used to allocate high needs funding to local authorities in the 2025/26 financial year. Provisional 2025/26 national funding formula allocations for local authorities have now been published and can be found...

For which local authorities her Department has provided (a) support and (b) intervention for safety valve agreements since 2019.

The department has made Safety Valve agreements with 38 local authorities. These are: Bath and North East Somerset, Barnsley, Bexley, Blackpool, Bolton, Bracknell Forest, Bristol, Bury, Cambridgeshire, Croydon, Darlington, Devon, Dorset, Hammersmith and F...

Food and Rural Affairs, what flood (a) prevention and (b) relief measures have been put in place to support communities along the Thames between Weybridge and Long Ditton in the event of flooding in winter 20

Following Storm Henk, the Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken a significant amount of debris clearance on weir structures, including the removal of a number of sunken & stricken vessels. The cost of the clean-up operation undertaken by our teams an...

What steps he plans to take to improve the (a) performance of and (b) patient experience at the GP practices in the bottom 5% of the 2024 GP Patient Survey.

We know that general practices (GPs) are working hard to deliver for their patients, and are delivering more appointments than ever before, however we know that some patients are struggling to access the care they need, and GPs are struggling to deliver i...

What the average per-patient funding for GP practices was in (a) England and (b) NHS Surrey Heartlands in 2023-4.

This data is published annually by NHS England in the NHS Payments to General Practice Report and will be available in due course.

What the average GP practice patient list is; what the largest patient list was at a GP practice in 2023-4; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of GP list sizes on p

Data on patients registered at a general practice (GP) is published on a monthly basis, and is as follows for 2023/24: at the beginning of 2023/24, 1 April 2023, the largest practice had 106,308 patients, and the median average practice had 8,383 patients...

If her Department will take steps to ensure the uplift for SEND funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 is allocated by local authorities to families assessed as being in the most urgent need; what steps he

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 department is...

What assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's Safety Valve Agreement with Surrey County Council on (a) funding per EHCP in Surrey and (b) quality of SEND provision in Surrey.

The Safety Valve programme helps local authorities provide an improved special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young pe...

What information her Department holds on the number of education, health and care plan tribunals that were lost by Surrey County Council in each year from 2019 to 2024 to date.

Information about appeals to the First-Tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. The table below sets out the number of appeals to the SEND Tribunal against d...

Whether her Department is taking steps to (a) ensure that deficit reduction measures taken by local authorities as part of their safety valve agreements do not reduce the (i) level and (ii) quality of support f

The Safety Valve programme helps local authorities provide an improved special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young pe...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases to Thames Water bills since 2019 on (a) household disposable income and (b) levels of poverty in Surrey.

It is Ofwat's responsibility, through the price review process, to independently scrutinise company plans and ensure the prices water companies charge customers are fair and proportionate. The Government is committed to taking action to address water pove...

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of flood prevention plans for communities along the River Thames in Surrey between Weybridge and Long Ditton.

The main flood prevention plan currently in development along this part of the River Thames is the proposed River Thames Scheme (RTS). It is a partnership between the Environment Agency (EA), Surrey County Council, and other local partners that will reduc...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed increases to water bills on (a) household disposable income and (b) levels of poverty in Surrey.

It is Ofwat's responsibility, through the price review process, to independently scrutinise company plans and ensure the prices water companies charge customers are fair and proportionate. The Government is committed to taking action to address water pove...